Product ReviewsBose CineMate Series II Digital Home Theater Speaker System - 320573-1100

Small compact system, Big lively sound!

I am writing this review, to anyone who may be considering one of these systems in 2023 in lieu of a soundbar , and also including the Cinemate series ii, as I own both. This is simply one of the best systems you can buy for theater quality sound at home. Both the Cinemate GS series ii, and series ii provide more than enough bass for my liking, and although it doesn't produce deep bass, I feel like the bass compliments music and movies nicely If your looking for insane deep bass this system is not it, if your looking for good enough bass, that accentuates your music and movies this is it. Now onto sound quality, of which everyone will find subjective. I find the Bose Cinemate GS series ii and series ii to be fantastic. I have mine set up in my bedroom, and the quality of sound is unbelievable. The sound is far reaching, and has a great smoothness to it. Voices are particularly accentuated, and listening to the likes of Darius Rucker, Blake Shelton, Rascal Flatts, Reba McEntire, Barbra Streisand are a joy to listen to! Both speaker systems are amazing! The Gemstone speakers to me sound better, and are almost half the size of the Cinemate series ii speakers, and weigh quite a bit less. To me they sound more crisp, and vocals are even more accentuated, and I would say on the Articulated Array speakers that come with the series ii, there is a slightly warmer sound, but voices don't jump out as much. For comparison I own a Bose soundbar 500 I bought locally for less than 200, and a Sonos Playbar, and the Cinemate beats both of them out in terms of sound quality! I am currently using the Cinemate GS series ii, and have saved my series ii for a backup system should this system ever fail!Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: musicmusic4fun

Great simple easy to use system that fills the room with sound!

Great small home theater system. I have had many home theaters in my past and id say if you want something simple but small takes up little to no room this is the one! No matter the room it is it will fill the room with noise. Loud, clear sound, hard to believe what your hearing comes from something so small. The people who say bad about this system is wrong. Its Bose. My only complaint about this system is the controller. Never loose the remote. If you purchase one of these systems you should almost have a spare remote. Contact Bose to buy an extra remote just in case either your dog eats it or children loose it or gets wet. Can never be to safe. There is no other way to turn this system on without that remote! Other than that I love this system. I use this system for gaming. Also have got this for my mom because its sooooo simple to use.Read full review...

Always love Bose

Was replacing a similar stereo setup for my new place and at first was worried about how much bass was coming off the unit despite adjusting my TV then saw the bass dial on the back of the module and it works great. For the sake of my neighbors didn’t want rolling bass but it’s great to have the capability should I want it. I find these used are worth not buying a brand new unit - Bose tends not to generally change quality with age/new speakers for this setup so very happy to have a great quality product with a lower price tag. Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: kd-treasures

Bose CineMate II Home Theater Speaker System

You wouldn't think of watching your TV with half the screen blacked out, but watching TV without the Bose CineMate II is almost the same thing.

We have a 52 Inch Large Screen Television, but the stock TV speakers are totally inadequate to let you hear all the sound information that is actually present in the signal. This is exspecially true when watching movies, where the music and audio effects add so much to the experience.

The CineMate II makes movies in our living room sound just like they do in the theater. The high frequencies are crystal clear and the deep low end response is fantastic. This system is as great an improvement to home television sound as large screen and High Definition is to video.

You dont have to be an electronics expert to make it work. The directions were easy to follow, and I had it working ten minutes after I got it out of the box. Bose is definitely the last word in TV Sound!Read full review...

Bose Cinemate Series II Home Theater System

The Bose Cinemate II Home Theater system is a complete system consisting of two powered speakers and a central controling base unit. Although the system can not be expanded by adding more speakers, it really isn't needed. The base unit automatically takes into acount the size of the room and adjusts the right and left speakers' output. The system is quite small and easily hidden in a room, or mounted in sight. My only complaint of this Bose system is it's a bit more expensive than it needs to be, but that's just typical Bose.Read full review...

Very Crisp Sound.

Info I discovered during my research and since owning for 3 months: I listened to the Cinemate II and the Cinemate GS II side by side in the store, both using the Toslink (digital optical audio) connection and also with the Component (analog audio) connection while watching an action scene from Kung Fu Panda in both BluRay and regular DVD. To me, the Cinemate GS II's sound was clearer and also sharper (crisper highs and clearer mids like with voices). The Cinemate II sounded great too (a lot better than the panasonic), but the sounds tended to be more muddled in the mid-to-high range (as compared to the the Cinemate GS II). But for $200 less and if your ears don't mind the difference (or can't tell the difference) then the Cinemate II is the better bargain. Also, the Cinemate GS II has the universal remote, but I don't use it ( I use a logitech Harmony Universal Remote). The Cinemate II remote has volume up/down, mute, and power on/off. The Cinemate GS II remote has quite a bit of features (a lot actually), and it feels good in your hand; but if you really want one, they are available from Bose for $30.95.

Other good to know info: You can connect both the Toslink and Component audio into the interface module at the same time. The interface module will automatically default to component audio unless there is an active Toslink connection (an active Toslink connection will always override the component audio). What does this mean? I have my DishNetwork receiver connected to the interface module via the component connection for watching TV--this is how I normally use the Bose Cinemate GS II (sounds great by the way). I then have my BlueRay player connected to the interface module via the Toslink connection. When I want to watch a movie, all I have to do is power on the Blueray player and the Bose Cinemate GS II will automatically use the Toslink connection (overrides the component audio). When I am done watching a movie, I power off the Blueray player and the Cinemate GS II automatically switches back to my TV audio. Of course the Toslink audio is the better of the two, but with only two connections available I had to compromise (plus my TV has no Toslink out--which would have been the preferred solution). The interface module works exactly the same whether you have the Cinemate II or the Cinemate GS II. Also, there is a Bass adjustment knob on the Acoustimass module, so you can turn it up or down to your preference. Sorry there are no other manual adjustments that you can do to the Bose Cinemate GS II.

Room filling sound: I have the Bose Cinemate GS II in my living room which is pretty big and it opens directly into the kitchen; total size is 20x60. Despite the room size, and even at a pretty low volume, I can easily understand a TV shows conversations because of the crisp and precise audio reproduction. I use to watch with closed captioning (so the TV can volume can stay at a normal level), but now I have turned closed captioning off.

Even at max volume (watching GI Joe), it was very very loud and the whole house was shaking, but the system did not distort at all--in almost disbelief it seemed to sound even better and clearer. I think that is attributed to the Bose TrueSpace technology which is used to covert 5.1 audio into a 2.1 system; the louder it got, I guess, the more the TrueSpace seemed to kick in.

Despite my acclaim for this system it is pricey; but, it sounds great, it was very easy to setup and it has the Bose 5 year limiteRead full review...

Audio enthusiats

Yeh bose maybe over priced but they stand behind their audio quality and designs. This is my 3rd bose product, i must say this Cinemate still out classed a lot of new sound bars. Movie really comes a live. Nice easy set up. Rich bass...Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: racingsn0wman

Works as expected and in great condition.

Ok, this system is easy to set up and is perfect for a small single bedroom apt. Do not expect it to sound like a 5.1 surround system because it’s not. The subwoofer is more than enough for what I’m using it for and compared to what these cost new, when they were still being made , preowned is a steal. The one I got was in really good condition.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: rareuniquetreasure

Simply Great

I love this Bose CineMate II. From the time I opened the box till I was using it was 20 minutes. It was so easy to set up and the sound is nothing short of GREAT. I've always wanted a Bose and I know now that it was the best choice. I did a lot of research before buying this system and it really payed off in a big way with crystal clear sound yet not taking up a ton of room. If there is a down side, it is the remote. It works great but is very small and could be easy to loose. If the remote is lost there is no way to turn the system on or adjust the volume because there is not any buttons on the system, just the remote. But what you get out of the system in ways of performance far out weighs a little thing like a remote. I recommend this system to anyone who likes theater quality sound in there homes. Thanks to Bose for making a great system!Read full review...

It's a great system, but prolly not worth full retail price, nice used

I decided to purchase the Bose Cinemate series II to get a better sound from my Home theater media experience. I didn't want to spend 600 dollars on a brand new on so I bought it used, and I am very happy with that decision. I wanted a better sound for playing Xbox 360 and watching movies, though I've noticed that it does a great job with movies and is great for watching television. The only comparable products I've owned are a samsung 5.1 system which is a true surround sound system but I've noticed it likes to develop a delay when watching television, the other was a Vizio sound bar which was nice too, though I enjoy the Bose more.Read full review...