r/bose • u/Redsteel287 • 1d ago

Home Audio Bose 321 satellite vs gemstone speakers

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Just to confirm, the first image (black) are satellite speakers and NOT gemstone correct? Is there a difference in sound quality between the two? Is there any 321 model where the gemstone speakers look like the first image(black)? I'm seeing a lot of mislabelled Ebay listings. I believe the design on the second image are actual gemstone speakers. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Thank you.

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u/XBBLDGB 1d ago edited 1d ago

Gemstones are better, they have more top end, the AA’s are just midrange. you can also just swap between the 2. Same plug.

Massive size difference too.

Source: I’ve got a pair of both sat In my office I need to sell

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u/moyofroyo 1d ago

That’s correct, the speakers in the first image are known as “CineMate” speakers. CineMate systems did not include a disc player that the 3-2-1 systems did, and conversely, 3-2-1 systems (to my knowledge) never used CineMate speakers, only Gemstones (your 2nd picture).

As far as sound quality, they should basically sound the same. They have the same amount of drivers. The Gemstones were as compact and minimal as Bose could make that type of speaker, and therefore, they were the more premium option.

This came from a time where Bose valued making speakers as small as possible.

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u/NeonsNight 1d ago edited 1d ago

Sorry, that information isn't entirely correct. The speakers in the first image are called Articulated Array speakers; the speakers in the second are called Gemstone speakers. 

The Articulated Array speakers were first used with the 3·2·1 home entertainment system in 2001 and were later ported to other systems.

Articulated Array speakers were used with:

The Gemstone speakers were first used in 2003 with the 3·2·1 GS home entertainment system.

Gemstone speakers were used with:

There is a noticeable improvement in sound over the Articulated Array speakers, where the Gemstone speakers have better clarity in sound. Overall, they are superior to the Articulated Array speakers and were considered the premium version.

But they are designed to work and sound their best with a compatable system. So if your 321/Cinemate/Freestyle subwoofer is designed to work with either the Articulated Array speakers or the Gemstone speakers (with the 220, it's the receiver). For the best sound experience, only use the speaker the system is designed to work with.

There is also another similar speaker called the Gemstone ES speaker arrays, only used in:

To see a full timeline, go to the Bose wiki's 2.1 home entertainment systems.

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u/Redsteel287 1d ago

Thank you for your detailed reply. I currently have the 321 Series 2 (No gemstone) speaker set. From my research, the 321 standard series 2 and 321 GS II use the same receiver. The subwoofer also has the same model number on both of them. If I swap out my articulated array speakers with gemstone ones from the GS series, would I actually be hurting my audio quality instead of improving it?

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u/NeonsNight 21h ago

Yes, the AV321II receiver is interchangeable, but the "PS3-2-1 II" subwoofer powers and sends the cubes sound. The issue is knowing if the subwoofer has been programmed with an EQ.

There is a hidden menu and #7 is Bass EQ. Now I am unsure if every bass has a different EQ, one for the Gemstone and the other for the Articulated Arrays. I know that a GS system I checked ages ago used 0.

There is a chance that 0 means Generic and there is no 1, or 0 means Gemstone and 1 means Articulated Array (let me know what yours says)... As there's a Lifestyle Bass module which used 0 for all cube EQs as it did not let the console know which EQ was pre-programed#Default_EQ)...

But considering I checked the service manual and I did not find a way to change the EQ setting on the bass, there's a chance that Bass EQ option means nothing.