This compact home theater system is packed with exclusive technologies, including a Videostage® 5 decoder and TrueSpace® surround for an all-encompassing audio and video experience.
Average Customer Rating:
4.1 out of 5
Rating Breakdown
(8 reviews)
5 stars
(4)
4 stars
(1)
3 stars
(3)
2 stars
(0)
1 star
(0)
5 of 8 (63%) customers would recommend this product to a friend.
Customer Reviews for Bose® 3•2•1® GS Series III DVD Home Entertainment System - Graphite
Review 1 for Bose® 3•2•1® GS Series III DVD Home Entertainment System - Graphite
Customer Rating
5.05
This system is GREAT
11/23/2008
By brackforcefrom Fayetteville, NC
Value for Price
5.05
Sound Quality
5.05
Ease of Set Up
5.05
Appearance
5.05
What's great about it: Clean, Crisp, Loud, Small, and Simple What's not so great: It's expensive
"I've been using an Onkyo 7.1 surround sound system in my condo which was easy to wire up because the place was small and I could run the wires under the carpet next to the walls. Anyway, I moved into a house with an open kitchen that looks out into the living room. I couldn't figure out a good way to run the rear speakers without having wires everywhere so I've been using the fronts and sub for the last few months. I decided that I wanted a much simpler system so I started doing research on the Bose 321. I found nothing but mixed reviews. It seems like everyone either loves or hates the thing, but I figured I would give it a shot so I went out and got one. I'm amazed. I've been a pretty big stereo system guy since high school and have always tried to get the top of the line newest stuff out. It was hard for me to settle for a 2.1 system when there are so many bigger, more powerful options out there. This system allowed me to considerably clean up the wiring behind my entertainment system by subtracting a DVD player and all that speaker wire. It was cake to set up. Once I hooked it up and turned everything on everything worked the first time. i went into the menu, turned up the bass and treble a little bit, and was good to go. Some people have said that it doesn't have enough bass (and it's not as powerful as a lot of the bigger systems) but it IS a good amount of bass and blends very well with music and movies. It does NOT accurately replicate rear speakers, but it is a very full, rich, and theater like sound. It actually sounds much better than my 7,1 system did in a few ways. 1.) I don't have to adjust volume for voice versus louder scenes. I've continually had problems hearing quieter scenes with the clarity of louder ones. People will be talking then something big will happen and the volume blows you away. This system takes care of that problem. I haven't had to adjust volume yet. 2.) The clarity of special effects like breaking glass is MUCH more clear and crisp. 3.) The overall feel is much more theater like. You really do get that "out to the movies" experience as opposed to just really loud. I was worried that the volume levels might be a problem due to the small speakers, but it's not a problem at all. I haven't turned the system up all the way yet and it more than fills the room. In fact I can clearly hear everything throughout the house and into the garage! I've used the system to watch digital cable, movies, and play my Xbox. I have no complaints with anything I've tried to far. One unexpected aspect that I noticed was the fact that it seemed like my tv and movies looked better. It made no sense because I didn't change any settings and there's no video going through the unit (minus the built in DVD player, but my old one upconverted as well.) I really think that it seemed this way because the auditory experience is so much better that everything else seemed better as well. My girlfriend even asked what I did to make the picture better and I had to say "nothing." The price is a little steep, but I don't regret spending the money. Having such a small, clean, and efficient system without wires running all over the room made it well worth it. I've had a lot of people tell me that Bose is just too overpriced and not worth the extra cash, but after buying this system, I'll have to disagree. It's small, loud, clear, easy to use, and sounds awesome. I highly recommend it!"
Would you recommend this product to a friend?:Yes
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
Share this Review:
Review 2 for Bose® 3•2•1® GS Series III DVD Home Entertainment System - Graphite
Customer Rating
3.05
Would be a 5 if it wasn't for a digital glitch
11/06/2008
By joetunonfrom Miami
What's great about it: Best look and sound (IMO) What's not so great: serious glitch with digital audio
"I laid down the grand for this system because it looks and sounds better than any other system for what I'm looking for (smallest space, clearest and brightest sound). The surround sound effect is not bad (you don't hear sounds behind you, but you hear them left and right of you). There are 2 problems with this system, one minor, one major. The minor one: you can't send DVD sound alone to TV (it goes to Both the TV and the Bose system) which means you can't plug everything into your TV and then audio out from the TV into the Bose. Bose wants everything going through the Bose, not through a TV and then through the Bose. Not a showstopper.
The major problem, however, happens when using the digital optic connection (which is the only way to get Dolby surround sound from an external source like your satellite receiver). The digital connection correctly detects and plays the different Dolby formats (and shows you the format on the media center's front display). If you then pause or stop the program (therefore stopping the inflow of digital sound source), within a minute or two the entire Bose system shuts down. This happens whether you have the analog (red and white) cables connected as well. This is repeatable on my system. I have an email into Bose support for this.
Can anyone else post if this happens to them or not? Please do not say it does not happen to you if you have not tested the DIGITAL (not the analog) connection. It does not happen with the built in DVD, nor does it happen with the red and white analog cables. It only happens when listening to the digital audio connection using a fiber cable.
Make sure the media center's display shows the name of your sound source ("TV" or "Sat" or "Aux") and the detected sound stream ("Dolby 2.0 or 5.1") from an external source (like a DirecTV or Dish satellite reciever - I use the vip 612). Then play a program and either stop or pause it (you should see the "Dolby 2.0 or 5.1" disappear from the display and only show the sound source. Wait a minute or two, and you'll see the display say "Bose 3.2.1" and then the whole system hard powers off.
Sorry for the long winded review, but this is a serious glitch which may or may not be unique to my system. This is the new line, the Series III, not the Series II.
Thanks for reading, and I appreciate other's feedback. If I get this issue resolved, I will re-post this review with a higher rating."
Would you recommend this product to a friend?:No
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.
Share this Review:
Review 3 for Bose® 3•2•1® GS Series III DVD Home Entertainment System - Graphite
Top 250 Contributor
Customer Rating
3.05
think twice before purchasing this!!
10/05/2008
By hellstormfrom Las Cruces,NM
Value for Price
2.05
Sound Quality
3.05
Ease of Set Up
5.05
Appearance
5.05
What's great about it: cool looking, sound What's not so great: sound, price
"I purchased this surround sound system 2 years ago and have regetted getting it. the system looks cool and does not take up that much space. the sound quality is okay but not great. you can find probably a better surround sound system for less with more speakers. and the price for this item is way to much to pay, when there are other systems that are better and alot cheaper. do your self a favor and listen to it at the store before you buy this item, I didn't and am now stuck with an averege system. and also you only get 2 speakers in stead of 5 speakers ,which 5 make true surround sound. and also get a bass speaker."
Would you recommend this product to a friend?:No
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
Share this Review:
Review 4 for Bose® 3•2•1® GS Series III DVD Home Entertainment System - Graphite
Customer Rating
4.05
Good Product
09/30/2008
By Sox1918
Value for Price
3.05
Sound Quality
4.05
Ease of Set Up
4.05
Appearance
4.05
What's great about it: Sound Quality and Appearance What's not so great: Price, remote
"I like this system very much. Sounds good, looks good. I recommend the floor stands over the table stands (you need stands for optimum sound quality), although the wiring is a bit of a pain to install. I had to buy a Logitech remote, though to integrate into all in one use."
Would you recommend this product to a friend?:Yes
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.
Share this Review:
Review 5 for Bose® 3•2•1® GS Series III DVD Home Entertainment System - Graphite
Customer Rating
3.05
Disappointing purchase
09/20/2008
By Jonimefrom Greenwood, IN
Value for Price
2.05
Sound Quality
3.05
Ease of Set Up
5.05
Appearance
4.05
What's great about it: Easy to set up, appearance What's not so great: poor bass
"Finally able to afford a Bose system. Set-up was very easy. Went thru several CDs ranging from rock to country to Top 40 and several movies (Saving Private Ryan, Jurassic Park III, few others) and was very disappointed with the bass, or lack thereof. With the bass adjusted as high as it would go it was decent during parts of Saving Private Ryan, but nothing like it should have been. Went and bought an Onkyo system with a 230 watt powered sub. Even in a large room it provides more than enough deep, clear, thumping bass. The Onkyo is a 7.1 system and took some time to set up (speaker wires, etc.) but it sounds every bit as good as the Bose and was about $150.00 cheaper. The salesman I spoke to when buying the Onkyo wasn't surprised at my complaint about the Bose. I suppose if you're an audiophile and deep base isn't a concern, this system would be great. But the Onkyo sounds every bit as good, and as noted above, the bass is awesome."
Would you recommend this product to a friend?:No
Share this Review:
Review 6 for Bose® 3•2•1® GS Series III DVD Home Entertainment System - Graphite
Customer Rating
5.05
AWESOME SYSTEM!
08/25/2008
By steve50rfrom Connecticut
What's great about it: Ease of Setup, HDMI hookup, awesome sound! Bose Name & Quality. What's not so great: None Yet!
"Having read the reviews on the older Bose 321 II Series, one would be hesitant to purchase one. I had previouisly owened a Bose Cinemate - and I was very happy with that. This is an awesome system for most people that don't want to run speakers all over the room and have limited space. I have only had it a short time, but absolutely love it. I did during the setup go in and increase both the base and treble settings.
Setup was easy - and now with the HDMI and upconvert to 1080 - this was a definite improvement over the older 321 II series. No it's not for everyone I guess, but it suits our needs very well. For the type of system it is the sound is incredible.
So if your considering this - you won't be disappointed."
Would you recommend this product to a friend?:Yes
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
Share this Review:
Review 7 for Bose® 3•2•1® GS Series III DVD Home Entertainment System - Graphite
Customer Rating
5.05
Great Value!!!
08/17/2008
By jonnybgudfrom Chapin, SC
What's great about it: great sound, cables instead of wire hookup, looks What's not so great: none
"I bought this system a couple of days ago & am already completely happy with it. The sound is great, is very simple to operate, high quality cable hookup instead of plain wires, great looks & supurb value. I would recommend this to anyone!!!"
Would you recommend this product to a friend?:Yes
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
Share this Review:
Review 8 for Bose® 3•2•1® GS Series III DVD Home Entertainment System - Graphite
Top 250 Contributor
Customer Rating
5.05
BOSE GS Series III Home Entertainment System
08/09/2008
By Johnmelfrom Michigan
What's great about it: universal remote, truespace technology, dvd/cd/mp3, easy set-up What's not so great: none
"This Bose Home Entertainment system is amazing! I get compliments from everyone that comes over, the family LOVE watching all their dvds, listening to music. The realistic, crystal clear sound, due to the TrueSpace surround technology, is fantastic! I installed the whole system really easily, but an instruction dvd is also included, for help with set-up. The system looks great, sounds great, and also comes with a universal remote, to conveniently control everything with one remote. I'm VERY happy that I bought this, and found out that Best Buy has a ton of home entertainment packages to choose from; some of which include Geek Squad assistance. I'd recommend, to everyone! :)"
Print this page
