Product Description

The Bose® 3·2·1® GS Series III DVD home entertainment system puts you at the center of exciting home theater with greater simplicity. Just two visible Gemstone speaker arraysour smallest, most powerful 3·2·1 speakersand a hideaway Acoustimass module deliver enhanced sound performance from almost anything you watch. Setup is simple: No center or rear speakers means no wiring to the back of your room. An elegant media center features a progressive scan DVD/CD player with FM/AM tuner, and an HDMI output that makes it even easier to connect to your HDTV. Plus, an easy-to-use universal remote control is programmable to run most of your home entertainment devices together with your system.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16239 in Consumer Electronics
• Color: Graphite
• Brand: Bose
• Model: 312335-1110
• Dimensions: 31.00" h x 39.00" w x 18.00" l, 47.00 pounds

Features

• An exciting home theater experience from our most powerful 321 speaker arrays and a hideaway Acoustimass® module
• Progressive scan DVD/CD player, AM/FM tuner and an HDMI output. Simple setup with a step-by-step installation DVD
• Universal remote control delivers seamless 3 2 1 system operation with additional video components

Customer Reviews

Great Sound, Small Footprint, Huge Upgrade from Series II
I bought this late August '08 from a Bose store (prices fixed at $1k at all stores right now). First off, it is 2 speakers that fit in the palm of your hand, and a somewhat large woofer that can be put out of sight (e.g., behind TV cabinet). Sound is amazing given it's only 2.1 speakers. System does an okay job at filling the room with sound (I don't think it's fair to say it seems like there really are rear speakers, but the sound is for sure big and full), but it does deliver all 5.1 channels of sound through the 2.1 speakers when listening to those sources - awesome. Big + for me is that music sounds really good - not always true on home theater systems. Unit is easy to use and set-up - onscreen menus straight forward, and universal remote really is universal (including my cable box). Upconverting of DVD picture looks great. Sound from TV and DVDs is amazing (especially digital 5.1 sound from HD channels).

Now, for the cons: I wish it served as a video receiver as well - it does not. Example, this means when I watch cable I need to turn the TV on to cable video input and set the Bose to cable audio output - not a big deal but a bit annoying. There is only 1 optical audio input (which you can assign to any available source), but digital coax inputs are there for all sources (sound and signal for optical vs. coax digital audio is the same, differences heard are people playing vodoo). There is a bit of a sound delay when switching sound sources or when changing cable channels (~0.5-1 second) before the sound starts again.

Lots of people knock Bose because they are expensive. Well, Bose really does have superior speaker (always have) and now digital processing technology - look into it yourself, don't just trust reviews online from random people (such as myself). But, you should take a trip down to a Bose store or Best Buy and listen for yourself. And bring a full band audio CD to listen to of your own (the Dave Matthews acoustic demo they always play is stupid - acoustic guitar sounds good even on crappy speakers).

If you have the $$ and don't want to hassle with 5.1 speakers, at least give this some serious consideration.

Another note: I shelled out another $100 for the overpriced speaker stands (floor stands), and did notice a slight increase in quality as the speakers can spread out their sound a little better (as opposed to my previous set-up where they were on the edge of a shelf).

Good not great
I just bought a Series III Bose 321 system. I have it connected to a Samsung 46 inch 1080P HDTV.

I wanted to run my cable box, Sony PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, and Apple TV through the Bose 321. The only way to do this without having to change wires non-stop is to run the digital optical audio cable from the TV to the Bose system, giving you PCM 2.0, not Dolby 5.1. There is a noticeable improvement over performance from just the TV speakers alone, but nowhere near as good a a direct 5.1 connection.

I wish Bose had more optical audio inputs.

Also, I wish they had a Blu Ray instead of a regular DVD player in the system.

Like I said, good but not great...

Worth Every Penny (All 100,000 of them)
Being skeptical of such an expensive purchase, I really worked this thing over once I got it to make sure I was going to keep it. It did not take long to find out that it can't be beat. For such a simple system I was amazed at the performance. Let's start with the good: Very stylish, compact, and super easy to set up. The set-up I did was not your standard set-up either. I took advantage of running optical audio from my cable box (good idea) and I use the HDMI output to a 37inch LCD. I did not want all of my sound to always have to go through the unit so I had to use a few more wires. The sound is absolutely unbeatable for the size of system. If you are a sound junkie like myself you will appreciate the clarity and reality of the reproduction. Music is concert-like, DVD's play like you are in a mini-theater. People that do not like the sound of Bose generally like a lot of unnatural bass and Bose refuses to give in to that fake noise. I replaced a high end Sony 5.1 system with this for aesthetics and am kicking myself for not doing it sooner. The sound is now simply way better at all volume levels. Even 2.0 sound sounds better through these tiny speakers than they did with my old system. Now for the not so good: You need a fairly recent and not so cheap universal remote if you want to control this thing. Unless you don't mind the remote it comes with which claims to be universal but I found otherwise. The aqua display of text on the front of the unit can detour your focus when watching the TV screen. There is no equalizer if you wanted to create a different sound other than the Bose standard. Sometimes I want that cheesy bass although it pumps out plenty. Lastly, you almost need to use the optical audio connection to ensure full volume control. Without it you have to turn up the volume for different applications. I use the optical so I have no complaints. Before I go, I just want to let you know that if you want a small system that can fill your room with rich authentic sound then you are on the right track with this system. You can put a pretty nice system together for the price of this thing but what for??? 3 wires and you are done and have the best sound money can buy.