A Visit To The Bose Store

Now if only Bose would spend as much on their products as they do marketing and smoke/mirrors demo....

 

I've sat through a couple of their demos, but I never saw any smoke or mirrors. I didn't even see the Great and Powerful Oz behind a curtain. I did hear some pretty amazing sound, considering the source. The first time was number of years ago and the product being demo'd was one of the Acoustimass systems. The second time was this past summer and the product was the Video Wave. Both were jaw-dropping experiences, again, considering the source; one being nearly invisible speakers and the other being completely invisible speakers.

 

The smoke and mirrors is the demo material itself. It's been carefully selected, EQed, processed, and altered all so it will sound good on the demo systems. I wouldn't doubt that it has even had some special magic like something similar to Q-sound added so it sounds bigger and more 3-D on the particular demo setups. But take it home and listen to your own music and your own movies and that smoke and mirrors won't be there to make it sound as impressive as it did in the demo.

 

Many traditional, mainstream audio companies are venturing into Bose territory now, presumably because they would like to sell something to someone. Yet they, to my knowledge do not get slammed for it. Focal and B&W come to mind. Plus, almost everybody is selling headphones now. You can't make a living selling big speakers if nobody wants'em anymore. It appears that traditional hi-fi as we knew it in the 70's and 80's is rapidly becoming cottage industry. I hope the trend reverses at some point, but as long as I can get what I want at a price I can afford, then I'd have to say the system is at least functional, if not thriving.

 

That may well be. Shoot though, the standard speakers in my 51" Samsung plasma can make sounds appear to come from beside and behind you if you sit in the sweet spot and engage the surround mode (whether it should come from there is another question!). That's pretty impressive, too. I guess I'm just easily impressed.

 

Have fun moving it your self. haha! I have three Cornwalls, two Klipschorns and set of LaScalas. Oh and good luck finding a set of Klipsch Speakers, a amp, an preamp, an mic input, and a carrying case- when all together can be carried by anyone--- all for under a grand. Just like Will Ferrell in "Old School", "You're crazy, but I like you."

 

I've seen your posts on the klipsch forum. You must be one of the only two klipsch heritage owners on planet Earth who will say a good word about a Bose product. I'd be the other one. Of course, as merely a former klipsch heritage owner (first a pair of corns, then a pair of k-horns w/ belle center & pair of heresy II surrounds...then later a pair of LS2's) I may not count.

I loved my big ol' horns, especially the k-horns ('98 oak oil, AK3 network) and my '85 cornwalls. I wish I still had both pairs. I don't know where I'd put'em both, but I wish I had'em!

 

Well, I am glad you appreciated my comments.

I went to the Bose store the other day, Jacksonville, FL, and I had one of my ear cup pads become damaged from rough handling and heavy use. I walked in explained my issue, I didn't get marketed about the Wave radio, they let me fiddle with all their gear. Mind you I consider myself a closet A/V Nerd- i.e. I don't look the part. I managed to get the salesperson to play Finding Nemo (Bluray), the scene where that kid taps on the glass, just to test out the bass response of the V35 Lifestyle systems low end. I also played an Apple Lossless version of Neil Young, "Live at Massey Hall" to test the music capabilities. Considering I was in a 10 X 8 sealed room, with some treatment, I thought it would do wonders in a small apartment or basement. I even heard their all in one TV. It's okay too, but too much of a compromise.

At any rate, I walked out with a fresh set of ear pads, for my QC15, to replace mine at home and a positive experience. For $2799ish, you would have a hard time to find a completely integrated solution that your non tech family members could enjoy-- remember some of us have different priorities... I would say only thing better is a Sonos Playbar, Sonos Sub, and two Play:3s

 

Wife wanted a Bose system for the family room. I wanted to get a Klispch system.
... So off to the Bose store we went. (So much for Klispch)

My wife ended up with a 5.1 surround system with 701s as main speakers.
And got a pair of 301s for the 2nd bedroom.

I noticed that they had 'one Bose coffee cup' by the coffee pot in the back and told them that I'd buy the above mentioned speakers if they would give me the 'used' coffee cup. They said ok.

'At least' the coffee cup works well.

(The 5.1 Bose sounds 'ok' for movies, but that's it. I have a pair of 1970 Sansui AS-100 bookshelf speakers that I got in the Goodwill for $9.98 that walk all over the Bose 301s in the sound quality department. No comparison. Just the way it is.)

I wanted Klispch...but then again...what do I know??

All her 'girlfriends' are just totally amazed when they come over! "Oh...you have Bose!!!"
The wife is happy. But now even she knows 'now'...I told her 'So Many Times' about the Bose hype. She knows now. Too late, we got Bose.

 

Wow- I can't believe the # of positive comments for Bose products in an audiophile forum. Has bose-bashing run its course?

My main speakers are either the best Bose ever made, or #2 behind the 901's: the 10.2 II. The "no highs, no lows" doesn't wash for these, since Audyssey "sees" them as large (though I cross them over at 40 khz). I'm admittedly no audiophile, but I have always thought these speakers sounded very good. Their direct/reflecting nature gave a fullness to the sound that few mono-pole speakers could match, which was a big advantage before the advent of surround, imo. The acoustics of sound reproduction is where Bose did most of their research, in the beginning, and I think that was a valid path. How do my 10.2's stand up to other speakers in their price range? I bought these in 1990 (!) and they were $1100 list, though I got them for 40% of that. Were there other $1100 speakers then that bettered them? I imagine so. Could the same be said for $450 speakers then? I doubt it.

I imagine that if I had trained ears I might be able to notice deficiencies, but I am happy with their sound- and they certainly have lasted. They play plenty loud w/o distortion and anchor my 5.1 system very well (I am more concerned about my center speaker, the vcs-10, which I got mainly to do my best at timbre-matching). But when I put on a good surround disc, I thoroughly enjoy my system. Maybe I'm just blissful in my ignorance and if I experienced one of you guy's killer mid-priced systems I'd be looking into something better, but I'm happy now.

 

Audiophiles should be more concerned with the technical qualities of recordings. Modern gear has really narrowed the gap between systems, so when we play our "audiophile" or professional recordings on our systems, be it Bose, Klipsch, or Wilson Audio Alexia with ARC or McIntosh Gear we all should be able to enjoy what we hear.

 

Man does this ever say it all. Great post!

 

I love my" Sounddock II" and I bought my daughter their new bluetooth speaker "Soundlink color". Plenty of highs and plenty of lows. And they sound killer in my home and out of the Bose store.

 

I have one of those. Magical isn't what I would call it, but it does work fairly well. And it's small, which is what I was looking for. And it doesn't sound bad. Not great, not bad.

 

That's just not playing fair. I've had the wired version in my office for quite a while and really dig them. They have a great, full sound and are a bargain. Should have bought a pair for my home office.

 

I love my Bose LP1 PA system.

 

Pair of 901's was my fantasy system as a kid. One of these days I'm gonna build a second system around a set just for fun.

Don't try to stop me!

 

I have never owned Bose Speakers, but I did trade credit card points about 25 years ago for a WaveRadio when they first came out. It is just an AM/FM clock radio. It does have a couple of RCA input connectors for a portable CD player back in the day. We have been using it as an alarm clock with since it was new. Keeps good time and sounds pretty good. It has a very full sound for such small speakers. We mostly listen to talk radio on it anymore, but it has been very reliable over the years. IIRC, a WaveRadio was pretty expensive at the time, so that is why I traded the credit card points for it.

 

They've been quite successful, masterfully marketing their audiophile (smoke and mirrors) products.

 

My wife got me the Bose Soundlink Color bluetooth speaker for Christmas and it's actually a pretty cool little speaker...listening to it now.

 

They are still highly priced.

 

I recently bought my first Bose product- SoundTrue over ear headphones. It was a compromise and came down to how I can travel with them and comfort, as well as sound. I really liked some of the Sennheisers, but the Bose convenience and compactness won.
I bought them on sale for $149, after returning a pair of Beats MIXR's that got on sale for $149 as well. The MIXR's were horrible.
Chris

 

Last time I went I heard the Bose L1 compact. Stereo pair.

http://www.bose.com/controller?url=...le_amplification_systems/l1_compact/index.jsp

Pop or mainstream recordings sounded great. Sub $2K USD set of powered monitors with built-in preamps AND sets up in a minute. Not bad.

 

Some Bose kit is good,their light weight mobile PA is excellent
Their wave products are sonically obnoxious,that honky one note bass is desperately annoying
My neighbour has them.......

 

The Bose Aircraft headsets are terrific. The Bose 901 in Series II or older placed correctly and powered correctly can be very good. For a minisystem the Bose Acoustic Wave machine is excellent. Where I take issue with Bose is the claim it can replace a separates system. And the tricked up demos. P.S. I currently run Klipsch Chorus speakers in my living room system. Almost Heritage (they replaced the Cornwalls for a time)