My Sister Just Ordered a Bose Wave 3.....Tell Me About it

I have one and just using it to listen to light jazz while we cook and eat dinner, no rock. It sounds fine for that but if you crank rock you can hear the limitations you'd expect from 2 2" speakers with a passive rear bass port.

But this is a neat fact about how they get the "room filling sound": the two speakers do not output the Left and Right channels of the CD you are playing. Rather, the left speaker (your left as you are facing the unit) is putting out L+R and the right speaker is putting out 2L-R (I could be misremembering the right speaker formulation but it is something like that). That somehow creates the wider soundstage the unit is known for.

Found this out after downloading a repair manual to repair a broken one (not the unit's fault!) where the right speaker had died.

 

I like t0 listen to classical music at night whenIi go to bed.I think one of these will do fine but I am not paying what they want for a new one.Good stereos sound better but just take up to much room in a bedroom for me.

 

I haven't used mine for probably at least a couple years. It's a 2005 model. Do newer models sound significantly different?

 

Nothing wrong with them for what they are primarily used for - placed on the kitchen counter or nightstand and played at low volume. My mother has one in the kitchen (doesn't everyone's mother have one in the kitchen?), and it works well. I mean, it would be tough to get a pair of B&W 800's on the counter - not to mention the fact that the spikes would damage the Formica!

 

One thing I do dislike about Bose (at least here in Japan)is their marketing tactics, which if what I have been told is true, border on illegal in many countries. I was told by a salesperson in one of the major Japanese retail chains that they have to devote a separate area of the floor to Bose so that customers cannot compare the sound to that of other speakers.

 

If by resolving the bass issues you mean fixing the congested sound of the Bose, yes. But the Tivoli does not have much bass, at least not the Model One/Model Two system I've listened to. That everything-in-one-box system they sell has an integrated sub though I've never heard one.

 

There's no need to fear! I will admit that I am a 901 owner and fan. I will further admit that I am prone to zealous proselytizing on their behalf. But I'm really trying to be good here because I don't like ugly p*****g contests, which is what many Bose "discussions" rapidly devolve into. I just think every music lover/audiophile should feel really proud of whatever is giving them musical fulfillment and joy, and not be afraid to say so, whether it's a Bose Wave Radio, 901's...or Wilson Sashas or MBL Radialstahlers. It does not offend me for anyone and everyone to talk about their systems and rooms and music...and expound upon why they enjoy it and/or chose it over other options. I enjoy reading other perspectives and experiences. That's one of the main reasons we're all here, isn't it? But Bose is the third rail of audiophiledom, it seems.

This thread is about the Bose Wave Radio III, so I apologize for not passing on the opportunity to defend my current speaker of choice. Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming...

 

I normally don't crap on a product or brand on the forum, but I've had terrible experiences with Bose players.

During college, I had a tiny apartment and didn't want to set up my big-ol' Sony receiver, department-store tt, and vintage 70's 3-way speakers. So, sucked in by their advertisement and the fact that, in high-school, all the rich kids' parents had Bose gear, I dropped $1200 on an acoustic wave music system for the living room, and $500 on a wave CD player for the bedroom. Within a year of the warranty ending, both had transport problems. I was able to mostly fix the issue with the little one myself, but the big one, which I gave to a friend, still doesn't have a functioning CD player, so it's basically a big, $1200 clock radio. On the plus side, even with it's condition issue, I sold the little one for $300, so they do seem to keep their value decently.

Aside from the quality issues, they always just sounded ok to me, and once I got in to high"er" end gear, their sonic shortcomings became even more obvious--no sound-stage (well, it's a boom-box, so of course), muddy bass, bright.

Ironically, Bose crappiness is what steered me toward the world of high"er" end gear back in the early oughts. Having learned my lesson, I actually began researching audio gear, and learned the value of auditioning before buying (when possible). I think of the great little systems I could have had with that $1700 bucks, if only I'd known better.

 

Like I said, I am happy with my Bose Wave, for what it is. Temper your expectations.

Having said that, I own a pair of Bose 601 (2 8" woofers and 4 tweeters each) and they are glorious. Replacing the woofers this weekend for the first time on these 92/93 vintage speakers.

Last time I used them, my wife was out of town and I played the "Live in Gdansk" DVD thru them, very loud, and was amazing. Best speakers ever had.

 

I have a Bose Wave that I got as a gift a couple of years ago, and I really like it. I have it in my bedroom where I use it for an alarm clock and a bedroom listening system - I also have a Technics turntable connected to it, and I can listen to records or CDs in bed before I fall asleep as well (and if I do fall asleep, the turntable has auto return). Would I pay $500 for it? No... but it was a great gift, and I'm quite fond of it.​

 

Not 100% on topic, but related to table radios:

I have a Tivoli Model One I enjoy. It kind of sucks as a tuner, but acoustic music sounds great through it. Nice for a bedroom

I recently stayed in a room I found on airbnb.com and they had one of these internet radios in the room: http://www.gracedigitalaudio.com/mondo-p-212.html

Decided I had to have one! I actually don't even remember what the sound quality was like (I think it was decent), but being able to pick a radio station by genre AND country was a lot of fun. In my brief experience with the Grace internet radio and my daily experience with a Tivoli, the ability to quickly find interesting content is more important than ultimate sound quality.

 

I've commented about Tivoli Audio products before when the Bose Wave comes up. For the price, a Tivoli Model One is small and sounds good. For a kitchen, bedroom or small office, it is a surprisingly good product. For the type of person who is inclined to purchase a Bose Wave, the Tivoli accomplishes the goals that people are looking for at a lesser price. I'm clearly thinking in terms of the non-audiophile consumer who wants a music playback device that doesn't cost much (~ $160), isn't fussy in the audiophile sense, wants it to be small (it doesn't get much smaller than the Models One and 10) and is simple to operate.

The newer Model 10 is also compact but includes a remote (an issue for some people regarding the manual Model One). Even the newish, compact Tivoli Internet Radio at $399 is an attractive option. With products like the Tivoli models I can't see a good reason to spend $500 or more for a Bose Wave.

Scott

 

Three things:

The slot loading CD is a deal breaker for me. They scratch the discs eventually as the roller age in a year or two.
Bose reliability isn't very good on some products.
Given the sound, price and reliability, $500 is a lot.

 

Curious if Bose is forcing retailers to segregate the space or if they're renting a dedicated area, almost as a sub-tenant. If the latter, that is perfectly legal, even though the retailer's wisdom is dubious insofar as their other product lines is concerned. At present, Best Buy dedicates a specific area to Apple desktops/laptops/iPads and the one near me is in the process of constructing a Samsung showroom. My guess is that Samsung is paying for the preferred placement.

 

I've got the larger one. We've had one for twenty years or more. Actually we're on our second one. Say what you will we've taken it on road trips and used it outside for barbeques. It's not a threat to my Spendor S100 system, but it is very listenable and we've enjoyed it very much. There's nothing else that does its exact trick as well IMO. I agree, let her enjoy it.

 

Do you have the correct EQ unit with it?

 

I do believe it is illegal, at least in the US. It is probably a condition of the contract to sell Bose. They do not want an person to be able to compare closely. Other manufacturer's limit who can sell based on geographic location, no dealers within 200 miles of each other, as an example. All perfectly legal as far as I know, of course I am not a lawyer!

 

My post should have said - I do believe it IS LEGAL ....

 

The EQ unit is series "V", the speaker info, I think is at the speaker input terms, I have the stands bolted on and am too lazy and uninterested to remove. The guy I bought them from said he bought them new as a package, stands, EQ, and the speakers together.

 

If it is true, it's called a "vertical restraint" because is restrains the behavior of someone that is below you in the line of sale. In other words, the retailer has his freedom to sell the speakers "restrained" by the manufacturer. As such, you would evaluate it based on whether the "procompetitive benefits" of the restraint (typically to the consumer) outweigh the "anticompetitive effects" of the restraint. An example of a vertical restraint that is usually illegal is "retail price maintenance", or the manufacturer requiring the retailer to sell at a certain price (forbidding discounts) - the anticompetitive effect is that the retailer is prohibited from trying to compete by selling at a lower price than others.

You mentioned a very good example - geographic locations. Here, there are some definite procompetitive benefits - for example, if the dealer has an exclusive territory, he is more likely to invest in inventory, learning about the products, and in advertising and promotion, which helps the consumer make an informed decision, without worrying about another retailer "freeriding" on his advertising.

In the Bose example, if the retailer can't place Bose speakers next to other brands, the anticompetitive effect is that the customer can't compare the two speakers to make an informed purchasing decision. What's the procompetitive benefit? Not sure there is one.

It's a little fuzzy.

 

I have a Bose Wave CD Radio in the bath, a 5.1 Lifestyle Surround System for the family room, and a Sounddock for the ipod for it's portability. I think they all sound great.

 

Cheap full range drivers in plastic boxes to create boomy sound. Good for tone deaf people.

 

I had a Wave radio. It was fine. Just not hifi. Bought it used. Sold it used.

 

With Bose, you pay for small not for good. The comparison point for Bose is not hifi equipment, it is the speakers installed on a TV.

From that stand point they are quite good. If you live with somone that would forbid large equipment in a living room, i would gladly take a Lifestyle system over nothing at all.