Bose Questions and Opinions
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| I just purchased a Bose Lifestyle 25 Series II music system with the 5 satellite speakers, bass module, and deck. I had originally planned on using the bass module and satellite speakers with my existing receiver, and sell the deck. However, after speaking to a Bose rep, I found out that I can't use the bass module with my existing receiver. My two options now are: 1.) Purchase the Acoustimass 15 bass module, and sell the bass module and deck I just bought. 2.) Keep the system I have as is, and sell the other system and speakers that I currently am using. I'd prefer Option 1, just because I have a fairly nice receiver and CD player, and it's all set up the way I like it. However, if the Lifestyle system sounds much better than just the Acoustimass speaker setup with my existing receiver, then I'd be ok with ripping the whole mess apart and installing the Lifestyle. Basically, I'm looking to hear from people who have heard both setups, or have either one, and let me know how you think it sounds. (BTW, the receiver I'd be using is a Kenwood 500W Dolby 5.1 Receiver.) Thanks in advance to anyone who'll be able to give me a little more insight into my journey into stereo stuff. You can post back here, or e-mail me at harleyg8r@aol dot com. -Harley |
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Anonymous | Unfortunately your journey into this "stereo stuff" has led you to hell! I find it incredulous how many people are buying this overpriced Bose crap. My advice to you is Option 3, sell the Bose equipment and consider it a false start. I have no vendetta with the company but there is much better for far less on just about every corner. I don't know where you're from but here in Canada we're known for making great speakers for a great price (i.e. paradigm,energy,psb,axiom,etc.). |
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| The aforementioned speaker companies posted by "Mr. Canada" are second rate speaker companies. People are always soar about the expense involved in superiority. Bose may be expensive, but they are worth it. I have the same system and have run into the same question, and I can affirm: Keep the Bose system! |
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| Okay, as I continue on my quest to educate... BOSE, in my opinion is the most well advertised, intelligently marketed, under achieving speaker on the planet. I will attest that yes, the old bose 901 and 401 speakers kicked butt! So, for the middle aged and older, I imagine I will change very few minds... Old habits die hard and many 40 year old (and older) men dreamed of BOSE 901's as they grew up. Probably more so than I dream of finding tolerable posts on message boards... I've yet to demo a single bose surround sound product that can outperform ANY other similar priced unit. I dont want anyone to purchase a symphonic system... but understand that you dont need to spend two thousand dollars to get the most out of the sopranos audio track. Be Smart, dont be afraid to mis-match. Buy a mid grade DTS receiver. Like Sony for example. (make sure it's "high current") Pay close attention to the quality of the center channel and Front speakers more than the side or rear speakers. You dont need much to get great sound. For your front speakers, select towers that have a large Mid. and for the center, atleast two 4" drivers or larger and a atleast one tweeter! For your rear and side speakers you can afford to experiment... Start small. a single 4" driver in a small to medium cabinet should do nicely... Remember, tiny cubes can only deliver so much sound before they sound tinny. For the subwoofer, In a perfect world I would have multiple subs but to start with, I dont need any bigger than a 10" powered sub. Wattage should be based on personal preference. A 12" sub is a great "addition" but I've found that the 10" will recover faster after it hits thus providing great "fast bass" whereas the 12" will attempt to hit again to quickly and flutter. |
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Eric Jenkins | Anyone who calls "paradigm, energy, psb,axiom, etc." second rate is an obvious moron! Just because YOU got suckered into the whole Bose thing doesn't mean you should make such false claims. The truth hurts doesn't it? Bose=CRAP! |
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Frank Lee | Harley, I own bose speakers but there is no way I would pay bose the money they want for any of their lifestyle systems. If it's surround sound you are most interested in and you're stuck on bose, give a listen to the 701's (not the 601s, 901s or 301s)matched with their 161's as surround and the vcs 10 center speaker (packaged as vcs-30). These will provide good surround sound and without the expense of an additional sub-woofer. If you are into headbanging action movies - go with a different speaker system and get that 10 or 12 inch sub, the 701's sub is actually 2 - 8 inch woofers, one in each cabinet. If you have a difficult room for speaker placement I think this set up is pretty flexible (not because of the sub). The bose speakers I mention will provide good sound for music when driving only the 701's (don't play surround sound mode when listening to music with this system). If you are more of a music listener, don't get hung up on bose. Don't get me wrong, I am more than satisfied with my set up. My wife is a vocalist (and no, not in the local church choir) she really appreciates the separation this set up provides for the space we listen in. I spent about $1100.00 less than what you will spend for the lifestyle 25 series II. Bose cornered the market on name brand all because of their flagship 901s over 30 years ago - remember that but don't let all of the bose bashers make up your mind for you either. They'll steer you towards the intellexuall (or whatever it is) website for some great insight about the quality of the construction or lack thereof, but when they talk about sound performance they really limit the discussion to a very poor performing bose product,lifestyle 10 I believe. Not all of the bose speakers are this way, most maybe, but not all. Good luck with your conundrum. |
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Anonymous | I have Series 2 Bose 601s (Which now a lesser speaker is called the 701, go figure) The 601s have two 8 inch base drivers. People who come over ask "Where is your sub woof?" I bought the 601s back in 1986. I wanted the 901s, but the 601s actually had better bass. I also have some 4.2 from the stereo everywhere series. These where given to me. The are a good match for the 601s. I use them as back surrounds. Yes the Bose center channel is a good match with these older Bose. For me the center Channel was a 200 dollar upgrade to have a 5 channel system. Those Lifestyle systems are for people who don't mind sacrificing sound qualilty for the "style" of having a room uncluttered with speakers. My wife & step daughter are dead set on a Lifestyle system. I am partly responsible, because I got them to go into a Bose Store & listen to a Demo. As far as 901s go, I would like to upgrade to 901s some day. Four 901's & a good subwoof are probably cheaper than a lifestyle system anyway. So I guess we can agree that the Big Bose are good speakers. And those Satelite speakers are just OK, (I remember the first Acustimass Satelite set, now every company has a set. I heard the Polk Satelites they are OK) I recently heard a Pair of 8,000 a piece DunTechs. There was one seat in the room that had pure stereo. The Guy has spent like 50K for that one spot of pure stereo. I got him to play my copy of Tchikovsky's "War of 1812" with the real cannons. I wasin the "spot" & I thought my system is a better experience. Those big DunTechs, (7 feet tall) have exellent range, but I still like my set up. I also run all my music from an old Pentium 200 with WinAmp, and a 2nd party DSP. He was still running CDs. Maybe that's why mine sounds better. Thant's my two cents. |
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Anonymous | To add to above, I picked my Bose, in a show room that was set up with 50 speakers & 25 different brands. I chose my 601's with my back turned from the speakers, as I switched between speakers with a control knob. I used the same track for each. I admit that Bose has a big marketing ploy. I got suckered into an Acusti-Mass set when they came out. I got rid of them after they blew. When I would crank them up, I would smell insulation heating up. That's why I don't like their Life style systems, I'm sure I'll crush them as well. BTW, I heard a "out of the box" home theater system from Sony, it kicked butt! |
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| OK, Harley, here is the deal. I sell Bose along with other speakers. Among speakers that I sell I like the Bose the least. In comparing similarly priced Bose (AM15 series 2)and lets say Energy speakers(Take5.2 with the EXLS12) Bose sounds midrange heavy and bass weak. Now that is not to say that for some people the Bose speakers won't be a better choice. I find that people who like jazz and classical music usually like the Bose sound but even those people agree that the Energy sub plays deeper and the highs are flatter. Bose does this on pupose, while the other speaker manufacturers strive for a flatter response Bose changes the sound on purpose to be striking in sound. Also they propose that by having a direct/reflecting speaker you will be more enveloped in the sound. To do this they have 2 identical drivers playing the exact same sound and 1 is pointed at the listener and the other is pointed at a surface to bounce the sound off of. Energy thinks that by having instead a mid and tweet assembly they will give you better sound. The Sterophile Guide to Home Theater agreed with Energy and listed the Take5.2 system with the smaller sub the best system for the price in their recommended components for 2003. Now the lifestyle system is something else. There are better sounding systems for the price or even less but LS28ii and LS35ii have alot to offer for someone looking for an easy to setup decent sounding system with lots of neat features. You've got an RF remote that will operate most other equipment, expandability to operate a 2nd set of speakers in another room. The adapt IQ feature is the single most impressive room compensating feature I've ever heard (and since been copied by others including companies like Parasound on their ridiculously complete C1 controller)and bose had Video Stage 5 before Pro-logic2 was out and I'm not sure which sounds better. Fortunately for you Bose, realizing that this is their strong suit, has put their best technology in their Lifestyle systems . Unfortunately for you Bose charged you $2500 for a system of one way drivers + sub, questionable frequency range and a non progressive DVD player. My advice is set it up and listen to it. Give it a good workout with your most demanding music and movies. If it sounds good in your space you are golden. If you don't like it pitch fit if they don't let you return it and they may let you. Good luck. As far as the rest of their lineup is concerned, they are not up to similarly priced speakers. the bookshelf speakers are dull sounding and the towers are bass heavy. the 901s haven't changed much at all. They are still tough as hell and can handle any amount of power you send at them and that means that they are a pain to setup with most new recievers because of the EQ you have to setup. Bose is the biggest manufacturer of speakers in the US. Klipsch is in 2nd. Bose spent 71 times the advertising that Klipsch did last year. If they spent it on reseach like their logo says they might also be the best. All questions welcome. |
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| Honestly the towers have to be bass heavy because to date Bose refuses to make a separate sub. |
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| And yes canadian speakers are very good. As well as British (B&W, Monitor) and American (Klipsch, Martin Logan) |
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Anonymous | Ok, forgive me for not being a home audio expert since I spent most of my time in front of a computer, but I was given a 6.1 receiver as a gift w/100 watts per channel so I need to upgrade my speakers, I was looking at teh bose cube speakers at best buy, but they were ignoring me so I couldn't ask them. Is it possible to use the Cube speakers as front and rear speakers, or is it one or the other? Also do the 161 speakers work the same way, or do I need to get two of the Cube, two 201 speakers and two center channel? Any advice please! Mike |
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Bose Returner | Yes, the cubes can be used as either front or rear, and for that matter also center..I had purchased the cubes , but returned them  |
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Anonymous | Ok, are the 161 speakers that bad as well? |
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| I am an avid amature speaker builder...15yrs now..I bid on and got a pair of bose 901's on ebay..having grown up wanting them...they arrived in great shape and I couldn't wait to hook it all up and listen...did an a/b comparison with my current T/L(transmission line)towers(one 6 1/2in vifa woofer and one vifa soft dome tweeter augmented with a dual 8 in powered sub...)guess what...the bose 901's are going back on ebay...they suffered in all catagories..bass , midrange and treble...any takers...Grandguru1@aol.com |
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timn8ter | The whole concept of Bose direct/reflecting design is flawed. Stereo is the attempt to reproduce the live listening experience. This means duplicating the sound stage to the point where you can tell where particular instruments are (imaging). "Sound from everywhere" is not imaging. I can accept direct/reflecting speakers used as rears for surround sound but not as mains. That eliminates most of the Bose line. When it comes to Acoustimass; crap, crap, overpriced crap. I'll put my $450 home built speakers against Bose anytime with or without a sub. |
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| well said timn8ter....I am tryin to figure out how to get these things open(901's)...just for curiosities sake...as for surrounds I still would not use the 901's..if I cant get rid of them they will probably end up as garage speakers... |
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| Well said indeed. In the home theatre business, half the manufacturers seem to believe the sound you hear in a concert hall or church, jazz, rock, or classical, works by different laws of physics, and they can tweak the recording more accurately to render the original more convincingly. It is total nonsense. Sound is waves of air pressure. Your ears and brain reconstruct the original source of the sound. That applies even if you are listening to the original sound in the first place. The job of a speaker is to give you a good clean signal. If is really good, what it gives you will be almost indistinguishable from being there. End of argument. Beware Bose, and, in Europe, Bang and Olufsen. These companies clearly do not understand what sound is, and sell their products to people who don't care about sound or music but primarily want to look cool. So they think. See posting under "Jamo". |
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| OK..I am thoroughly confused! While in Williamsburg, my family and i were WOWed by the LifeTsyle 35 system, especially the size and it sounded great. But reading a lot of notes here, I am skeptical, even though I liked the size of the system, the sound and the convenience of being able to plug everything into a small box. I have some space concerns and wife doies not want towers in our house. What is best combo for home entertainment??? Need compact speakers and can't afford to have a lot of receivers, HDTV boxes etc lying around..thanks |
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Derek | Bose has for years produced good sounding equipment unfortunately that's the problem. Bose equipment has a sound and that sound is not what went into them and if a speaker cannot reproduce what is comming into them with some sort of accuraty, that's called distortion. It's entertaining but you need to relize that you will always be missing something and never be able to aproach what the original mix engineer was trying to convey. In the end, you will have to decide wheather you want the speakers to convey the music or be part of the music. I too was looking for a small speaker system some years ago and considered the Lifestyles. Eventually I settled on a $100 Sherwood 5.1 receiver, a $400 Energy Take 5 speaker system and an $450 HSU VTF-2 Sub. For the $1000, this system could outrun anything Bose makes no matter how much money you spend ($3000 for the Lifestyles 35? You must be kidding?!). Sony, Panasonic, Onkyo and Denon make small system that can match or beat the Bose for much less money that include the DVD player and are about the same size. You would even be better of buying one of those cheap 5.1 shelf systems Hope this helps. (Here comes the hate mail...) |
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qdog | Derek is correct in his assessement..I own the Bose Lifestyle 12?, have had it for 5+ years..Always thought it was great...Recently renovated a family room , and felt it time to put a new system in that room..I purchased the Bose Accoustimass 15 speakers..Then is started doing some research with the help of a very knowledgeable audio friend... I took back the Bose and bought the RBH compact series speakers, an Integra DTR 6.3 receiver, and Integra 5 disc dvd/cd changer ...Terrific sound , lots of extras, and clearly blows away my other Bose Lifestyle system, and would cost about 60% of what the newest Bose Lifestyles go for.. |
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timn8ter | There are many choices when you hit the $1000 price point. Energy, Axiom, Paradigm and others that blow away Bose. Take some time and go listen to as many as you can. Get yourself "sonically educated" and you'll soon see (hear) the difference. I won't recommend a particular brand since I've built 5 of my 7 speakers. I came real close to buying Axiom though. |
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Derek | Don't forget Athena, Mission and to a lessor extent Infinity. They make great small speakers. |
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JKES | Guys: I am sorry to say that I HAVE NEVER HEARD A BOSE SPEAKER THAT I HAVE EVER LIKED. Not 901's, not 601's, etc. Way oversold and way under applied. "You can buy better but you can't pay more"!!! John |
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timn8ter | My slogan is "Quality, quite often, is inversely proportional to popularity". |
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Lighterx | I am in the process of shopping for surround speakers for my home theatre setup. I currently have a Denon 4802 receiver and Paradigm Studio 100 front speakers, center, and sub. I am thinking of purchasing the BOSE Series III cube speakers because they are small, I can suspend them from the ceiling, I can maneuver them to fill up more of the room with sound, and I like the way they look. However, I do have some concerns about using them with my existing system. Will they give me the surround sound I am looking for? Will they give me enough of the mid frequencies or should I only care about the high frequencies in the back? Please advise. Thank you. |
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Derek | I had a similar problem a few years back. I eventually purchased and Energy Take 5 and an HSU VTF-2. They were easy to mount. I even mounted the fronts to the side walls and hid the speaker wires in flat speakers wires (painted) and used a track in the floor molding to a common loacation. Now, I'm not suggesting that you take a step backward to the Take 5 but going backwards to Bose from Paradigm would be a BIG mistake. Have a look at Paradigm's Cinema Series, some of the NHTs, Energy mid-range or Infinity. I was stuck with a cinder-block home, so I couldn't use in-wall speakers. If you are lucky, you will be able to use in walls. Bowers & Wilkins and Dynaudio also make in-walls. Hope this helps. |
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Lighterx | Thanks Derek. My problem is that I can not use in wall speakers and the Bose are the smallest I found that I can suspend from the ceiling. I understand that Paradigm is much better but should I realy care about what my surround speakers are? |
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Anonymous | I just bought a pair of 301s. Ihave a 22 year old Sansui receiver that just blew. I am interested in a HK225 receiver. My question is, are these two compatible? |
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Anonymous | The best mid-fi amp is in my opinion NAD c320bee (msrp $399). They got great reviews from the pros - it's a refined version of 3020 amp which became the best selling amp in history (millions sold). It has particularly good headphone jack, if you are in to listening by cans. I think a good cans like grado 60 ($70 www.headphones.com) can give you a far greater musical experience than bose 301s. If you take my advice, you are in for a real sonic treat. Bose 301s have nice bass for rock and pop music for their size, although they are not the most refined sounding gear. I think newer model is an improvement. Going this path with NAD, you are stepping out from the run of the mill stuff, to the exciting world of hifi (actually mid-fi). Enjoy the Bose, but if you get tired of listening after awhile, know that it's because of bose's unrefined sound. Than you will be ready to upgrade, but for now, you can build a full sounding system for a little money by buying NAD and grado sr60 cans. Hopefully this help, and do step out of the run of the mill stuff - your ears will thank you, and your mental health will improve with refined sonic get away. |
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| In my opinion, Bose is over priced for what they do. Shows the powerful effect of name recognition, and going with the crowed tendency we all have to watch out from. Having said that, they can sound good mated with smooth sounding cd and quality amp - they have pleasant bass, and have that paper cone sound of yester-years, if that's what you miss. Without making it into an international feud, Canadians do make good speakers for the money. Their government helps in research, and the products show this. There is a saying in the Hifi crowd, "you can't go wrong with canadian speakers." I recommend them at under $1000 range, 'cause they are easier to mate to get some refinement. There are fabulous sounding american speakers, but for more money. So go with canadian speakers, dedicated audio companies with good reputations like NAD, arcam, musical fidelity for more refinement. You will smile more often as your stress of the day wil melt away in sonic heaven... |
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timn8ter | Quote "Without making it into an international feud, Canadians do make good speakers for the money. Their government helps in research, and the products show this." So that's what it is. I thought they were performing selective breeding with the audio gene. My favorite company right now is Creative Sound Solutions eh? The Aussie's have impressive designs too. I was in a Bose store the other day. Talk about marketing! I watched Star Wars 2 and it didn't sound awful but I wasn't drawn in to the show. I went home and watched it and was relieved not to have fallen for the "Bose sound". |
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Joe G. | At the "High End" A/V company I work for we cal them "BLOWS". Bose is an audio joke!!! They're not allowed on anything we install!!! We prefer Triad which are pretty expensive but incredible quality. If your looking for out of sight speakers, then try Speakercraft or Sonance in-ceiling/wall speakers! They both offer varying price ranges! |
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Anonymous | Bose can sound good mated with the right gears. Mr. Bose goes for clearity, and trouble is when you mate clearity with cheap electronics. Soft polite sounding speakers like polk and many canadians is more forgiving of ill-matching. I finally found the right combination for Bose 301 (probably work with all Bose though). Warm high current discreet receiver like Tandgerg or Marants 2070, and dark sounding cd player like Denon-370 (burr-brown DAC has soft sound). Even cables played a vital part. It didn't work with revealing high end cable, but of all things 20$ Radio-Shack gold series sounded the best. Granted that it's not the high-end sound of liquid-tranparency, but it is warm and clear satisfying sound unlike soft Canadian speakers. This is what Mr.Bose was shooting for, in my opinion, and the 201, and 301, is priced reasonably. I just love the bass on them, and their clear sound. Clearity mated with quality gears can give you deeply satisfying sound that is quite realistic. I |
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PA Man | I have actively worked in the pro audio industry (not consumer) for over 23 years. The pro audio industry has many manufacturers that produce speaker models that cost as much, or even more, and often less, than many Bose models. In this world Bose is always rated the worst buy in a comparison of price versus performance. Audio consumers get very excited when they realize that they can speak with someone from the pro side of audio. They usually mention Bose and ask : What do you think of Bose? The standard answer is this: If it has no highs or has no lows, it must be Bose. |
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Anonymous | Bose systems are stylish and cute, pretty good for movies but over priced and unsuitable for music. You can find much better speakers on the market. |
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John Allen | Movies contain music. You can't have speakers that are good for movies and unsuitable for music. The job of a speaker is to reproduce sound. Sound is propagating waves of air pressure. What you call the experience, when the waves hit your eardrums, is up to you. |
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Arj | Lighterx , I have the setup in surrounds as you are planning ie Bose AM3 as surrounds and they are OK but very directional. For HT you may need to keep them at least 15 ft apart for a good effect and the base Module somewhere in the middle to somewhat ovecome thir directionality. I sue it for HT as well as Music and after hours of adjusting the sound levels of the surrounds, they sound very good and clear along with the advantage of small size. Just to test out i tried out the Paradigm ADP-170's and could not notice any difference in effect while watching LOTR as well as Matrix (The Lobby scene) cheers! |
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| Bose speakers are the worst sounding name-brand speakers currently available in the marketplace. Being involved in the industry on many different levels over the last 15 years I can tell you that Bose are the best marketed speaker brand in the world, bar none. They have realised that 90% of consumers wouldn't know good sound if it jumped up and bit them on the *rse so they have concentrated on clever marketing and good looking products while sound quality I'm convinced is not even discussed beyond, "Hey Stan, do these things make sound?", "Yep, they should", "Good enough, put them in that fancy looking box and ship em out to the next poor sucker with cloth ears!". Sadly, it gives Hi-Fi in general a bad name, but what can you do, people keep buying the rotten things. Still, you've got to admire a company that can sell a speaker system for $2500 that contains five plastic boxes with drive units costing no more than $2-3 each and a chipboard box with a 6" woofer costing around $4 with a $30 amp module out of China. No wonder Dr Amar is a millionaire! |
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Anonymous | no highs or lows? must be Bose |
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Anonymous | Cant we just get a big group hug up in here?? |
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Greg | I have some Bose 901 Series One I just picked up as an investment. They have damage to the corners of cabinets. Should I part them out (drivers and grilles) or try to sell them whole? The paper cones are good and surrounds are only slightly tacky but intact. |
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Anonymous | John you couldn't have said it better I think this should be the end of this post |
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Gremlin | I thought BOSE was a good brand but after reading all the Acoustimass posts, my eyes are opening. I liked BOSE due to it's size/sound combo. Can anyone recommend another vendor's home theater speaker system which matches the "size" of the BOSE speakers. My Family Room is not huge so space is a consideration.. Thx |
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qdog | i had a similar problem, here are 2 reviews of what i finally decided on...BTW Energy Take 5.2 are also a good option... http://www.onhometheater.com/product/20020901.htm http://www.audiorevolution.com/equip/rbhcompacttheater/ |
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Rick | Put it this way, only buy speakers from companies that make their own drivers. Bose buys from Taiwan or China and use paper cones. Yea, you have your paper cones, and I'll take titanium and ceramic/metallic/copolymer etc. I am a former Bose owner and happy to admit I overcame the hype, sold my Acoustimass 15 and spent $100 less on a complete Paradigm system then what I paid for the smaller, weaker Bose. |
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| I was wondering if you guys can help me. I got into the Bose hype and have a sony reciever, an older one i got bout 1999, have a bose acoutimass 7 on it as the sub, back and center channel. bose 501s as my front channel. and have a pair of 301s IV as my stand alone speakers solely for listening to music via MP3s, or cd player. they sound great for a very small room of bout 10' X 12'. i bought all the speakers for a total of 650 either off of ebay or found some on clearance with the box not even opened so i took them. my problem is that i live in south texas and not many sound places to hear speakers or systems. i would love to change out and get some towers since i will be getting married and moving into a huge house. i would like to get info from people on different speakers and companies. please email me at sircanales@yahoo.com appreciate any info |
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Anonymous | "Dr Amar is a millionaire" says an above post. so it Dr Harman and all the other successful audio-businessmen. Bose speakers are different from other conventional speakers. They do not strive to reproduce the source 'faithfully'. Instead they try to produce the ambience of a live atmosphere. Read the literature on their website, they keep stressing on this point. "No high or lows" says another post. Surely the person who said has no clue what he/she is talking about. If you like to listen to a lot of classical music Bose might be a good choice. If you prefer a lot of booming sounds Bose may not. The point which bugs most 'audiophiles' about bose is their properietary designs which as a company Bose has every right to have it that way. If they cannot figure it out then they simply bash it. Their Stereo Anywhere is one the best innovations, specially if you 'dont' sit in front of the speakers all the time and like to move around. I found found Bose to be more than competant in presenting acoustic instruments in a very natural manner and the seperation of different instruments from recordings to be exceptional. Selection of speakers is a matter of personal taste - Bose is not trying to present sound the same way conventional speakers are trying, instead trying to give the listener a feel of being in a concert. |
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Anonymous | What a load of crap. You must of fell for the hype. Gremlin, Energy Take 5.2 is a very nice system. Another nice set of small speakers that just came on the market are the Klipsch Reference Satellites. Either one of these systems will make you glad you decided to do some research before you parted with your cash. For the love of god people if you have Bose deal with the fact that your money could of bought better for less. Stop trying to make yourselves feel better by pushing that Accousti crap. You made a mistake learn from it don't repeat it or encourage others to do the same. |
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Anonymous | I don't have Bose. I don't listen to the type of music they do well. But they are good for what they do. |
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Anonymous | Not for the price. Much better for less. |
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Need Help | This is probably an over answered question, but I was duped into the bose acoustimass 15 set and am wondering if it's possible to eliminate wiring everything through the bass module(remove it from the system altogether) and run the speakers right out of my receiver. I already have a nice subwoofer and would rather use it and eliminate the bose one. |
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Berny | yes, you may wire the satellites directly to your receiver. Be forewarned though, the satellites are only 6 ohms and not very efficient. It's not that the bass mnodule really do anything for the efficiency. Yeah, go ahead and remove the bass module...you'll be fine. cheers |
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Hawk | Needs Help: The problem with your situation is that the so-called "bass module" is not a subwoofer, but supplies the bass information for the system. By removing it, you eliminate all of the bass info below about 350-400 Hz. Since your sub probably only goes up to about 150 Hz, it will leave a hole in the frequency response of the system. Why don't you just leave the system the way it is supposed to be and have your receiver cut off the low frequency info sent to the Bose system below 100 Hz and use your sub below 100 Hz. Just a thought. . . |
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| Hi Don't know much about home theaters but we are looking to invest in one. A couple of options. Option 1 Marantz sr43oo receiver and Energy take 5.2 system or the same receiver with Klipsch rb15 bookshelf, cs800r in the ceiling, rc25 center chanel with the ksw10 subwoofer. Be interested in any comments. Also not convinced about this receiver. Any comments |
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Marc Racine | Hi Kathy, Your choice of Marantz as a receiver would be very good. You can also check out Luxman, NAD, Onkyo(High-end only)...just ask the salesman if it is high current and how much head-room..If he gives you a puzzled "huh?", walk away quickly and go to a store where the sales staff will be able to answer this question without hesitation...and please DON'T BUY ANYTHING BOSE! Marc in Canada |
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Ian Bilson | Guys stop comparing A/mass to the conventional speakers. I tried all the other canadian and american brands making Satellite speakers and found that Bose sounded the best. Right from AM6 - AM15 specially the new series iii with an Powered base module. Now as far as the conventional Bose speakers are concerned Bose lacks in few things but is a winner in other mainly the stereo anywhere bit. my dining table is offset by 5 feet to my HT setup and I still get the stereo effect. I managed to get best of both the worlds by using Kef Coda 90 for mains Coda 80 for centre and Bose 201 for surrounds. HT is great and 5 Channel Music is Excellent. Get the punch from Front and Detail from the rear ones. 201's compared to any other 2 ways used for surrounds sounded the best with diff of only 20$ in price. As far as the paper drivers are concerned. I am really not bothered what is behind the grill, I care about audio only. |
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Anonymous | I bought a Bose Lifestyle 6 years ago. Recently, I can't decrease its volume. What's wrong? |
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Anonymous | Are there wiring adapters available for Lifestyle's proprietary jacks. I need to run wire through tubes in my walls and the jacks will not fit. Accordingly, I need to run wire seperately and have adapters for both ends to hook up the Acoustimass unit and receiver. Any ideas much appreciated. |
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HDG | I previewed the BOSE Lifestyle systems at a BOSE factory outlet...We listened to the same track on the 18, 28 and 35. There is a hugh difference between the 18 & 28 but not much from the 28 to the 35. Pricing was $1499 - LS18, $1899 - LS28 & $2499 - LS35 system. My wife loved it because of the receivers look, having multiple components in one unit & small stylish speakers. The rep also talked about the DVD/CD player and the upgardes BOSE sends out. Does anyone have info on this? |
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josh and...son? Unregistered guest | Excuse me Jaaaames... and anyone else bagging Bose, but I have a two bose cubes and a sub, and it is one of the clearest, loudest, zero distortion, over achieiving speakers for its size, fantastic words cannot decribely coolness, and... your an idiot.LOL. BOSE rules. |
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New member Username: ChippaPost Number: 27 Registered: 12-2003 | I have a pair of Bose 201s that are about 5 years old and they sound great. I've tried to nit-pick at them to hear what all the Bose-bashers hear but I just can't do it. Five years later, I am still impressed when I crank the volume on the HK. Crystal clear. |
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Robert J. Unregistered guest | Every ears has a difrent pianist!!! |
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Unregistered guest | I have the Bose Acoustimass 15, It does the job for me in home theater/ but for music I use a tube amp Eico ST70 with a pair of old B&O Beovox RL's, Sweet sound!!!! But here's my question, can anyone tell me how to open the case on the sub module on the Bose. Bass switch is bad. I found the lock on the bottom, but still stumped, Is there a site anyone knows about |
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MarcoEsquandolas Unregistered guest | I recently heard the Mod1 and Mod2 systems from Orb Audio (www.orbaudio.com). They really are the best sounding small satellite/subwoofer system I've ever heard, and I'm pretty picky. They sell direct so they have much higher quality components and better performance than the price would suggest. They have no low midrange hole and sound as full as bookshelf and floorstanding speakers. I heard them at a friend's over the holiday. It was pretty mindblowing when they first came on -- very big disconnect between what your eyes are seeing and what your ears are hearing. |
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Conteur Unregistered guest | Over 30 years ago (yes, I am one of those well over 40 guys) I purchased a new set of the Bose Series I 901's. I powered them with a 50w per channel stereo receiver, and thought they sounded great. I was wrong. When the receiver finally gave up, I built a Dynakit Stereo 416 power amp, 200w per channel, and front ended it with a Yamaha C-2 preamp. The first time I turned this combo on low volume I heard sounds and subtleties and some instruments that I didn't know were there. When I turned it up, it not only got louder, it felt like the room was getting bigger. About 5 years ago I got the home theater bug, and I just couldn't make those old Bose speakers sound like the movies. I started looking around for new speakers. I listened to the Bose systems, and to me they sound like they have mud in them. Even the later series 901's don't don't come close to my Series I's. I got a DVD player and hooked up my 901's (only stereo of course) it was loud, but not impressive. I finally got a 5.1 receiver, a set of Energy Take 5's and a passable subwoofer. Finally, I could convince myself I was sitting in a theater. I noticed one thing though. I pretty much quit listening to music. For one, there was no phono in on the 5.1 receiver. The other day the receiver died and I got out the old system. It still works. Yammy C-2, Dynakit 416, Bose 901's Series 1, and a turntable. Yes, I have heard better, but as Tom Watson said last summer in the US Open about one of his old putters, "It kind of feels like an old girlfriend." |
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Anonymous | All you Bose fans. Assuming that thre are many BOse bashers around there must be some 'unbaised' reviewers around. If you all really believe that BOSE is so good find me one review on the ENTIRE world wide wide where it has BOSE is was the best buy - in all probability you wont (i would be surprised if you did) and ask yourself why. |
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Audio Unregistered guest | Try this system. Marantz SR5300 receiver, Toshiba SD220e dvd player, Canton Plus XL satellites(x 6), Canton AS 25 subwoofer.Total cost 1350 GBP. I was almost convinced by the Bose hype and almost bought a Bose system costing twice what this setup cost. The Bose sytem doesn't come anywhere close to this system in terms of performance for both music and movies. Please don't waste your money on Bose. |
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New member Username: Bose_boyPost Number: 1 Registered: Mar-04 | I've yet to hear a bose product that I dont care for. |
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New member Username: SeamusPost Number: 9 Registered: Feb-04 | Wow, this threads sure witnesses some bursts of activity. I had bought a BOSE Lifestyle 12 Series 2 HT system. I will not get into the passionate BOSE bashing and defending that one normally sees. Objectively speaking, BOSE has some advantages - high WAF (small speakers, good looking music centre). It has a decent sound, and here's the rider - BUT NOT FOR THE PRICE. I live in Europe, and the BOSE systems here are much more expensive than in the States. Yes, it sounds good in the special set-up in stores, but after having lived with it for about 2 years, let me tell you that it will not make you re-discover your love for music, nor tempt you into replaying all the favorites that you used to enjoy so much... I've been planning to build another HT system, and am looking at a NAD + PSB combination. The intersting thing is that here I can get a NAD T753 and PSB Alpha 5.1 set-up for about the same price as a BOSE LS 15 !! And there is just no comparison - the BOSE has inferior sound, not a lot of input/output options, no DTS decoding etc. Here's an example to illustrate my point : the 30th anniversary hybrid SACD issue of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" has a new mix where the voices you normally hear in the background have been given more prominence. On the BOSE system, these voices were hardly reproduced (must be the frequency hole). The CD-ROM drive on my computer driving a pair of Altec-Lansig speakers could accurately reproduce these voices. (Both read only the hybrid layer, so it can't be due to mix issues). So here's my piece of advice to people interested in BOSE - for the kind of money you'll be paying, you deserve a lot more. If you spend some time looking at other options, you most probably will find something that thrills you for equivalent or less money... I did. |
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Alain Denni Unregistered guest | Most of the Home Theater systems now have DTS decoders. Most of the DVD players can read DVDs & CDs files (MP3, JPEG,...). The Bose LifeStyle 12 Serie II I bought on Dec. 2001 is limited to only read CD Audio format and non DTS DVDs (Hotel California - The Eagles). Is there any chance to not use the central control unit (connectors, pré-amp, AM/FM receiver, CD audio player, built in the deck) and to re-connect the amplifire system (Bass + 5 satellites) directly into the analogic outputs (5.1) from the Creative Labs USB Sound Blaster Audigy 2 NX external card. This external USB 2.0 sound card can be parametered to decode or not decode the numeric signals. So it works fine with the both parameters with a Kenwood AVP5307 Home theater (6*100W). I can compare and the sound is good but 8 times cheaper than the BOSE I bought first. Has anyone heard about dedicated upgrade kits from BOSE in order to minimize the migration/evolution costs and therefore keep their clients satisfied and not frustrated(the client agrees to pay a lot one time but not twice for just a new audio standard). Alain. |
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Unregistered guest | Check out this link http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html I sold high end audio for many many years. Bose is NOT good gear. Period. You'll find this out oneday......read the review on the Bose at the link. If you know how to read specs....your mouth will hit the floor in disgust. |
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Bose Joke Unregistered guest | The Bose joke again huh? Apparently what the Bose "fans" are trying to say is that a few 5" full range speakers in a bandpass box passing as a subwoofer and five rediculously cheap 2" full range dual cones or whatever they are in a even cheaper plastic little cube sounds better than you would expect so therefore it's a great speaker at any cost. I'll admit that that's true, as far as the sound anyway, since the above combination should sound even $hittier than it does but it still sounds like $hit. Now if I did a few engine and suspension mods to a 1974 Ford Pinto and made it faster and handle better than you would expect by looking at it, even though it still wasn't on par with modern cars, would you pay 10 times more than the sum of it's parts were worth? That's what Bose customers are doing...and they're proud of it! Every Bose speaker I've ever heard sounds completely awful, even in their "special" sound rooms. I can't even imagine what they must sound like in real word use. I listen to some a few weeks ago just for the fun of it and there was one set in particular, an all white all weather model for around $200 and they sounded like my G.E clock radio times 2! It's utterly insane. Now you Bose "fans" or embarrased Bose buyers pretending to be Bose fans, I have a question for you. Why on earth do you guys think so many of us bash Bose speakers? Do you really think we all have some personal problem with Bose? Why would we? We don't, we are simply expossing the Bose scam. I can't believe you people need to be told what bad sound is, can't you guys tell? Do your ears work? No other speaker manufacturer in the world has ever been attacked for no reason...and either is Bose. I have never heard a speaker in a price range even 1/4 of the price of any given Bose model that sounds worse. But hey, if you Bose fans like them, and you should after getting totally raped by the Bose hype than by all means...ENJOY!!!! |
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swampcat Unregistered guest | bose speakers are trash dont fall for the advertising hype, thats all they are, hype! their fancy radio shack speakers that cost a fortune. |
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turboman Unregistered guest | I had an old bose 201 series III speaker.When i removed the cover i found the components look rather cheap.What is that tweeter type? Do they use better tweeters in series V? |
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swampcat Unregistered guest | Everybody look inside your bose speakers. Then tear open a pocket size transister radio from the 70's ,and compare the speakers. Can you tell them apart? |
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slimshady Unregistered guest | well, I think all the bose haters here aren't married.....;-) |
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Jeremy Unregistered guest | I'm listening to a bose system now.. came here to see if there were fancy eq settings for windows media player (yea.. i spent the money for 5.1 sound for my computer) And just to point something out... size is Bose's selling cue. The fact that I have 6 speakers hidden away entirely, yet can crank it up loud enough so my roommate can't even hear his movie on his Sony 'out of the box' system with 900watt pushing thru it... well - I find this rather impressive for the $450 I paid. So just to lite the fire a little bit.. bose haters lack bose, period. |
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New member Username: KoberPost Number: 6 Registered: May-04 | Yea really, I judge a speaker on how it "Sounds", not looks. People that buy Bose Systems, Dont want A room full of equipment,but still want the sound of that big system. Its that simple. |
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Unregistered guest | I have Bose 701's series II , Bose 601's Series IV and VCS 10 center channel. Can anyone tell me where a good place to advertise and sell these would be? Thanks in advance. All are in perfect condition. |
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Silver Member Username: Project6Post Number: 596 Registered: Dec-03 | e-bay or audiogon.com |
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New member Username: Mike_zimonOwen sound, Ontario Canada Post Number: 4 Registered: May-04 | timn8ter??? What are you saying? "Quote "Without making it into an international feud, Canadians do make good speakers for the money. Their government helps in research, and the products show this." So that's what it is. I thought they were performing selective breeding with the audio gene" I build planar speakers, and market them to Canadians and Americans, and I never got a nickel from the guv for funding anything, let alone the great sums of money, time and effort, and, the worst part, all the damn listening tests I had to do. :-) I wish I could have got funding! In Canada, we DO have good audio genes, with PSB, Energy, Paradigm, Bryston amps. That said, My favorite amp, for sound, build quality, and reliability, is a B&K made in Buffalo New York. And at a fair price. And, it just happens to be the last amp made in the U.S. I didn't say owned by a U. S. company, (and made in the far east like those air shoes you pay $200 bucks for, or those high end "American" speakers made in the far east). I don't know where you got this info, but who ever told you this, is spreading propaganda. Mike |
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New member Username: KoberPost Number: 8 Registered: May-04 | Dean, do you got AIM,Yahoo,or MSN messenger? Thanks. |
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poonty Unregistered guest | I have the bose computer speakers, which produce really good bass without a subwoofer. I really don't care about sound quality, just want good proper bass in a 2 speaker set up for easier moving and placing. Bose is aiming at a different market than the normal 40 inch tower speaker makers. Flat dwellers place a much higher emphasis on looks, style, placability, than sound quality or whatever. You pay a premium for design. Why would you pay 10k for a patek phillipe when a $10 quartz will keep better time? |
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New member Username: KoberPost Number: 9 Registered: May-04 | The mediamates? |
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Bose Joke Unregistered guest | If Bose was selling for their current price because of some sort of exotic design principles with high quality drivers, but they sounded bad, I might half way understand it but they are simple, cheap, bad sounding speakers for a LOT of money. Anybody who wants Bose speakers should just build their own. Here's how: 1. Get 5-7, depending on what set up you want, very cheap 2" clock radio speakers. 2. Get, or make 5-7 small cheap plastics boxes. 3. Put the 2" clock radio speakers in the cheap plastic boxes. 4. Add a subwoofer from a $40 computer speaker system. The results: A speaker system that sounds absolutely awful...like Bose only a little better, and the nice thing is this Bose knock-off can built for well under $100. |
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Bose Joke Unregistered guest | Brett Koberstein aka Bose Boy??? Whatever, anyway, he has NEVER heard a Bose system he DIDN'T LIKE. Wow, Bretts deaf but still buys speakers. Hmmmm, that's weird. Enjoy Brett. |
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Anonymous | Bose Joke- If People can create system's just as good as Bose,for well under 100$ Why aren't they doing it? Wouldn't Bose pretty much be obsolete? Or is it because Bose has such good marketing skills they could never go under? If Im Deaf,you must Dumb, because you cant understand the concept that I like Bose. Nothing you say about Bose will make me change my opinion on them. I like what I like, you like what you like,thats why its an "opinion". You're wasting your time with me,tell it to someone who cares. |
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Gopal Unregistered guest | I take it Mr Anonymous doesn't play an instrument because if he had any musical knowledge or had developed a musical ear in his lifetime he would know why anyone who owns true Hi-Fi considers Bose to be a joke. We are all striving to hear the music as it was recorded in the first place. Bose are not striving to reproduce the music as it was intended which is why bose cannot be considered Hi-Fi. Food for thought anyway |
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Anonymous | Thats what Bose is exactly about. Reproducing music as it was intended,in the simplest way. I could careless if you dont considerd it "Hi-Fi". Half of you so called "AudioPhiles" on here that bash Bose, have owned Bose products yourself,So your input on Bose sure as hell dont mean nothing to me. Might wanna take a look at the Bose's homepage, because you seem to know alot of something you know nothing about; and dont say it would be a waste of your time, because you've wasted more time talking to me than anything. |
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Bronze Member Username: EksinePost Number: 14 Registered: May-04 | this Anonymous guy is completely closed minded. he criticizes people and gets defensive over his preference for BOSE. If you like Bose than please tell us why you like it. Why go around insulting people? that kind of behaviour is uncalled for. |
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Bose Joke Unregistered guest | I have never owned Bose speakers nor will I ever, but people who have and learned from their mistakes are certainly a valid voice on the subject of the Bose joke, in fact probably even more so than someone like me who has never owned that crap. When I have listened to Bose speakers at audio stores and heard weak bass, hollow midrange, missing frequecies and exagerated high frequecies for an insane amount of money, how else should I view Bose speakers? Buy them anyway to impress my audio ignorant friends by how much I spent? I'm just telling the truth about the Bose joke, I can't believe I even need to tell anybody...it should be painfully obvious. I guess it isn't. Bose speakers sound awful, plain and simple, but the are marketing geniuses though, they have fooled Brett and many other people. It's really wierd, I don't know how they've done it, it's like some weird religious cult or something with Bose customers. |
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Anonymous | Ek-Esine,Im not insulting anyone. If you look up at the recent posts,I was the one being criticized for liking a certain brand. Why do I like Bose? How many times do I gotta say it. I want beautiful sound,without a room full of SHI*. I dont want Amps,Pre-amps,Equalizers, Receivers,Dvd players,Tower speakers,center channels 4 foot long,big as* rear speakers,wires running ALL over hell,I dont wanna adjust everything according to what Im listening to everytime I change it, I dont want a "sweet spot" in the room,I want it everywhere. Even if I had all that stuff,I would automatically EXPECT amazing sound,because look at all the shi* it took to run it,and look at its size. How are they a valid voice on the subject of Bose,if they have owned their products theirselves, when they bash them? If they hate Bose so much,why did they buy anything Bose in the first place? Im confused on how you think all Bose customers,including me, get "fooled" into buying their products?? Because when you put aside all your talk about their marketing expertise,and all their other gimmicks,it only comes down to one thing,the SOUND. Why dont other companies "fool" people into buying their products? Cant be just Bose with "Marketing Geniuses",Especially in the Audio Industry. |
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Unregistered guest | The Bose Stuff Is Crap. Period. None of thier products are THX approved because Lucas won't approve them due to the total lack of midrange. ALL bose speakers have one thing in common the ability to reproduce 16Khz - 20Khz louder than other speaker manufacturers this is what makes them sound crisp along with the lack of midrange. I own a host of pro audio gear JBL, EV, LOGIC SYSTEM, and also some Bose 302's which are 2x 12" drivers in each cab. I use this as my home cinema sub... if you get a test tone on the pc from 20Hz to 150Hz you notice that 35Hz to 80Hz they are very loud after that they drop off and even between 35Hz and 80Hz they drop off in certain frequencys eg 45hz is louder than 49Hz etc. An Ideal system would be one that reproduces 20Hz to 20 Khz flat response eg 30Hz is the same loudness as 15Khz. With Bose the graph looks like a saw tooth wave. Up and down all over the place!!! The Bose stuff plays tricks with your ears they make the music sound sweeter a bit like the POP setting on a cheapy home Hifi it takes the midrange out fattens up the bass and highs. Also note that the bose pro audio stuff rely's on processing heavily this is basically a graphic equalizer in a box that is permanently set so that it evens out the BOSE's crap speaker design loud spots in the audio spectrum and boosts the weakspots. If you want BOSE sound then go buy some half decent speakers and a 31 band graphic equaliser and put it in a Smile Curve boost 16Khz- 20Khz and boost 40Hz- 80Hz this will give you the bose sound. Ever wondered what that direct button is for on your AV amp? Yes it stop you using bass and treble controls.... Why is that? Because your speakers should be good enough not to need them, the direct button then elimintaes the bass and treble circuitry which in turn gives an even cleaner un coloured signal. Having said all that... my Bose 302's have had 1200w Crown powered amp applied to them for many hours running deep RNB bass and have yet to blow up... I use them only for Sub bass and would not ever consider using them for bass alone on anything other than hiphop/rnb they sound boomy. Thanks Shane |
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Anonymous | Does a graph of waves make me buy what I buy? No. Does Lucas's decision if its Hi-Fi or not make me buy what I buy? No. Therefore,I could CARELESS. Like I said early with no response,If people can have Bose sound,if not better,for 1/10 the price of Bose, WHY dont they do it? Why does Bose even exist? Half of you so called "AudioPhiles" on here that bash Bose, have owned Bose products yourself,So your input on Bose sure as hell dont mean nothing to me. "The Bose Stuff Is Crap. Period" "my Bose 302's have had 1200w Crown powered amp applied to them for many hours running deep RNB bass and have yet to blow up" |
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Bronze Member Username: PalPune, Maharashtra India Post Number: 27 Registered: Apr-04 | Anonymous, I also have the same question-- "Like I said early with no response,If people can have Bose sound,if not better,for 1/10 the price of Bose, WHY dont they do it? Why does Bose even exist?" I also wonder, why don't they do it. Even i recently bought a NAD, B&W combo. And i am not an audiophile, just a newbie who loves music. I am not sure about there, but here in India, all these systems are very expensive. Who buys these high end audio equipment ? 1. Someone who has lots of money 2. Someone who has passion for music and can somehow afford this. I fall in the second category, cos it took me years to collect that money, and before spending it i wanted to be sure that i am buying the right product. There would be no second chance, it would again take years  to take out that kind of money. I am yet to buy my first car !!! And as usual, i also used to think, that Bose is the best.....i had almost bought Bose, that ok everybody says its good and in their store it did sound good. The while reading thru some article somewhere, i heard this so called "Bose bashing" and then i started my R&D, took lots n lots of demos, took my own music n stuff. And i am glad i did all that..... The reason people buy Bose is either, they have lots of spare money and all they want is a music system in their home, which people come n c and say wow u have a Bose !! or they get fooled by the marketing, and think (as i used to) that Bose is indeed the best. I did'nt understand any frequency curves, but take demos, and its so easy to c the difference. Your own ears would give you the best review !! Bose might sound bright and flashy, but is it the real sound ? and if u do not want the real sound then why r u spending so much money, but any crap system it will also play all ur music.... |
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Silver Member Username: Project6Post Number: 747 Registered: Dec-03 | Manish, It's been almost 2 months, how is your NAD/B&W set-up? I have wondered if you ever did a listening session with the Bose Lifestyle you wanted to buy prior to the B&W? |
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Bronze Member Username: PalPune, Maharashtra India Post Number: 28 Registered: Apr-04 | Berny, Its going from better to best day by day....infact now i can claim, i have myself experienced what a speaker burn in period is and how irritating NAD's switches are sometimes !! And yes i did have 2 listening sessions at Bose store. still they keep sending mailers to me invitations n stuff. and infact at that time frankly i did'nt even know that there were companies like Nad, Rotel, Arcam, B&W, etc etc. and i was really impressed by Bose. It was only after a comparison, that i realized the difference and knew what i was looking for....before that, it was i love music, i have this much money, so i want a good system but what exactly is good was missing |
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Silver Member Username: Project6Post Number: 749 Registered: Dec-03 | I'm very happy for you! It is good to know that there are still people who venture out and take the time to listen. happy listening! cheers |
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Anonymous | Berny,would you ever sell any of the Bose stuff you got in your childrens play area, or wherever you said they were? |
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Silver Member Username: Project6Post Number: 753 Registered: Dec-03 | Haven't really thought of it, it's just for their video games. Out of the way and convenient. |
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Anonymous | What all do you got hooked up for their games? Or what Bose stuff. |
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Bronze Member Username: PalPune, Maharashtra India Post Number: 29 Registered: Apr-04 | Thanks Berny !! |
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Silver Member Username: Project6Post Number: 766 Registered: Dec-03 | Acoustimass 10 Ser II, with X-Box, PS2 and GC. Hooked up to a Mitsubishi 36" TV and a Kenwood KRF-9060D. Their friends would rather come here than go to the mall, which is a good thing |
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SG Unregistered guest | "Does a graph of waves make me buy what I buy? No. Does Lucas's decision if its Hi-Fi or not make me buy what I buy? No. Therefore,I could CARELESS. " Dont you feel your missing out on all those lost frequencys that the bose stuff cant reproduce? You are attached to a name and are pissed that you paid all that money for it and not everyone sees them as high end as you do. Go and buy ANY pair of studio reference speakers for the same price as a pair of bose and if you cant tell the difference or think the bose sounds better then bose has done an excellent job in fooling you into thinking what sounds good. "Like I said early with no response,If people can have Bose sound,if not better,for 1/10 the price of Bose, WHY dont they do it? Why does Bose even exist? " Bose exists because of thier marketing department, and thier high price. they would not exist if they sold the products with normal profit margin over what they cost to make. Half of you so called "AudioPhiles" on here that bash Bose, have owned Bose products yourself,So your input on Bose sure as hell dont mean nothing to me. It does because we have had/still had bose and realized what a load of shite it is! I for one did not pay the £2000 sticker price of the bose subs i have i paid £300 for them. If I wanted a £2000 sub there are 100's of choices i would pick over bose. ""The Bose Stuff Is Crap. Period" "my Bose 302's have had 1200w Crown powered amp applied to them for many hours running deep RNB bass and have yet to blow up"" This is the upside of them, the deep and loud RNB/hiphop bass bear in mind these BOSE cabs are pro audio aimed at the nightclub market so they have to sound better than any home thetre sub for the same price, and they do hell for £300 i would buy another pair for my other room... However try they with dance music... they lag behind on the bass kicks then we are back to the root problem with bose stuff. I believe my £300 is well spent as I am an RNB music fan and when turned up they give a nightclub feel and go very low But if i didnt use them for that purpose and they cost me more than £300 i would go back and say The Bose Stuff Is Crap. Period why do you not think i have bose hifi speakers? Going back to the bose sound... Its all bass and top what did i do?? purchase bass bins..... and I found the faults in them. By the way... FYI they are made outr of chipboard...... Prob the only pro audio cabinet i have ever seen that is made from chipboard. |
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Anonymous | "Go and buy ANY pair of studio reference speakers for the same price as a pair of bose and if you cant tell the difference or think the bose sounds better then bose has done an excellent job in fooling you into thinking what sounds good" You dont think I've done that? Thats why I ended up with Bose. Nothing came close to the sound quality for its size,and simplicity. Half of you so called "AudioPhiles" on here that bash Bose, have owned Bose products yourself,So your input on Bose sure as hell dont mean nothing to me. It does because we have had/still had bose and realized what a load of shite it is! I for one did not pay the £2000 sticker price of the bose subs i have i paid £300 for them. If I wanted a £2000 sub there are 100's of choices i would pick over bose. Explain to me how their input means anything? Why do they realize what a load of shi* it is AFTER they purchased it? "FYI they are made outr of chipboard...... Prob the only pro audio cabinet i have ever seen that is made from chipboard" But that dont change you from wanting another pair in your other room. "Dont you feel your missing out on all those lost frequencys that the bose stuff cant reproduce? You are attached to a name and are pissed that you paid all that money for it and not everyone sees them as high end as you do" Obviously not. Even if I did,it wouldn't be big enough of a difference to switch brands. |
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SG Unregistered guest | "Go and buy ANY pair of studio reference speakers for the same price as a pair of bose and if you cant tell the difference or think the bose sounds better then bose has done an excellent job in fooling you into thinking what sounds good" You dont think I've done that? Thats why I ended up with Bose. Nothing came close to the sound quality for its size,and simplicity. Lol... case closed why dont they use them in the studios/cinema etc infact anywhere where sound in has to equal sound out. I feel sorry for you. Simplicity? 2 wires to each speaker box? LOL "FYI they are made outr of chipboard...... Prob the only pro audio cabinet i have ever seen that is made from chipboard" But that dont change you from wanting another pair in your other room. Nope not at £300 a pair... id buy them all day at that price as yes the do sound better than the competition at £300 but not at £2000! |
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Just say no Unregistered guest | This says it all.... http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html |
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Silver Member Username: Project6Post Number: 813 Registered: Dec-03 | wow, we haven't seen that link before...geez! |
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Anonymous | "why dont they use them in the studios/cinema etc infact anywhere where sound in has to equal sound out" Bose simply specializes in Home Audio & Home Theater for how many years now? Therefore,you wont see them in Studios, Cinemas. "£300 a pair... id buy them all day at that price" Only as good for what "I" paid. What else can you try to prove to me about Bose? Because nothings working so far. I actually learn MORE about Bose from Guys like you,rather than turning me away from Bose. We haven't gotten down to anything still? You cant reply back with "Faqs" to my posts.You can't answer my questions back to you about a post,or comment you made. You just jump to different topics. Bose bashers contradict theirselves,and they dont even know they're doing it. |
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Just say no Unregistered guest | That would be "themselves" not "theirselves". Point out one contradiction? Bose Sucks. Plain and simple. No contradiction in that statement. Its actually quite funny how people defend their purchases so rabidly. Afraid to admit they were suckered into the marketing. There are a lot of "facts" in the link I posted above. I suggest you read it, try to comprehend it, then go out and buy another Blose product. I could care less if it works or not. Revel in your ignorance, it means nothing to me. |
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New member Username: ShantaoPost Number: 9 Registered: Apr-04 | It was written: "Bose Joke- If People can create system's just as good as Bose,for well under 100$ Why aren't they doing it? Wouldn't Bose pretty much be obsolete? Or is it because Bose has such good marketing skills they could never go under? " My friend's son in college wanted to have small speakers in his apartment. He bought an inexpensive Onkyo (tsx-501) receiver. He also bought a KLH- HT4906 set of speakers for 99.00 at Best Buy. These are there "twisty" sort of cubes (mid on bottom cube, tweeter on top cube), and a 50 wpc sub. He thought they sounded good. Long story short, he comes home from college this summer, and hooks them up at home. Now the punchline, this cheapo KLH 100 dollar setup up on the Onkyo receiver, sounds better than the Lifestyle 25 that his dad has. Go figure. While I know that listening is subjective, as are opinions, I seem to recall someone mentioning something about if someone could build something better sounding for 1/10 the cost.............. Have fun, take gentle care....... |
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cats Unregistered guest | Bose Sucks. Plain and simple. No contradiction in that statement. Well for one, "The Bose Stuff Is Crap. Period. I own a host of pro audio gear JBL, EV, LOGIC SYSTEM, and also some Bose 302's which are 2x 12" drivers in each cab. I use this as my home cinema sub." Like I've said before Half of you that clam this,have/do own Bose Products YOURSELVES. "Explain to me how their input means anything? Why do they realize what a load of shi* it is AFTER they purchased it"? Still yet to be answered. "this cheapo KLH 100 dollar setup up on the Onkyo receiver, sounds better than the Lifestyle 25 that his dad has" While I know that listening is subjective, as are opinions, I seem to recall someone mentioning something about if someone could build something better sounding for 1/10 the cost.............. Then DO IT. Simple as that. Everyone should be buying KLH 100$ set up then. "Afraid to admit they were suckered into the marketing" You STILL haven't told me how thier "MARKETING" suckers everyone into buyingt their products. |
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Anonymous | You STILL haven't told me how thier "MARKETING" suckers everyone into buyingt their products. By being overpeiced which makes people think its a high end products when really it is made out of chipboard and carries patents that dont make it sound any better than something that doesnt carry patents. Every lifestyle systrem i have heard turned up sounds rubbish. Anyone who hasnt heard the bose stuff regards them to be high end. Anyone who has compared bose products with other products would know that bose aint so high end. BOSE = sloppy bas no mid and pristine highs (which is the bose sound) BOSE SOUND *NOT* correct sound.... EG best speaker money can buy would put out what you put in! face it you were ripped off! Hell the bose stuff wouldnt make good firewood the chipboard would burn to easily and you would be cold pretty quickly... ;-) |
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Bronze Member Username: PalPune, Maharashtra India Post Number: 30 Registered: Apr-04 | (You STILL haven't told me how thier "MARKETING" suckers everyone into buyingt their products.) Anonymous...with all due respect, i can tell u how that happens back here in India. - Out of all the high end audio companies ONLY Bose has exclusive Bose Stores in India, where you can demo their products. That too just 5-6 stores in a country as big as India. - For rest of the companies like Nad, Rotel, Arcam, B&W, PSB, etc etc, there is no exclusive store, and they are NOT available in shops which normally sell audio equipment. - Out of all these companies, it is ONLY Bose who does marketing. (Mind u i am not talking about more or less, for rest of the companies they HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO MARKETING IN INDIA !!) - And if you go and check out the Dealer Locator links for most of the other companies, you will find one or at the most two dealers for them in India (who do not even care to give a single advertisement of their product)!! Now there is a very less % of people, who are that big enthusiasts, who would spend that kind of money for music. As far as Home Theatre market is concerned, that is a different scene, cos in that companies like Sony, Onkyo have a big market here.I will write about the High End audio case. Okay, so take a person, who has been enjoying music all his life, and dreams of buying a real good system when he has the money to get one. And in all those years, the only name he has heard is Bose, and the only store he has seen is Bose. So he thinks, that the only good system worth his passion is Bose. Then one day he has the money with him, he goes to the store and takes a demo. And i had written this in an earlier post too, that if you have not heard anything else, except for Sony, Panasonic stereos, then of course Bose would sweep you off ur feet, and that too in a perfect demo place as Bose Store !! Then whereever that person would go for advice, all he would hear about will be Bose, cos even the rest of them who give that advice, evem they have heard and seen Bose only !! The problem is that out of that small % of people who actually plan to buy that audio equipment, there is only a fraction, who care to do some more R&D, and find out if there are any more choices. The ones who do....find out the difference and don't buy Bose. Dear Anonymous, in all these discussions, we miss the point that, these people love music and that does not make them audio equipment experts. Unless they have a reference point, they don't know, what is muddy bass, what is bright, and all that big terms (we have a thread running here to that !!). They have grown up believing that the only good product in market for audio is Bose. and their comparison is with their old compact stereo systems !! This apart from a general case has been my story too.....Before i actually started my search, i did'nt even knew there were companies by the name of Nad, B&W etc etc.... Can you even imagine, the place where i have bought the system from is, a dealer for those products, but essentially his core business is selling aircondtioning. It is in the back of his store, that he has the demo room !! where as Bose stores are clearly visible stores !! Another thing....Bose marketing comes to us to sell their product, i mean after i took demos from them, they have been sending me invitations and loads of mailers...where as for other companies...you have to find out who in this country sells their products, (from the back of their stores !!) I have nothing personal against Bose, cos even i have grown up believing that Bose was the best, but trust me, at least for me, comparison between different demos, made me decide that there are always better sounds, for that or even less money !! |
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BAM Unregistered guest | Take it from me.. I work in Bose R&D department. I also own a HK230 w 2-way infinty primus speakers and sub. At first I was proud of my company....yea Bose...good stuff..really good reputation. Well after about a week of working there I saw through the fasade. Bose engineers towards a bigger profit margin and NOT sound QUALITY. I listened to an Acoustimass system day in and day out. When I got home i'd throw on some tunes on my HK230. And it was then I realized hows sonically pleasing an HK high current amp was and how poor the "Bose sound" really was. I am not an audiophile or think I have one kick-butt system. But my system sound was crystal clear. Bose sounded like there was a pillow over every speaker. Better sound through research? NO..ALL this research and no new products? Bose accustamass systems don't even reproduce the entire signal. The "videostage 5" proprietry sound processing is impossible to turn off. It runs on top of Dolby Digital and DTS. If you know anything about sound theory a signal should only be processed once. There is alot of Bose Bashing, and alot of what people post about them is true. If you say bose sounds good you obvously have not listened to anything else. ya know...I could go on, but all I can say is DON"T BUY BOSE But if you are an impatient, deaf, trendy, igonorant and don't care about money ...then Bose is perfect for you. The proof is in the listening...I know this would be alot of work but Bose does offer free 30days or something similar...Buy it, Buy an HK and listen to both systems. When you are done with the comparrison testing put the bose back in the box and ship it back. The question is do you care enough about sound quality to do research and comparison listening . Please take this as advice. I want to steer you in the right direction so you don't make a mistake by buying bose. I posted this Anonymous because Amar Bose and his legal superteam would probably come after me. They do more suing than research. |
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Bob in Mentor Unregistered guest | I own many speakers. I collect the stuff. The range goes from beautiful Acoustat Model 3 electrostatics to some very modest but well made bookshelf speakers. I have a bunch of JBL's, some Audix, Spica, EPI's, RTR's, Advents, Bozak, Infinity's, etc. (I have a big basement full of them). I also have a bunch of Bose I've picked up over the years. In the early nineties I put together a Bose/Sony surround setup (paid way too much) - AM-5's, a VS-100 and a pair of 101's. It looked cool and sounded OK. The Sony was top of the line stuff and it was (is) crap. In the end, the Bose were great for TV but not that good for music. They sounded much better in the original TV room that was around 11' by 20'. In a much larger room they are lost. I got some very old 201's at a yard sale for a few bucks. All foamy and very retro looking. The things weigh just a pound or two. Not much sound, but after you listen for a while, they sound right. I've gotten other 101's and VS-100's at yard sales. They are not much use except as surrounds (or fills). None of the small Bose (even the AM-5's) are as satisfying as a well balanced bookshelf speaker like an EPI 100 or a JBL L-46. My most recent addition are some 901 Series V's I picked up with a nice Sansui amp (and tuner) for $35. Beautiful shape. I had heard 901's a few times and I knew they sounded good sometimes. I gave them a very critical listen and they were failing to have as good a tonal balance as many of my other speakers (to be fair, they had not received very good placement or amplification like my other permanent speakers). As I goofed around with the Bose, I cranked them. And then I cranked them some more. And some more. And this is what they do very well. They can play very loudly. I originally was thinking of re-sale (after some play time)when I bought these, but now I don't think I will part with them. My quest now will be to find the appropriate amplification. I will try them with my big tube amps but I doubt they will be any good (maybe I'll be surprised). |
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Anonymous | Bob,do you got aim,yahoo,or msn messenger? |
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Anonymous | "Bob,do you got aim,yahoo,or msn messenger?" Because I have spent 1000's of $$ on a system and need you to tell me I have bought the right one ;-( LOL Pathetic! Face it! |
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cats Unregistered guest | Because I have spent 1000's of $$ on a system and need you to tell me I have bought the right one ;-( Actually I was looking to "buy" some of his Bose products. If I thought I was screwed on my system,why would I waste all my time trying to prove to you that I like it. Because I have supported Bose throughout this whole discussion,you assume I got screwed, and im trying to cover up for it. Why dont you face it,nothing you say about Bose is gonna change what I think about it. You're the one thats pathetic. |
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Bob in Mentor Unregistered guest | Greetings! None of my Bose are for sale right now. I am going to keep the 901's for outdoor parties and such. If you go to ebay you will find 901's sometimes goes very cheap. Be patient, pick series V or VI and don't try to get the first pair you see (set a low price for yourself and do not bid until the last minute of the auction - let them go rather than get caught up in bidding). |
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Anonymous | Oh,let me know if you are gonna sell any of your Bose. |
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Arnold Layne Unregistered guest | Amazingly long and emotional discussion on a loudspeaker manufacturer... I moved to other country and had to mount new HiFi. After impulse purchase of AV receiver, next step was to fastly get some mains. So I spent a full day in stores with multi-speaker-choice-boards. KEF, JBL, Magnat, all of them. At dawn there were only two affordable options which at that point did not torture my soar ears: What I suppose were the last 201 MkIV ever shipped to Europe, on sale, and some B&W at double price. I found it tricky to situate these Bose, ended up on wall mounts with tweeters towards ceiling. And in an angle to enter well in my 6.1 surround stage. Surely "Direct Reflex" was invented by Damocles descendant. Wouldn't say I'm 100% satisfied with'em, but at least pleased. The peculiar frequency response fits my needs: Bass is OK for such a small box and tweeters are sufficient to sense that SACD and DVD-A makes a difference. Point is, I would never ever categorically curse Bose. My old system was vinyl and Class A, so I do have some reference points. Current one doesn't substitute it, but for the time being my 201s are doing their job. Some day, hopefully soon, I will do a major upgrade. Wouldn't go for Acousticmass though, even if they were for free. It's philosophy is pretty much like AC3, size it down by taking away things we are not supposed to perceive. Those cute and easy-to-hide cubes are convenient design, at trade-off with fidelity as we know it. |
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Unregistered guest | Can Anyone Help Me I have the Bose Lifestyle 30 System and the CD cartride got stuck, we took it into Flanners were we bought the unit and $119.00 later we got it back, the cartridge comes out now but only (1) speaker plays now and we get a "NONE" digital readout for the CD. All the speakers work thru the stereo and TV just not the CD player. We took the unit back to Flanners and they said it works fine. Any suggestions on what is wrong or what we need to do. Bose sure doesnt want to help us |
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Unregistered guest | Annonymous must work for Bose. Kewl deal. Annonymous, explain to me the following test results from Sound and Vision magazine for the Accoutimass 15 system at $1300: "the Acoustimass's bass module responds to 46 Hz to 202 Hz at ±2.3 dB, while the satellites respond to 280 Hz to 13.3 KHz at ±10.5 dB. This is, by the way, the only speaker that I have ever seen tested with a ±10.5 db allowance. Still, this leaves a frequency gap between the satellites and bass module of about 80 Hz! That is 80 hertz of sound that is completely erased within the system's internal crossovers! I wonder how Bose figured out which 80 hertz matters least in the audible spectrum? I will tell you though that that gap accounts for a HUGE loss in midrange sound, which is responsible for the majority contralto, baritone, and tenor vocals in music, and many sound effects in home theater. And let us not forget that the Acoustimass system also ignores audible signal from 20Hz to 45Hz on the low end (deep bass), and 13KHz to 20KHz on the high end (high treble). Do the math folks, this Bose system only produces 13,176 of the 19,980 Hertz in the audible sound spectrum. That's only ~66% of the actual recording being played back to you! Is this the kind of performance you'd expect from a $1300 product? Most speakers in the same price range are able to respond from 15 Hz to 25 Khz and all modern media formats, from vinyls to DVD, record these frequencies as well. Though these are peak frequencies that most humans can not hear, the pressure produced from 15 Hz and 25 KHz frequencies can be detected physiologically, and will in fact have an effect on the harmonics of the music you listen to. So why does this "industry-leading" Bose company only produce about 52% of the sound of it's equal-priced market competitors? Good question..." By the way, my $800.00/pair speaker system has the following specs: +/- 1 dB from 55Hz to 20kHz, -3dB at 50Hz freefield 105dB peak SPL, midband at 2 meters Besides MUCH smoother, flatter frequency response, my speakers are also time/phase coherent, something Bose knows Zilch about. Waiting for my explanation.............. |
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Anonymous | Which speakers are you using that are time/phase coherant and how can you tell they are coherant? |
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Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 1026 Registered: Dec-03 | maui, you know better than catering to anonymous trolls! Your talents are better served in other parts of this forum. |
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Cats Unregistered guest | "Annonymous must work for Bose. Kewl deal. Annonymous, explain to me the following test results from Sound and Vision magazine for the Accoutimass 15 system at $1300" LOL,not even do I work for Bose,I gotta answer all his questions.I didn't even read your numbers of bullshi*. Waste of my time. You keep coming back with the same shi*. BOSE cant reproduce these frequences,blah,blah,and MORE blah. Im waiting for MY explanation, as to why I should care what you think? |
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Drifter Unregistered guest | BOSE Sucks bigtime and so is Cats! |
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CaptCrazyEyes Unregistered guest | http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html Anyone that is buying Bose without considering the alternatives such as Orb Audio (http://www.orbaudio.com), the Hsu Ventriloquist (http://www.hsureasearch.com), etc. is doing themselves a disservice. People can argue all they want, but the bottom line is that Bose is not GREAT, and that there are other small speaker systems out there that are the same or less and that will deliver better performance. |
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Bob in Mentor Unregistered guest | I have two more Bose observations. First, I forgot to mention that I had some 301's for a while (I gave them to a good friend, but I wish he would take some others now that I have too many). The 301's had a more balanced sound than most Bose, but still seemed to have a mid range hole. Very pleasant to listen to but in a typical Bose fashion, not really suitable for true hi-fi. Everything sounded the same - good but never great (and seldom bad). The other observation was a side by side test of my 901 series V and my Dynaudio speakers (4 way, 12" woofers, kit built) and some outdoor party use of the 901's. In the side by side, at low and moderate volume, the 901's did not sound good compared to the very complete and well defined Dynaudio's. The only thing they did well at that level was provide an omnidirectional wash of sound, making the Dynaudio's sound two dimensional. At high volume, the 901s soared (as they did in previous tests). I cranked it until my ears hurt and they continued to sound better as they got louder. Outdoors they worked extremely well even at low volume. The sound was pretty good no matter where you were situated(they really had no walls to bounce off of). I probably will never use the 901's for regular listening but when I need to crank it or provide plenty of sound outdoors they will be coming out of hibernation. |
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Anonymous | Bob,Do you got Msn,Yahoo,or AOL messengers? Thanks |
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Unregistered guest | Ok guys, we are an AV company a pub recently blew up 8 of these bose 201 cabinets he requested that we uprated the speakers inside the cabinets rather than renew the enclosures with something more powerful while i explained to him that it would be impossible to find drivers with the same Q as the bose it would change how the cabs sounds,... he insisted so we went ahead. In taking these 201's apart i was quite suprised to find how cheap they are component wise, tiny magnet for an 8" speaker cheap wiring (bell wire) the crossover consisted of 2 capcitors one for the forward facing tweeter one for the rear port facing tweeter these are infact wired out of phase for information puposes!! we found all the rearward facing tweeters blown aswell as the main 8" driver (some we cracked on foam surround due to over excursion, some had voice coils burnt out) we replaced with Eminence Kappa 8" at £30 a driver on having the 2 on the table the £30 driver had a magnet twice the size, and the overall quality of build to a higher standard the bose looked like something out of an old television! when we put the 200w eminece drivers back in the cabs they of course sounded louder but lacked depth due to the fact they were not designed so a cheap 15" sub has since been installed and the 201's are now crossed over at 100hz the system now goes very loud and much more punch the guy saved around £400 - £600. Why on earth do these venues choose the bose stuff? The only reason i can see is the effect the rearward facing tweeter has.... its the surround sound effect.... thing is you could go buy a tweeter of equal quality for £5 and stick on the back of any cabinet this would then give you that surround sound effect.... ! |
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