My Bose Wave 3 Review and a question

[admin_exported]

Hi,

I recently bought a Bose wave for my bedroom. I wanted it because it has everything I need (once I connect an airport express), DAB, alarm clock and a classic design. It's a just a very expensive alarm clock, but I really enjoy listening to the radio and want something decent. Why, as soon as you say you want dab, do people assume you only want a plasticky single speaker thing with no other functionality?! I don't really want a Hi if or micro system in the bedroom as I have a nice Cambridge audio system in my lounge.

I really like it in general, the build is great, the radio has great signal with no poky antennas (it's in the plug cable). The remote is cool and it flicks between stations nice and quickly. Functionality wise it works well.

At high volume the sound is great. I frequently use it at high volumes and need good, loud sound that many other dab alarm clocks dont give. My main issue is the amount of bass it puts out at low volume. Its for the bedroom so it needs to work well at low volume too- but the bass is just a bit heavy and there's no adjustment.

Having looked online I've found that this is a common issue people have, and I'm not surprised.

My question is this...is there an alternative pice of kit that has nice looks and really good sound? I've seen the new Panasonic dab kit with wifi but reviews are bad. I don't want anything too complex and design is really important. I really like the sonos speakers too but need DAB and fm rather than just online radio.

Any views?

Thanks

 

[mikegtar]

The Bose Wave systems adjust the bass and treble automatically depending on the volume level. Try moving it a bit further away from the wall/corner to reduce the bass. I listen to my Bose Wave 2 for about an hour and a half each day on average. Expensive kit but great value over the years. Not sure that I'd buy any other brand for my bedside cabinet after living with the Bose. Not hi-fi, but it's my-fi ! ;-)

 

[bebelacus]

i have a wave 2 and very happy with it. sounds better than zeppelin to my ears. very good and full.sound from small box. as above, try away from.wall. guess there is no difference in sound between 2 and 3 just extra features like dab.

forgot to mention. i believe it will look great in 20 years time. it is the same with a clock radio i got from my old man. a National Panasonic, green display etc. it looks so cool. i gew up with it, it is 30 years old.

 

[cse]

You can adjust the tone when listening to the radio. Just make sure that you have the option for speech radio turned on. This reduces bass, however it doesn't seem to work when you play play CD'S.

 

[harty601]

Hi Toby,

I have a pure flow radio alarm. I have it set to DAB and annoyingly, when the alarm comes on in the morning I get a digital signal scrambling sound for a couple of seconds and then my station of choice kicks in. I previously had a wave II and remember the very civilised way the (radio) alarm faded up on FM. Could you tell me if this is the same with DAB on the wave III - does the volume fade up and do you just get a clear radio signal??

Thanks for you help.

 

[bigboss]

Hi Toby,

I have a pure flow radio alarm. I have it set to DAB and annoyingly, when the alarm comes on in the morning I get a digital signal scrambling sound for a couple of seconds and then my station of choice kicks in. I previously had a wave II and remember the very civilised way the (radio) alarm faded up on FM. Could you tell me if this is the same with DAB on the wave III - does the volume fade up and do you just get a clear radio signal??

Thanks for you help.

You won't get any response from Toby. His only thread on this forum (this one) was posted in December 2012.