Bose Interaudio 4000 Speaker Info? No Laughing/Bashing Please!

MoparMan

Active Member
Hi all, I just picked up a pair of some Bose Interaudio 4000 speakers today dirt cheap. I never thought I'd own another pair of Bose because I've HATED every pair (3 or 4 pairs) I've had in the past!!! Anyways, I don't know anything about them but they are not the typical Bose. These are a straight-forward (standard) set of 2 way speakers. They say maximum 100 watts and 75 watts continuous. They have a 10 inch woofer and about a 3 inch cone tweeter/mid. The tweeter/mid has a generic looking refraction type lens over it. The cabinets are black and are ported with 2 ports in each one. The vinyl veneer is scraped and scratched here and there but otherwise in really good shape. What caught my eye was the woofers look better than average. The foam looks fairly thick and is in excellent shape. Long story short, I hooked these up to my Harman Kardon 55 watt per channel (in stereo mode) 5.1 receiver and they sounded very impressive in the bass. Even the highs and mids weren't as bad as I was expecting... Better high-end than I thought through that ugly-generic tweet/mid. I listened to all sorts of material through them and was shocked at how good they did sound. The bass was the most impressive thing about the sound of them; solid, deep and controlled. Anyways, anybody know anything about them? I've searched all over the internet and cannot find anything out. There is lots of pictures of the Interaudio 4000XL which looks identical. But these aren't the XL model. There's not even info about the XL model. There is tons about them in other countries and languages (mostly European) but nothing in English. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
 
Last edited:
Here's a picture of what these models look like.

attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • BoseInterAudio4000XL.jpg
    BoseInterAudio4000XL.jpg
    48.5 KB · Views: 932
Those don't look like typical Bose at all. They also look to be a nice size. Does the big dustcap mean the voice coils are huge?
 
Had a friend who bought a pair back in the early 90s. I was really surprised at how good they sounded.
 
I have a pair that I bought at Sams in the 90,s, and they really dont sound too bad. I took them apart to experiment with and I cant remember how the speakers and crossover were wired. If you happen to look inside of them maybe you could right it down or make a drawing of the layout for me, if not don't worry about it.
 
Last edited:
Just a general consensus of what other people think about them. When they were made (already answered), etc... Thanks. I'll get around to taking one apart to peep inside.
 
I don't think Bose will post any specs on anything they make. At least I have never seen any for speakers.
 
I know that won't post any specs other than power rating. I always end up finding and buying odd-ball speakers that are hard to find any info on for some reason. At least half of my 50 pair collection is that way. One good example is I have a pair of Empire speakers from the late 50s or early 60s that nobody can tell me about. They are NOT the typical Granadier models that you see all over the place (with marble tops). They have coated dome mids and bullet-tweeters. All alnico of course. But they sure sound awesome! Can't get any info on what model they are or anything of the sort. I'm not complaining but it seems kind of strange. I live about 5 miles from the Atomic capital of the world. There's people come to live here from all over the world to make big money (lots of Rocket-Heads; literally). That's a BIG plus on my part when looking for stereo eqiupment. They get tired of it or it starts needing work done and they donate to thrift stores. I've got to stop buying for a while as I'm out of space and don't need any more speakers. Need to sell / trade some off to thin my collection. Yes, I'm a speaker-holic and I need help!
 
Last edited:
I have a pair of 3000's that a buddy bought in the early 90's, they must sound fairly decent as i loaned them out 5 or 6 years ago and haven't seen them since. What little i listened to them put them on par with 301's which are really not bad. I'd expect the 4000's to be a bit better.
 
The Interaudio series are pretty decent. My parents have a pair that they use for surround speakers.
 
I'm sure the back of the woofers are generic and plain looking like most Bose drivers I've seen. Although the front of them do look pretty impressive. Some of the best drivers I've heard look really generic... I'll take a woofer out and peek later today. I think with a good silk dome tweeter that could be crossed over low enough, these would be really great speakers within their limits. The cone tweeters sound way better than expected but are just naturally beamy. Thanks for all the replies (and no Bose bashing). I've be guilty of plenty of Bose bashing myself in the past. Now I have to eat my words!
 
Last edited:
I'm sure the back of the woofers are generic and plain looking like most Bose drivers I've seen. Although the front of them do look pretty impressive. Some of the best drivers I've heard look really generic... I'll take a woofer out and peek later today. I think with a good silk dome tweeter that could be crossed over low enough, these would be really great speakers within their limits. The cone tweeters sound way better than expected but are just naturally beamy. Thanks for all the replies (and no Bose bashing). I've be guilty of plenty of Bose bashing myself in the past. Now I have to eat my words!

I agree. I have some speakers with real crappy drivers that sound great. EPI and KLH come to mind. Was wondering more who made them.
 
I remember seeing the Interaudio Series at Pacific Stereo back in the olden days :) i.e. the early 80s. They didn't look too stylish but I thought they sounded good for the price. While I wouldn't use cone tweeters in a speaker system intended for studio monitoring purposes, for more casual use I think most well-built cone drivers can sound pretty good. In my experience their most obvious audible deficiencies: usually their response doesn't make it quite as far up the frequency scale as other drivers do that use lighter radiating surfaces; their (relatively) narrow dispersion angle, which can make the listening window rather small. Though lens systems can help improve that, which is what I assume this Bose uses.

BTW I checked out Bose's speaker manual archive - bose.com/controller?event=VIEW_STATIC_PAGE_EVENT&url=/customer_service/owners/guides/stereo_speakers.jsp - and used the search feature, but neither method came up with anything related to "Interaudio".
 
Bose....Who Knows?

Howdy, MoparMan...Years ago, when Re-entered the audio world, I picked up a set of Interaudio 2000....6.5 woofer, same cone/lens tweet........I thought they sounded pretty good, especially for their size.....then I figured out that one woofer wasn't working!!

I never could get 'em going full force, but I liked the design...I later had a pair of 201s, they were pretty bland...I have some 141s now, single 901 driver, I believe...they're not bad for what they are........

Years ago, a buddy had 301s and a Pioneer SX-880, I believe....That was a good sounding combo, a little shy on low-end, but very pleasant......

Bose ain't all bad, I just think there are better speakers out there........I really like JBLs...(in general)......some of Their later stuff is lame, too ,on the cheaper end of the scale, of course...(read affordable).

Enjoy yours!!!......willhowl:yes:
 
I certainly would not bash the Interaudio line that Bose offered! Ip ersonally think it was one of their better, sensuble product line. While they were conventional- they all sounded good! I have heard 1 or 3 Interaudio model and walked away pleased at their effort. But with the market be VERY competative one knew they could not stay long, after all they had their own niche by now.

I say if you get the chance do give them a good audiotion- you might well be pleased!
DC
 
The Interaudio line was a private label brand, along with a couple of other names, that Bose produced for the benefit of its dealer network.

The Interaudio line first appeared in the mid-70s. At that time, there were 4 models in the line up - Interaudio 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000. They all used drivers found in the Bose 301, 501 and 601 of the same generation. Like the 3/5/6xx series, Interaudio brand speakers changed drivers as the 3/5/6xx lines were relaunched as Series I,II, III. For this reason, Bose carried the exact same warranty support for them just as they did for their main brand speakers.

The dealers won because the selling margin was higher for Interaudio than any other speaker line a dealer carried. Bose won because they could attract more dealers into the Bose distribution channel. The consumer won because he got a pretty good speaker and a highly competitive price point, as our OP has discovered.

The models being discussed here appear to be the Series II or III, depending on when they were actually purchased. Since they were private label models, there was no advertising or product reviews done on them while they were on the market. This is why there is little available about them.

Cheers,

David
 
I have a pair of these (Bose Interaudio 4000), like, forever. The foam surrounds on the woofers are still in fine shape, and they sound just great (go figure). Paid $ 200 for the pair at a wholesale club, probably in the 80s, yep. I was impressed with the sound of the pair on display, and didn't expect much bringing them home. But they've remained part of my living-room home theater system, of course with added center, surrounds, and sub. Funny thing is the 10" sub I got for the system really wasn't needed given the excellent low-end from the 4000s; it was only after I got a 12" sub that I could hear any real difference. Anyhow, I'm sure these speakers won't impress everyone, but they are and were decent performers. BTW these were made in USA, a rarity these days.
 
Back
Top Bottom