John. I can honestly say if your friend's Bose lost warmth and depth or sounded thin at a distance, your friend has not set up the gain staging properly or found the right pre-set, if it is a Model I.

A friend of mine who owns 2 units thought the same thing, until I showed him how to set it up. Also...some rooms benefit from different pre-sets depending on accoustics.

There is a wealth of info on the Bose site.

Eddie