How Come Bose Never Comes Up?

X

XacTactX

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Dec 13, 2010
Messages
4,134
I never see anyone asking about, anyone claiming ownership for, or anyone trying to sell any Bose equipment, especially headphones. Why is this?
 
Bose is disliked on the forum because a majority of their products aren't stellar performers. I think the Bose IEMs are alright, and the Triports, while the sound quality is underwhelming, they are quite comfortable.
 
its on the same list as Monster accessories(not the drink) and pedophiles.
 
Generally poor value. Bose, as a general rule, makes good products but charges alarming prices for the majority of them. The more you come to understand which audio products offer a good value, the less often a Bose product will end up on that list, so most of us don't buy them.
 
phide said:
Generally poor value. Bose, as a general rule, makes good products but charges alarming prices for the majority of them. The more you come to understand which audio products offer a good value, the less often a Bose product will end up on that list, so most of us don't buy them.
Click to expand...

bingo

I hear Bose made good products in the 70s.

Now they spend their money on marketing, not quality speakers.

I unfortunately have a Bose setup in my car. It's difficult to remove and would devalue my car, I'm sure, to remove it. It sounds terrible compared to good speakers. Tinny, painful highs are especially the big problem. And I'm no audiophile. I have like $50 JBL bookshelf speakers in my HT at home (will upgrade to Paradigm...some day).

Here's a good read

http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html

They also do things like re-route sound over 80hz to the Bose woofer - this should be directional sound, produced from the speakers/surrounds - Not from the "subwoofer" (not that Bose's subwoofer counts as a real subwoofer).
 
GreenMonkey said:
Here's a good read

http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for spreading the informational wealth, much appreciated :). I read the whole thing, and I now understand. Bose doesn't sell because of good performance and a linear frequency response curve... it sells because people are uneducated and have wives. The construction, materials, craftsmanship and performance of the AM-15 setup is terrible. If all of their products are like this (which it seems they are), I'm never going to buy anything that they produce (read: market). Thanks again for the article.
 
It's been kind of standard reading at places like AVSforum and such for a long time ;) I used to be a big HT guy...but kids and tight budgets have made me a HT on the cheap guy.

If nothing else, you can certainly do better for the money. Far better. Even in a small form factor.
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
I had the choice of spending £550 on BOSE on our new Audi, i almost did but then thought actually i'll listen to it first, and did. Boy was i thankful i listened to it first, so not worth it over standard Audi kit but then again it is in a car. Don't get me wrong, the bass produced was very good indeed, was louder and it sounded a lot flatter but not £550 worth at all.

Not really experience BOSE out of mass channel home cinema or cars so cant really comment of PC speakers.
 
Bose is just one of those things people like to hate. Their products are pricey but not necessarily bad performers. I listened to a Bose home-cinema system in a store once and was surprised to find it actually sounded really good.
 
Bose is a lot like Apple, selling overpriced and underpowered stuff to uneducated consumers.
 
Other speaker companies have had to innovate and slash prices due to competition, Bose thinks they can ride the wave they started in the 70's and 80's without making competetive products.
 
450 said:
Show me something better than the Acoustimass 3 speakers for less than $200 (in a similar form factor).

I say $200 since thats what the AM3 is on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006J054...e=asn&creative=395093&creativeASIN=B00006J054
Click to expand...

spaceman said:
Better? ok

5.1

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-694

Stereo

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-650

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-633

Bose isn't terrible. Just overpriced. The midrange is non-existent, bass is flabby at best and the highs are not smooth. That $200 AM3 should be $100.
Click to expand...

Isn't it a serious offense when a bass + speaker setup is missing a huge portion of the sound spectrum? In the review linked ^^^ the Bose AM-15 only reproduces around 66% of audible frequencies, which I find pathetic, and would imagine a real audiophile (which I'm not yet :p) would find unacceptable. But correct me if I'm wrong.

Digital Viper-X- said:
I beg to differ, apple does provide something that other companies don't, other than the ridiculous price tag :p
Click to expand...

A machine inside a brushed aluminum enclosure running on a proprietary OS?
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Digital Viper-X- said:
I beg to differ, apple does provide something that other companies don't, other than the ridiculous price tag :p
Click to expand...

Innovative and cool looking I'll give you but for the price if an iMac, you can p ut together a much more powerful rig. The iPod put MP3's on the map but you can buy 3 good MP3 players for the price of an iPod. The iPhone made smart phones cool and where everybody wants one but you can get a Droid for less that runs better.

Same thing with Bose, cool stuff but there's better out there for a good bit less in most cases.
 
Gym Rat said:
Innovative and cool looking I'll give you but for the price if an iMac, you can p ut together a much more powerful rig.
Click to expand...

That is if you are not including the price of a monitor, mouse, keyboard, microphone, speakers, webcam, wifi, OS, time, effort, portability, design, one year warranty and service...

FYI the above items can easily reach $1000 in total...
 
Last edited:
spaceman said:
Better? ok
Click to expand...
To play devil's advocate, none of those fit the Bose form factor.

Any $50 bookshelf speaker pair will have a very similar frequency response to Bose cubes + bass module. They'll even sound similar (and comparatively better) if you EQ in gobs of extra mid bass and drop the midrange. The problem is finding something small.

I'd say the most direct comparison commercially is probably the Swan M10: http://www.theaudioinsider.com/product_info.php?products_id=89 Excellent 3" HiVi B3 full range drivers with a mid bass to help them go slightly lower. Not sure why they even have a tweeter. And they're powered. For around $120.

Further off the beaten path, you have the WAF-3 from Chase Home Theater: http://www.chasehometheater.com/index.php?Itemid=133 Doesn't play as low, but is actually a quality full-range speaker. Add a subwoofer that plays well up to ~120Hz and you're good to go (something you'd need to add to Bose cubes + bass module anyway if you want more than mid bass). I question why it's tagged "WAF" when they are ugly as sin... but I guess size is all that matters.

In the DIY arena, there's Zaph's single HiVi B3S design: http://www.zaphaudio.com/audio-speaker18.html I really wonder why some enterprising company doesn't use these drivers in something more cubic and sell a billion of them. The drivers themselves are less than $23 for a pair retail. And again, add a subwoofer.
 
XacTactX said:
Isn't it a serious offense when a bass + speaker setup is missing a huge portion of the sound spectrum? In the review linked ^^^ the Bose AM-15 only reproduces around 66% of audible frequencies, which I find pathetic, and would imagine a real audiophile (which I'm not yet :p) would find unacceptable. But correct me if I'm wrong.



A machine inside a brushed aluminum enclosure running on a proprietary OS?
Click to expand...

You can't really compare apple and Bose, apple actually leads in certain areas other than marketing.

They actually bring something DIFFERENT to the market, bose just brings overpriced speakers and headphones, you can get that from anyone.


Gym Rat said:
Innovative and cool looking I'll give you but for the price if an iMac, you can p ut together a much more powerful rig. The iPod put MP3's on the map but you can buy 3 good MP3 players for the price of an iPod. The iPhone made smart phones cool and where everybody wants one but you can get a Droid for less that runs better.

Same thing with Bose, cool stuff but there's better out there for a good bit less in most cases.
Click to expand...

I'm not saying apple rocks, just saying they do a better job of justifying their priceyness when compared to Bose. Apple does actually provide a good quality product to the market, bose to me provides standard quality speakers for a huge premium, on top of the standard or low quality build, when compares to a decent set of speakers which cost the same, they get blown out of the water in terms of sound quality.
 
spaceman said:
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-694

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-650

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-633
Click to expand...

This isn't exactly in the same form factor.

kumquat said:
That Bose "woofer" isn't even powered. It's a bunch of 5.25" drivers in a box.

A $150 set of Logitech powered speakers with a sub is better than that.
Click to expand...

The Bose subwoofer is more of a regular woofer, than a subwoofer. I think that's fine because the cubes themselves are very small. Bose speakers are far from the best, but I haven't heard any Logitech speaker sound better.

Also, just because its passive doesn't mean its inferior.

havermeyer said:
(snip)
Click to expand...

I agree completely.


From a business standpoint, I think Bose have done a great job. The formula seems easy enough to do, why isn't anyone emulating it with better speakers at a similar cost?
 
Very nice replies by the above posters. It seems like a lot of people just hate Apple/Bose for the wrong reasons, most of them just hearsay. At least a few actually know the factual reasons why these products are not suited to their liking.
 
Digital Viper-X- said:
I'm not saying apple rocks, just saying they do a better job of justifying their priceyness when compared to Bose. Apple does actually provide a good quality product to the market, bose to me provides standard quality speakers for a huge premium, on top of the standard or low quality build, when compares to a decent set of speakers which cost the same, they get blown out of the water in terms of sound quality.
Click to expand...

Yeah. I'm not an Apple fan either, but their stuff is pretty good, but overpriced. Bose is just overpriced.
 
If you're after small form factor speakers, I've read some good things about Orb Audio and ERA / Peachtree speakers over at AVSforum.
 
Rossi~ said:
I had the choice of spending £550 on BOSE on our new Audi, i almost did but then thought actually i'll listen to it first, and did. Boy was i thankful i listened to it first, so not worth it over standard Audi kit but then again it is in a car. Don't get me wrong, the bass produced was very good indeed, was louder and it sounded a lot flatter but not £550 worth at all.
Click to expand...

I actually did think the Bose system in my A4 sounded slightly better than the stock system. If only they offered the B&O system for that car... ;)
 
450 said:
This isn't exactly in the same form factor.
Click to expand...

Not the same form factor...so you want to pay $200 for tiny satellites and a mid-woofer? There's a reason why Bose doesn't publish frequency response (Aside from the fact that their audience wouldn't know what to make of it anyway).

Regardless, if you're space constrained you wouldn't exactly be buying the Acoustimass system, as it isn't powered and requires an integrated or a receiver to power it, thereby negating any size advantage it might have. If you are space constrained, buy yourself a pair of M-Audios or Audioengines and call it a day.
 
no highs? no lows? got to be a ...

I actually like the sound of the few bose I've heard (especially in the maxima I used to own)... however I do think there's better sound for the price by a large margin.
 
OldSchool said:
I actually did think the Bose system in my A4 sounded slightly better than the stock system. If only they offered the B&O system for that car... ;)
Click to expand...

B&O would've been good, but again, wouldn't bother paying so much for audio equipment in a car, kind of a waste considering you're stuck in tin can with ambient sounds.
 
Rossi~ said:
B&O would've been good, but again, wouldn't bother paying so much for audio equipment in a car, kind of a waste considering you're stuck in tin can with ambient sounds.
Click to expand...

Yup. I don't even bother anymore. My home stereo however.....well, I can run 32 and 4 subwoofers speakers if I wanted/could afford to.
 
Rossi~ said:
B&O would've been good, but again, wouldn't bother paying so much for audio equipment in a car, kind of a waste considering you're stuck in tin can with ambient sounds.
Click to expand...

Unless your stuck for many hours of the day in your tin can or have a wife that doesn't understand why you have to play music so loud, or you live in an apt and can't enjoy it fully... there are a lot of reasons to put audio in the car. Who says you can't have both? :)
 
86 5.0L said:
its on the same list as Monster accessories(not the drink) and pedophiles.
Click to expand...

LOL, there's almost nothing to add to that.

Take a look at AVSforums, they will give you a detailed breakdown of how and why BOSE is so shit. They aren't like Monster that make a good product at an extortionate rate. BOSE make a shit product at an extortionate rate.
 
Bose is hardly disliked on all forums.

Lots of people still like it and buy it. Check Bose on amazon. Many good reviews though...
 
hmz said:
Bose is hardly disliked on all forums.

Lots of people still like it and buy it. Check Bose on amazon. Many good reviews though...
Click to expand...

It seems to be disliked by those who like reference-quality audio, like Head-Fi. To me, that's more significant than the opinions of people who aren't audiophiles. And, judging from the review I read on the AM-15, Bose is horrendibad.
 
I've had the Bose 321 system for my living room for a few years now. I, of course, bought it before really knowing much about audio. It sounds decent, but the money could've been spent better for sure in retrospect.

I'll do better the next time I feel like upgrading. :p
 
John721 said:
If you're after small form factor speakers, I've read some good things about Orb Audio and ERA / Peachtree speakers over at AVSforum.
Click to expand...

Ive been running a full Orb Audio sound system for about a year now and they are heads above anything Bose can make. Though a full setup might put you back a bit more then Bose, your getting a lot more bang for it. They may be small but they have a great soundstage for their size and the 300w sub is good for most situations. There have been a couple movies where i've heard it bottom out under heavy bass but its not often. If your in the market I can't recommend these enough. They also have a 30 day in home trial so if you looking at the wife factor you can't go wrong.

I scoured the AVSForums back when I was looking for a HT system and found nothing but pure hatred with lots of evidence to back it up against BOSE. Also, being a Dish Network installer, ive got plenty of anecdotal evidence of people "showing off" their Bose systems and they sound baaad.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top