When I brought yet another home theater system to our house to try out, my wife was not happy. She envisioned once again having to put up with multiple speakers all around the room, cables running across the floor, and a tangle of wires spilling out of the back of our components.

I knew that would be the reaction, but when the opportunity came to try out the Bose 3·2·1GS, I couldn't resist. Many folks have turned to the 3·2·1 as an easy solution to home theater sound. They're looking for something with matched components, that looks good in the room, and is easy to set up and use.

Bose is known for the quality, style, and usability of their gear, but I just had to find out for myself. Is it really possible to get spacious, room-filling sound from just two teeny speaker arrays and a smallish bass module? As it turned out, both my wife and I were pleasantly surprised.

The 3·2·1GS system
When I unpacked the system, my wife was relieved to see two small, sleek speakers rather than the large black cabinets she had endured in the past. The 3·2·1GS system uses Bose's new Gemstone™ speakers. Little wider than a CD, the speakers were less than 3" high!

In fact, the entire system was elegantly simple. Two of these incredibly small Gemstone speakers and an Acoustimass® bass module connect directly to the Bose media center to form the entire 3·2·1GS system. The aptly named media center has an integrated DVD/CD player, an AM/FM tuner, and multiple audio and video inputs. To complete the package, Bose includes a universal remote that can be programmed to control your TV, so you can run your home theater with one remote.

Making it easy, right out of the box
Bose makes everything exceedingly user-friendly, and does so by assuming nothing. The owner's guide takes time to explain every aspect of setup with clear illustrations and diagrams — it even includes a glossary of such basic terms as "letterbox," "DVD," and "tracks." Most people can probably skip over this, but for someone new to A/V gear, having these terms "everybody knows" laid out can be a big help.

The 3·2·1 is built for simple setup — especially for those who've never set up a system before. The speaker wires come on a Y cable, so you only have to peel apart as much as you need to connect to the speaker arrays, with just one line coming out of the media center. The plugs for the arrays and the bass module look like computer connectors, with each end having a unique pin pattern. There's just no way to make a wrong connection!

The owner's guide goes a long way towards eliminating incorrect hookup of your other gear to the 3?2?1. It lays out virtually every possible way you can connect the 3·2·1GS to your existing system. Simple diagrams with clean graphics make it easy for anyone to properly connect their system to the media center.

For the remote, the owner's guide has an amazingly comprehensive listing of control codes for TVs, satellite and cable boxes. When I set the system up, I found that I could completely program the remote in just a matter of minutes.

On a stand, the speaker array resembles abstract sculpture.

Looks like a winner
The 3·2·1GS system looked great, without calling undue attention to itself. Bose avoided the bulkiness of rack-mounted components, and made their media center only as big as it needed to be (about 4" narrower than a standard receiver). The sides were rounded, and the top had a gentle curve to it. The component didn't have the boxy, industrial appearance usually associated with A/V components, but rather the softer, more decorative look of a room accessory.

This aesthetic carried over to the Acoustimass bass module. Again, rounded corners suggested furniture rather than technology, and its relative compactness (compared to most subwoofers) helped the module unobtrusively blend into the room. The owner's guide even recommended hiding it behind a curtain or under a chair, which didn't compromise the sound quality.

The compactness of the Gemstone speaker arrays made them easy to place in the room. The speakers come in either silver or graphite gray. Bose offers shelf and floor stands separately (in white, black or silver), that are compatible with the style of the speakers. When mounted on the Bose stands, the arrays seemed to resemble abstract art pieces. My wife was pleased to see that the look of the room was complemented rather than disrupted by the system.