Home > Consumer Reviews > Bose 151 Environmental - Speaker - 40 Watt

I got these as a birthday present and once installed, found their performance was exactly as I had hoped they would be. Several guests at a subsequent outdoor party noted how much they appreciated the background music, and those who wanted to sat nearby clearly enjoying the music. It'll also be nice to have music while we enjoy our pool area from now on.

I ran the cables from the speakers to my indoor stereo so I could have the same music inside and out, and as a result, it should be noted for anyone considering doing the same that you might want to wire in a manner that would allow you to disconnect them if you are showing something in surround sound, or enjoying music indoors so that your neighbors won't have to listen in to the fun.

The speakers work very well, and their waterproof design will see them last us for quite a few future events- well worth it!

I have always favoured Bose (and Sony) for sound. I was going for my first SERIOUS purchase for speakers in December 2000, at Future Shop in Toronto. A salesman asked me to try the newest Polk Audio bookshelf speaker, and compare it to the 151's.

The dude loves Polk Audio.

Polk Audio impressed me some with good sounding small speakers. It spilled out sounds that were a fair score. Not to impress me into buying them. Over to Bose's 151 Environmental speakers.

And I love Bose.

The construction, although not a wood or grain, is made of a cool hard-weather-resistant poly structure, in order for it's outdoor capabilities.
It can handle up to a hot 50 C, (apr. 125 F), or dip into the Greenland regions of around, -22 C (about 5 F). Wow. Winter parties! And for even indoors, it reall does OVERALL look like a neat speaker. For sound, it punches out a more than decent 80 watts per channel. And since BOSE is renound for it's realistic natural sound, it more than proved it's greatness over slightly polky Polk. The 151's made the music so well delivered, making them sound relaxed, yet strong and natural. Just like they were "breathing" music. You could 'feel' the sound everywhere.

However,(yeah, I know) these speakers are better with a subwoofer. Otherwise, you'll call this review, "correct yet overgenerous".

Polk on the other hand, are better than average....but with too much push and shove. They sounded like a couple of little loud punks with some manors.
I consider my 151's the boss of 80-120 watt speakers, indoor or out! And they also come with wall mounts that have a spacer to change angles at the notch of the bracket.
A blessing is the reliable 5 YEAR warranty it carries. No extra price for 5 years. All automatic with your purchase. But courtesy of Bose, not your store.

So, if you need a good pair of bookshelf, outdoor, or even GREAT movie speakers (and not just as rear/satellites...great for front channels too), then Bose wants to ask you.....

"What would you like to hear?"

BOSE 151 Enviromental Speakers : score - 9/10

I am so tired of reading so-called audiophiles bashing on BOSE for being a successful audio line. I personally own BOSE, JBL, Harmon Kardon, and other brands of audio products and think that saying a whole product line is "not taken seriously" by a bunch of audio elitest snobs is both the antithesis of the hyped marketing being lamented in the first place and also an indicator that the reviewer is trading one set of hype (BOSE marketing) for another (so-called audiophile popular opinion). Let me give you a clue -- I like the way BOSE sounds and so do many other people. These particular speakers are great, and at around $150, these beat the socks off other outdoor speakers in its price range. If you don't like them, it's ok. Just lay off the Bourgeois audiophile rhetoric, ok?

...if you have thousands of dollars invested in so-called "high-end audiophile" products - because you will realize just how much money you've wasted. I have ten-year-old in-door versions of these speakers and have yet to find any competitors in the same price range that can match their sound. I also have 20-year-old 901s and have never found a pair of speakers - at any price (and that includes systems costing ten times as much) - that can compare to them for accurate and thunderous reproduction of acoustic vocal and instrumental music - from classical to jazz to broadway. (If you listen to heavy rock at unhealthy sound levels, I'd suggest a more traditional speaker design.) The only people who don't like Bose are the ones trying to sell you systems that cost 2-10 times more and sound worse.

Buy Bose and see for yourself. You can always return them if you don't like them.

Bose is a fascinating case study of what the power of advertising can do for products that are acknowledged within the audio industry as being cheaply made and technically outperformed by all of its competiters. Based on audio theories from the 1960's and parts of lower quality than what can be bought at Radio Shack, Bose has built an incredible empire out of poorly designed products driven by a huge advertising budget creating an aura of "Bose".

Consumers should do their research before shelling out money for Bose speakers. A google search will bring you to epinions or audioreview websites where you can find review after review, mostly negative, from buyers of Bose products.

The commonly accepted wisdom in the audio industry is that Bose makes low audio quality products and sells them at very high prices. In other words those Polk, JBL, Wharfedale or Infinity mid-fi products you can find at Amazon are usually higher quality at much better price points.

Compare the sound if you ever get a chance. Make sure you DO NOT depend on volume, in other words volume is a bad indicater of quality. Listen for the high and low notes and to the clarity of the music. Tough to do in a showroom at Circuit City or Best Buy, but even there the differences will show up. Bose attempts to prevent consumers from doing this by segregating their products away from the competition.

After this you might look at online audio magazines (do a google search), Audioreview (one word) and Audiogon. You'll find whole NEW world of audio products such as PSB, Paradigm, Vandersteen, Quad, Sonus Faber, ACI and many more who's products will put you on a much higher level of audio than you'd ever imagine. Usually these speakers are SEVERAL times more electronically sophisticated than Bose at the same price! What you won't find in these websites of magazines are Bose articles. Bose just isn't taken seriously by the industry.

Good luck and happy hunting!