ajay124
Well-Known Member
Boring Ordinary Sound Experience
Any comments on Bose Speakers ?
- Thread starter susheeljohn
- Start date
rupy
Active Member
Bose is vey good aesthetically,especially if you have a problem of space.They are not bad acoustically.
vivek.saikia
Active Member
Very true
hyeah:I heard these speakers for the first time in the ISKCON temple in Delhi. After hearing the body piercing sound of Om chantings from these speakers I was almost on the verge of becoming a "Yogi"!!
Thad E Ginathom
Well-Known Member
Hmmm... most people seem to agree that they are bad acoustically! Someone just mentioned fatigue... in the shop, they seem like a miracle, but after a few hours listening they do not.
Unfortunately, most shop setups are adjusted to blow you away with the bass, which is a pretty horrible thing to do to home theatre, let alone music. On the other hand, that probably means that they sell to the people who listen to music through their backsides rather than their ears
As to PA systems, again there may be better for the cost, but I have never heard Bose PA damned with the same enthusiasm as Bose home systems. I don't go to the Music Academy very often, but last time I did I was very impressed with the Bose sound quality. Of course, whatever the name on the equipment, it all depends on the guy at the mixing desk and, on this occasion, it was so good, that I made a point of thanking him.
(please rate this post according to whether you could feel it thumping up through your chair or not
)
saurabh459
Active Member
To compare Bose with apple is lame
Thad, i really feel Bose is one of those brands which people love to hate...so i take it with a pinch of salt. I have a bose based HT and dont really feel its that bad.....
(please rate this post according to whether you could feel it thumping up through your chair or not
It is definitely not an audiophile speaker but then neither does it pretend/call itself that. It is a lifestyle system and its about the brand name/ size and ease of placement
for people who dont really want to spend the time and space for itso in my case, i use it in my HT where all i care is space/average sound...but not for my Hi Fi which i am passionate about
Thad, i really feel Bose is one of those brands which people love to hate...so i take it with a pinch of salt. I have a bose based HT and dont really feel its that bad.
It is definitely not an audiophile speaker but then neither does it pretend/call itself that. It is a lifestyle system and its about the brand name/ size and ease of placement
so in my case, i use it in my HT where all i care is space/average sound...but not for my Hi Fi which i am passionate about
There are plenty of lifestyle systems that sound good too. Not better than audiophile grade systems, but a lot better than bose.
Most of the people that hate bose, dont hate bose because it sounds like shit. They hate bose because not only it sounds like shit, it also costs a bomb:lol: Another reason is that bose spends so much money on marketing. Talk to an average about quality music system, aparat from the sony's of the world, he only would have heard of bose. And he'll claim that its the best music system. Thats the power of Bose marketing.
To make matters worse, the build quality is also pathetic.
hey Doors666, which ones would those be ?
Thad E Ginathom
Well-Known Member
B&O is for people whose houses feature in interior-design magazines, isn't it?
But is the actual sound really good too? Have to admit complete ignorance on this.
(Have to admit mostly prejudice against Bose, too. arj, it does does sound as if you made an informed buying decision there)
But is the actual sound really good too? Have to admit complete ignorance on this.
(Have to admit mostly prejudice against Bose, too. arj, it does does sound as if you made an informed buying decision there)
quite frankly i quite like bose in the HT dept
may not be a good stereo speaker( actually the 301 are not very bad in that dept either) but it definitely does make it on my list of a good HT setup
what i does very well is widens the sweet spot very well
its one of the easiest speakers to get right positioning wise,because it tolerates even bad placements and performs admirably
i think Bose has a patented technology on that front
other than the high price vis a vis others i do believe it makes a fantastic well rounded lifestyle HT product
sushil
if you are looking for a HT setup and can afford it, that acoustimas 5.1 will NOT disappoint
may not be a good stereo speaker( actually the 301 are not very bad in that dept either) but it definitely does make it on my list of a good HT setup
what i does very well is widens the sweet spot very well
its one of the easiest speakers to get right positioning wise,because it tolerates even bad placements and performs admirably
i think Bose has a patented technology on that front
other than the high price vis a vis others i do believe it makes a fantastic well rounded lifestyle HT product
sushil
if you are looking for a HT setup and can afford it, that acoustimas 5.1 will NOT disappoint
B&O even now have a lot of basic audio research. the ICE amp modules is their invention as far as i know. their beolab omni directional active speakers were also apparently great from an audiophile point of view..but form does take priority over function for them !
yup they sound good and cost a Bomb !
wrt bose.. adding on to what magma posted, i have a very basic AM3 which with my old sugden amp actually Gave me a 3d sound stage ! not audiophile quality tones but no 2" driver can scientifically do that !
susheeljohn
Member
Hi Guys thank you for all your comments and inputs.
Here is my experience with the Bose technical support group when I send a request for suggesting a system that could match my PC to convert to a PCHT.
----- After 2 weeks of waiting !!
Dear Mr. John,
Thank you for your patience on the matter.
We did go through the specifications based on the link you have provided.
Unfortunately, we would not be able to provide you with a solution on the same.
I would request you to plan a visit to the nearest Bose showroom, take along the system that you own.
My colleagues will have a better idea taking a 360 degree view of the product that you own.
Thank you for your understanding.
Best regards,
Bose Corporation India Private Limited
Here is my experience with the Bose technical support group when I send a request for suggesting a system that could match my PC to convert to a PCHT.
----- After 2 weeks of waiting !!
Dear Mr. John,
Thank you for your patience on the matter.
We did go through the specifications based on the link you have provided.
Unfortunately, we would not be able to provide you with a solution on the same.
I would request you to plan a visit to the nearest Bose showroom, take along the system that you own.
My colleagues will have a better idea taking a 360 degree view of the product that you own.
Thank you for your understanding.
Best regards,
Bose Corporation India Private Limited
This is somewhat similar to what I got as response from Kolkata Bose Technical Team when I was asking for bose 161 speaker installation with a non-bose AVR.
Thad E Ginathom
Well-Known Member
By taking a walk around it?
First things first, BOSE systems are not as bad as they are portrayed in this thread.
Yes, they sell for double the cost they are really worth, but they do hell a lot of advertisement which kind of justifies the cost. Now, is it correct?? You should ask the same question when you are buying pepsi or coke. You are paying 95% for the marketing and 5% for the product. It is just another way the market works. You like it, you buy it.
Also, when it comes to BOSE, I see everyone has an opinion. Comments range from quality of raw materials they use in their products to how you read somewhere that bose is bad. We forget, What really matters is the sound perception of the buyer and whether he likes it or not.
Remember, If you have not demoed their products extensively or do not own them, you have no opinion. In other words, your opinion is worth only as much as the opinon of the person who buys BOSE based on 'someone telling it is good'.
This is where BOSE all-in-one speakers (Invariable of the models) excel.
1) They sound better than audiophile systems for mp3s. They round off all rough edges and recording gaps and makes the sound plesant even with low bit rate mp3s.
2) They make your life simpler by enabling you to use your existing media. Normal DVD players, Ipods work better with BOSE systems. You need not build a eco-system of high end appliances, cable etc around these systems.
3) They exaggerate parts of the spectrum most significant to hearing pleasure. They give the perception of wholesome and tight bass. High frequency is also never biting.
4) Any kind of input media will be able to provide 'acceptable' quality of sound. Which means, the purest signals will also provide only acceptable quality of output. 'Acceptable' is sufficient to most people rather than outright bad sound from bad media and mesmerising sound from good media.
5) They hide placement issues much better than the audiophile systems. This is very important to most people. You scatter the speakers all over the place they still provide acceptable sound. (You should see typical BOSE speakers lined up in front of TV in a line and the bass module under the TV in some households.
) Not many people build rooms around speaker placement requirements.
6) The form factor is great. The soundstage they manage out of these tiny boxes is good enough for most people.
7) Buyer's remorse is quite less for the most part. Resale values are very good too.
8) Lowest cost BOSE systems sound almost same as their highest cost systems (albeit for smaller rooms) just because they want to provide 'BOSE' sound and maintain brand name. The high cost systems are the least VFM.
Another issue with audiophiles is comparing BOSE to audiophile grade speakers. My question is "Why would you do that"? BOSE does'nt claim that they have audiophile grade speakers. They simply say that they provide room filling sound. Audiophiles are not the targetted customers. They do great business and florish in their field while there are really good audiophile speakers companies going bankrupt every year. How is that possible??
The answer is simple. There are people out there who are NOT audiophiles. There are millions of people out there who want non-obtrusive speakers which sound good enough with their mp3s and other compressed media to please them and their families. They would rather buy the BOSE all in one than to buy individual component floor standers and run the wires all around the place and realise that their compressed media from their ipod sound like shit in these speakres. Moreover, wife-acceptance-factor is not something to be made fun of after all. All wives like bose. That is not easy. It means that BOSE has stroke the most favorable sweet spot somewhere. The sound appeals to most of the population. They do colour the sound, but so what? It is important to know that everyone's journey in life is not to get the best sound suiting him for the best available price.
Most often I come accross people who ask the question "Iam planning to buy a music system, what should I buy?". If someone asks this question, BOSE could be the most probable answer just because bose appeals to a wide range of audience and this guy is actually asking someone else on what kind of sound he likes (!!).
Being in this forum, you will know that the life of an audiophile is not simple. Most of us 'upgrade' our systems once in six months while someone buying a bose is both happy and contented with the system till it dies out at which point he buys the then existing model from BOSE. Who between these two do you call intelligent? I leave the question to you.
Finally, Iam not for or against buying BOSE. It is the thought process of the audiophile community that everyone out there should be an audiophile and should get the best bang for his buck when it comes to sound, that Iam against.
It is safe to let people know that they are spending double the amount on these speakers and go for a demo and ask them to buy it if they like it. Alternate solutions and discussions about packages for same/lesser price with the SAME form-factor, ease of use, compatibility with compressed music is always healthy. But unfortunately Iam not seeing suggestions for the alternatives coming out of this thread or any other thread with BOSE in its title for the most part.
Yes, they sell for double the cost they are really worth, but they do hell a lot of advertisement which kind of justifies the cost. Now, is it correct?? You should ask the same question when you are buying pepsi or coke. You are paying 95% for the marketing and 5% for the product. It is just another way the market works. You like it, you buy it.
Also, when it comes to BOSE, I see everyone has an opinion. Comments range from quality of raw materials they use in their products to how you read somewhere that bose is bad. We forget, What really matters is the sound perception of the buyer and whether he likes it or not.
Remember, If you have not demoed their products extensively or do not own them, you have no opinion. In other words, your opinion is worth only as much as the opinon of the person who buys BOSE based on 'someone telling it is good'.
This is where BOSE all-in-one speakers (Invariable of the models) excel.
1) They sound better than audiophile systems for mp3s. They round off all rough edges and recording gaps and makes the sound plesant even with low bit rate mp3s.
2) They make your life simpler by enabling you to use your existing media. Normal DVD players, Ipods work better with BOSE systems. You need not build a eco-system of high end appliances, cable etc around these systems.
3) They exaggerate parts of the spectrum most significant to hearing pleasure. They give the perception of wholesome and tight bass. High frequency is also never biting.
4) Any kind of input media will be able to provide 'acceptable' quality of sound. Which means, the purest signals will also provide only acceptable quality of output. 'Acceptable' is sufficient to most people rather than outright bad sound from bad media and mesmerising sound from good media.
5) They hide placement issues much better than the audiophile systems. This is very important to most people. You scatter the speakers all over the place they still provide acceptable sound. (You should see typical BOSE speakers lined up in front of TV in a line and the bass module under the TV in some households.
) Not many people build rooms around speaker placement requirements.6) The form factor is great. The soundstage they manage out of these tiny boxes is good enough for most people.
7) Buyer's remorse is quite less for the most part. Resale values are very good too.
8) Lowest cost BOSE systems sound almost same as their highest cost systems (albeit for smaller rooms) just because they want to provide 'BOSE' sound and maintain brand name. The high cost systems are the least VFM.
Another issue with audiophiles is comparing BOSE to audiophile grade speakers. My question is "Why would you do that"? BOSE does'nt claim that they have audiophile grade speakers. They simply say that they provide room filling sound. Audiophiles are not the targetted customers. They do great business and florish in their field while there are really good audiophile speakers companies going bankrupt every year. How is that possible??
The answer is simple. There are people out there who are NOT audiophiles. There are millions of people out there who want non-obtrusive speakers which sound good enough with their mp3s and other compressed media to please them and their families. They would rather buy the BOSE all in one than to buy individual component floor standers and run the wires all around the place and realise that their compressed media from their ipod sound like shit in these speakres. Moreover, wife-acceptance-factor is not something to be made fun of after all. All wives like bose. That is not easy. It means that BOSE has stroke the most favorable sweet spot somewhere. The sound appeals to most of the population. They do colour the sound, but so what? It is important to know that everyone's journey in life is not to get the best sound suiting him for the best available price.
Most often I come accross people who ask the question "Iam planning to buy a music system, what should I buy?". If someone asks this question, BOSE could be the most probable answer just because bose appeals to a wide range of audience and this guy is actually asking someone else on what kind of sound he likes (!!).
Being in this forum, you will know that the life of an audiophile is not simple. Most of us 'upgrade' our systems once in six months while someone buying a bose is both happy and contented with the system till it dies out at which point he buys the then existing model from BOSE. Who between these two do you call intelligent? I leave the question to you.
Finally, Iam not for or against buying BOSE. It is the thought process of the audiophile community that everyone out there should be an audiophile and should get the best bang for his buck when it comes to sound, that Iam against.
It is safe to let people know that they are spending double the amount on these speakers and go for a demo and ask them to buy it if they like it. Alternate solutions and discussions about packages for same/lesser price with the SAME form-factor, ease of use, compatibility with compressed music is always healthy. But unfortunately Iam not seeing suggestions for the alternatives coming out of this thread or any other thread with BOSE in its title for the most part.
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kapvin
Well-Known Member
That's a fair assessment, Blasto. Not everyone in the world is overly concerned about extracting the last bit of audio realism. most people want the system to look good, be simple to setup and use and give them "Social catchet".
Bose delivers that in spades. "I have a Bose" sounds sexier to the ordinary person than "I have an Usher Audio". so what if the AM series have a sonic hole between 200 and 300hz. so what if some of the x01 series have less of a soundstage and more of a "phil spector "wall of sound"". it looks cool, the girls say ooh.. and the owner instantly feel 2 inches taller.
However, most of the guys here are not like that (i'm guessing now) and we'd all have a hard time explaining to a guy who spends 10k on each interconnect that Bose is awesome.
And yes, I have tested the Bose AM series recently & extensively (to the limit that the bose store allows) since the wife insisted that we audition them before deciding on a 5.1 set for our study. that audition made our final purchase decision a no brainer - the baby of the paradigm cinema range (CT 70), which beat the Bose AM series in whatever aspect you set out
ps - i did not test mp3s on the bose so I cannot tell you if they sound better on a bose.
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Actually they are worse because we havent discussed all the short comings yet.
Well, I dont buy pepsi or coke either. stopped drinking that after they found pesticides in those.:lol:
Now, do u see the similarities here... coke, pepsi etc are basically junk products, which wont sell a single bottle without advertisements. How often do you see ads of tropicana orange juice, which is owned by pepsi. You dont, because it sells without ads as its a useful product.
If bose doesnt market its products, most of the people wont buy it.
I do have some experience with it. when i went to US first time, I had no experience of decent music systems and went and bought a pair of bose, and it was not the cubes, I think it was 301 (not sure though, was a long time ago. I returned it within a week. just didnt like the sound. My best system till date was a sony walkman with tapes.
So does a sony micro system costing 5000. why go for bose.
So does a sony micro system costing 5k. why go for bose for 50k.
wholesome and tight bass???? then how do define loose and boomy bass?
high freq are always biting. the less said about mid range, the better, probably the worst in spkrs costing above 10k.
i guess that covers the entire freq range.
So if I place all speakers in the front, how do i get the surround effects.5) They hide placement issues much better than the audiophile systems. This is very important to most people. You scatter the speakers all over the place they still provide acceptable sound. (You should see typical BOSE speakers lined up in front of TV in a line and the bass module under the TV in some households.
There is no shortage of small speakers in the market. Small does not necessarily mean bad sound. there are quite a few that do a far superior job than bose. they just dont advertise it that much.
No one who knows his music compares bose to audiophile grade speakers. What is audiophile grade speakers? Most of the speaker manufacturer's lower end products are not audiophile grade spkrs. Are B&W 686 audiophile grade, what about their life style products, LM1, M1 etc, they arent audiophile grade. kef, polk, jamo etc, their lower end spkrs arent audiophile.
And how does bose run, it needs no signal, so no cables??? does it run wireless??? I dont think so.
you are taking the extreme end with floorstanders. you can buy good small speakers.
if you go for bose vs going for someone else, you say you get all in one. How difficult is it for others... well, if you goto profx, you can purchase 5 speakers, 1 sub, and an avr from a single shop. they will come and install it and hide your cables too... how difficult it is... an audiophile will go and try and hunt for the best... others can goto profx or jamo or something like that and buy an entire setup in 15 mins and get it done with...
There are plenty of good speakers that are good looking, better looking than bose with higher waf.
Basically bose is preying on the gullibility of the average consumer that does not know better. If everyone in the world knew their music, bose will be selling underwears.:lol:
forget the audiophiles. for him, its a hobby and passion. if a non audiophile buys a non bose system, he will still be equally happy.
Everyone should get the best bang for the buck for whatever you purchase. be it tv, car, condoms or music system for that matter. Why should anyone pay a fortune for a system that sounds like shit.
People say bose is good for movies. how clear are the dialogues. cant make out half of it.
I wont use bose even for surround duties.
You are praising bose on an audiophile forums, people get banned for much lesser you know:lol: just kidding
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Thad E Ginathom
Well-Known Member
The cost of marketing is never an excuse for the price of a product. It might be an alarm bell as to its quality, though. Might I mention the word Microsoft?
The world is not really split into those who are audiophiles and those who are not. Most people appreciate a good product in most fields, whether it is good food in a restaurant or good sound from a speaker. They may not make a hobby of defining and analysing it, they may not be able to afford it, they may not buy it even if they can --- but they will probably still get a feeling as to the quality of the experience.
This can be countered, though, as well as encouraged, by education and experience. For instance, some might think that "good" music is supposed to sound like a highly compressed MP3 or like the soundtrack from Star Wars (or even... like a highly compressed MP3 recording of the soundtrack from starwars!). Sometimes, this just happens: sometimes it is positively guided by the marketing men.
Kapvin, go through your post and substitute the word "good" for "audiophile" and see how it reads then, because that is what you are really saying.
I don't think I have ever owned any hifi equipment that would be categorised higher than "mid-range". Just as there are only a handful of BMW/Merc/Even-more-expensive car owners on Team-BHP, there are probably only a handful of people here with hifi systems that cost tens of lakhs of rupees or even more. Are they the audiophiles among us? There are a handful of people that actually understand the technical specifications, and even the equipment at component level. Are they the Audiophiles among us? Or are we all audiophiles, because we like to do the best we can with what we can afford, in the rooms we have --- in which case, not only all the members here, but many who would not even join the forum... we are all audiophiles.
So, Bose speakers are not made for audiophiles, eh? That's what I thought
The world is not really split into those who are audiophiles and those who are not. Most people appreciate a good product in most fields, whether it is good food in a restaurant or good sound from a speaker. They may not make a hobby of defining and analysing it, they may not be able to afford it, they may not buy it even if they can --- but they will probably still get a feeling as to the quality of the experience.
This can be countered, though, as well as encouraged, by education and experience. For instance, some might think that "good" music is supposed to sound like a highly compressed MP3 or like the soundtrack from Star Wars (or even... like a highly compressed MP3 recording of the soundtrack from starwars!
). Sometimes, this just happens: sometimes it is positively guided by the marketing men.Kapvin, go through your post and substitute the word "good" for "audiophile" and see how it reads then, because that is what you are really saying.
I don't think I have ever owned any hifi equipment that would be categorised higher than "mid-range". Just as there are only a handful of BMW/Merc/Even-more-expensive car owners on Team-BHP, there are probably only a handful of people here with hifi systems that cost tens of lakhs of rupees or even more. Are they the audiophiles among us? There are a handful of people that actually understand the technical specifications, and even the equipment at component level. Are they the Audiophiles among us? Or are we all audiophiles, because we like to do the best we can with what we can afford, in the rooms we have --- in which case, not only all the members here, but many who would not even join the forum... we are all audiophiles.
So, Bose speakers are not made for audiophiles, eh? That's what I thought
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