bose lifestyle

[lpedro]

Hi,
I want to buy a Bose LifeStyle in US to import to switzerland.
In swiss we use 220v.

Can i use it in Europe?

Thanks in advance

[Gary D]

Stuff sold in USA is 110v. Find a European supplier.

[lpedro]

the price in europe is the double than US, it's for that reason i want to buy one in US.


Have you got some extra information?

[Gary D]

http://www.bose.eu/EU/en/splash.jsp

You could buy US stuff but then you would need voltage converters to run the audio equipment. This would NOT be a good idea. They would probably cause interference with your audio equipment.

[RFBurns]

You could use a simple step-down transformer that will take the 220vac and bump it down to 110-120vac. Most modern electronic stuff can handle the 10hz cycle difference of US 60hz and Europe's 50hz. The transformer just has to be able to handle the current required by the audio gear, which should be doable.

http://www.voltage-converter-transformers.com/

http://www.voltage-converter-transformers.com/step-down-transformer.html

[olyteddy]

I just looked at the installation manual for the top shelf one and it says all you need is the appropriate power cord. BOSE seems to have guides for most of their overpriced stuff. You might want to check the tuning range of the receiver section and the video standards it handles though.

[MikeyBK]

BOSE ...............most of their overpriced stuff.

These 'cheap' Bose I just got, pumps out some thunderous sounds!!...

Not always overpriced...

[NightTran]

These 'cheap' Bose I just got, pumps out some thunderous sounds!!...

Not always overpriced...

those look great I may have to go to Sam club again :

Thanks

[lpedro]

Lifestyle have it got one 110v-220v switch on back?

[toomanycats]

I have never heard a Bose system that does not sound muffled. The long throw those speakers use to get the midrange sound loses information in the process and the bass always sounds muffled, in an out of phase way, IMHO.

[RFBurns]

I have never heard a Bose system that does not sound muffled. The long throw those speakers use to get the midrange sound loses information in the process and the bass always sounds muffled, in an out of phase way, IMHO.

These sound systems rely on waveguide techniques. The speakers within the units have tuned "tunnels" that help focus the soundwaves in specific directions. However the sound waveguide has two serious limits.



One limit is the fact that soundwaves are so large that you would need a huge room just to accomidate the waveguide for the frequencies involved. So these units use what is known as "fractional waveguides". That is they use a tiny fraction of the size of waveguide required that is multiplyable to the whole number, or for clarity sake...a 1/4 wavelength guide compared to a full-wavelength guide for a given frequency.



As frequency increases, the wavelength decreases in size and vise-versa. Since audio frequencies are much lower than radio or light frequencies, the wavelengths are incredibly huge and would make building these audio devices impractical.



Here is an example....a frequency of 100Mhz at a full-wavelength would be aprox 9.8 meters in length, a 1/2 wavelength would be aprox 4.68 meters. This is a radio signal. Now lets look at a much lower frequency. Good ol AM radio frequencies....lets try 1Mhz or 1000Khz, the full wavelength size would be 585 meters in length!!!! Shall we see what an audio frequency wavelength would be for lets say.......1khz?!!!



For the curious....1Khz audio at full wavelength would be...585,500 meters!



There is NO WAY that your going to fit a waveguide at 585 thousand, 500 meters in size into your typical living room!!



Shall we try the low frequencies for audio...say 40hz??!!!



You get the idea.





These Bose systems and many others use fractional waveguide techniques to bring these huge numbers down to size. And because of that fact, the efficiency of the fractional waveguide is very very weak.



Even a full sized speaker cabinet with a 20" woofer driver is not a full wavelength emitter, however one can see how it works when taking different sized speaker drivers and hearing the differences. A 20" woofer will move more air than a 8" woofer. Same is true with midrange and tweeter frequencies. I would not want to be standing next to a full wavelength woofer pumping out 40hz at 90db spl!!!! (Sound Pressure Level) That woofer would be as big as a 4 bdrm house!!!



The phase cancellation TMC mentioned above is the result of the limitations of the fractional waveguides used in these little systems. The waveguide cannot cover the entire frequency spectrum of audio so the waveguides focus on only parts of the audio spectrum. When an audio signal goes outside of the range of the waveguide, the sound will phase cancel and you get a muffled or "nulled-out" sound. One can experiment with this by simply walking past one or two of these units placed side by side with the same audio signal. Room size, and things within the room also hamper with sound waves and can cause the same results as what happens to rf signals when encountering buildings, mountians and other obstructions...it is called "multi-path", where the signal, rf or audio and even light, gets bounced around between the obstructions and you get multiple paths of the same signal arriving at the listening point at different time domains thus causing cancellation. In FM radio it is heard as if the signal is fading in and out, in audio it sounds like a barrel or at one point in the room the sound is not as loud as it is in another part of the room.

[MikeyBK]

I have never heard a Bose system that does not sound muffled. The long throw those speakers use to get the midrange sound loses information in the process and the bass always sounds muffled, in an out of phase way, IMHO.

What it is that I like about Bose speakers, is it's ability to handle crisp bass despite it's small size. So not sure why you experienced 'muffled bass', but these little speakers thumps my bedroom, even at half volume. Perhaps you heard some blown or damaged Bose??

And as for RFBurns....what!?!?!?...LOL

Not too sure about your tech talk, but IMHO my Bose crank...and yes, it fills the entire room with crisp bass, midrange, and tweeter sound (that's my extent of audio tech talk...lol) !!...

[RFBurns]

What it is that I like about Bose speakers, is it's ability to handle crisp bass despite it's small size. So not sure why you experienced 'muffled bass', but these little speakers thumps my bedroom, even at half volume. Perhaps you heard some blown or damaged Bose??

This is the effect of using tuned waveguide on a small speaker. It basically takes small and turns it into big.

And as for RFBurns....what!?!?!?...LOL

Huh?

Not too sure about your tech talk, but IMHO my Bose crank...and yes, it fills the entire room with crisp bass, midrange, and tweeter sound (that's my extent of audio tech talk...lol) !!...

You understand the "tech talk" perfectly if you agree the small system you have fills the entire room with full range sound. It demonstrates the effect of tuned waveguide in front of a speaker driver.

As with any emitter device, speaker or antenna, the surroundings will affect the end results. Place the system in an empty room and it will sound hollow. Place the system in a room with some furniture, carpeted floor, things on the walls etc, it wont sound hollow, but sound solid..depending on what absorbing ratio the materials in the furniture, wall hangings, carpet etc have.

[olyteddy]

@RFBurns, your 'wavelength' babble is just that.

For the curious....1Khz audio at full wavelength would be...585,500 meters!



There is NO WAY that your going to fit a waveguide at 585 thousand, 500 meters in size into your typical living room!!

Fortunately you don't have to fit it in. That length might be true for a 1KHz Radio Wave (travelling at 186,000 Miles Per Second) but last I looked sound only travels at about 1100 Feet Per Second, yielding a wavelength of about 1.1 Feet. BTW, the wavelength of a 40 Hz audio wave is about 28.25 Feet...For the curious: http://www.mcsquared.com/wavelength.htm

PS, I have a 1/2 wavelength folded corner bass horn (a Frasier brand from the 50's) so I know a 'waveguide' will indeed fit in a reasonable sized room.

[RFBurns]

@RFBurns, your 'wavelength' babble is just that.

Fortunately you don't have to fit it in. That length might be true for a 1KHz Radio Wave (travelling at 186,000 Miles Per Second) but last I looked sound only travels at about 1100 Feet Per Second, yielding a wavelength of about 1.1 Feet. BTW, the wavelength of a 40 Hz audio wave is about 28.25 Feet...For the curious: http://www.mcsquared.com/wavelength.htm

PS, I have a 1/2 wavelength folded corner bass horn (a Frasier brand from the 50's) so I know a 'waveguide' will indeed fit in a reasonable sized room.

That is flawed. If your rescource is stating 40 cycles per second wave is only 28.25 feet in length then explain please the wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum which includes sound waves that are below radio frequency waves. If sound waves which begin at 1hz and end at 22khz how does your statement hold any merit when you take into consideration (and using 1/2 wavelength formula of 436 / frequency = wavelength) that your sound wave at 40hz is 28.25 feet. (wavelength formula taken from ARRL handbook).

Not only that, your corner bass horn is what again.....FOLDED and what size....1/2. What is the folding ratio 10:1?...20:1?? But lets apply 40hz to the formula for 1/2 wavelength and see wha that is...

436 divided by 40 cycles per second (0.0004Mhz) = 1,090,000

Thats using a simple calculator.
Babble indeed.