Bose - Over-Priced Claptrap or Good Stuff?

Jeremy Crockett · #1 12-09-2007, 07:21 PM

I'm very curious. I've never owned anything Bose. I saw their ad for that tiny CD Player so I went to their site.

$500 for something that only plays one CD!??? I've seen these things before but never heard them.

What say you TB friends?

mayhem · #2 12-09-2007, 07:24 PM

I know the subwoofer and sattelite systems Bose made were fantastic, owning one of those sets was great. That was a few years ago though, I hope they'd have the same high quality grade of products as they did then.

mike_v_s · #3 12-09-2007, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OctoberMooN

I'm very curious. I've never owned anything Bose. I saw their ad for that tiny CD Player so I went to their site.

$500 for something that only plays one CD!??? I've seen these things before but never heard them.

What say you TB friends?

The Wave Radio. I enjoy mine. Some might consider it overpriced, but when you find exactly what you want/need....price becomes very subjective.

My daughter rammed three CD's into the single slot. They repaired it for free.

Mike

Chriss62 · #4 12-09-2007, 07:29 PM

I have owned the headphones and was very pleased. I have heard a lot of thier systems in action and was always impressed. I think some people are not impressed because they expect it to sound like 15 inch pa speakers with 18 inch subs instead of a powerful but nuanced sound.

I like it.

mike_v_s · #5 12-09-2007, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chriss62

I have owned the headphones and was very pleased. I have heard a lot of thier systems in action and was always impressed. I think some people are not impressed because they expect it to sound like 15 inch pa speakers with 18 inch subs instead of a powerful but nuanced sound.
I like it.

Good (bolded) point. The Wave Radio is impressive for it's size, but as Chris noted, it is not a replacement for a massive sound system.

Mike

BartmanPDX · #6 12-09-2007, 08:37 PM

Some of their stuff is OK like the headphones or the clock radio, but their home audio gear is overpriced junk IMO. You can get far better sound for less money. Many people (often wives) don't want to see big speakers and don't particularly care about sound quality beyond a name plate, and for those people, their sub/sat gear is great. You'd be hard pressed to find a audiophile who likes Bose though.

fenderhutz · #7 12-09-2007, 08:39 PM

mike_v_s · #8 12-09-2007, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenderhutz

Yup. I expect this to devolve into a home audio bastardization of a "fill in name of expensive bass here" thread. I've got a whole lot to say on that front (the irony, parallels, etc), but I'll wait until the train finishes wrecking before I throw gasoline on it. I'm a nice guy like that.

Mike

theshadow2001 · #9 12-09-2007, 09:34 PM

Bose probably have a high WAF

syciprider · #10 12-09-2007, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BartmanPDX

Some of their stuff is OK like the headphones or the clock radio, but their home audio gear is overpriced junk IMO. You can get far better sound for less money. Many people (often wives) don't want to see big speakers and don't particularly care about sound quality beyond a name plate, and for those people, their sub/sat gear is great. You'd be hard pressed to find a audiophile who likes Bose though.

Audiophiles.. Oh those guys who pay $2750 for THREE feet of Pear speaker cable and lawd knows how much for odd shaped "resonant" rock crystals because they enhance the sound?

Ericman197 · #11 12-09-2007, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by syciprider

Audiophiles.. Oh those guys who pay $2750 for THREE feet of Pear speaker cable and lawd knows how much for odd shaped "resonant" rock crystals because they enhance the sound?

Regular music/movie aficionados aren't into Bose either. My parents own three Bose systems, and the one I put together myself blows theirs away. My system costs about as much as any one of theirs, but it's got 7.1 surround (not stereo) with an SVS subwoofer (the cheapest one) that blows their little bandpass boxes away.

If you want really deep, loud bass then Bose is not the way to go. I don't think there's anyone who can argue that the average Bose sub puts out any decent low frequencies. Others complain about the lack of tweeters but the highs never bothered me so much as the lack of lows (no highs no lows must be Bose hurrr).

If you're not that into high quality sound and just want something that works fairly well, Bose will install that.

**embellisher** · #12 12-09-2007, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BartmanPDX

Some of their stuff is OK like the headphones or the clock radio, but their home audio gear is overpriced junk IMO. You can get far better sound for less money. Many people (often wives) don't want to see big speakers and don't particularly care about sound quality beyond a name plate, and for those people, their sub/sat gear is great. You'd be hard pressed to find a audiophile who likes Bose though.

The headphones are decent, but overpriced. If you want a $500 clock radio, theirs is the one to get, but I wouldn't buy a $500 clock radio.

The home audio speakers are decent, and way overpriced.

The home theater systems are NOT decent IMHO. The bass sounds like it comes from a tiny plastic box. Oh, wait a minute, that's because it does!

I put together a setup with equipment from pawn shops and Fry's. Yamaha powered sub, Polk Audio mains and center channel, and Sony surround speakers. Blows away the ~$1500 Bose home theater setup for less than 1/2 the price.

Sir Edward V · #13 12-09-2007, 10:34 PM

ALL of their headphones are amazing... They have ones called triports that are spectacular...

msquared · #14 12-09-2007, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BartmanPDX

Some of their stuff is OK like the headphones or the clock radio, but their home audio gear is overpriced junk IMO. You can get far better sound for less money. Many people (often wives) don't want to see big speakers and don't particularly care about sound quality beyond a name plate, and for those people, their sub/sat gear is great. You'd be hard pressed to find a audiophile who likes Bose though.

^ Yeah, that.

syciprider · #15 12-09-2007, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ericman197

Regular music/movie aficionados aren't into Bose either.
.

Regular aficionados?

BartmanPDX · #16 12-09-2007, 11:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by syciprider

Audiophiles.. Oh those guys who pay $2750 for THREE feet of Pear speaker cable and lawd knows how much for odd shaped "resonant" rock crystals because they enhance the sound?

There are audiophiles, and then there are fools. Audiophiles in general get a bad name because of the latter. You don't have to be a fool to appreciate good gear, but those people who spend thousands on cords are fools.

werbo1 · #17 12-10-2007, 06:14 AM

I use the bose computer speakers...just two speakers, no woofer and I love the response of them...I can definitely hear the bass.

Side note: I don't know how many of you know who Alvin Lucier is, but he once told our class that Bose would record the sound of the speakers through a room over and over again and then would try to control the sound quality based on what he recorded. This was what inspired Lucier's "I am sitting in a room."

dancehallclasher · #18 12-10-2007, 06:21 AM

The only reason they're so expensive is because they advertise so much. You can do better for less.

Mon Rominee · #19 12-10-2007, 06:25 AM

Knowing firsthand how "off the shelf" their driver components are, I'm unimpressed, for the money in question. This is speaking for the satellites and the acoustimass modules...what I am semi-impressed with is the engineering behind their folded horn molding in the acoustimass modules...the bass is definitely controlled and robust....quite contrary to the old industry joke

"No highs, no lows, must be Bose".

In fact, my old company, EAW, had tee shirts made once ripping on their other tagline...ours reading:

"Better sound through tee shirts"

Not knocking Bose in the slightest, just unimpressed. Their hardware, tho overpriced, seems pretty solid.

Bruce Lindfield · #20 12-10-2007, 06:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ericman197

Regular music/movie aficionados aren't into Bose either. My parents own three Bose systems, and the one I put together myself blows theirs away. My system costs about as much as any one of theirs, but it's got 7.1 surround (not stereo) with an SVS subwoofer (the cheapest one) that blows their little bandpass boxes away.If you're not that into high quality sound and just want something that works fairly well, Bose will install that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by embellisher

I put together a setup with equipment from pawn shops and Fry's. Yamaha powered sub, Polk Audio mains and center channel, and Sony surround speakers. Blows away the ~$1500 Bose home theater setup for less than 1/2 the price.

I think this is the point - if you are the sort of person who is prepared to put together an audio system from components - then you can get much higher quality for the same or more likely lower price!

But some people are not into wires and bits and pieces - they would put elegance and simplicity first, above pure sound quality and probably wouldn't notice the difference anyway!

Personally I would always rather go for a little effort and the best sound quality I could afford, over convenience!