Why exactly does bose suck?

[mbriant]

Quote:

mbriant, some of us have listened to a lot of Bose speakers; it's just that posting the URL to the FAQs is easier than typing out a long response that says the same thing

MacDef, you're one of the ones whom I know speaks from experience and who's opinion I respect. And again, I'm in no way saying that most negative observations about Bose loudspeakers are incorrect.

My concern is that everyone is tripping over themselves to come up with cute negative things to say about Bose products...both here and in the FAQs presented ( one of which is 6 years old I believe ) and yet I doubt the majority of them have listened to more than one Bose setup...if that. So suddenly, instead of 3 or 4 credible, knowledgable negative posts appearing, it seems that dozens of people have negative things to say. Most of it coming not from actually listening to the multitude of Bose products, but from reading 6 year old negative themed FAQs and BBs and repeating them. Like a bad rumour, this hearsay builds and multiplies exponentially, which is unfair.

For instance, it's been mentioned more than once how Bose won't submit their speakers for testing/review.....with the insinuation that they are too embarassed to do so.

One main reason they don't submit product for testing is that frequency measurements ( particularly measurements done in an anechoic chamber ) can not be anywhere near accurate with Bose speakers because of their reflective properties. Scientific measurements are made with a microphone X distance in front of and off axis to the speaker's drivers. This is OK for normal speakers, but Bose speakers are 100% room dependent and MUST have walls and ceilings and be positioned properly to sound as good as they possibly can. Also, in the case of 901s, the supplied EQ must be used and adjusted properly. A frequency graph would come out considerably worse looking than it actually should. Certainly, listening tests would be more revealing, but many review vehicles still use graphs as well. This puts Bose at an unfair disadvantage right off the mark.

Repeating only parts of the whole picture ( the negative parts) is unfair. Like plugging a pair of AKG 1000s into an ordinary headphone amp and saying these headphones sound like hell.

The other thing that tends to happen in a thread like this is that it's built up so much negative steam, anyone who actually likes the speakers ( and I'm sure more than a few who visit this site own Bose ) becomes afraid to express their opinion for fear of being ganged up on .... again by a group of people, the majority of which, are simply parroting what they've heard or read from other sources and who don't have first hand knowledge to contribute.

Although I do own a small pair of Bose speakers which I use with one of my computers ( they were given to me years ago by Bose's slick marketing department

) I wouldn't buy them myself. I just think we should keep things in perspective and not let mob mentality disproportionately influence virgin minds.

PS I'm pretty sure "Amir" Bose
is a personal friend of "Osama" Bin Laden...

 

[Todd R]

Paul Klipsch is walking down a city street when he sees Dr. Amar Bose walking toward him. He cups his hands to his mouth in a horn shape and yells "Hi, Dr. Bose, how are you?" Dr. Bose sees him and acknowledges him by turning around, facing the opposite way, and yelling back, "I'm fine, Paul. How are you?"

 

[mbriant]

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

Originally posted by TaffyGuy oh jeeeeezus, if there's one speaker make I hate more than bose (actually i havn't but a lot of effort into hating bose) it would be bose jr. (cambraige soundworks)

Bose, Jr.??? To even put the two companies in the same sentence is an insult to CSW. CSW doesn't make the best speakers on the market, but at least they try to make good products for the price, and for the average consumer, they do just that.

The PC Works system isn't great sounding by any means, but for $40? Not bad. SoundWorks is actually pretty good for $70. MicroWorks was clearly the best computer sub/sat system on the market when it was released. It's a bit long in the tooth now, but for $150 it's not bad. Finally, the new MegaWorks has gotten good reviews.

The you have the non-computer CSW speakers, none of which are the best on the market, but all of which have received some good reviews and actually sound decent for the money.

Finally, there's the fact that the guy who designed most of the CSW stuff, Henry Kloss, was one of the most brilliant audio designers ever. The list of stellar products he's designed is longer than most companies' entire product listings.

You only have to do one comparison to demonstrate the typical differences between Cambridge Soundworks and Bose products:

The Bose Wave Radio ($349) vs. CSW Model 88 ($149)

These two products have basically the same form factor and the same feature set, yet the Model 88 is a much better quality product, has much better sound, and costs less than half as much as the Bose Wave Radio.

The CSW bashing that goes on on the computer geek boards is a much better example of "trendy" bashing than people criticizing Bose.

 

[TimSchirmer]

The reason why bose is so popular is the same reason why car audio is popular. High-quantity bass that is generally one single, loud note that is louder than the rest of the music. Keep in mind that the same people that buy bose also buy monster cables, and spend about 50% of their budget on subwoofers. They actually pick out speakers based on which has the most bloated, distorted bass. Bose, like most mass-market expensive audio, is made for the dum-basses who want lots of pounding bass to make up for their increasingly small dicks.

I simply gave up on these people. They will eat whatever the large corporations shovel onto their plate. The thing is, these people don't actually have musical appreciation, and most of what they listen to (rap/techno/limp-bizkit) doesn't require any musical appreciation at all, just loud, bass-heavy speakers.

 

[TaffyGuy]

alright i'm sorry MacDEF I'm getting ahead of myself there, I havn't listened to csw stand alone speaker stuffs, but seriously, these "sensational" sounding 2.1 rigs are really starting to irritate me. I haven't really paid attention to the $70 speaker market, since sound is sort of a novelty at that level (look, my computer makes noise!) and at $150, and through about $600, i believe that in any case, you're money will be better spent on some bookshelf speakers than a 2.1, because splitting the money into more units just makes each unit crappier and crappier.

So besides for stuff in the $150 or $200 area either the one with digital or without digital (which is what everyone seems to have here in california) i'll take back my nasty rash comments.

I should watch myself more carefully. Had too much free time at work these days and I'm causing lots of havoc on these poor forums. Boss gets back this week so you're all in luck

 

[CaptBubba]

I think the same sort of statement should be said about bose, except for their tiny speakers (acustimass, wave radio) they make ok speakers (in terms of consumer speakers). I know this because I own a pair of bose 301 series speakers. They make music, and I don't ask any more of them. Considering how much I paid for them (free!) I think they are just fine.

Their size-over-sound sets are a different story though, I hate those things.

 

[KR...]

I think that almost everyone has heard Bose speakers. Their Bose wave radio sounds about as good as a good boombox. I have also heard the tiny Henry Kloss mono table radio that retails for $99 and it sounds a 100 times better, and it's freaking mono and a lot smaller, and way, way cheaper!

Their big speakers (601 and 701) sound about as good as a decent Mid-Fi speaker, yet it cost TONS more. Stereophile gave raves reviews to the Athena F! speaker, which retails for $399.95 a pair! That's half the price and I am willing to bet that it sounds a hell of a lot better.

 

[dougli]

OK, I'll admit it. I was suckered into buying some Bose 301's on their "reputation", and because they sounded better than anything else in Best Buy for the price. That was before I had much of an ear for sound quality. Now, thanks to my headphone enjoyment, I think these speakers sound like some kind of crap unless I have the loudness on, and have fiddled with the bass and treble too. Once I've done these things, they sound like some other kind of crap.

 

[markl]

My first HT/music rig (about 5 years ago, before I became more educated about audio) was a pair of Cambridge Soundworks Tower speakers and 10" sub and one of their better center channels of the time. I had bought into their direct sales model, and foolishly believed their marketing, thinking I was getting a "real value".

Even knowing little about the audio, and having few reference points, I immediately knew something was "wrong". I was very disappointed in the sound I got for what I felt then was a lot of money (little did I know....

). The sub was the worst of all. It produced ZERO bass and the driver flapped horrifically with distortion when turned up to an audible level. I tried several models of their crappy subs, thinking that spending more would solve the problem but it was not to be.

After finally doing what I should have done originally (my homework) I came to truly appreciate how bloody awful those Cambridge Soundworks speakers truly are. The models they had at that time, even sold direct without "dealer mark-up" were in no way competitive with other speakers in the same price range.

In fact, it was my disappointment with the CS speakers and my quest not to get burned next time that led to my audio obsession in the first place.

I now own a set of PSB's finest, and let me tell you, those speakers really represent value for the dollar.

No, I haven't heard any of CS's newer models, but once bitten, twice shy. Stay away!

markl

 

[beamthegreat]

Bose headphones may suck but I have to disagree with their speakers. My 1700$ stereo speaker from bose sounds 10 times better than my sennheiser ie8. The speakers doesn't produce loud muddy bass like the bose headphones or lacks mids and highs. They almost sound as good as listening to a live performance. Although I agree that they set the price a little too high.

 

[azncookiecutter]

Necro'ed AND Bose. Not bad for a 7 year old thread.

 

[ronnielee54]

 

[krmathis]

Holy 7+ year thread resurrection!
With all the monthly BOSE bashing threads was it really necessary to resurrect such an old one?

 

[Spareribs]

I predict in the future Bose will come out with a really good speaker and quality amp and all of you headfiers will eat your words!
And all the Bose lovers will finally gloat with glory!