Well� I�m devastated. My system has been critiqued by�

[jhoak]

A Bose disciple.

Just so you know what he heard I have an Adcom GTP-450 preamp running to an Emotiva UPA-2 power amp driving a pair of 1978 vintage Klipsch Cornwalls. The Cornwalls are bone stock other than having had the crossovers updated (thanks Bob Crites). On the source side we have (a) A Mac-Mini containing “best” quality VBR MP3s of my entire music collection (5000+ songs), ( a Yamaha DVD-S2300 player (DVD – SACD – DVDA – CD) and © a beater Music Hall MMF-5 turntable with a Rega RB300 arm and a Shure M97XE cartridge.

For the record I think it sounds very nice. I play it on an almost daily basis and thoroughly enjoy it.

We started off with a couple of cuts off of the Mac-Mini which I confess I’m not that impressed with. I use it for “background” music only. Next came a SACD, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. And we finished up with selected cuts from 180g pressing of Santana’s Supernatural.

His critique used words like “muddy bass”, “overwhelming bass”, “shrill” and “tinny”. The comment that cut the deepest was “Hell… I had an AM radio in my 66 VW beetle that sounded better than this.

In his defense he does have one of the “mac-daddy” Bose systems that the local dealer did a “computerized speaker layout”.

I guess I just need to sell all of this low budget crap and go out and buy myself a Bose system. L

[artto]

What you should have done is have him over to listen to your new BOSE system. Put Bose on all the components. Maybe even make a few fake spec sheets or brochure flyers about the new BOSE SYSTEM. [:#]

When he's finished expounding the wonders of BOSE, [] [:S] [:'(] [<)]

[Audible Nectar]

As I frequently say - "consider the source".

You are accepting critique from one who is USED to underperforming highs, missing lows, and not the most intelligible midrange, either. So the full extension of the high frequencies is a shock to him, and real 40 hz bass isn't anything he's much accustomed to.

There would be some merit to the improvements possible through the use of vacuum tubes (smoother highs, better dimensionality, and "continuousness"), but I would absolutely rather have Cornwalls vs. ANY Bose you can name......even when driven by solid state.

There might also be some merit to improvements in bass response and imaging by way of speaker positioning in the room - but again, in comparison to his stated alternative, no amount of positioning is much help with his preferred product.

And yes, Cornwalls can get a bit bitey/edgy when driven hard, but the max output of a Bose kit wouldn't TOUCH the clean volume Cornwalls are capable of. It's like me saying that your sports car loses handling quality at speeds over 120MPH when mine doesn't even DO 120, then stating mine is a better performer.

Bose was a forgotten brand here once exposed to bigger league stuff. My teenage desire to own Bose was extinguished once exposed to things like Klipsch, vintage JBL, Altec, etc......men amongst boys.

So again, consider the source[]

[Chris A]

Well, you know what they say: "De gustibus non est disputandum"

I'd sit back, smile, and enjoy the tunes, knowing that you have just calibrated that person's taste and aural capabilities.

Chris

[33RPM]

Probably psychological as well - "how could this gear possibly sound as good as my expensive Bose system, the most respected name in sound?"

[jhoak]

Oh I've "considered the source".

I'm not a "Bose hater" by any stretch. In my opinion there simply is no better noise-cancelling headphones than the ones they currently sell. I wish I had a good excuse to buy a pair but I just don't travel enough any more to justify the expense.

True confession time... I had 4 of their 901s (I forget which series) in my living room in the early 80's. At the time I thought they sounded great. Fact is they did. Somewhere along the line Bose gave up being an "audio" company and became a "marketing" company. Sad...

I know that the reason the bass was "overwhelming" and the treble was "shrill" was because he's just not used to hearing anything below 100Hz or above 12kHz. Again sad...

That said... I don't know what kind of AM radio was in a 66 beetle the one I had was a 68 and didn't have a radio but it did have a kick-*** 8-track player

[USNRET]

Ya know, I was reading along and then tried to remember what my two pair of series IV 901s sounded like. I honestly can't remember but I do know they had no bass. I hung them, I tweaked them, put them on stands etc. I gave them away to a co-worker friend that really wanted them. He had them rebuilt from the foam rot and the day he got them back from Bose he was killed in a motorcycle accident on the way home fropm work. I would like that he still be with us for many reasons but I would like to A/B them with my current system just to know.

Bill, I'll meet up with you again one day

[Marvel]

the one I had was a 68 and didn't have a radio but it did have a kick-*** 8-track player

[Y] I had a great Panansonic 8 track in my 69 squareback. Had some H/K cabinets laying in the back. Awesome!

The a.m. radio wouldn't have sounded very good at all. A micro wattage amp feeding a micro sized speaker.

He'll get over it. I've listened to so live acoustic music through a new Bose p.a. system. It's not bad for what it is, actually sounded pretty good, but not for what it costs.

Bruce

[jhoak]

You know what's really funny is that I've done this before.

A couple of years ago my sister and her husband were here for a 'movie night" and he made pretty much the same comments. I don't recall which generation I had at the time, Outlaw and JBL I think. Nice kit, I hated to sell it but I needed the $$$ more than I needed the tunes at the time.

A couple of days later my sister calls me and says "you really screwed him up. I'm afraid he's going to go out and spend an assload of money on a new system". Sure enough he did. He bought a really nice Denon & Polk LSi kit that they still have and enjoy to this day.

Is that a sucessful convert?

[thebes]

Well, you know what they say: "De gustibus non est disputandum"

They do not![]

Er, um, that's pretty funny looking German you're spekaing there.

I just love talking audio with the unitiated. Suddenly thier eyes get really big, and thier voice picks up an octave. You can tell they are getting excited and can't wait to expoind on the Bsoe system they installed.

[tigerwoodKhorns]

His critique used words like “muddy bass”, “overwhelming bass”, “shrill” and “tinny”. The comment that cut the deepest was “Hell… I had an AM radio in my 66 VW beetle that sounded better than this.

In his defense he does have one of the “mac-daddy” Bose systems that the local dealer did a “computerized speaker layout”.

I guess I just need to sell all of this low budget crap and go out and buy myself a Bose system. L

Kind of rude. Better not to comment at all.

Constructively, Adcom can be harsh and may not be the best with Klipsch. I have only heard their amps and they were kind of shrill, at least the ones that I heard. In any event you have a geat foundation in your cornwalls.

[fenderbender]

Well look at it this way....Pizza Hut was running commercials that implied they went to a restaurant in Italy, did the ole swicharoo and served Pizza Hut pasta to the patrons, who could not tell the difference and thought the pasta was great......

well I suppose if you found the cheapest tour group and offered them free dinner (read in rubes with no taste buds whose biggest dinning extravaganza has been the Mc-rib sandwich) ... they just might find the pasta to be good.....

Some folks (sarcastic use of the vernacular of folks) have to put a half a bottle of A-1 on their chop steak and would do the same even if you gave them a $75 dry aged prime filet mignon .....I not judging (well yeah I am) but thats what they like and don't try to tell them any different.

Hey if the guy had a pair of Harbeth 40.1 monitors and $30-40K worth of esoteric gear....he may not love your system, but he may just have the ear to make constructive criticisms , and conclude that your system costing a fraction of his, still sounds very very good indeed .....

your friend sounds like he has drank the bose marketing koolade and needs to bash your system to convince himself that spending $3-5 on a bose system was worth it!

FWIW I had a pair of cornwall i's run by a $200 40 year old Sansui amp that would give any big dollar system a good run for its money....

[russ69]

I had Bose 901s in the seventies, I remember them well, they are NOT HI-FI. I had fun with them but the little Infinity 1001A replaced them and I had my first taste of highs and lows. I'll bet when he got back home his system didn't sound as good as he remembered! Your demo will haunt him until he has to spend some upgrade money.

Thanx, Russ

[jhoak]

AHHH... Infinity speakers. I knew and loved them well. I had for a while a pair of SM152s. At the time they rocked my world. In retrospect they sucked donkey balls. Oh well... Live and learn.

Nope... the 901s had absolutely nothing resembling bass. It didn't matter at the time though because they had this "way cool" reflective sound technology.

I choose to refrain from talking about how much or how often I consumed "illegal intoxicants" but I'm pretty sure that they had a profound effect on some of my purchasing decisions at the time.

[seti]

Hell I'd rate pro medias way better than Bose. Next time try to have an eq slack off the highs and lows. Then ask if that is more like home.

[sebrof]

A Bose disciple.

His critique used words like “muddy bass”, “overwhelming bass”, “shrill” and “tinny”. The comment that cut the deepest was “Hell… I had an AM radio in my 66 VW beetle that sounded better than this.

I've not heard many Bose systems other than those cube and bass module HT setups, and they were good for TV and movies but not for music. Is that what he has?

I had 901 IIIs in the mid 80s. They were the absolute best in the world, I even had a Bose T Shirt. Then I heard a decent stereo and realized they weren't very good.

You need to go check his system out. You may actually be surprised. At any rate it might give you an opportunity to point out what's lacking in his system. "Oh, I can see why you think my bass is overwhelming, because you have none." Or "This sounds pretty good, Bob, but I think you're missing a lot of music with this system."

Just a thought, but I feel your pain.

[Dennie]

Next time try to have an eq slack off the highs and lows. Then ask if that is more like home.

Now that is funny! I bet it would be much more to his liking!

Dennie

[skonopa]

His critique used words like “muddy bass”, “overwhelming bass”, “shrill” and “tinny”. The comment that cut the deepest was “Hell… I had an AM radio in my 66 VW beetle that sounded better than this.

In his defense he does have one of the “mac-daddy” Bose systems that the local dealer did a “computerized speaker layout”.

I guess I just need to sell all of this low budget crap and go out and buy myself a Bose system. L

Well, what do you expect from somebody coming from the land of "No Highs, No Lows, It mus be Bose!"?

I am too also curious just what type of Bose rig he has. I also agree with the idea that you should go over and give his setup a listen, i.e., "Yup, the bass is lacking, no wonder you found it overwhelming on my setup" or "That music seems awefully dull and lifeless. Seems to be missing that sparkle. Wait, is there even any treble in it? No wonder you found my system sounding shrilly."

[ace168516]

haha...this is funny, because I am refinishing a pair of '77 Bose 601s that I just finished up yesterday...new surrounds, caps and protection circuits, new cloth instead of the carpet they had them covered in. I will say, I have heard 901s...I like the 601s much better. I will also say I have them a-b switched with my cornwalls. I would just declare with some sort of bell on a horse...now sir I respect your opinion and while I disagree with it, I will fight to the death over your right to say it...and you can put that in your infomercial! Better sound through engineering (funniest slogan ever)...or better sound through hearing (welcome to klipschland) ACE

[joshnich]

[.

I'm not a "Bose hater" by any stretch. In my opinion there simply is no better noise-cancelling headphones than the ones they currently sell. I wish I had a good excuse to buy a pair but I just don't travel enough any more to justify the expense.

Actually Sennheiser makes noise canceling headphones that in my opinion sound better than the bose, and cost significantly less. I have a pair of the PXC450s and the pxc 300's . I travel a lot. I have used bose and they are very nice headphones but the Sennheisers are just as good if not better for less dough. I sense a pattern here!

J