I work at Sound Advice in Florida, and I think that one of my jobs is to open people's eyes to great audio. I demoed a pair of Summits to a potential client with some Madeleine Peyroux (Blue Alert), and the guy had the nerve to say that his Bose Lifestyles kills it. Are these people just a lost cause? Just needed to vent.
Bose vs. Logans...Not what you think
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Either he is a complete moron, in which case he's not worth your time; or he knows better but was just trying to get your goat. If someone made that comment after listening to my Summits, I would just have to smirk and say something really sarcastic. There really is no polite response to someone that deaf or dumb.
FatJ
Well-known member
If I owned a home theater company it would clearly state in my handbook that in such instances it is permissable for the employee to bitchslap the customer
Next time ask him if his focus will outrun a ferrari too
Kenscollick
Well-known member
Some time ago a non audiophile friend was listening to my system and was duly impressed. after a few songs he asked "What Bose system would i have to buy to sound this good?"
I said the one with the credit card sized remote and got him another beer.
I said the one with the credit card sized remote and got him another beer.
While I agree with everybodies response here, I will say to the 'untrained ear' Bose can be a deceptive bit of short term sonic ahhhh. Again to the UNTRAINED EAR ! Give them credit for their marketing ability.
I have a friend who has one of their "Lifestyle" whatever systems and for shear 'plug and play' setup for those that are technically challenged (llike our parents) it is actually Ok for HT, IMO.
I have a friend who has one of their "Lifestyle" whatever systems and for shear 'plug and play' setup for those that are technically challenged (llike our parents) it is actually Ok for HT, IMO.
Bernard
Well-known member
Friends do not let friends buy Bose :devil:
Joey_V
Well-known member
The guy is a dummy... he doesn't know what he's talking about. If he thinks small Bose cubes can replicate music/audio to the fidelity that the Summits can, he's high on something.
Or maybe he just bought this Bose set and felt that he needed to say something to justify his recent purchase?
Or maybe he just bought this Bose set and felt that he needed to say something to justify his recent purchase?
tikkbomb
Member
Working at another branch of the Tweeter/Sound Advice chain, I have found that no matter what you play for some people they will always think Bose is better. Some people just live for marketing. No matter what they hear they believe the marketing over the experience. I just say thank you for your time, enjoy your Bose, and walk away. I may even give them my card.
BOSE= Better Off with Something Else
BOSE= Better Off with Something Else
Pcar928fan
Well-known member
I totally agree. The sounds that a BOSE LS50 (that is the only one I have and it is in the bedroom system) makes it makes pretty well. The problem is that it makes no sound in the bass end and runs out of steam on top too! The middle section where there is a tone of info is fine (not GREAT, but fine). The set up is VERY simple the LCD remote is great (except all of the lights have burned out and you can't see it at night anymore).
I took a movie back to the bedroom because there was something else going on where the ML system is and I turned it on and watched about 10 minutes of it and then turned it off. It just TOTALLY SUCKED by comparison to the ML system so I didn't even want to watch it anymore!
amey01
Well-known member
Yes, Bose can sound great to an "UNTRAINED" ear.
And yes, as I've said before, I do have a lot of respect for Bose - no, they're not Hi-Fi, but they really are better than Sony, Panasonic, LG, Pioneer, Philips, et al. that most people are used to.
Why are people so intent on comparing Bose to $10,000 Martin Logans? Don't be scared guys - they're not a competitor! But compare Bose to the brands listed above and they are indeed a technical marvel and sound fabulous!
And yes, as I've said before, I do have a lot of respect for Bose - no, they're not Hi-Fi, but they really are better than Sony, Panasonic, LG, Pioneer, Philips, et al. that most people are used to.
Why are people so intent on comparing Bose to $10,000 Martin Logans? Don't be scared guys - they're not a competitor! But compare Bose to the brands listed above and they are indeed a technical marvel and sound fabulous!
asindc
Well-known member
I don't think it's a matter of fear as much as experienced audiophiles know that for the money you can do a lot better than Bose, even among the other brands that you mentioned. It's all about value. Bose markets well and makes decent products, but for the same money I would choose other brands before it. Besides, it was the the original poster's customer who made the comparison, not him.
eknuds01
Well-known member
I don't think Bose speakers are all THAT bad, but I don't think their high end stuff represents much value. Having said that, some of their mid-priced offerings aren't terrible. They have a few systems for under $1500 and it would be hard to set up a (new) HT unit made from a high end company (such as ML) for the same price. You might be able to assemble a comparable system from Def. Tech or something, but I am not sure how much better that would be vs the Bose system.
Bose, in my opinion, has engaged in one of the most successful marketing campaigns of all time. Ask anyone to name a high end audio system, and the first thing the [inexperienced] interviewee will say is 'Bose' without hesitation. Years ago when Circuit City opened in Naples, FL they sold a staggering amount of Bose HT equipment in the first few weeks - one month. It was on the order of $90,000. At the time CC had some decent offerings from JBL and the like - nothing stellar by comparison, but most people prefer the smaller speakers vs larger floor standing models.
People are just blown away by the 'big sound, from such a small speaker.'
You gotta hand it do the Bose marketing group. They use magazine and occasional TV ads to promote their products and the sales pitch at their stores (usually in malls) is well rehearsed and effective. Years ago I auditioned their high end unit and they had these large boxes (almost looked like room treatments) hanging from the wall and one would have thought they were the speakers. And then right before the demo ended, they removed the faux coverings to reveal the tiny Bose cubes.
Erik
Bose, in my opinion, has engaged in one of the most successful marketing campaigns of all time. Ask anyone to name a high end audio system, and the first thing the [inexperienced] interviewee will say is 'Bose' without hesitation. Years ago when Circuit City opened in Naples, FL they sold a staggering amount of Bose HT equipment in the first few weeks - one month. It was on the order of $90,000. At the time CC had some decent offerings from JBL and the like - nothing stellar by comparison, but most people prefer the smaller speakers vs larger floor standing models.
People are just blown away by the 'big sound, from such a small speaker.'
You gotta hand it do the Bose marketing group. They use magazine and occasional TV ads to promote their products and the sales pitch at their stores (usually in malls) is well rehearsed and effective. Years ago I auditioned their high end unit and they had these large boxes (almost looked like room treatments) hanging from the wall and one would have thought they were the speakers. And then right before the demo ended, they removed the faux coverings to reveal the tiny Bose cubes.
Erik
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MickeyVee
Well-known member
About a year & a half ago, I helped a friend setup his AV system. He was hot on the Bose so we went and auditioned it. He was duly impressed but was a little concerned at the $5K Canadian price tag. The store where we auditioned the Bose has a dedicated floor for Bose products away from their other A/V gear. Must be part of the marketing/selling plan.
So, we went out and auditioned other equipment and he was similarly impressed with a much better price. We ended up with Mirage OmniSat 5.1 speaker system, a mid line Marantz Reciever, a Rotel DVD/CD player, a Harmony remote and the iPod for music. This came up to less than $3K with taxes and cabling and they love the system. He has admitted that the ML sound is far superior to anything he has ever heard. There's hope for him yet.
Like everyone is saying, there is better bang for the buck out there.
So, we went out and auditioned other equipment and he was similarly impressed with a much better price. We ended up with Mirage OmniSat 5.1 speaker system, a mid line Marantz Reciever, a Rotel DVD/CD player, a Harmony remote and the iPod for music. This came up to less than $3K with taxes and cabling and they love the system. He has admitted that the ML sound is far superior to anything he has ever heard. There's hope for him yet.
Like everyone is saying, there is better bang for the buck out there.
SundayNiagara
Well-known member
Bose is successful because women/wives like their products. Another reason is they protect their products better than any other hi-fi manufacturer. If they catch a dealer discounting, they take the line away. Believe me, no dealer wants to lose an "easy pop." On top of that, there are Bose Points.
amey01
Well-known member
As far as sound quality per dollar goes, no Bose is not good value. I know it's hard from an audiophile's point of view, but there are other reasons why people make a particular choice of speaker.
I, personally, would buy MartinLogan for their sound regardless - I wouldn't care if they were manufactured out of unfinished rusty second-hand steel and plastic. But I'm sure a lot of people would.
It's kind of like saying that Mercedes-Benz or BMW are shocking value because for the same money a Ferrari will go faster.
Bose make reasonable sounding products that fit in extremely well with people's decor. That matters a lot to some people......and they manage to do it while giving customers a not insignificant performance boost compared to generic "consumer" audio systems.
A CRT will give better performance than a plasma for the same money, but how many of us have bulky CRTs? (those of us that have sub-100cm models).
Bose obviously spends an incredible amount of money on marketing and advertising and that expense has to go into the highly protected retail price of the products. The customer is ultimately paying those marketing costs. This is why they're so overpriced in relation to product quality.
The Bose Lifestyle systems are designed to be very compact and therefore easy to place in a room with minimal impact on decor. That's not bad thing if the priority is to hide the audio system as much as possible rather than best sound possible. However, there are many sonic compromises to using micro-sized speakers and lack of midrange is the most prominent. You may not realize what your missing until you hear it next to well performing system and you will not have that opportunity in a "Bose" only store.
The Bose Lifestyle systems are designed to be very compact and therefore easy to place in a room with minimal impact on decor. That's not bad thing if the priority is to hide the audio system as much as possible rather than best sound possible. However, there are many sonic compromises to using micro-sized speakers and lack of midrange is the most prominent. You may not realize what your missing until you hear it next to well performing system and you will not have that opportunity in a "Bose" only store.
When you get a customer like that you have to just "let it go". It may take a while but that customer will be back. Over time he'll start to learn that there is more to sound quality than just "boom - tiss". Or maybe not.
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