unfaded said:
(Paper cones in a $1,500 system? I'll pass)
You know if paper is so bad then why can you find 901's from the late 1960's early 1970's still blasting away full throttle on a 500 watt amp???
Paper is what gives them the acoustics they want and actually you know in tests all the high tech materials in speakers really do not perform better then the paper driver. Stand in front of 2 speakers blindfolded, one paper and one some exotic material and you tell me if you can tell the difference, you probably would even choose the sound of the paper driver if the enclosure is better designed. The newer materials might be tougher, that is true, but do you honestly know how hard it is to blow a Bose driver? Almost impossible, unless you have a weak amp and start clipping them.
True, in many areas Bose is overpriced for what it is, but some areas it is not. Their computer speakers are not overpriced for what you get. Companion 2's are great speakers for under $100. The 201's, 301's and even the 901's are priced right with the competition. The only difference is Bose loudspeakers are made in the USA and most of the competition is made in China. The Acoustimass systems are overpriced, but I have one and it is a great sub-sat system for movies, etc. I love the cubes. Great sound and Bose has a knack for making things look great, kind of like another company we all know and love.
The Lifestyle system is WAY overpriced. I would never buy one. You can do the same with a good receiver and an Acoustimass for $1,000-2,000 less. It looks cool and has ease of use like no other, but is not worth that price at all.
Bose is a privately held company. They have to make a profit or they are done. Simple as that. No one to come in and bail them out when things go south. They produce most products in the US and Mexico. Sure they could charge less if they bought a loudspeaker made in some back door Chinese plant and slapped their name on it, but they design and build their own speakers and labor is not cheap. Even in Mexico, labor is a lot more then in China. Now they make some items in China as well, but for the most part they are domestic.
I am not saying that they are the best in the world, but they have good ideas. They actually study acoustics and how to improve the sound. For Bose the driver is not the most important part of the speaker, the case the driver sits in is. That is what they believe. Maybe it is a stupid idea, but honestly anyone that will tell you anything from Bose sounds like total crap is full of it. They have a different sound, some don't like the Bose sound, but I do. It is crisp. You hear things in the music that you have never heard before, the smallest passages. I like that over something that just thumps and thumps, but that is me. Not everyone will agree. Speakers are totally in the ears of the person that owns them.
Last customer service and warranty is important to them. Bose speakers have a 5 year warranty and they stand behind it. If you have problems with your system you can call them and they will help. I had an issue with the set up of my system and they helped. I called them and within minutes I was talking on the phone to an actual Bose Engineer. This guy was almost talking a little over my level, but he was very nice person and when I was done on the phone I had all my issues solved. Imagine Apple connecting you to a hardware or software engineer when you had a problem, um...yeah right...that would ever happen.
Anyhow I did not mean to be rude at all, I just get tired of people always bashing Bose when they don't understand what they are trying to achieve. Sure using a small driver in a funny case is a weird idea, but you know some in the PC business think using Mac OSX is a weird idea as well. Bose loves to make something that shouldn't work, work. To them it is all a science experiment with acoustics and there really is not anything wrong with that IMO.
