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The Bose 301 another opinion.

Carbsandcaps

Carbsandcaps

Super Member
Anytime I see anything Bose above 201’s because they’re always an easy sell. I don’t go beyond making sure they produce sound before I post them for sale. Well this time I actually gave them a listen and the result it…. They just plain suck.

I picked up a set for $15 a piece from goodwill one was missing the cloth grill but it was a no brainer. I hooked them up to my regular stereo to give them an honest shot. Trying to be impartial even though I already had a strong opinion on them.

They have NO high’s which is not surprising since they use paper cone mid range drivers as “tweeters?” With one facing the wall for some reason. They do have adequate bass for their size but that’s about it. I’ve been told that you have to have them up against a wall to get proper sound but I don’t feel like a proper speaker should rely on the wall to work properly. It’s just all very gimmicky which I know is Bose’s shtick but it’s just not for me.

I’ve also have a few wave radios because they also sell like hotcakes. They pretty impressive….for a clock radio. Lots of bass and surprisingly amount of highs. That being said I’ve never had one with a working cd player. Bose people are very particular about their $500 clock radios so selling one with a broken cd player can be difficult.

All in all I think Bose products live up to their reputation of just being a gimmick and masters of marketing.
 
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No highs, no lows, must be Bose.

The, Tivoli Audio Model One® BT while being a mono device. has a headphone jack that outputs stereo. It IMO sound better than the Bose Wave radio at way less than half the price. Besides, I like the retro look.
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FWIW: I've never heard a Bose product that I would recommend, well, except maybe the 1801 amplifier. Buying anything Bose is completely out of the question. However, you're correct about the average buyer thinking Bose is "high end".
 
JoeESP9 said:
No highs, no lows, must be Bose.

The, Tivoli Audio Model One® BT while being a mono device. has a headphone jack that outputs stereo. It IMO sound better than the Bose Wave radio at way less than half the price. Besides, I like the retro look.
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FWIW: I've never heard a Bose product that I would recommend, well, except maybe the 1801 amplifier. Buying anything Bose is completely out of the question. However, you're correct about the average buyer thinking Bose is "high end".
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I had a few of those including the satellite radio version and I agree they sound better than the Bose. Most people don’t know what they are so you can get them cheap at goodwill.
 
Carbsandcaps said:
I’ve been told that you have to have them up against a wall to get proper sound but I don’t feel like a proper speaker should rely on the wall to work properly. It’s just all very gimmicky which I know is Bose’s shtick but it’s just not for me.
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If they were designed for a specific placement, how is that a gimmick? My Boston A200s were designed to place against the front wall for best results. That’s not a gimmick, that’s a design parameter.

Not a fair assessment if you are not going to at least follow the placement suggested by the manufacturer.

On a side note, I recently incorporated a pair of 901s and 401s into my home theater system and it performs great!
 
Laugh if you like.

The "Acoustimass System" in the Master Bedroom is still working after about 20 years... It's not leaving until it breaks. It's small and it works.

If I want critical listening, I have a place for that.

Would I buy another Bose product, no. Their customer service is phenomenal, FWIW.
 
^^^ @MaxP

I bought a 40-year-old Jaguar. Absolutely sucked as a combine on my farm. Jaguar: They just plain suck…Masters of marketing.

Whatever.

I owned two pair of (new) 901IVs. They were by no means perfect. But they did what they did well. And powered by 420WPC, they could rock and satisfy a whole auditorium filled with hundreds of people.

I prefer my Klipschorns—also room dependent and must be sealed into the corners.

Damn Klipsch marketing!

P.S. It’s not really fair (on top of what’s already been pointed out above^^^) to judge a whole company on a worn-out, entry-level product (not properly set up) from, when—the 1970s?
 
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I've heard Bose 301, 501, 601, and 901. I liked the 301s best because I thought they compared pretty evenly with other brand's eight inch two ways in over all sound enjoyment.

I've had two wave radios both of which were used when I got them. I gave the first to my brother along with a separate cd player and kept the one with built in cd player. They both still work and sound impressive for clock radios. The msrps for both were far beyond anything I would have considered paying.
 
Love it when folks complain about a speaker, or other piece of equipment, whilst having their speakers shoved up against the wall, hardwood floors, picture windows in the room, and a stereo rack (worse yet, a TV) stuck between the two speakers, and an asymmetric room.

They may be surprised just how good average gear can sound in a good room.

My HT system driving JBL 590s and a sub (in an un-treated, asymmetrical room) is good enough for background music or parties.
 
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