Why do you hate/love Bose products!?

[Victor ch]

Ok... as the title say many people either truly hate and criticize Bose corp. or completely fall in love with its sound quality. Looking for headphones to buy I came across thousands of reviews; there were ones that said it was amazing then others said it was ****. So if you're an audiophile, sound engineer or (like me) a "sound enthusiast" say why you love/hate Bose's speakers, headphones and other products.

Me: Yeah.. bout that... Well I changed, drastically, I know believe Bose is completely overrated, overpriced and marketing strategy is what has kept them flourishing. Even though Im pretty much in love with my QC2's I hate every other Bose product I own (Companion 3, In-Ears). You can get a much better sounding system for a lot less. In big speakers Bose are terribly overpriced and sound 'OK' but not worth half their price. Is the attitude that if you pay more you get the best what has kept Bose on the market. I'll say keep away from Bose at all costs, unless you're looking for noise-canceling over-ear headphones with good sound, in that case the QC2's are the cheapest (Senn's are 150 more and Audio-Technicas are 80 less but have no mics to monitor out side noises) Well, post your experiences with Bose equipment.


Note: I use Lossless encoding to listen my music, so I get the very best of the CD without having the CD itself.

Victor

 

[bartelby]

I've heard much, much better sounding equipment for a lot less.

Bose are right up there with B & O!

 

[ErikCLDR]

We have a $500+ Wave Radio and I must say I am not impressed with the sound quality at all. The base is there but not very strong. There are no sound adjustments. Listening to AM on it is horrible because it gives it too much base and makes it hard to understand what people are saying. FM reception isn't very good. CD lacks full base. I'm not an audiophile but I can tell you that my $300 iPod HiFi (which is probably overpriced) sounds a heck of a lot better then the Wave Radio. It has a lot more base, its $200 cheaper, and it's a lot louder.

We also have a 5.1 system sitting in our basement in a box. We haven't set it up yet. As I remember it was pretty good sounding, it just probably costs more then its worth.

I think its just all advertising. They say they're the best so people think their the best. Similar to volvo. They say they are safe, so people think they are. I mean they are safe cars in general, but there are plenty of other cars that can compare and probably cost less.

One thing about the Wave Radio though that I do like (other than the cool remote) is that somehow the sound sounds as if it is being played in the room you are in, even if you are in another room of the house and around a corner.

 

[MacNut]

The thing I don't like is how they hide there specs. I ask what the wattage is they say "we don't do it that way". Sound is good but you pay more then you should. I don't care either way really.

 

[JNB]

I hate the ads, I hate the premium pricing and limited distribution channels, but I love the equipment and have never been disappointed with any Bose product I've owned in the last thirty years. Kinda like Apple...

 

[0098386]

I'm more impressed by the quality for their size. At our nearest Bose outlet store they have this demo room with 5 tiny speakers but with giant grills hiding them. I was really blown away by the sound such a tiny speaker could produce, and then blown away by the price

I don't mind them. Neither love nor hate. If I had the money I would go for them though just to have a great sounding system and near invisible speakers.

 

[cornopaez]

well, my headphones are amazing and they sound really good. They are light and very responsive... what can I say? good products and good quality.

 

[shecky]

there is a saying:

"no highs, no lows, just Bose."

i think their stuff is very well marketed crap.

 

[JML42691]

I loved them because of the amazing sound quality that could only be matched by few, I hated them because the headphones that I forked out $100 for broke two days after the warranty expired when they were used normally.

 

[Drumjim85]

The thing I don't like is how they hide there specs. I ask what the wattage is they say "we don't do it that way". Sound is good but you pay more then you should. I don't care either way really.

thank you! I thought I was going to be the only one to complain about that. I was trying to find the dynamic range of the converters and they dont publish the specs. The store staff couldnt tell me them either... What are they hiding? Why are they afraid to publish this info?

So, apart from that, I think its way over priced for the quality... And a bit hyped/scooped..

 

[MacNut]

Back in the day I think Bose was better, now a lot of people are making high quality stuff for a lot less. Bose is just selling because of the name now not the quality.

 

[mariahlullaby]

I got the Bose around-ear Triport headphones for Christmas, and I love them. The sound quality is great, IMO, but more than that, these are the most comfortable headphones I've had. Before this, I had some $20 Sony headphones that were great, too, but weren't that comfortable after a few hours.

 

[Victor ch]

thank you! I thought I was going to be the only one to complain about that. I was trying to find the dynamic range of the converters and they dont publish the specs. The store staff couldnt tell me them either... What are they hiding? Why are they afraid to publish this info?

So, apart from that, I think its way over priced for the quality... And a bit hyped/scooped..

Overpriced perhaps with their "higher end" equipment (big ass speakers) the headphones and multimedia speakers seem reasonably priced. The why don't they publish their specs?: Because they know that in paper their products are even worse than in real life.

Victor

there is a saying:

"no highs, no lows, just Bose."

i think their stuff is very well marketed crap.

LOL true, although I heard "All highs, All lows, just Bose" which means they're just plain ol' crap with good bass.

-Victor

I'm more impressed by the quality for their size. At our nearest Bose outlet store they have this demo room with 5 tiny speakers but with giant grills hiding them. I was really blown away by the sound such a tiny speaker could produce, and then blown away by the price

I don't mind them. Neither love nor hate. If I had the money I would go for them though just to have a great sounding system and near invisible speakers.

The size to sound thing is true! My companion 3 are loud, although the sound is below average.

Victor

 

[Killyp]

I've heard much, much better sounding equipment for a lot less.

Bose are right up there with B & O!

We won't go back into that again, but you really aught to spend some time looking at B&O's better bits


Personally, I don't like Bose. I have no major issues with their products. For what they are, they're good. Sub/sat packages don't get much better (although you can still find a better sound from other packages), they aren't 'junk' as most audiophiles make out.

The issue is, Bose markets them as a true audiophile's system, something audio engineers approve of, which they simply don't. Any decent musician/engineer/producer would tell you that even their top of the range system wouldn't match up to a basic pair of monitors or hifi speakers.

Bose is all brand name and nothing else. Their prices do not match the performance/build quality/finish/usability of their products.

 

[eric55lv]

They have one of the best headphones and speakers and iPod speakers on the market that why I love Bose products

 

[Victor ch]

They have one of the best headphones and speakers and iPod speakers on the market that why I love Bose products

No.. they're a tad mediocre and even tough some are really nice and well priced (QC's) and some are just reasonably priced but they're mediocre (computer speakers)

-Victor

 

[iSaint]

I've never found the Bose sound to be very good. I remember the old Bose with the jet engines out of the back. They sucked compared to my JBL Studio Monitors.

 

[juanster]

i hate them, they are cheapily made, they sound good, but they don't sound half as good as anything else you buy for the same price... it's all marketing thats put them as good speakers..IMO

 

[Cleverboy]

I hate Bose products because they simply don't taste good AT ALL.

This is unacceptable.

~ CB

 

[displaced]

They always seem to cost a bit too much for what they are. Plus, I agree that they're too 'heavy' sounding. They make quite good PA stuff (though nothing like as good as Tannoy stuff, naturally).

There's apparently (according to audiophiles, of which I don't really count myself) quite a new world/old world split in speaker design. US brands such as Bose tend to be heavier-sounding than speakers from UK manufacturers. Silly quasi-fact for you all there.

Personally, you can pry my Mordaunt-Short Avant 900i range from my cold, dead hands... reasonably priced, sound great, and should last me a lifetime.

 

[twoodcc]

i think i hate them b/c of their price. i mean, $500 for headphones!

 

[zioxide]

Buy Other Sound Equipment

yeah. Bose is way overpriced for the quality you get from them.

 

[Victor ch]

i think i hate them b/c of their price. i mean, $500 for headphones!

Yeah apparently thats what most people hate... Even I disagree with their prices but still buy them In my case, I was looking for noise-cancelling headphones with a combination of good sound... I had 3 candidates: Sony, Bose and Sennheisser. With very good audio came only Bose and Senheisser then, Senheisser are worth 450$$!! and they are freakin' enormous; ended up with bose

Anyways, it seems MacRumors community seems to hate Bose nowadays... maybe they're older so they have seen what audio was way back then (which most people seem to agree that todays sound is just mediocre compared to the first fancy speakers). Im 16, and 2 years ago I really started to dig into sound and everything and ended up with Sony and Bose. I have a big 5 speaker system from Sony that soud really good, yet I dunno theres somehting in less loud Bose speakers that seem to be more "fullfilling" to me and its not price ejejej (actually the Sony set of speakers where pretty expensive)

-Victor

 

[rhsgolfer33]

They sound decent, but it's nothing my 6.1 Jamo speakers (with rear channels in the ceiling) and Yamaha receiver can't beat, for less.

 

[bov]

i would get the Bose around ear headphones but they are out of my price range.