Bose

[cjackson]

I have never really encountered Bose speakers before.

Just recently when I have ben in music shops such as HMV I noticed they are all using Bose speakers and they are usually cranked.

They do sound nice I must admit. I have noticed that not just HMV use them but other music shops to - is this because they are cheap or are theu infact the best of the best ?

If they are that good I may think of getting some myself.

Thanks in Advance

 

[idc]

I have never heard decent music from Bose in any shop. My local Fopp music shop uses B&W which sound great, even lying on their side.

I find the music in HMV to way too loud anyway. I wonder if the Bose speakers came with the unit that HMV have used wherever you were?

Were they the Bose cube speakers of the white ones that are wider than they are high and have a large bass port? If they are the latter I think they are only for commercial systems. Have a look at the Bose site.

 

[jimdonnelly]

Most people on the forum will say that Bose are over priced and not very good (if they are polite). In fact some people are against Bose with a passion

The speakers serve a pupose if space and looks are an important factor in selecting speakers. Yes you can buy better for the money but IMO Bose are purchased mainly as a compromise for spouse or, more importantly, those who like the sound. Let your ears tell you if they are the best.

 

[cjackson]

The ones in the shop I was in where almost similar to these ones on eBay

Looking at them thoroughly they don't actually look that good!

 

[Anonymous]

Have a friend who has those bose double cube jewel speakers connected to his TV system with a tiny bose sub and some other bose equipment plus a laptop etc ... he bought the top of the range system

he played some music .... I was impressed on the clariy and sound from those tiny speakers, but think perhaps they are more suited to cinema/tv

 

[jaxwired]

I'm pretty vocal about hating bose and it's because of what they represent (at least in the USA). They are considered by the masses (read ignorant and uninformed) to be the very "best" speaker ever made EVER! Bose has very good marketing and people eat it up. In the USA they have this truly ridiculous commercial that has literally been aired for over decade adverstising the amazing sound from what amounts to a clock radio. They annimate their clock radio so it morphs into a huge mega hifi and say "sounds like a huge component stereo!". What a joke. It sounds like a good sounding clock radio, which costs about what a budget NAD setup would run except the NAD truly sounds great and not like a clock radio.

The bose sat/sub systems are ok, but definately not great and their full blown speaker line are truly some of the worst sounding speakers I've ever heard (do they even still sell those?). When stores used to have those big speaker switch boxes to test speakers, I could never believe anybody would buy a bose speaker after hearing it. Just awful.

But what bugs me most is the people that have no clue about hifi beyond big box stores and will just drool over the name bose. I've never heard a bose speaker or system that could not be far out performed by numerous other less marketed brands and for less money to boot.

 

[Anonymous]

i heard the bose acoustimass 5 series II recently. am in the market for a set of speakers for a hi fi system. does anyone have any experience pairing these with either a rotel RA04 or the Marantz PM 6003. what are my other speaker options at about the GBP 400 price point?

 

[Johnno2]

The only time I was ever impressed by bose was at a hifi show when everthing must have been set up right and the best qaulity demo discs were used.

Other than that most of the music shops like hmv etc that use those bose cube speakers with the bass box sound very loud, very harsh,very grating and make me want to leave asap.

The best sound I heard in a music shop was in a local one ,it was quite a large shop and they were using some tannoy dual concentics, I sometimes went in just to listen to this system without really wanting anything,it was fixating to listen to

 

[Dalesman]

I used to have a Bose wave system as also a 321 home cinema before i swapped to a bigger system.I must say Bose has its own advantages over a full syatem in the sense that it is stylish and compact and ticks the boxes.Not everyone,particularly ladies, are into big speaker systems and want their speakers to blend with their decor and in that sense Bose is pretty good and sound is not bad either, although no comparison with bigger speaker syatems.

 

[Anonymous]

Bose emphasises spaciousness and omni-directionality by using sound bounced off side or rear walls. If u were to listen carefully, they are not so good on imaging, soundstaging, balance, timbre, etc.

they may sound impressive initially,but after a while you will notice their weaknesses.

 

[idc]

The shop speakers that I have always found to sound terrible look like this......

The cube speakers on the other hand, I think they sound great. A friend bought a lifestyle setup with them and I thought it was a good equal to my similarly priced spearates system. The bass was more powerful, which is an aquired taste. The same bass emphasis there with the headphones I have tried and my Sounddock, which I really like for what it is. The other use of the cube speakers was at a pub quize I went to regularly for a few years. The quizemaster plonked two speakers on a table with a CDP and amp and filled the pub with excellent sound, making him sound clear and the music between questions.

 

[Anonymous]

I find that some of the bose systems sound good but that depends on what speakers they use. The best ones I have heard use these

and these

I think that for a shop sound system they are better than most but not the best sound I have ever heard in a shop, I think a good Tannoy commercial system could beat these hands down. The ammount of oomph produced by the 4 4" woofers is remarkably deep and punchy but generally you can have more controll over smaller drivers. I find Bose's products interesting why they are made the way they are and the bandpass arangements they use to get the most from such small drivers.

 

[Anonymous]

having owned an Acoustimass 2.1 (sub & 2 cubes) for 10 years now , these were auditioned very carefully against other speakers at the time.I drive them with a 30yr old Meridian 101 preamp & *4 105 Monbloc poweramps and as of recent a NAD cd545bee cd player, the resulting sound to my ears is superb . They all live in a small dining room extention (my wife abides hifi cluttering up the main living room) The small size of the speakers suits my particular listening needs just right in that it doesnt dominate. BUT......They need very carefull amp matching (the meridian sounds just right for the forward sounding bose cubes)

I have considered upgrading the speakers. .. but have decide that they suit my needs just right and have given up the continual upgrade war a while ago

 

[Anonymous]

Hi,

Had several experiences with Bose. Used the 801's for PA-purposes and they were superb for the space they filled. On the other hand, a friend has a 5.1 accoustimass-cube-system: They sound aggressive at high volumes and they have a difficulty with timing between sub and satellites. Try f.e. an MA Radius 90 with sub and you'll hear the difference.

Grtz,

 

[Anonymous]

Found this image on google its the 'accoustimass module' and its certainly an odd speaker cabinet design

 

[idc]

That see through and cut aways of the WAVE range show a large part of the Bose design philosophy, big sound out of a small product. That is a significant constraint on the final sound. I wonder if they produced more normal looking speakers would impressions change? The shop demo I was given had the cubes hidden inside full sized speakers, which then opened up to reveal the 'surprise'.

 

[Anonymous]

Bose car audio is actualy pretty good, well compared to the usual ones plonked into cars. My parents have the bose premium stereo in their Audi a4 and it is pretty impressive there is an huge ammount of weight produced by the two 8 inch woofers in the front doors and the mids are pretty good so is the treble which is surprising, it goes pretty loud too, enough to make the door panels vibrate quite alot! it also has this feature called "audio pilot" which is basicaly a small microphone in the overhead console which picks up the sound in the car then compares it to the original signal and adjusts the output accordingly, it works quite well actually.

 

[Anonymous]

read somewhere that the British also now produce Bose ... they are called AVI

 

[idc]

JG333:Bose car audio is actualy pretty good,.......

That is something else which I think should be considered when thinking about Bose. They occupy a number of specialist markets. Just go to their website and you find Automotive Systems, Products for Pilots, Environmental (Outdoor) Speakers, Docking Sytems, Computer Speakers. There is no section called hifi. They dont do your standard hifi systems. They do small and unobtrusive.

The claims that they make for their sound is little different to the claims made by other manufacturers.

Their pricing strategy suggests a premium to their product and sound, which many disagree with. Many reviews I have read have said, great sound, bit too expensive. I was out today having a wonder through shops and noticed no sale discounts on Bose products.

Outwith that, Bose get a lot of slagging from people who when you ask, they have either not heard or maybe once heard the product and have just leapt onto the bandwagon.

 

[Anonymous]

idc:

Outwith that, Bose get a lot of slagging from people who when you ask, they have either not heard or maybe once heard the product and have just leapt onto the bandwagon.

all you need to do is read the forums where there are many posters from the USA ... many don't like Bose at all ...

suppose it's like marmite ... you either love it or hate it ... and many who hate it have not even tasted it

 

[Anonymous]

idc:Bose get a lot of slagging from people who when you ask, they have
either not heard or maybe once heard the product and have just leapt
onto the bandwagon.
I think that is very true, most people just say they are bad because someoneelse said they are bad - what one person may like the sound of someone else may not, speakers are a subjective thing that is personal to youre musical tastes.

 

[Anonymous]

I've had the acoustimass II 5.1 set, driven by a NAD L70 receiver for about 5 years. The sound is clear and detailed, both in home cinema duties and as stereo only. I've been really pleased with the ownership so far. Once the sub's transformer was bust and Bose replaced it and posted the sub for free, even though was out of warranty (just). By the way, Bose have an outlet at Cheshire Oaks where you can demo them.

 

[idc]

Oddly enough, I also contribute to another forum that is for head-fiers. It is very international in its membership, particularly the US. A Bose thread there has recently ressurected itself. That brought a comment from a forum moderators to tone things down and dont get started again.

One of the mods made the point I made above, that many Bose knockers have had little or no experience of the product. Apart from maybe in shops, where as I have also said, their systems do not sound very good. Someone else made the point that many Bose fans are scared to post on forums because of the reactions. Which is a great shame.

So, welcome to the new contributors to this forum. Please ignore those who dont know what they are talking about, because they are sadly going to make an appearence at some point.

Mnavasuk, (and anyone else) could you post pictures of your set up on the Your systems part of the forum. It is a great way to start here. Bose would make a change from the norm.

 

[Anonymous]

Done. Pictures uploaded to the Your Systems part of the forum. Great chance to show all the clutter in my lounge!