Most audio folks have read this one ; " No highs , no lows , must be Bose . " You can go to any audio forum where Bose is the subject and it can get brutal sometimes . I've owned one pair of Bose loudspeakers over the years . The original Bose 301 series 1 with the adjustable tweeter vane . It wasn't a bad speaker at all and even had a big ole glow fuse . What a mellow sounding pair of speakers they were and when the lights were out they sounded much bigger than their small cabinets would lead . My EPI-100's trounced them in the bass dept. but the Bose had a real spacious , spread out sound to them . The EPI's were more truthful , they didn't add their signature to everything like the Bose did . I liked the way Bose made everything sound bigger than it really was , spaciousness . However ; I couldn't live with that type sound indefinitely . Interesting speaker concept though , definitely not for everyone . Got off the subject completely . Anyone know for sure why Bose is the brunt of so much bashing by audiophiles ? The company does a lot of research into sound and speaker systems . Comments
Why is Bose bashed so much ? and when did it start ?
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Copa1934
My ears are bleeding
Had a set of 301's myself, briefly. Not bad, just have better speakers to listen to. Would love to own a pair of 901's, for the right price.
As for bashing I'd say it's deserved on some accounts, but certainly not across the board. I too agree that other brands take some hits, JBL was mentioned, but RS speakers and CV take some pretty hard hits as well, and like Bose not entirely deserved.
I've listened to a variety of highly touted speakers and few have impressed.
Many audiophile speakers have no highs and no lows and cost far more than any Bose consumer products as well.
Some guys bash Bose because they don't like them and are honestly critical of them. Others bash Bose because it makes them feel "in the club".
In any event it's more fun to bash respectable audiophile speakers I don't like, there are plenty of them.
Some guys bash Bose because they don't like them and are honestly critical of them. Others bash Bose because it makes them feel "in the club".
In any event it's more fun to bash respectable audiophile speakers I don't like, there are plenty of them.
no1maestro
Well-Known Member
I can understand your reaction due to reading years and years of bashing on almost all audio sites. The main thing I read into it is that there is deceptive advertising also known as slick (successful) and overly priced as opposed to other manufacturers.
I think that many audio lovers think that they love their speakers and rightfully so. So when they talk about their favorites and someone who has only owned Bose and hasn't listened to many others starts talking about Bose as best, it riles them. Bose is kind of a niche and some of it's owners think that it the living end and can't be beaten. I have owned so many speakers that I know that there are excellent sounds in many models and they each have certain characteristics that either bother or please their owners.
Lastly, I think that I can compare Bose to the group Carpenters in the late 60s and 70s. I always appreciated most of their work in the studio. As a studio musician, I knew what they were doing and they were extremely popular with the general public. The folks that hated them were the hard rock fans, the critics and the radio folks; they were too popular to be good. Some of that is the reason for Bose today.
I think that many audio lovers think that they love their speakers and rightfully so. So when they talk about their favorites and someone who has only owned Bose and hasn't listened to many others starts talking about Bose as best, it riles them. Bose is kind of a niche and some of it's owners think that it the living end and can't be beaten. I have owned so many speakers that I know that there are excellent sounds in many models and they each have certain characteristics that either bother or please their owners.
Lastly, I think that I can compare Bose to the group Carpenters in the late 60s and 70s. I always appreciated most of their work in the studio. As a studio musician, I knew what they were doing and they were extremely popular with the general public. The folks that hated them were the hard rock fans, the critics and the radio folks; they were too popular to be good. Some of that is the reason for Bose today.
My beef with Bose is their tendency to sue anyone who gives them a bad review. They have put at least one audio magazine in Europe out of business (libel laws are different there) and they sued Consumer Reports for a review of the 901s, winning because the very literal minded judge said that their saying that the image 'wandered' was wrong -- they meant it was diffuse, but the judge said it was diffuse in a general area. Of course if the frequency changes, the image might wander, but tell that to a non audiophile judge.
Disgraceful behavior by a corporation that doesn't a have to behave that way -- they have a product that plenty of people like, market it well, and if the profit margins are obscene, well, no one forces people to spend hundreds of dollars on plastic boxes with cheap drivers, and all those ads cost money -- but going to court? That's not right...
Disgraceful behavior by a corporation that doesn't a have to behave that way -- they have a product that plenty of people like, market it well, and if the profit margins are obscene, well, no one forces people to spend hundreds of dollars on plastic boxes with cheap drivers, and all those ads cost money -- but going to court? That's not right...
Yet given the amount of dough Bose spends on advertising a tenth of that could make for a pretty healthy research budget. I wonder how much many audiophile speaker companies spend on research, you know, besides the time spent "researching" the Madisound and Parts Express catalogs.
bhunter
The Spherical Cow
Bose, the Dyson of speakers. It's the over the top marketing claims and slick marketing coupled with a cadre of folks that think Bose is at the top of the audio heap. I actually liked 901s in the proper room. Dyson is the same type of company that makes claims and offers recycled technology that they claim as their own. Dyson vacuums do lose suction and Dyson fans do have fan blades, albeit enclosed, but they advertise just the opposite.
montecarlossfan
Active Member
My experience with Bose was not a good one..we purchased a set of acoustimass 5's,,,4 cubes and a subwoofer...yes it can get low..but they distort to no end when turned up and that was on an pioneer sx-850 which will not distort on the hpm's , even tried more power(sx-1250)..same story ..They are fine for the average consumer who wants better sound but not take up space. As we know no replacement for displacement. I even saw a review somewhere that proved there is a gap in the crossovers of those unit. I think people expect too much out of a small package.
stereofanboy
Addicted Member
.....and nothing at all on raw materials and labor and overhead? Wow, they are slick!
I don't like them because they charge so much for so little and the stuff their celebrity spokesmen say on the commercials is often purposely misleading.
I've owned three different Bose items, and although they weren't really bad items, the retail price was at least four times what it should have been. The amount my brother in law spent on his surround system was huge.
Jim B.
New Member
As one who is around live music daily, the 901's are the speakers I enjoy most when listening to recorded music at home. They recreate the live sound with stunning accuracy, the highs are there but maybe not as sparkling and shimmering as some speakers and that is their only shortcoming. But no tweeter wires to burn out or crossovers to cause distortion. The best part is being able to be anywhere in the room and get the whole sound. Just like live music. Its been trendy for audiophiles to bash Bose but musicians and others who know the pleasure of live music would never discount the 901's.
Bose is a great company who protects their brand and being privately held do not disclose their budgets for R&D or marketing so where do you people come up with the numbers?
I should say that I am lucky to be able to position the 901's ideally in a larger than normal room and power them with MC352. Unfortunately they may give a less than stellar impression in small rooms or with small amps so some criticisms are true but not a fault with the speaker. EQ adjustment and speaker placement cannot compensate for all situations but Bose tech support will spend time with you explaining all the details before you buy.
Bose is a great company who protects their brand and being privately held do not disclose their budgets for R&D or marketing so where do you people come up with the numbers?
I should say that I am lucky to be able to position the 901's ideally in a larger than normal room and power them with MC352. Unfortunately they may give a less than stellar impression in small rooms or with small amps so some criticisms are true but not a fault with the speaker. EQ adjustment and speaker placement cannot compensate for all situations but Bose tech support will spend time with you explaining all the details before you buy.
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Copa1934
My ears are bleeding
***Political commentary removed by moderation staff***
...How is Bose any more guilty than Gatorade? Than Nike? Than Ford? Than so many other companies that paint these excuisite pictures of their products, yet all too often fall short, or don't deliver the disired effect or results. Look how many people go around wearing Nike that couldn't play any sport if their life depended on it. And people that buy Bose are gullable? Run faster? Jump higher? yeah right. And Bose is criminal? And someone brought up marketing vs R&D. I wouldn't be the list bit surprised if Nike was 95% marketing.
Besides all this, all the bashing here won't make a dent in Bose sales. So why bother.
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rmeade
Super Member
I knew nothing about Bose and did not care to. Then my friend's wife went on a rant against my interest in vintage speakers, large, outdated, blah, blah, blah. She said I should scrap all I own and buy Bose. Not much of a selling point to me ... but effective to my wife. So suddenly I was on the defensive - defending that I should not dump my vintage stuff (that I spent hundreds on) and buy Bose (which cost thousands). Ultimately my 'collection' has retreated to the 'man cave'. The living space is quite clean, but there is no music up there.
I can't remember bashing Bose, I am sure that they sound fine to most - just not me.
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