Why is Bose bashed so much ? and when did it start ?

[tybrad]

I'm curious where the "cheapness" comes from. that's the kind of thing that could get a professional reviewer sued.

Cheapness usually implies small magnets, such as used in whit van speakers. My experience is that Bose uses some of the heaviest magnets per cone size.

That's certainly true of the 901s and of the home theater speakers.

The problem with their home theater speakers is size. In order to make them tiny, they sacrificed the upper bass.

A case where marketing to women has caused a problem with quality.

Well, here... from another thread.
http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html

 

[Hoho]

So, I wonder if they ever sued whoever put up that post. It contains some inaccuracies. The Bose 901's do not have spring-loaded clips, but I agree that they ought to have 5-way binding posts. The paper in the 901 driver is treated.

 

[jrtrent]

. . . so far I haven't seen any evidence/proof that Bose specifically markets their products as the best or audiophile grade.

I haven't seen a television ad nor heard a radio ad for them, but the claims on their website seem restrained. The Wave music system page says such things as "Convincing sound and impressive lows, especially for its size," and "The acclaimed Wave® music system still sets the standard for quality audio and ease of use among one-piece, table top radios and bookshelf stereos." I found an ad online from AARP magazine, and the most extreme praise is just quotes from reviews and articles. Forbes FYI is credited for saying, "you'll think you're listening to a . . . sound system that costs five times more." In a section talking about the flexibility it offers (CD, MP3 cd's, FM/AM tuner, auxiliary input, clock/alarm functions. etc.) they quote David Novak (the Gadget Guy?) as saying, "It can easily replace whatever component system you currently have."

This summer, I was in the position of needing to pack up and store most of my component system as part of re-arranging my apartment to more comfortably accommodate a series of weekend visitors. I already had a Wave music system in the bedroom and liked it, so I bought another, this time with the soundlink adapter, for the living room (actually, I first bought their larger Acoustic Wave, compared it with my existing Wave music system, and decided getting another of the smaller units would suit my needs just fine; Bose cheerfully took back the more expensive unit). So here's this little box filling my apartment with engaging, enjoyable sound, and I find it no exaggeration when Bose says, "It's no surprise so many people use it as their main home entertainment system for music listening."

 

[tybrad]

This company and its products are just such lightning rods- so much love, so much animus. We will be at 100 posts/ 1500 looks in 24hrs! Is this some sorta record?

Tyler

 

[The SGD]

those defending bose, please state why a wave radio is worth roughly 1000GBP or about 1600USD???

and secondly name a bose product produced within the last 20years that is worth the money asked. name the product and the new price then provide a 3rd party review which agrees.

no 3rd party review defending bose = no defence. that is the beauty of reviews, they are not on one side or the other

 

[Dan ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ]

those defending bose, please state why a wave radio is worth roughly 1000GBP or about 1600USD???

Last time I looked, the Wave radios were selling for around $350 to $500 depending on the vendor and model.
God knows, I'd rather listen to one of them than some of the vintage speakers people go on about here incessantly.

 

[redcoates7]

those defending bose, please state why a wave radio is worth roughly 1000GBP or about 1600USD???

Even Bose doesn't think they're worth 1000 pounds

http://www.bose.co.uk/GB/en/home-and-personal-audio/wave-systems/wave-music-systems/

Try 500 GBP, which is still much more expensive than in the US, but this is in England, the home of the $10USD pint of lager

I'm not a Bose owner, but have a lot of respect for the brand. If it's not to someone else's liking, they shouldn't buy it.

Big +1 for Celt's comment too...would much rather listen to a set of better Bose models (301s, etc) than a set of lattice-front monstrosities !

 

[jrtrent]

name a bose product produced within the last 20years that is worth the money asked. name the product and the new price then provide a 3rd party review which agrees.

The July 2003 issue of Gramaphone reviewed the Bose 301 series V speaker (still the current 301 model). Current price is $328.95 for the pair. Excerpts from the review include "Even at high listening levels the sound stayed smooth and uncompressed." and "The concert hall ambience is captured well . . . with a well-focused image surrounded by an open, spacious soundstage." They concluded, "Some audiophiles may run screaming at the mention of Bose, more through prejudice than personal experience, but to overlook the 301s would be to ignore one of the more interesting designs in this market sector." http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/July 2003/102/759627/Bose+301+Series+V

 

[Naptown Rob]

Last time I looked, the Wave radios were selling for around $350 to $500 depending on the vendor and model.

In fairness to Bose, the radio-only version Wave is only $350. Add $150 for a CD player ($500), up to $1,100 for the larger Acoustic Wave.

My wife brought a Wave CD/radio into the marriage (see! - I'm tolerant...). Wakes me up every morning. It was a gift from her father.
It is the best sounding clock radio I've heard. Better than most boom boxes. But at the end of the day, it's a clock radio. If they were, I dunno... at least under $200?...$150?...with CD... I would feel they were maybe an OK deal. But certainly not $500.

 

[jlovda]

Paul Klipsch was probably among the earliest of the Bose critics, but he conducted research and published papers to get his point across, not making personal attacks or insulting people who chose to own Bose products.

No disrespect to Kfalls intended, but this is the type of Bose-bashing that I find offensive. Since the mid-80's when I sold off the last of my mid-fi equipment, I've owned hi-fi gear from McIntosh, Conrad Johnson, Linn, Naim, Audio by Van Alstine, and Vandersteen. When I chose to use Bose products in my apartment, it wasn't because I was a lemming or didn't know any better; it's because they meet my needs. When friends and family have chosen to stop using and/or get rid of component stereo systems and use an Acoustic Wave or Wave music system instead, it's not because they're being taken advantage of, it's because the combination of reduced space requirements, ease of use, and acceptable sound works for them.

It's one thing to recognize that certain Bose products don't reproduce sound in a way that pleases you, and to share that information when people with similar audio criteria are asking about products you're familiar with, but it's quite another thing to so often read in these threads that people who have purchased and enjoyed Bose products must necessarily be ignorant and easily duped.

I think if Bose is good at anything it is psychoacoustics. Knowing where to put a bump or dip in the response curve etc. It sounds pleasant to people's ears but you will never see an anechoic frequency response curve.

 

[jlovda]

Last time I looked, the Wave radios were selling for around $350 to $500 depending on the vendor and model.

I thought Bose products had stricter price controls than Mcintosh. That's a big spread.

 

[bshorey]

I have personal issues with a lot of companies, but I get over it. As a long time Bose customer, I have a different experience. And it's the customer's experience that makes or breaks a company in the long run.

I'd be curious to hear about anyone who got sued for publishing objective measurements made with good methodology. Consumer Reports got sued for deviating from their usual objective tests and reporting a negative opinion of the 901's soundstage.

I remember the incident from when it happened. CU was reporting something that can happen with 901s, but it's an exaggerated characterization of the very thing that 901s were designed to do. The problem is that CU is taken as the Word of God by many of its readers. Many of whom are in the very demographic targeted by Bose.

Over time it all comes out in the wash.

Consumer Reports was sued because they stated that the sound tended to wander around the room. I don't think the 901's were designed to make sound wander anywhere, so I'm not sure how that would have been an exaggeration of something the speakers were designed to do.

Bose did not win the lawsuit.

bs

 

[bshorey]

those defending bose, please state why a wave radio is worth roughly 1000GBP or about 1600USD???

and secondly name a bose product produced within the last 20years that is worth the money asked. name the product and the new price then provide a 3rd party review which agrees.

no 3rd party review defending bose = no defence. that is the beauty of reviews, they are not on one side or the other

I'm not a Bose defender, but in a free market a product is 'worth' whatever you can convince people to pay for it. Bose is doing quite well in that respect.

Lots of very fine people have died broke because they tried to sell fine quality devices at fair prices.

Who needs 3rd party reviews? The market volume says everything.

bs

 

[Illusions]

I bash Bose mainly because they do not live up to who they want to be.
Seriously, If you are going to make a premium sound system don't use cheap parts or paper cones. The Lifestyle System with their jewel cubes and acoustimass modules is not good enough for a premium system. The whole system's frequency range is 46.6hz-208/230-13.3khz. That is why the term "No Highs, No Lows" exists. Compared to cheaper products such as a Paradigm system, the Paradigm system has better build quality, better sound quality, and better frequency response.


I personally believe that BOSE is overrated, expensive, and basically scams people of the truth.

 

[Tom Brennan]

I bash Bose mainly because they do not live up to who they want to be.

I think they're exactly what they want to be, a thriving company.

Seriously, If you are going to make a premium sound system don't use cheap parts or paper cones. ....... The whole system's frequency range is 46.6hz-208/230-13.3khz. That is why the term "No Highs, No Lows" exists. .

Many highly regarded systems use paper cones. An Altec Valencia for instance. Which is a system that hasn't much wider range than the claim you make for Bose, if at all as wide.

Then of course you have the paper coned single driver audiophile speakers many of which have poor response on both ends but are loved but their fans for their coherence and subjectively lifelike sound. So when are you gonna start jumping on Fostex and Lowther?

 

[jimfet]

What is amazing to me is how many different ways we can post the same ?.

 

[Dan ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ]

What is amazing to me is how many different ways we can post the same ?.

And yet no one seems to tire of beating the same dead horse over and over... Let's move on, folks.