Best way to modernise a Lifestyle 38 system?

Home Theater
1

Bose product name: Lifestyle® 38 DVD home entertainment system

 

Country: UK

 

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Trying to figure out the best way to modernise a Lifestyle 38 sound system to be able to use phones etc to play music though it?

 

Was thinking either an amplifier / bluetooth receiver (would a SoundTouch wireless adapter work?), or maybe a media box (Nvidia Shield?) to connect to it? Not sure what would be compatible given how old the system is. Any help would be appreciated

2
 wrote:

Bose product name: Lifestyle® 38 DVD home entertainment system

Country: UK

 

Trying to figure out the best way to modernise a Lifestyle 38 sound system to be able to use phones etc to play music though it?

 

Was thinking either an amplifier / bluetooth receiver (would a SoundTouch wireless adapter work?), or maybe a media box (Nvidia Shield?) to connect to it? Not sure what would be compatible given how old the system is. Any help would be appreciated

It depends on what you want to do really. You can use modern HDTV's and equipment with your AV38 receiver by following this guide. From there you can use one of the many wireless ways to send music to your receiver.

 

But it isn't the best solution. That would be using "Option 4" in the guide I mentioned and (if your subwoofer is compatible) upgrading to an AV35 receiver. You might be interested in a SoundTouch version of the AV35. As the second-gen adapter (designed for the AV35) includes Bluetooth.

 

While the AV35 does not support 4K, ARC, or CEC, it does have multiple HDMI inputs and supports lossless audio. The nice thing is I made a guide instructing you how to get 4K & lossless audio with an AV35 at the same time. 

 

I hope that this helps solve your question. Let us know what you end up doing 🙂

3

 

 

At the risk of sounding trite, I suggest you sell the Lifestyle 38 and upgrade your system. Really you are trying to get old technology to work like new. Depending on what you want to get out of your system, you have a number of choices, ranging from smaller sound bars to sound bar arrays that include wireless speakers and subs. You are pretty much at the end of the line with the LS38. Save up and go with something new, you will be much happier. 

4

Yeah that's been the the back of my mind! The system came with the house and was told it was very expensive when it was bought (for new) so have been trying to make it work.

 

If I did go the upgrade route and buy a completely new system, do you happen to have any good value recommendations? Not an audiophile so don't need cutting edge top of the line but just a good (and easily compatible with others) system would be great

5
 wrote:

Yeah that's been the the back of my mind! The system came with the house and was told it was very expensive when it was bought (for new) so have been trying to make it work.

 

If I did go the upgrade route and buy a completely new system, do you happen to have any good value recommendations? Not an audiophile so don't need cutting edge top of the line but just a good (and easily compatible with others) system would be great

Well, it depends.

  1. I mentioned that you can upgrade your receiver in "Option 1" of that guide. Upgrading your receiver via eBay is probably the cheapest option and if you read another guide I made and go with "Option 3" and a universal remote, you can see 4K and get lossless audio.

  2. There is a chance that a local Bose dealer might have a trade-in program as mentioned in "Option 2" of that upgrade guide. Though I would wait to see if Bose releases anything new as they typically release new stuff every few years sometime before the Christmas season starts (number 4a below mentions one such item).

  3. If you decide you want to stay with Bose but want a 5.1 system, but what the option to change out the receiver in the future then look at "Option 3" in the upgrade guide as I mention a Bose system, the Acoustimass 10, that will support that. 

  4. There is another solution and that is to go for a Bose SoundBar like the SoundBar 700. With those, you can add on a wireless subwoofer and wireless rears. This setup relies on your TV to output the correct 5.1 audio to the SoundBar, something that not all TV's can do. So I made a guide on how to get the best out of that one also. 
    1. Just know that the Bose Smart SoundBar 900 is coming out, though we don't know when or have any information about its features aside from what we can see in the leaked photos. 

I hope that this helps you know what your options are.

6

For Audio / Video I think these Bose soundbar solutions are pretty good. The key though is having a modern TV with audio return channel ports and CEC. Unless you are tied to DVD, game box and a bunch of other peripherals a console is pretty useless these days. Even with DVD many people plug their DVD directly to their TV and use the ARC port for sound. So give some extra thought about the Lifestyle systems. They too are quite dated.

 

In short I recommend a  Bose soundbar, wireless rear speakers and sub. 

 

 

7

Yeah the sound bar solution looks really good (as does the new one coming out soon), but the issue is the TV is mounted on the wall and I won't have central storage unit on the ground to put the soundbar on (console etc will be in a cupboard by the TV) so think I'll have to look for systems that are like the current 4 speakers in each corner of the ceiling sub

8

 There is a Bose mount that lets you mount the sound bar horizontally in shelf mode on the wall below your TV. 

 

https://assets.bose.com/content/dam/Bose_DAM/Web/consumer_electronics/global/accessories/speakers/bose_soundbar_wall_bracket/pdf/806657_qsg_soundbar-wall-bracket_ml.pdf

 

From there you can mount wireless rear speakers and place a wireless sub.

9
 wrote:

Yeah the sound bar solution looks really good (as does the new one coming out soon), but the issue is the TV is mounted on the wall and I won't have central storage unit on the ground to put the soundbar on (console etc will be in a cupboard by the TV)

If it helps there are a couple of wall mount Bose makes for its current soundbars, though if you are getting the 900, I would wait as we don't know which one would work with it yet or if Bose is making a new bracket for it. 

 

 wrote:

so think I'll have to look for systems that are like the current 4 speakers in each corner of the ceiling sub

Don't put the front two on the ceiling, they really do belong next to the TV. The front 3 speakers are supposed to keep the talking and left/right action around the TV where you are seeing the action happen. So having the Left and Right sounds coming from the ceiling would break that effect. The rears are supposed to be up and away because they are the environmental speakers so they can be on the ceiling.

 

If you decide you want to go with something newer, I would still wait in case bose releases a new surround sound system along with what has already been leaked.

I would at least look into:

  1. Possibly upgrading your Bose receiver to an AV35 (sadly no other 3rd party is compatible with Lifestyle systems)
  2. Asking your local Bose reseller what they offer for a trade-in program? New Bose lifestyle systems have wireless rears and subwoofers.
  3. Look into the Bose Acoustimass line so you can use any 3rd party receiver with your speakers.
  4. Waiting a bit as we know that at least one new system is coming out before Christmas, we just don't know if anything else is being released with it.

I do advise that you wait for a bit before you do anything if you want to either trade in or get something new from Bose. I hope that this helps 🙂

10

Thank you for this! Hate to admit it but you're probably right, might be time to move on.

 

Spot on about where speakers need to be placed, never thought about that at all so that's such a good point.

 

In terms of mounting, the TV is actually on one of those mounts which comes out from the wall and pivots, so not sure if a sound bar would attach onto something like that, or actually a better solution could be doing 2 speakers somewhere at the front near the TV (closer to the ground as you said)? Not sure how best to position everything

 

I won't be looking to purchase the new system until at least April anyway (just doing research now) so yes will wait for that, may actually have to go for a cheaper brand than bose unfortunately depending on pricing, although I won't ask about that here obviously

 

Thanks for the help, afraid it seems I do just need a new system!

 

11
 wrote:

Thank you for this! Hate to admit it but you're probably right, might be time to move on.

I would, but that's really up to you. The nice thing is you can still use it until you get something new.

 

 wrote:

Spot on about where speakers need to be placed, never thought about that at all so that's such a good point.

No prob, glad I could help 🙂

 

 wrote:

In terms of mounting, the TV is actually on one of those mounts which comes out from the wall and pivots, so not sure if a sound bar would attach onto something like that, or actually a better solution could be doing 2 speakers somewhere at the front near the TV (closer to the ground as you said)? Not sure how best to position everything

When I was looking into purchasing a Soundbar 700 a few years ago, I saw a couple of TV brackets designed for soundbars. Here is one I found that is designed for the SoundTouch 300 & SoundBar 500/700. I do not know if it will work with the 900, but at least you know that there are options out there for you 🙂

 

 wrote:

I won't be looking to purchase the new system until at least April anyway (just doing research now) so yes will wait for that, may actually have to go for a cheaper brand than bose unfortunately depending on pricing, although I won't ask about that here obviously

 

Thanks for the help, afraid it seems I do just need a new system!

I would at least look into upgrading the receiver. You have good speakers, with an AV35 receiver connected to an HDMI switch with two HDMI outs, you can get the benefit of 4K, ARC, CEC (though no receiver control with CEC), & Lossless audio. It's a great way to get great sound that you'd have a hard time getting at a lower price point and with speakers that small.

 

By then you would also have an idea if you can trade-in for a new Bose system as it might be at a trade-in price you like and might have features you are looking for. Though there is always the chance that Bose won't release a new system by then 🤷‍♂️

 

If that doesn't work for you I do understand as there are many good options out there 🙂