Why do you hate/love Bose products!?

[Victor ch]

Out of curiosity, a question to those who have mentioned all of these lesser known (among non-audiophiles) speaker brands, how to they compare in price to the Bose offerings?

This thread hasn't been too severe, but I've seen some real venom directed towards Bose on some forums. I suppose they ask for it somewhat through their immodest marketing, but that aside, I doubt they deserve quite the hatred they get based purely on product - at least not all of their products.

Take their headphones - I bought a pair of their on-ear headphones after having tried a bunch of others. They in no way compare to my AKG studio headphones through a good headphones amp, but they do serve a nice purpose. They are designed to fold up to be quite portable, very comfortable, and they sound pleasing to me through a mediocre headphones amp like an iPod. It's not an accurate or honest sound necessarily, but I suspect that they were designed to add oomph to consumer devices.



Anyway, just a little something in defense of a company which surely attracts much of the poop they catch!

Well, KEF is quite expensive, same goes for B&W and B&O... Klipsch is reasonably priced... I mean I have the second cheapest floorstanders from the Reference series and they set me back $600 +taxes, double the amount of the Bose 301's but still quite cheap for high fidelity speakers. In terms of the price range from the Bose, well one can get some Sonys or some other brand like that within the price range and they'll beat them. The thing is that Bose claim themselves as high end and they charge ludicrous amounts of money for really jut OK sounding products. Take the Bose 901's, a relative has a pair and he swears by them, they're pretty much crap; they have like a gazillion 4.5" paper inside the enclosure yet the sound isnt as good (nor loud) as a 350$ PA speaker.

Victor

 

[Killyp]

Some of the best speakers i've heard are the Rogers brand, created by BBC engineers, they are no longer going (if you find a pair keep them!!)

Awesome speakers, truely awesome, specially on a good old Vinyl and a nice Sugden Tube Amp.

The LS3/5As are fantastic little speakers with classical music and some jazz. I don't find they do much for me with most other music though.

Sugden FTW. I have an old A48 amp (which has been passed down through the family) in service at the moment - sounds wonderful with a big old pair of speakers like my DM7s! Again though, not really very suited to a lot of modern music...

Yes, its strange but true but the UK has been historically and still is excellent at speaker design. The BBC and ex BBC engineers seemed to have spawned some of the leading companies.

Tannoy invented the loudspeaker for example " Over The Tannoy".

QUAD are mega mega expensive, I did hear some and it was like you were in a concert hall hearing a live orchestra. Incredible. But you have to super rich to afford them.

PS Bose are brought by the same people who buy BMW 3 series. All image and pose.

The BMW analogy is plain wrong. BMWs are built fantastically, drive fantastically, and look fantastic.

Bose doesn't 'drive' well, it isn't built particularly well, and IMO it doesn't look that special.

Out of curiosity, a question to those who have mentioned all of these lesser known (among non-audiophiles) speaker brands, how to they compare in price to the Bose offerings?

This thread hasn't been too severe, but I've seen some real venom directed towards Bose on some forums. I suppose they ask for it somewhat through their immodest marketing, but that aside, I doubt they deserve quite the hatred they get based purely on product - at least not all of their products.

Take their headphones - I bought a pair of their on-ear headphones after having tried a bunch of others. They in no way compare to my AKG studio headphones through a good headphones amp, but they do serve a nice purpose. They are designed to fold up to be quite portable, very comfortable, and they sound pleasing to me through a mediocre headphones amp like an iPod. It's not an accurate or honest sound necessarily, but I suspect that they were designed to add oomph to consumer devices.

And as I mentioned previously, their PA systems are a godsend. Most audiophiles would know very little about what is involved in getting a good live sound, especially for acoustic musicians. It's one thing to make a band sound good to the audience and another to make it sound good to the band at the same time. For us wee jazz musicians, the budget just isn't there to get a pro sound guy and all of the professional PA and monitor equipment required to do so, not to mention the desire to cary all of that crap around. Those Bose "sticks" as I like to call them sound terrific in 360 degrees with very little tweaking and through very innovative design, they are extremely compact. As good as a pro jazz player's setup at a nice theater? No. An extremely workable alternative for perpetually underpaid semi-pros? Hell yeah.

Anyway, just a little something in defense of a company which surely attracts much of the poop they catch!

The Bose PA speakers are well... again, mediocre sadly. I've used their classic PA speakers extensively and they're just mediocre at best. Their latest 'column' thingy is pretty good, but I've heard better, more portable and capable sound systems for the same price...

 

[yadmonkey]

Their latest 'column' thingy is pretty good, but I've heard better, more portable and capable sound systems for the same price...

I'm intrigued and would love a lead on an alternative because I'm hoping to invest in a new system in the next few months!

 

[needthephone]

My apologies to BMW, yes I totally agree, they are brilliantly engineered cars.
However, their cars, the 3 series in particular, do suffer in my opinion from the image of their perceived customers. They seem to attract young thrusting, middle manager types who like you to know they are young thrusting middle manger types. I'm young and I suppose I'm fairly comfortable but I wouldn't be seen dead in a BMW 3 series. Sorry its the conetations they conjur up.

On the subject of speakers I love my Missions.

Sombody said how they liked a song off a CD in the listening room on one set of speakers compared to another,

Its very important when you go and buy a decent pair of speakers to take some CD's reflecting the sort of music you like and hear them through the speakers. Often (and when I was at a Bose store this happened) the sales man will have a DVD of something like star wars so you will be blown away by the great explosions and laser zapping sounds. Don't be taken in by this as any half decent sub woofer will give you that ambient cinema explosion sound.

 

[yadmonkey]

However, their cars, the 3 series in particular, do suffer in my opinion from the image of their perceived customers. They seem to attract young thrusting, middle manager types who like you to know they are young thrusting middle manger types.

Ironically, some people feel the same about Apple! (except maybe the middle manager thing)

 

[Killyp]

My apologies to BMW, yes I totally agree, they are brilliantly engineered cars.
However, their cars, the 3 series in particular, do suffer in my opinion from the image of their perceived customers. They seem to attract young thrusting, middle manager types who like you to know they are young thrusting middle manger types. I'm young and I suppose I'm fairly comfortable but I wouldn't be seen dead in a BMW 3 series. Sorry its the conetations they conjur up.

On the subject of speakers I love my Missions.

Sombody said how they liked a song off a CD in the listening room on one set of speakers compared to another,

Its very important when you go and buy a decent pair of speakers to take some CD's reflecting the sort of music you like and hear them through the speakers. Often (and when I was at a Bose store this happened) the sales man will have a DVD of something like star wars so you will be blown away by the great explosions and laser zapping sounds. Don't be taken in by this as any half decent sub woofer will give you that ambient cinema explosion sound.

Couldn't agree more. Take in a CD of your favourite music, something you've listened to over and over again and really know what it sounds like. Don't let the salesman tell you which speaker is better, that's up to your own ears.

I'm intrigued and would love a lead on an alternative because I'm hoping to invest in a new system in the next few months!

Have a look at the Yamaha Stagepas systems, I have the 500 which is frankly, brilliant. I've PA'd a live funk/soul band with it, done some acoustic stuff with spanish guitars, ran a (very loud) party with them last night and got a live jazz gig come up soon. Very versatile, and they sound fantastic for a portable PA system. In many ways, they're comparable to some of the serious install speakers you see in big theatres in terms of sound quality. The built in mixer is very useful too, and surprisingly flexible given it's relatively basic design. Also has a built in reverb which may not be the best in the world, but is much better than a lot of reverbs etc... you find in budget desks.

 

[spamdumpster]

I really had to fight my corner with my wife to get the Big Tannoy speakers we ended up with. She thinks they look uguly but as they say beauty is in the eye of teh beholder.

I did not win this fight with my wife, and I ended up with a Bose 321 system -- chiefly because it's small & discreet.

I've been pleasantly surprised by the 321. Music sounds pretty good, and the simulated surround sound isn't terrible. It's certainly not real surround sound. Definitely not for audiophiles, but serves a good purpose. On a few occasions, someone has looked around for the rear speakers and was surprised to find that they weren't there.

Not a ringing endorsement, but better than nothing.

 

[Victor ch]

I did not win this fight with my wife, and I ended up with a Bose 321 system -- chiefly because it's small & discreet.

I've been pleasantly surprised by the 321. Music sounds pretty good, and the simulated surround sound isn't terrible. It's certainly not real surround sound. Definitely not for audiophiles, but serves a good purpose. On a few occasions, someone has looked around for the rear speakers and was surprised to find that they weren't there.

Not a ringing endorsement, but better than nothing.

You see, this is the one and only moment I'll agree with Bose, they designed super small speakers for this kinda things and one most give them the credit for innovation, but, then again, they do charge you like $4k for the lifestyle system and its just mediocre sounding. The demo room in the store where I bought the Klipsches was really the second best home theatre I've seen and the guys spent like 6.5K in that and totally blows Bose away; and it has the fancy version of it all, the Reference 83s with three 8inch woofers the big as$ double subwoofer etc....and one can get the setup with mines (rf-52s, smaller sub and all from the reference line) for $1.8k blowing Bose away by billions of miles.

Bose tries to trick you into believing those stupid cubes can make more sound than full surround speakers and that they also sound better, totally unacceptable, plus they charge you like a gazillion dollars for something that inside has $35 speakers. Not even audiophiles, regular people like me can tell the difference and when you've ticked the right boxes then you'll know what to get and that Bose is pretty much mediocre crap very well marketed; something that without a doubt will sound better than a piece o' sh*t $99 sony or likewise cassete player, but not something worth the high price nor remotely high-end.

Victor

 

[LiveForever]

An interesting Poll at this Hi Fi Forum on "Bose Kit"
These guys know what they are on about...

Bose kit is:
Great kit worth having 3%
A rip off, no good, sold by marketing not quality 80%
Was good but not anymore 16%
http://forum.hifichoice.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=16009&bose

Other good sites to research
http://whathifi.com
http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/
http://www.hi-fiworld.co.uk/
http://www.hifinews.co.uk/

 

[needthephone]

Wow, look at the contrast between this threads poll where its quite even for the lovers and haters

Do you love or hate Bose sound quality in their products?
Love 37.75%
Hate 43.71%
Never heard of it / I don't care 18.54%

And a similar poll where the voters know a little about sound quality. Where the haters outweigh the lovers 96% to 3%

Bose kit is:
Great kit worth having 3%
A rip off, no good, sold by marketing not quality 80%
Was good but not anymore 16%
http://forum.hifichoice.co.uk/viewto...bose

I think probably the main reason is that for "us" (although I don't own Bose) there are many factors which influence our choice. Music quality being just one of them, but also how it fits into the home decor, size, looks.

The serious audiophile will not compromise on sound quality and all other factors are very much secondary.

Its clearly not cost though as my Mission system was significantly cheaper than this Bose Lifestyle system they tried to flog me when I ventured into teh Bose store.

eg $3600 Bose

$1500
Mission

Although this is just a home theatre Mission system and not one for dedicated music. But it is a close comparison on small discreet systems. I have floor standers and bigger speakers all round but it was still way cheaper than Bose

 

[Victor ch]

(...)
eg $3600 Bose

$1500
Mission

Although this is just a home theatre Mission system and not one for dedicated music. But it is a close comparison on small discreet systems. I have floor standers and bigger speakers all round but it was still way cheaper than Bose

Yeah, the other day I heard the 5K version of the lifestyle thing and holy s••• its crap! stupidly designed non-fullrange speakers make sure that if you go to the other room where the cubes are (and not the sub) you wont hear the lows as their supposed to be, as if them by poor nature wasn't enough.

Victor

 

[Hawkeye411]

Love it ... too expensive though

 

[Victor ch]

Love it ... too expensive though

Then (no offense bro) you haven't heard much. Many get tricked (I did partially with the in-ears and almost the 301's) with assuming that if you pay an unprecedented amount of money then you'll get fantastic sounding stuff. Well marketed crap, the only product I'll support is the QC2, cause I have them and unlike other Bose products these ones sound quite good (not like really good, but better than the average headphone) and for being noise-canceling and 299$ a definitely well priced pair. (senns are at 450, audio tech at 250... so quite ok)

Victor

 

[yadmonkey]

Actually I think the in-ear headphones are refreshingly different in design with very little direct competition. I say this because they're not like other in-ear cans. Personally, I have a strong aversion to putting anything into my ears. As a musician, my ears are my greatest asset and it makes me nervous to put a speaker that close to my eardrum. The Bose in-ears sit comfortably a little outside of your ear canal, I think they sound great for things like iPods, and their placement gives a little extra sense of space.

Now I'm sure they don't compare in fidelity to this or that set of cans, but with a mediocre headphones amp like those which you'll find in an iPod, does it really matter that much? They sound very good to me for portable applications and again, I find the design to be extremely comfortable and don't feel like they stress my eardrums as much as any true in-ear phones I've used.

 

[Victor ch]

Actually I think the in-ear headphones are refreshingly different in design with very little direct competition. I say this because they're not like other in-ear cans. Personally, I have a strong aversion to putting anything into my ears. As a musician, my ears are my greatest asset and it makes me nervous to put a speaker that close to my eardrum. The Bose in-ears sit comfortably a little outside of your ear canal, I think they sound great for things like iPods, and their placement gives a little extra sense of space.

Now I'm sure they don't compare in fidelity to this or that set of cans, but with a mediocre headphones amp like those which you'll find in an iPod, does it really matter that much? They sound very good to me for portable applications and again, I find the design to be extremely comfortable and don't feel like they stress my eardrums as much as any true in-ear phones I've used.

I actually find their sound worst than the average, like if they put a tiny subwoofer inside a box inside another box so it'll be 'boomy'. No highs just lows, only Bose. And I always thought that sticking a headphone inside your ear canal was worse than having a circum/supra aural headphones placed over/on your ears (I was told this once and assumed it was sorta right , although I have no type of scientifically proven data to back it up) And your less scared to put a speaker INSIDE your ear than over it? Sorry that makes no sense.

Victor

 

[Killyp]

Actually I think the in-ear headphones are refreshingly different in design with very little direct competition. I say this because they're not like other in-ear cans. Personally, I have a strong aversion to putting anything into my ears. As a musician, my ears are my greatest asset and it makes me nervous to put a speaker that close to my eardrum. The Bose in-ears sit comfortably a little outside of your ear canal, I think they sound great for things like iPods, and their placement gives a little extra sense of space.

Now I'm sure they don't compare in fidelity to this or that set of cans, but with a mediocre headphones amp like those which you'll find in an iPod, does it really matter that much? They sound very good to me for portable applications and again, I find the design to be extremely comfortable and don't feel like they stress my eardrums as much as any true in-ear phones I've used.

You need to try some other earphones, of which there are many with a far better design and FAR better sound...

 

[yadmonkey]

You need to try some other earphones, of which there are many with a far better design and FAR better sound...

I'm open to suggestions, but keep in mind that we're talking about portable "bud" type headphones that don't go inside your ear canals. If there are better headphones of this type, then I'd love to know.

 

[DakotaGuy]

I love Bose. Love the style of their products and the sound. Some people don't like the "Bose sound" but I do. You could argue that they are overpriced, however they are a private company that funds a lot of research on top of their audio business. Bose is the only brand of speaker or headphone in my house.

 

[Killyp]

I'm open to suggestions, but keep in mind that we're talking about portable "bud" type headphones that don't go inside your ear canals. If there are better headphones of this type, then I'd love to know.

Bang & Olufsen A8

I love Bose. Love the style of their products and the sound. Some people don't like the "Bose sound" but I do. You could argue that they are overpriced, however they are a private company that funds a lot of research on top of their audio business. Bose is the only brand of speaker or headphone in my house.

'The Bose sound' is one which is matched by systems costing far less than half the price.

If you think the Bose kit looks nice, you need to have a look around. Boses' designs are boring, a little fussy in places and the proportions are all wrong. I liken them to burglar alarm sensors.

If you want to see a company who can combine design and performance in the correct way, B&O are the company to look at. Sound-per-pound wise, far ahead of Bose and some of the products are actually among the best in terms of sound-per-pound on the market...

 

[gkarris]

Love it - for certain applications.

I use it for movies in my home theater. I have a much older speaker system (the 5.1 was $500) and it sounded much better than speaker systems well over $1,000. All the cheap ones were just utter crap.

I also use a Bose 2.1 for my gaming rig.

The really small ones for a computer they have now are awesome, but at $400, they BETTER BE...

We have a Bose system in our church and it sounds incredible.

 

[Killyp]

Incredible? In a Church?

I'll eat my own hair if I every hear such a thing, and believe me I have a really small appetite in relation to my hair...

 

[ChrisA]

I think the Bose products are a good match to Apple's new glossy displays. People who care about accuracy and color fidelity hate both of them but if you like exagerated contrast and over saturated colors then Bose soundand glossy screens are for you.

 

[princealfie]

I prefer Ultimate Ears, Audio technica, and even Shure or Bang and Olufsen over Bose any day.

Bose distorts the sound with its fake attempt to dupe live sound!

 

[Victor ch]

.mac web gallery now available!

Victor

 

[Killyp]

Nice kit. Room still looks like it could be a little boomy and too 'live'. What's going on in the listening position? (i.e., take a pic standing where the TV is pointing back).