WB South

Once again this week, we had 2 customers that were shocked and disappointed to find out their “wireless” speakers required wires. Both clients said that they were told at the time of purchase that the speakers were wireless. To protect yourself when shopping for “wireless” speakers this holiday season, ask a simple question, are the speakers battery operated? If the answer is yes, you have a truly wireless speaker. If the answer is no, then you know a wire will be connected t

We are often asked, ”Can My Bose system be removed and moved to my new home”? The answer is yes but I always suggest the Bose system be sold with the home either as a sales incentive or at an additional cost. Homes will often sell quicker if advertised with the built in Bose Home entertainment system. There are 2 good reasons to sell the system with the home. First, leaving the system avoids the resulting repair to the walls where the speakers are located. Even with surface

Soundtouch owners often want to play connected devices, such as CD players or the TV sound to other zones. If you have a Bose Lifestyle 600 or 650 system or Bose SA-5 amplifiers, this can easily be done. As an example, you have a CD player connected to the Bose Lifestyle 600 console in the Great Room and want to play the CD out on the Patio. First, turn on and play the CD player in your Great Room. Next using the Bose app, add the Patio to the Great Room. You will now hav

Clients often inquire if they need the most expensive HDMI cables. For the majority of people, the answer is no. Unless you have one of the new 8K TV’s, an expensive HDMI cable will not improve your picture quality. Standard 2.0 HDMI cables will transmit 4K HDR signals. If you do have a new 8K TV, a new 2.1 HDMI cable is needed. As with all audio video systems, the final result is equal to the weakest component. For example, if you have the best speakers and the best audio so

This week a client called and said 1 of his 2 outdoors speakers wasn’t working and what can he try? 99% of the time, there are 3 things that can cause this issue, bad speaker, bad amp, or bad speaker wire. Here is a couple of quick steps to try to identify the cause of the problem. First, switch speakers. If the non-working speaker still doesn’t work when switched with the working speaker, you probably have a defective speaker. If the non-working speaker starts to work when

This past week, a client asked if he could connect a Bose Soundtouch Adapter directly to his speakers. The answer is a qualified no. Unless the speakers are self-powered with an aux input, connecting a Bose Soundtouch Adapter to a pair of passive speakers will not work. Passive speakers require power and the Adapter supplies audio signal not power. I further explained that the Bose SA-5 amplifier had Soundtouch ability built in and could power the passive speakers. He then qu

As more and more people expand their outdoor Living Spaces, we are always asked can’t I just use an indoor TV outside? Our answer is always the same, “We will never sell or install a client’s indoor TV outside”. From our standpoint, the reason is liability. Any responsible contractor understands the risk of installing any products outside that is not approved for outdoor use. From a homeowner’s standpoint, using an indoor TV outside is often appealing. Weatherproof TV’s are

With Memorial Day just around the corner, many of our clients are using their outdoor speakers for the 1sttime this season. Our office has already scheduled 3 service calls for outdoor speakers. Before you incur the expenses of a service call, there are a couple of things you can try. First, check the wire connections at the speakers. Be sure the connections are good and haven’t been chewed by animals. If the connections are good, confirm that the outdoor amplifier is plugge

We recently had a call from a past client that wanted to improve the sound in their music zones and questioned whether they could upgrade their existing Bose speakers. If your existing Bose speakers are over 10 years old, the answer is yes. If you have the in-wall/in ceiling Bose 191 speakers, the premium in-ceiling replacement speaker is Model 791; for in-wall applications, the premium replacement speaker is the Model 891. Both of these speakers sell for $599 a pair. For out

During a consultation, our client wanted to know if he needed to start with a Bose Home Theater system in order to add outdoor speakers. The answer is no. In the past, the answer would have been different. A Bose Lifestyle Home Theater system was required to add additional zones using Boselink to connect the various zones. With today’s Bose Wi-Fi streaming Soundtouch platform and SA-5 amplifiers, each zone operates independently and connects with other zones using the Bose

As spring approaches and we begin to shop or add electronic devices for our outdoor living spaces, it’s a good time to review and understand the differences between weather proof and weather resistant. For most manufacturers, weather resistant products are designed for outdoor use but not directly exposed to the various weather elements. An example would be speakers used in an enclosed porch or under a deck. On the other hand, weatherproof products are designed to be expos

There is an old adage; sometimes the student is the better teacher. That happened this week during a consultation. I was struggling trying to explain the Bose Alexa skill, and Alexa skills in general. After what seemed to be an eternity, the client looked at me and said, “It appears that these skills work like the apps on my phone”. Bingo! The client just taught me the perfect way to explain Alexa Skills, apps for your Alexa. Like an app, Alexa skills help you accomplish var

Many people are upgrading their older Bose Lifestyle Home Theater systems to the new Lifestyle 600, 650, and BIV systems to take advantage of some of the new great features such as Soundtouch streaming music and 4K video capabilities. There are 3 important things everyone should know regarding installing the new system. First, the 5 speaker wires that are currently connected to the bass speaker will need to be relocated to the rear of the new system console. The home theater

Clients have asked what is the difference between Bose Soundtouch speakers and Bose Smart speakers. There are a couple of significant differences to consider when selecting between the two product lines. The first is the Alexa control. With the Smart speaker products, Alexa control is built into the product. With the Soundtouch products, control is through an external Alexa device using the Bose Alexa skill set. The 2ndconsideration, a larger one, is the number of available S

Last week we reviewed how to connect your new smart TV to your newer Bose system. This week, we would like to review connecting your new smart TV to an older CD/DVD based Bose Home Theater system. With these older systems, your video components connected to the various inputs of your TV and the audio are connected directly to the Bose system. The simplest method to connect your new TV to the Bose system is to connect your various components directly to the HDMI inputs of you

Recently some clients have asked if hard-wired, non-streaming residential music systems can still be installed. The reasons vary from vacation homes with no Internet service to clients with no interest in using streaming music services. The answer is yes. We have installed this type of system a few times during the past few months for clients who want to play their favorite over the air radio station or their CD collection throughout their homes. The basic design includes a

For many of our clients, upgrading their home entertainment systems to take advantage of today’s video and music streaming services can be a daunting task. Many questions center around what hardware is required and what services are better than others. However, the 1stquestion that needs to be answered is the client’s Internet speed and the strength of their wireless network. There are many variables that impact your Internet speed, the biggest being the number of devices str

Many people today are upgrading their older Bose Home Entertainment systems to be compatible in today’s world of streaming music and video and 4K video. In most cases, most existing speakers and wiring can be used for the upgrade. Simply upgrading your Bose Lifestyle console and bass module and any music expansion amplifiers will bring your system into today’s digital world. However if your Bose system is 20 years old or older, there is a good chance your existing speakers c

As the summer winds down, many clients want to know if it is necessary to take down their outdoor Bose speakers for the winter season. The answer is no. The speakers, including Models 151, 251, and FS-51's, are designed for permanent outdoor installation and come with a 5-year warranty. Bose outdoor speakers are designed to withstand sun, high humidity (rain and snow), salt and fog and operate in a temperature range of -40° F to 158° F; -40° C to 70° C. Please visit out websi

With Flo heading towards the Mid-Atlantic region, we would like to remind our clients to un-plug their Bose systems and TV’s along with any other electronic devices before the storm. This will eliminate damage from lighting and power surges during the storm. After the storm has passed, be sure your power has been fully restored and is stable before plugging your devices back in. There are times, when power is first restored, that power may drop in out and this can damage your