A Visit To The Bose Store

My daughter went to state with her 4x100 relay team (Yes, I'm bragging on her.) up at Jeff City, so we went up to watch. On the way home we stopped at an outlet mall in Osage Beach. So of course I eventually found my way to the Bose store. (What else am I gonna do there? Stand in a corner at Banana Republic and try not to look like a stalker?)

Anyway, I go to the Bose store and I'm soon warmly greeted and invited to hear "the coolest thing in the world"...or words to that effect. I'm ushered into the back where there is a small, living room-sized nook off of the main store, in which they have a nice couch sitting in front of a 46" Bose VideoWave TV. I'm thinking "OK, I've never heard one of these things. Let's see why they cost $5000." The guy fires up the demo Blu-ray disc and soon I'm jolted nearly out of my skin with a thunderous, low frequency blast. The demo disc goes on, cutting from one scene to another, including a lot of different kinds of music and souond effects. At many points in the demo, I'm hearing sounds to the side and even behind me. I actually started looking for hidden surround speakers but there were none. I also check for hidden subs or bass modules but again there was none to be found. Everything I was hearing was coming from sixteen speakers built into the TV. Color me impressed. Of course, there was nothing else set up in the room to compare the sound with, but still, it was amazing to hear all that sound coming from what essentially are invisible speakers. The salesman said I could have had one delivered and installed this weekend only for $2500. I can easily see how someone for whom money was not a limiting factor, and who was not an audiophile, or maybe was, but wanted an easy and clean "install" for a secondary viewing room, would fall all over themselves signing the dotted line. I would. I was actually going into hardware-fever mode there for awhile, trying to think where I could put this thing and how I could justify it to the Mrs. Now I know, a killer surround rig could be built around a similar display for less money; maybe much less. But still, just on "WOW" factor alone, I have to give Bose credit. No wires, no speaker boxes, no amps or receiver. Just a sleek little controller/interface that you connect your disc player and cable or sat box to. All operated with a six-button remote. This is THE system for someone who wants really good sound but is not a technophile, or for someone who again, wants very good sound, but who abhors the concept of big boxes and exposed wires in their living room...or the effort and mess that would be required to avoid the big boxes and exposed wires. I give it .

While at the store I also checked out some other tasty bits. The Wave radio w/CD. $450 bucks on sale, but like the Videowave, oh so high on wow-factor. Actual bass coming out of what is basically the size of a table radio. Very cool. Honest, room-filling and enjoyable music. And a lovely form-factor, imho. Pricey, yes. Bose seems to charge whatever the market will bear, which is not exactly an un-American concept. I could definitely see one of these in our bedroom someday.

The Wave Music system. Essentially an 80's size boombox done up Bose-style. Similar sound to the Wave radio but a more bass and more output. Waveradio on steroids. If you like the sound of one, you'll like the sound of the other.

I'm not sure of the name, but it's the little blue tooth speaker that is pretty heavily promoted now. I turned one up pretty loudly in their big showroom and it remained clean and clear. Amazing for the size. Very classy looking and compact, but big sound with even a hint of actual bass. Pretty cool if you want the wireless thingy for you i-thingy. Not my cup o' tea, though.

I really didn't do any proper demos of any of the Acoustimass/cube systems as I have previously heard them to good effect, but I did listen to a couple of the pc speakers, and again, big sound from small packages seems to be the theme. Seems to be the Bose theme overall. I'm a bit less enthused about their "True-Space" technology that they use with some of the pc speakers like my own Companion II's. It sounds just a lot like they are operating out of phase above the bass range. A good effect with music, but individual voices sound...everywhere and nowhere, if you know what I mean.

Overall, I came away very impressed with some of their newer and some not-so-new products. Maybe I'm losing my audiophile-ness in my old age. Or my hearing! Be that as it may, I have to say, they know their market and they know how to work it.

Oh, one more thing! they actually had a pair of 901's setup, hooked to an Onkyo receiver. I'm not sure if it was stereo or multi-channel, because I didn't really play with it. Due to past experiences, I was afraid the 901's would not be hooked up correctly and then I'd have to go all audiophile on the nice fellows working at the store!

Well, folks, that's my (mostly) excellent adventure at the Bose store!

 

I've been in this situation. Bored outta my mind at the outlet mall, the Bose store is the only remotely interesting thing. Then the mind starts working: My wife is probably spending several hundred dollars on shoes, clothes, a purse, whatever....why shouldn't I get a toy at the outlet mall too? I've come close to buying their headphones (which really wouldn't be a bad purchase) or maybe some small powered speakers for my desktop (don't need 'em). But I convince myself that I should just wait until I get home and if I still have money burning a hole in my pocket I can order something on-line and ultimately be happier with it. By the time I'm home I'm over it, money saved. But still I wonder...if I did buy a $450 radio maybe next time I'd be spared going to the outlet mall.

 

You might be spared a lot of things for awhile!

 

Er, because she just spent all your money?

 

I wouldn't mind sitting through a Bose demo to kill time.

I wouldn't buy anything based upon a prepared demo like what Bose does. I don't trust demos where there is a possibility (and with Bose a very likely certainty) that the demo material has been specially prepared to sound impressive. I expect the demo material to have custom processing or remastering to enhance the effects and specially prepared to match up with the gear that is being demoed. A company like Bose has the resources and engineering to specially prepare any of the video clips and music clips they use to have special EQ and extra or enhanced 3D surround effects when played through a Wave TV or Wave Radio. I also don't trust the actors in TV infomercials to accurately portray the products they are selling and demoing.

 

Heh. If you were feeling devious you could prepare your own demo CD, tailored to the weaknesses of the products rather than the strengths. For example, boosted bass at frequencies just below the port resonances, so the drivers beat themselves to death making farty sounds instead of bass...

 

Im almost positive they actually do use equalized demo material. I used to sale some bose stuff ( cringe ) and their demo discs, HAD to be used to demo their stuff. When we switched it out to a normal disc, it sounded okay sorta, but far less "impressive". Its as if the demo discs are doctored to sound good for a few minutes at a time, with boosted surround levels, bass and all kinda effects to make things pop.

 

I had a new CD with me (in the van) when I was at the Bose store. It never even occurred to me to fetch it. It's even a Steve Hoffman re-master. I suppose they would have let me play it. They certainly seemed nice enough, although one of the sales dudes did stretch things a bit at times. He said almost all speaker manufacturers today are now using Bose technology. I didn't call him on it, but was tempted to when he specifically cited "direct/reflecting" and "wave guides". I gotta hand it the sales crew, though. They had enough enthusiasm for two stores. They must have been fresh from a motivational training session. Nice guys.

 

Not all speaker manufacturers use Bose "technology." I do think that Bose is a great marketer though.

 

I can tell you from some ugh..."Personal sales experience" the motivation is mostly based on the high sales commissions. How does a nice 10% sound on that set up or more....

That $2,500 set up the OP mentions....lets see, a half hour of playing some Demo stuff and some chatting to a customer.....Ching....$250.oo commission..??

Not bad for standing round, playing a demo and chatting up Bose some??

Thats just one nice sale........$250.00!!

( Hint, their big prices are what pays the sales peoples big commissions, and pays for advertising, and the fancy demo stuff, not big fancy technology. )

 

No wonder they are motivated.

 

They have a great plan for making their stuff look good. Most all retailers that feature Bose merchandise, are under contract to have a certain square footage exclusively for Bose, and the set up has to follow an approved look and use all their complementary stuff to display the speakers, the main unit etc. They supply special demo discs that are indeed doctored, but it never says that, when you are watching the disc.

Bose actually pays all the retailers a special fee, for its carved out demo areas, and stores are legally under obligation to observe only using the demo disc, keeping the bose displays at certain pre-arranged locations that customers see easily and with certain lighting and on and on.
Many times, reps will come around and make sure things are set up right and the demo disc is actually loaded and its the current one etc.
They must also be ready to play at a moments notice, not just sitting there, for looks as many other brands are. Violating any of this stuff, gets the store punished.

 

Ah shucks, I thought they just liked me.

 

I believe Bose has been successful because they deliver the experience they promise to their customers. It may be a bloated, non-purist experience but it is deliverable. I'm not surprised at your being pleasantly surprised at your enjoying what you heard. I've never heard a Bose Theater system, but I own (in addition to my other audio gear) a Bose Wave and regularly use it outdoors and on vacation and I've always been satisfied. I've compared it to the alternatives that pass other members' sniff tests and none of them equals or surpasses the Bose in the delivery of a big sound they promise. I'm not surrendering my dignity to claim it comes close to my Spendor loudspeakers powered by tubes, but it's applicable in situations unserved any other way.

 

It still shows what a great marketing company Bose is. The Audiophile industry lags way behind. Bose knows it is not what it is, but what it does. Being an audiophile take commitment and most people these days will not put in the effort. Sell all in one box and you win.

 

My mom purchased us an acoustic wave cd/clock radio before she died off Home Shopping network We love this thing. Remote control and it sounds great for what it is. I'm thinking of buying a bluetooth adaptor to plug in the rear. Yes, audiophiles really knock Bose. However, for non techies and audiophiles who want basically a one button solution to decent sound, they do a nice job.

 

I had a Bose experience last night, they were actually using some kind of Bose towers + sub as pa for our community band. I didn't know they even made outdoor gear. They didn't sound bad once they fixed whatever setup issue they had (sounded like a mike short), and they sure as hell were lighter than traditional PAs, which would be a major incentive for me if I was running sound solo!

 

I confess I've had a pair of Bose outdoor speakers mounted outdoors on a porch for about 15 years. Never take them down, even in the winter (which is COLD in Chicago), and they still sound OK.

 

Very true. I'm not a big Bose basher, but I'm of the opinion that their gear is overpriced for what you get. Convenience is always the trump card for most people, that's why console stereos were so popular in the '60s, and why Bose equipment is so popular today.

 

The closest thing to convenience being the trump card for me is my use of receivers for my amplification, etc. but my components, speakers, etc. are high quality based on my budget.

 

I'm like you in that regard. I've used receivers since 1975, but adopted other separate components, always upgrading a piece at a time as my budget allowed.

 

I won't comment on the Bose sound as it a subjective matter (and obviously there seem to be many happy customers), but if the following article is true, people deserve to know what they're paying for at the very least.

http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/tv-boses-5-000-system-resembles-750-samsung-lcd-880357

 

I would buy the Samsung "equivalent" as far as Bose TVs are concerned.

 

It's not about the Samsung brand, but rather the model chosen.

 

Is marketing inherently bad? The early Sony Discmans were expensive and no doubt one could get a better cd player for less as a separate item. But, the convenience and fun of having a little toy that came close in sound quality and allowed you to travel was a compelling sales advantage. As far as quality goes my Bose stuff has lasted fine, particularly impressive given the extreme environments I've subjected it to. I even left my Wave in a rainstorm once, called customer service and got a live person who guided me through the simple drying procedures that saved it (along with help from several SH forum members). To me Bose offers fair value for their innovative product. The hyperbole of some sales people is unfortunate, but that is not the sole province of Bose in the audio business, is it?