A Thank You Note to Bose Bashers

bruhl001

infinitybyond
Due to your incredibly effective campaign to convince folks that Bose speakers suck, you have destroyed the domestic second hand market (Asia loves them some Bose) and allowed me to purchase some of the best speakers ever made for next to nothing. Even when I was young and making minimum wage I could always afford to have a pair of used Bose speakers filling my room with great music and I thank you for that.
If you could start a new campaign to convince people that the Porsche 911 is an over priced German trash can I would be even more grateful.
 
One of the hits at an audio meet a few years ago involved a hand-made tube amp and stacked Bose 901's...outside. I was impressed, but my main speakers are Vandersteen.
 
I had some early (series I/II) 901s that were fine for filling a room with music. Hung them from the ceiling in the 'barn'.
Could handle some decent power. Obviously not much stereo separation and no depth at all. But worked for filling that room.
I gave one pair to a friend and sold the other for $100 or something.

They didn't sound bad per se - just not for critical listening.
 
Only Bose I had were 501's. Are all Bose as bad?

Yes, I heard that Bose 601 REALLY suck. They suck so bad, they cause the listener to attack the nearest Golden Retriever puppy, drill a hole in its skull, and pour out the brain.
Nasty speakers those Bose 601s, but not as bad as the wife-beater JBL L100s. You can go to prison after listening to them.

Whatever you do, for all that is right and good with the world; don't buy 601s - or JBL 100s!
 
I have heard a lot of criticism through the years but since I couldn't afford them anyway, I didn't pay much attention. My first "real" system included a pair of 301's. These sounded great in the ideal position in my rectangular bedroom at the time. I never was able to duplicate that good sound in any of the other locations I tried them in; they HAD to be in the corners at the correct distance from the walls. People are just really weird about speakers- maybe it is more about how your brain is wired than your ears.
 
The biggest contributor to my anti-Bose sentiment was their marketing strategy. The audio retailer I was with the longest, 17 years, carried Bose on and off mayby six times during that period.

For retailers, the deal was, manditory segregation of Bose speakers from other brands and display area had to comply to their stipulated size and be visibly prominent. Under no circumstances were Bose speakers to be displayed with or nearby non-Bose speakers.

The reason for this was plainly obvious.

It was my experience that the OP is correct about Asians being most accepting of the brand. My locale has a large Chinese population and those of that origin were the only purchasers of Bose that I was aware of. My one and only Bose sale during my tenure with that company was a pair of 901's to a Chinese (coincidental I think) fellow who just bought an "open concept" condo. No real spot for conventional speakers so they had to be hung from the ceiling.

One of my co-workers, himself Chinese, won a pair of 901's via a sales contest. He never bothered opening the boxes, just gave them to his brother.

Devoting display area to Bose speakers was a waste of space considering how poorly they sold. One location actually had a "Bose Room" which was turned into an office for me when I transferred there to handle insurance claims.

The fact that Bose opened their own store(s) was proof positive that they realized the only way to not invite comparison was for there to be nothing nearby to compare them to.

I don't think Bose Stores lasted long because they were in "high rent" districts and profit from sales could not justify their presence.

I strongly suspect that The Shopping Channel then internet sales of The Wave Radio saved their bacon.
 
Due to your incredibly effective campaign to convince folks that Bose speakers suck, you have destroyed the domestic second hand market (Asia loves them some Bose) and allowed me to purchase some of the best speakers ever made for next to nothing. Even when I was young and making minimum wage I could always afford to have a pair of used Bose speakers filling my room with great music and I thank you for that.
If you could start a new campaign to convince people that the Porsche 911 is an over priced German trash can I would be even more grateful.
Welcome, Bruhl, to AK.

Your point is well-taken. Bose 901-II Continentals were the first "pro" grade speakers I ever purchased - 1975. Though I kept them for many years, their sound was just something I could never grow to love. I found myself constantly wishing for more bass response. Hanging them from the ceiling as described in the Bose manual made a ton of improvement in their sound, but still not up to the standards I heard in friends' Advents, JBLs, and Pioneers.

Oddly enough, when I went into the ProSound business, Bose became my number one choice for installation in small to medium-sized auditoriums. It seems like 802s were the natural outgrowth of the 901 concept. I saw a number of hi-volume bands use pairs of 802s (even reversed 901s!) per side with a sub and easily fill a medium sized nightclub with great sound.

For those who truly enjoy the 901 sound, the circumstances you describe have made it possible for them to finally enjoy their dream speakers. That's a win in my book.

GeeDeeEmm
 
Due to your incredibly effective campaign to convince folks that Bose speakers suck, you have destroyed the domestic second hand market (Asia loves them some Bose) and allowed me to purchase some of the best speakers ever made for next to nothing. Even when I was young and making minimum wage I could always afford to have a pair of used Bose speakers filling my room with great music and I thank you for that.
If you could start a new campaign to convince people that the Porsche 911 is an over priced German trash can I would be even more grateful.
Bose isn’t going out out of buisiness the nfl uses there headphones.
I assure you Bose had some good models but they also had some of worse subs & satellite speakers .
Congrats on your cheap purchases.
There sub , sat system sunk there reputation & that baby wave radio for $600+
 
Only Bose I had were 501's. Are all Bose as bad?
Yeah 501's probably weren't their best. I had them in my small bedroom before I left the nest and I blew them up in there.. My brother had 901's that were pretty well implemented in his living room and were not so bad. That is where I think Bose got part of its bad rep (at least 901's).. In their setup, and usually lack of power as well.

Still they sure wouldn't be the first speaker I would go looking for.. I think the design was a little gimmicky with the whole direct reflected thing, and the drivers are not that robust either certainly in my old 501's.

I know that there is a lot of victimization with Bose owners as to the rather harsh criticism they get. I know it must be hard to swallow at times. Still if the rep wasn't at least partly true, considering the shear numbers of these speakers produced over the decades, wouldn't discovery of a great speaker eventually overcome the bad press?
 
My Bose collection:

205
301/I
501/I
601/I
901/II
901/III

I do not accept any Bose bashing in this forum. Not because I like the speakers, but because bashing is not according to the rules of AudioKarma.
I realize that bashing any product is against the rules, but the OP seemed to be fishing for the bashers with this thread. If he would have started out on a more positive note, praising the virtues of a misunderstood speaker mfg, I would have left it alone.BTW I said the things I did in my above post, not out of hate, but just experience over the years. If what I said came across as bashing and hateful, I would welcome the mods deleting it. It was however my honest assessment.
 
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I realize that bashing any product is against the rules, but the OP seemed to be fishing for the bashers with this thread. If he would have started out on a more positive note, praising the virtues of a misunderstood speaker mfg, I would have left it alone.BTW I said the things I did in my above post, not out of hate, but just experience over the years. If what I said came across as bashing and hateful, I would welcome the mods deleting it. It was however my honest assessment.

Your comment is appreciated, Sir. Consider mine just as a reminder.
 
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