Why is Bose perceived as great by some?

[TomDac]

I went to a "Premium Outlet Center" here in northern California this past weekend. It had the usual stores - Nike, BigDog, etc. As we walked by the Bose store, my friend Dennis (an acquaintance really - he has never been to my house and doesn't know about my hobby with audio gear) says, "That Bose stuff is SO great. My friend got the system with the little speakers and it sounds wonderful".

I've heard other people exclaim with great pride that their car audio system is a Bose and it's awesome.

I think their little clock radio sounds pretty good, but for 350 dollars I'd never get one. I heard 901s in a bar and thought they sounded pretty good.. that was a long time ago before I ever got into Logans, etc. and to be quite honest, I was drinking... probably pretty heavily - it was college. LOL!

My question is this: has anyone here ever been impressed with Bose products? Am I missing something?

 

[Rik_Rankin]

I went to a "Premium Outlet Center" here in northern California this past weekend. It had the usual stores - Nike, BigDog, etc. As we walked by the Bose store, my friend Dennis (an acquaintance really - he has never been to my house and doesn't know about my hobby with audio gear) says, "That Bose stuff is SO great. My friend got the system with the little speakers and it sounds wonderful".

I've heard other people exclaim with great pride that their car audio system is a Bose and it's awesome.

I think their little clock radio sounds pretty good, but for 350 dollars I'd never get one. I heard 901s in a bar and thought they sounded pretty good.. that was a long time ago before I ever got into Logans, etc. and to be quite honest, I was drinking... probably pretty heavily - it was college. LOL!

My question is this: has anyone here ever been impressed with Bose products? Am I missing something?

If you want a really good clock radio with a CD player in a bedroom, their $500 unit is pretty good for a small unit. The problem is that it is an insane rip-off at that price. I would not pay more than $250 for it. Other than that, their stuff really sounds mediocre and mid-fi.

 

[twich54]

Tom, at times when I've encountered the Bose systems when out and about I have thought, "gee for something so small it sounds half decent", but as Rik said, when one looks what they charge for their mid-fi sound it's overpriced for the "smoke and mirrors" performance given.

 

[Robin]

Bose Equipment and Bose Speakers...

I've gotta say, I seriously auditioned Bose 901 floor standing speakers years ago and I thought they lacked the sound stage. I also did not like the Bose tweeters the highs lacked the clarity and sweetness especially at high volumes. I listened to their flat center channel and their complete 3K 5.1 system. It was uninspiring and for the money. The bass woofer sounded muddy. I just could not understand it. The other thing is that Bose insists that their gear not be compared directly in the audio stores with any other audio manufacture's speakers or gear... It you notice Bose gear is kept away from all the other audio equipment. I absolutely hated this constraint.

The other point is that Bose electronics are just average not high-end at all. I am referring to their 5.1 receiver and their clock radios / CD players as well.

Another interesting thing about Bose speakers, I've noticed lately, in my research of horn speakers, is that Bose speaker technology is based on back baffles and channels in their plastic or wood cabinets, which is similar to how some folks build DIY horn box speakers. The difference is that the DIY horn speakers are built soooo much better, a huge improvement in quality so much more than Bose speaker products; See what I mean, this photo is of a DIY project, some guy is building - a horn speaker from scratch in his shop at home...

 

[wipper snapper]

Alot of it has to do with one's point of reference. Going from Sony 2 ways driven by a Sony reciever to Bose 901s driven by Nikko and Carver is pretty impressive. Oh yah there's always marketing.

 

[kach22i]

I took my brother to a store which at the time had Bose side by side with other speakers. The only speakers it sounded better than was the Jamo wall mounted flat speaker. My brother so wanted Bose before he heard them, I went though the same thing I'm afraid, good thing I trusted my ears.

Once, and only once was I really impressed with Bose. My wife and I were in Hudson at Christmas and they had this big decorated tree, we went to take a closer look and heard bells. I looked up and saw the AM5 little cube speakers, they do single tone bells really well I have to admit, no enclosure to speak of to get in the way.

Bose does not Rock.

Marketing genius, give credit where it's due folks, someone earned their paycheck at Bose.

 

[Beat_Dominator]

Another interesting thing about Bose speakers, I've noticed lately, in my research of horn speakers, is that Bose speaker technology is based on back baffles and channels in their plastic or wood cabinets, which is similar to how some folks build DIY horn box speakers. The difference is that the DIY horn speakers are built soooo much better, a huge improvement in quality so much more than Bose speaker products; See what I mean, this photo is of a DIY project, some guy is building - a horn speaker from scratch in his shop at home...

I think Bose's "wave guide" technology is more closely related to Transmission Line (TL) enclosures than rear-loaded horns.

As stated above, I feel that the sound is decent, not great; but the prices they charge for the kind of build quality offered is a sin.

 

[amey01]

1: Perception - when you see teeny weeny speakers sounding *half* decent, you automatically think "wow".

2: Point of reference - Lets give credit where it's due, Bose is way way better than Japanese majors. And Tom, a Bose car audio system really is better than the junk that comes with most cars.

3: Psycho-acoustics - The "boom-tizz" characteristics of Bose sound mighty impressive on first listen. It is only when one sits down for a long listening session that it becomes tiring. Sure, I've heard nice sounds out of Bose when I've been out and about, but I could never sit down and listen to them for hours on end with my eyes closed in one of my late-night listening sessions.

4: Marketing - those demonstrations where they have what appears to be a large speaker that fades away to the tiny cubes are etched in some people's memories for good.

5: Pricing - It's obscene really - Bose is seriously overpriced in terms of sound quality, but how much value do you (not us, but some people) place on a speaker that looks good or is small? They have also nailed "ease of use" with their system packages. People are prepared to pay a premium for that as well.

 

[Steve]

I used a pair of Bose bookshelf speakers all through college that I had gotten for $15/each when Federated was going out of business. Best (and only) pair of $30 speakers I've ever owned. I looked once at the little 5.1 cube system and was completely floored at what they charge versus what you get. It's all marketing.

Although, I'll have to admit that the headphones on my regular transpacific flights are really nice.

 

[longhorn]

I have the Bose wave at the office (descent for AM sport radio and looks good on my desk) . I have the 321GS at home (in between systems,gave away my Linn Tukans when I moved and my wife wants to see her movies NOW!) and its descent,though with alot of compression at top.

I suggest you go to a search engine and type in "Bose John Feng". He is the guy who is in charge of the OEM car side at Bose. And guess what HE IS AN AUDIOPHILE!!! Along with Bose he has Aerial Acoutics speakers and his friends have high end audiophile equipement. It also explains why Bose's latest Car sytems (Acura RL, Infiniti M45 and latest 07 G35) are getting good reviews from audiophile magazines. He has taken it upon himself to visit alot of the various audio forums to not defend Bose but debunk some myths. The most telling is that the home division accepts certain tradeoffs so that their systems are WAF friendly and small, while the car OEM division can only sound as good as the budget allowed. Thats why there is such a disparity between Bose car systems. Some car have larger audio budgets than others.

As regard the Bose hate,he states Bose never claims to be an audiophile company. Its not where the money is. Do a google or Yahoo search for this guy, its pretty funny reading the back and forth banter between Bose haters and a Bose engineer. Guess who wins that war.

 

[Cherian]

I got a Boes wave radio as a gift. It wakes me up in the morning. That is one expensive ($400.00) alarm clock. All I can say is marketing, marketing and more marketing.

 

[Tube60]

"No Highs, No Lows, Gotta Be Bose!"
Like most everybody has posted, it's marketing hype. Throw some impressive commercials on the air, directed at people who don't give a damn about quality sound, talk most of the car manufacturers into having Bose systems in their product lineup, although I do think they sound better than what those selfsame car manufacturers could ever do, and stay on top of advertizing like a bear guarding a carcass. The stuff of legend and genius right there. I've listened to a lot of Bose systems and I've never got a good stereo image. Sound from two speakers and that's about it IMO.

 

[Dominick22]

An audiophile myself and previous owner of Bose 601's, I have to say that I have been impressed. I sold the 601's after only 6 months of ownership because they were crap, but recently, I went for a ride in my friends brand new Tahoe. He asked me to evaluate the system and I was surprised. It was actually pretty well balanced and pleasant for an OEM system. I have to admit, that compared to my very expensive after market car stereo system, it did well.

But consider, I have spent around 3k for my system, and it wouldnt surprise me if his ran just as much! Of course, mine does sound better, but nonetheless, I was impressed. maybe the fact that it was bose sounding so good is what impressed me.

Reason fo other people having misconceptions:
I truly believe that most people do not trust their ears. They trust their eyes. "except for the blind". They do not believe that can hear a difference and so the believe those who "show" them a difference. IE:Bose advertising! Bose is very good at telling you why their speakers are superior in a magazine ad!

Dominick

 

[longhorn]

An audiophile myself and previous owner of Bose 601's, I have to say that I have been impressed. I sold the 601's after only 6 months of ownership because they were crap, but recently, I went for a ride in my friends brand new Tahoe. He asked me to evaluate the system and I was surprised. It was actually pretty well balanced and pleasant for an OEM system. I have to admit, that compared to my very expensive after market car stereo system, it did well.

But consider, I have spent around 3k for my system, and it wouldnt surprise me if his ran just as much! Of course, mine does sound better, but nonetheless, I was impressed. maybe the fact that it was bose sounding so good is what impressed me.

Reason fo other people having misconceptions:
I truly believe that most people do not trust their ears. They trust their eyes. "except for the blind". They do not believe that can hear a difference and so the believe those who "show" them a difference. IE:Bose advertising! Bose is very good at telling you why their speakers are superior in a magazine ad!

Dominick

You kind of proved my point. The car division is seperate from the home division. Other than the "warm" signature sound they have different priorities.

They are a marketing machine, but what prevents other high end makes from opening stores in premium outlook centers (Linn has a few stand alone stores). Or creating a line to sell on HSN. Sony does the same thing Bose does,how else can you explain the difference in TV LCD prices compared to the competition.

Besides,alot of people who buy Bose usually upgrade later in life to something better........Its up to high end to do a better job of marketing and giving the masses a reason to look AND listen. Martin Logan latest ESL line shows me someone there gets it.