What do you guys think of Bose?

[Sparda]

I want to know what you guys think of Bose. I've read some very negative reviews to some customers who are very pleased. Originally I thought highly of Bose and thought the sound quality wasn't bad, but now I think twice. I've only heard the LifeStyle 38 system (or was it 48...) in a demo room they had setup. Just want to know what you think of Bose's sound quality.

[ZosoIV]

No highs, no lows, must be BOSE.

[Nathan P]

blose is quite possibly the biggest, no rephrase that is the biggest ripoff in audio equipment, period.

[RobShaz]

Buy Other Sound Equipment.

[pata2001]

BOSE stuff themselves don't sound that bad, but for the price you pay, there are usually better alternatives (in terms of sound quality) out there if you look hard enough. BOSE sometimes package their stuff in a way that attract consumers more. A regular Joe would probably prefer to buy an all-in-one compact set of BOSE speakers that he/she can set-up easily, rather than having to select individual amp and/or speakers in non-compact sizes. Majority of people would not be able to distinguish SQ readily(just ask those that think iPod stock buds are the best ever), so they look for design, compactness, and brand name. Plus, there's the price factor, where most people think higher price means better.

Demo room is not the best way to judge a sound system, especially something that is pre-set by the store. Where are you going to use the speakers? At the demo room, or at your own house? Whatever you hear at the demo room will not be the same when you turn the set on at your living room. It's hard to judge a good sound system. Best thing you can go is to buy them at a store with good return/exchange policy, in case you don't get what you expected at home.

I would look at your budget, look at your room set-up, and go from there. If Bose systems fit your needs, then why not. Just remember to explore the alternatives first, some of which has names that are not too familiar (Boston acoustic, Klipsch, Infinity, Cambridge Soundworks, etc) Consider even some off the shelf brands that you find at Radioshack/Target. They might look cheap (mostly with the way they are presented on the shelf, vs the specially designed shelf/demo room for Bose), but they might sound good enough/close to the much more expensive Bose.

Edited December 15, 2006 by pata2001

[King Ghidora]

Bose really just doesn't compare to quality equipment. There are hills and valleys in their response curve that are just awful. Then there's the real problem. The way Bose designs their speakers the idea is that you are supposed to get reflected sound so it's a more realistic sound and stereo imaging is correct even if you aren't sitting in the sweet spot between the speakers. The upshot of this is that speaker placement becomes an absolute nightmare.

If the two front speakers aren't placed in nearly identical locations (both 2 feet from both walls in a corner for example or both two feet from a flat wall) there is absolutely no way to get sound that is even remotely similar from both speakers at the same time. Never mind that you really have a hard time just getting one speaker set where it sounds decent. When you try to get both to sound decent and sound alike you find yourself thinking about that guy who rolls his rock to the top of the hill and then it rolls back down and you start over again. It just can't be done. The one exception to this is their car stereo setups. When their engineers get to custom design a speaker system for a fixed space like that they can generally do a decent job of it but other systems still sound better.

In some situations Bose can sound fairly decent with some of their models. But most of their models don't sound good at all. There's no detail and they have a muddy sound because nothing is really distinct.

Bose is really only good at one thing which is advertising. They are still attempting to cash in on the reputation they gained back in the 1970's when their 901's became popular. Those were decent speakers but they were very expensive at the time. They were not great speakers though espceically not for the money.

I've heard much better speakers which cost less money from companies like Infinity, Sony and Cerwin Vega so you see I'm not talking about audiophile level stuff. There are audiophile level speakers that are just a million times better than anything Bose makes but speakers like that generally cost a lot of money. But I've seen some Infinity speakers that weren't super expensive that were just amazing in their sound quality. Not all Sony's are great but some are. Most CV's are not great but their top of the line stuff is actually very good. Bose can't compete with even moderate level speakers from any of those companies though. It's been a long time since I've swapped speakers or even listened in a listening room because I have excellent speakers now and I don't feel the need to look for something better. But I hear Bose stuff that my brother in law buys and I just shake my head and wonder why.

The bottom line is - Bose sucks.

[bobt]

I agree with pretty much all tthat has been said, bose is the ipod of speakers, good advertising, fair but not grat sound, and cost too much for what you get. If you want an all in one, go Onkyo, Kenwood, Sony, etc. If you want speakers, get the best you can afford, good speakers will make mediocre peripherals sound good, bad bad speakers will never sound good. For normal music listening, two good speakers properly placed will give you incredible sound, if you need surround, make your primary speakers the best you can get, and but as good as possible speakers for the reflecting speakers.

But don't get bose.

Bob

[Nathan P]

look up PSB speakers, they're one of the best values out there right now.

[bobt]

I suppose I should add to my previous comment that if you like a diffuse soundfield with no extreme imaging, and no real emphasis on highs and lows, then a Bose speaker set may work for you, but if you want a defined soundstage, then a conventional speaker will work better for you.

TTFN

Bob

[brian10161]

When I listen to music, I prefer to feel the bass and hear the trebble.

I have a fairly old stereo receiver, Optimus Stav-3200. It's 200 watts total power. The amplifier in this thing is far superior to any other stereo system I have heard to date to be totally honest. I have heard a few Bose systems (I don't know the models), and all I can say is they sound OK. They don't have that punch that a real stereo system has. If you have a small cone, it can't move that much air, so your really not going to feel it no matter how far/many diferent ways they re-route it. It takes a bigger cone to move more air, so you feel it. The bigger the speaker/more power it can handle, the better.

The bose stuff on the other hand, sounds alright. Theres no punch to it, no fulness, no liveliness in the sound. It just doesn't have the dynamics that a decent stereo receive has.

My stereo receiver was $799 brand new when it was bought, and its still going strong. The only problem, is the FM tuner. It doesn't tune in stereo anymore, I need to put it on mono

The speakers I have hooked up to it produce very good sound, and they were built by uncle about 35 years ago.

I have to agree with what everyone else is saying so far here, Bose's stuff just isn't worth the "hype". Go somewhere else and get a real, powerful system.

Edited December 16, 2006 by brian10161

[rayzray]

i think Bose designs their system to satisfy the "Old & the Rich";; and mybe my mother and grandmother;; even grandfather couldn't take Bose..

every bose system i hear just don't sound right;; especially my friends old one..

and yes;; i (rayzray) believes it take big massive speakers to "Push" air and bass;; like my two 18" full-range cerwin/vegas ??sp??;; gee why is my glass riding off the table??

[a semi-fictional true story;; just take out grammy and grampy]

Edited December 16, 2006 by rayzray

[brian10161]

lol, same with me. In my stereo speaker cabinets, I have 2 12" woofers, they may not be super powerful, compared to my dads 15" woofers that is, but they still sound great, and feel great too. With them, I knocked a few pictures off the walls in my place here, and a few things that were on my cabinets fell off (almost my laptop too!). With my dads stereo on fairly low, needles were falling off the Christmas tree

His system has better built speakers, much better, but his amp is only 50 watts per channel RMS. That system is at least 35 years old now, but it still sounds great.

[King Ghidora]

I totally agree that conventional speakers will provide a much better sound stage than anything Bose makes. That reflected sound stuff is just bound to have problems. But even in a perfect situation they still don't sound that good IMO.

I agree that it takes a large driver to really make lots of air move. I have 15 inch Cerwin Vega's myself and I have a set of test tones that show that my speakers easily produce sounds all the way down to 20 hz. The sound drops off at 25 hz really but that's probably more a function of human ears not being able to recognize sound waves at 20 hz as sound. The air is moving but your ear drum doesn't send the signal to your brain saying this is sound.

But there are problems using 15 inch and above drivers too. 12 inch woofers will often give a better punch in the 150-200 hz range where much of the sound of rock music is located. The larger woofers just aren't able to effectively move air at those levels just like they can't make treble sounds. It's usually a trade off between the two sound ranges when you go with either a 12 inch or a 15 or bigger.

There just aren't any perfect speakers that I've ever heard. I prefer big cones too but they have their weaknesses just like small cones do. Still there's just nothing like that couch bouncing bass a 15 inch cone driven by about 500 watts per channel can deliver. I have a Kenwood Basic M2 amp pushing the CV's as my front speakers. They will make the walls rattle and make the neighbors really ticked off and I live in the country.

[rayzray]

well,, my 18" CW's are FULL range;; and have a switch in back whick i don't bother with;; i think it is to capture that lost frequency range you are talking about..

in my studio;; i use 12" speaker cabinets AND a pair of those small shelf speakers (ALL AT THE SAME TIME)..

my receiver has TWO separate speaker outputs,, and i use TWO sets of speakers at the same time..

one set is great with the bass;; and the other set just punches out the mids & highs..

i have them facing all different ways;; kinda like a sudo-surround catastrophe..;; but it sounds great..

as i said once before somewhere's;; the best way to listen to music is with a good set of headphones AND a set of 18's slamming your chest.. even 15's and 12's a good enough.. if you don't have 18's..

oh;; i forgot to tell yous that i teach piano lessons to the wife of a big-wheel Bose rep;; and he has a house full of Bose;; the newer stuff..

he just got the Bose 5.1 installed and it goes to EVERY room..

it's just that the Wife cannot get it to operate properly,, and he is never home at the time of the lesson..

i wish i could hear the NEW system and get a newer view of Bose..

sometimes there are some "Secret" bose stuff in da house;; and i am not allowed to look and hear (and touch);; and i don't want to..

bose is always looking for "Another Angle";; and i guess they do alright for themselves..

myself;; putting on three tv's in different rooms is more exciting;; even on the President's State of the Union address..!!

Edited December 16, 2006 by rayzray

[Sparda]

The comment about Bose being the ipod of speakers sums it up pretty clearly to me. Lots of advertising but doesn't sound all that great. Thank goodness I never planned on buying Bose in the distant future. Just wanted to hear more opinions before saying no to Bose. And yes I do realize a demo room they setup is not the most ideal place to listen to, what I meant was I don't know much about Bose myself.

[Sparky191]

The comment about Bose being the ipod of speakers sums it up pretty clearly to me. ....

Not an iPod lover myself. But the latest iPods earphone out sound ok, and nearly all of them sound ok via a line out.

I think the best way is that, for the money you can usually do a lot better. For less than I'd paid for basic Bose speakers I picked up 2nd hand, an older Arcam amp, Arcam CD and Mission speakers. While low end it still sounds decent, for the money.

[Nathan P]

I agree, Bose my sound good to the uneducated listener, but it's not what the artist intended, the frequency response is tailored to hide the defects in the small cone speakers. They do that frequency response on purpose because otherwise it would sound like crap no matter what you did. I do have an iPod, but would I buy one now? No. I got it free, and free is free no matter what it is, it's better than my walkman, so hey, I'll use it. It's just like the racers etc that are sponsored by companies. It may not be their personal favorite company, but it's better than paying for it yourself.

[Sparky191]

The only way you'll get what the artist intended is by standing beside them. Even whats on a CD often isn't what the artist intended.

[rayzray]

The only way you'll get what the artist intended is by standing beside them. Even whats on a CD often isn't what the artist intended.

not really true;; if you stand NEXT to them;; you'll hear the unbalanced stage monitors;; i spent 42 years on stage;; it's gotta be the worst spot in the arena..

jk;; but,, the crowd noise is just toooooo un-bearable..

exactly where in the arena IS the best place to stand??

[Sparky191]

I never said the stage, I said beside the artist. Could be in the Studio.

[rayzray]

I never said the stage, I said beside the artist. Could be in the Studio.

oh,, sorry;; you're right;; in the studio;; studio speakers are ALWAYS good speakers;; i have NEVER seen a pair of Bose Speakers in a studio;; that would be like combining South Park with The Family Guys..

[Sparky191]

Think outside the box man. Your beside the artist, they might be a singer, you'd just use your ears. Everything else is layers of abstraction.

[brian10161]

Man what I would give to see Iron Maiden live in the studio

[rayzray]

Man what I would give to see Iron Maiden live in the studio

everytime i played piano in a studio;; i had headphones on;; and they were never Bose..

to tell you the truth;; studio work is hell.. only the men in the control room hear the goodies..

[Sparky191]

I give up. IMO you've still got headphones on.

[rayzray]

sorry;; soooo,, does Bose still use that special pre-amp inbetween??

My "X" was over for christmas supper;; i asked her if she ever bought Bose speakers;; she never heard of them..

soo,, does Bose still use that pre-amp??

[Sparda]

I'm not 100% sure what you're talking about but I think they do.

[rayzray]

i tried to set up a friend's audio once;; and he had a bose system;; that had a sort of "Pre-amp" to the Bose speakers,, or something like that..

i was asking if they still do that;; you couldn't just connect the speakers to the amp..

[King Ghidora]

Not all Bose have that pre-amp.

[boojum]

Bose is good if you can find no other brand. If you are "Kanajin" you have the wonderful Paradigm speakers. Canada makes some wonderful products and these are one.

Edited December 28, 2006 by boojum

[Nathan P]

Bose is good if you can find no other brand. If you are "Kanajin" you have the wonderful Paradigm speakers. Canada makes some wonderful products and these are one.

PSB is made in Canada too, another wonderful product. Oh, and Art and Lutherie guitars, and...

[brian10161]

PSB is made in Canada too, another wonderful product. Oh, and Art and Lutherie guitars, and...

Speaking of speakers, my dad has a set of Realistic Mach 1000 speakers (100 wat RMS, 160 peak) with 15" woofers in em, and I'll tell you, for being 17 years old, they rule compared to all other speakers I have heard.

I should see if I can get a picture of them without the grills on the front, they look so mean

I beleive the Realistic speakers he has were made in Canada, I'm not too sure on that though.

[King Ghidora]

Optimus, a Radio Shack brand, has been known to make some very good equipment occassionally. They just don't do it consistently. You'll find some Optimus stuff listed in Audiophile lists of top equipment but of all the stuff Radio Shack makes maybe 1 out of 25 is really good. I have a set of Optimus bookshelf speakers for my rear surround speakers and they were listed in Audiophile as some of the best made back when I bought them. I've had people who really knew their equipment try to talk me out of them but I plan on keeping them for quite a while.

[brian10161]

The receiver I have is an STAV-3200 Digital AM/FM Receiver. The original list price for it was $799.99 CAD lol. It's still working great, apart from one problem, it won't tune in FM signals in stereo (not that I care much) but it will tune in mono. I don't use it for that though, I use it for my minidisc player, dvd, cd's and records. All of which, sound great through it.

If I only had a better set of speakers on the receiver, it would sound so much better.

My dad said that he had a few friends over who started making comments (rude ones) about the receiver and speakers, so he turned it up pretty loud and made them all eat their words I found it funny when he told me that. Happened before my time though