Are Bose Computer Speakers over rated?

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jordan12

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I am curious. We all know they are grossly expensive.

But are they over rated? Or are they actually a great sounding speaker?
 
What an insightful and not-at-all-conformist first reply that was...

As for the speakers, I couldn't say. They're likely fairly decent, but you could probably do better for the price. What exactly are you looking for?
 
phide said:
What an insightful and not-at-all-conformist first reply that was...

As for the speakers, I couldn't say. They're likely fairly decent, but you could probably do better for the price. What exactly are you looking for?
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Ummm...I answered his question on exactly what I think of them. An over-priced product with need of looking else where.
 
My gf has one... lol!

I'm not sure what that means regarding Bose sound though... she likes it so that's all that matters to me.

Though they are pricey.
 
My friend just purchased a pair of those this morning, he is not audiophile but so far he is enjoying (not even a full day of use yet). I will drop by probably this evening or tomorrow and see how they are in gaming area. Will probably test TF2, maybe some Supreme Commander, and he will probably play some music but it will be compressed so unless I bring CDs it will be just alright, maybe.
 
Bose relies on its marketing rather than its innovations to sell its products. There's been plenty of internet detectives quick to point out Bose using cheap hardware, like $5 drivers in $1000 products, etc. They're probably better than the cheapest thing on the shelf, but they are in no way worth what they cost. You can get much better performance for half the cost, etc, etc.
 
I have listened to the full line of Bose, even in their made studio at stores. The quality you receive from them is good, not great, which is why I am always disappointed with them. They offer quality at a very inflated price which is where I feel they fail. If they lowered prices they could easily win over more people in the audio community
 
From what I've heard Bose will give you a more balanced sound, but a lot of people prefer Klipsch for gaming because it is more bass focused.
 
theDreamer said:
If they lowered prices they could easily win over more people in the audio community
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"people in the audio community" care about quality, not price, so that statement is a bit back-asswards. Bose stuff is interesting, but it simply doesn't have that sound quality that other brands do. They make their money off marketing and people that simply have never heard better, that's all. I know a few people that purchased the 2.1 Companion system for $400, then they come listen to my Klipsch Promedia 2.1 and wonder "How come I can hear the treble on yours, and not mine, and I paid 3x more?" (technically they paid 20x more - I got these for $20 because of a defective control pod cable; fixed it with a PS/2 keyboard cable for $.50).

Their headphones are atrocious in terms of sound "quality" - sure the Quiet Comfort series will definitely keep outside sounds from bothering you (Bose owns the headset market in aviation for noise cancellation, effectively), but if what you're listening to sounds like crap, all you end up with is crap you can hear even more clearly, if that makes sense.

The midrange is horrible, the bass is so tight it has no feel to it, and the treble for the most part is non-existent save for some serious EQ activity on the user's end.

Bose stuff sounds muddy to me, and many others. They have "special EQ" circuits built into most of their systems now that ruin it. They don't seem to understand that the sound as measured at the speaker itself - the most important part of any audio system - needs to be as flat as possible and not overly EQ'ed to whatever "standard" they think is accurate.

One example are the Wave Radios. Ever seen the inside of one? It's about 90% air, really. 10% components and hardware, and a big ass empty space. $400+ for the same amount of circuitry in a $20 clock radio and a lot of space is pretty expensive to me. And the damned things are sooooooo bassy and boomy, it's insane. I've taken material of my own to sample at the Bose factory outlet store here in Vegas and ugh, the stuff just sounds like shit.

The simplest way to look at it is this one:

"I never knew how bad Bose equipment sounded until I heard something that sounded a lot better."

Once you do that, and you then look at the pricing, you'll realize you just don't get quality for the insanely high prices.
 
The statement may seem backwards, but I mean in the sense of people looking price first then quality. For the audiophile price is one of the last factors, but for the entering or basic audio person price is near the top though quality is what they want. I can understand how my statement may seem wrong, but thinking in terms of price then quality it makes sense (I guess).
 
The only product I've ever heard from Bose that was worth its weight in gold (at least to me) was the original Bose AM-5 AcoustiMass system. And I mean the original one sold way back in 1986 or so. Unfreakin'-believable sound quality, easily besting the standard tower speakers of the day. The concept of breaking the high/mid-range speakers (the directional end) away from the subwoofer component (non-directional) was a mark of absolute brilliance and to this day ranks as one of my favorite systems ever.

Unfortunately, in my own testing over the years, the sound quality has suffered as Bose products turned into mere assembly line stuff as usual. That original AM-5 setup is still something I regret never purchasing for myself. If I had, I'd still own them today more than likely. They're one of the few systems I've ever encountered that could actually play the "Time Warp" CD from Telarc at loud levels without audible or noticeable distortion and with absolute crystal clarity.

Simply amazing speakers, alas everything else since then has sounded like shit to me. :) And I do go to that Bose store several times a year when I'm at the Belz Outlet Mall, and I do take my own listening material (Rio Karma loaded with FLAC files of various recordings, including "Time Warp") so I can get a laugh at how much they continue to "rape" the ignorant consumers of their hard earned money.
 
Every thing from bose is over rated. i tried to explain that to my mom but she wouldnt listen. A buddy didnt belive me when i told him my headphones was better then the bose tripods.

He changed his mind. but his parents in up getting him the bose any way. because the staff at BB used the bose PR to sell it to them =/ .

those people that found out what hardware they used in the bose, should make Tv ads or something to imform the people thats getting ripped off by the marketing PR.
 
Bose stuff is a POS honestly. I remember reading this 6 page thread a guy started in a audio forum awhile back bashing Bose's "engineering". It detailed everything about many of their speakers and materials they used. I remember reading that Bose uses regular construction paper for woofers or something and just cheap stuff in general that fails fairly quick.
 
One thing I want to clarify...audiophile quality stuff does not necessarily have a flat frequency response. Frequency response is only a single measurement of the sound being reproduced and is by no means the only factor.

Your ears don't even have a flat frequency response and depending upon what volume levels you listen to the frequency response could change too.

Personally, I have never bought a bose speaker set, but I have demoed them extensively. I think they really fall under the class of speakers that really makes certain types of music sound better while making others sound really bad. One thing to keep in mind is that even listening to your own recordings...it is hard to say for sure which speakers sound better or worse as differences in every recording take and mix really dictate which speaker set might sound better.

Of course, Bose is still going to be Bose, which is part of the reason for buying Bose. I think no one will challenge how well marketed they are. I think part of the draw of a Bose speaker set is really just the branding and image it invokes. Everyone's heard of Bose whether or not they could afford it or want to buy one, but in the end if your buying something to show off to all of your friends and family, do you really think a Marantz tube amp is going to impress more people or is buying a Bose speaker set the better choice of the two since it is actually cheaper and more renown?
 
phide said:
Have you given 'em a listen yet?
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The Companion 3s are pretty decent. I don't think they're special in any way shape or form (well.. maybe shape). I think they serve a niche of consumers, but I don't think they should be marketed to be anything grand sound-wise.

I can't complain about them, we watch Grey's Anatomy, Youtube, Scrubs, Sex and the City, and Sopranos through them speakers and I can enjoy the show just as much as I do when we watch in my system. Company makes TV night special, not the speakers in this case.
 
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