Bose Home Cinema Systems Bias?

[admin_exported]

I asked an employee in a Bose shop recently why this manufacturer's home cinema speakers/packages are rarely reviewed in the press. He said that a lot of the media are unfairly biased against Bose.

Does he have a point? For example there are no Bose speakers in the review listings at the back of What Hi Fi? I thought they sounded really good in the shop or have I missed something?

 

[Big Aura]

Presume they don't give WHF samples because a 3* rating is the ideal retort to "but darling, those dinky little speakers are every bit as good as those huge ugly boxes - the man in the shop said so".

That said - I would be interested in WHF's verdict...

 

[Andrew Everard]

Of course it has nothing to do with the fact that the company chooses not to supply products for review...?

In other words, piffle. And indeed poppycock.

 

[John Duncan]

In my experience they suck the life out of everything they touch, personally.

 

[Clare Newsome]

We give Bose every opportunity to submit products for review -and indeed they've gained strong four-star ratings for headphones and iPod docks in the past.

However, they haven't submitted any speaker packages for ages - I suspect because we tend to rate them as good set-ups, but overpriced for what you could buy elsewhere.

So, there's certainly no bias - just as there isn't with any other company we deal with.

You've done the best thing by getting a demo, but i'd also urge you to demo other systems in your budget range to get a fuller picture of all your options - we would (and do) advise this for products from ANY company.

 

[Anonymous]

I have listened to one of my friend's Bose Systems and I must say it was quite good, but not for the price he paid for it - in my view, it is simply not value for money.

 

[Andrew Everard]

That said, when we've reviewed them in Gramophone in the past, they've tended to do OK when taken in the context of that magazine's readership...

See here, here, here and here for some examples

 

[Anonymous]

Interesting response.

Noted that the third of the articles you attached Andrew refers to some of the negative hype surrounding the brand. Bottom line I guess is to keep an open mind as Claire suggests.

 

[Big Aura]

Clare, does it bug you when people give you the evil "i"?

 

[Anonymous]

I think Bose systems are fine for people who want a lifestyle system with very small speakers and an all in one dvd player/amp unit. Of course, it will not match the sound quality of a separates system but that's the compromise for having those tiny speakers. Seems alright for movies but not so good for music.