The Art of Bose Bashing

[skonopa]

Look at this wonderful gem I found on the Epinions.com website:

The Art Of Bose Bashing And Amar's Supposed Descent Into Mediocrity

This is a long diatribe written by some Bose lover that goes by the name of Peter Sammon. I gotta warn you, it is a pretty long read, but still interesting non-the-less.

Personally, I just simply don't subscribe to way Bose does things. I just cannot buy into that whole "direct/reflecting" thing. I've listened to some of those speakers, although I've never gotten the chance to listen to the 901, but I found the imaging to be smeared, and the bass to be muddy. I've also tried listening to some of those LifeStyle or AcousticMass setups, but I was never impressed. It just seemed to be like those little cubes were struggling to get the notes out and the bass just sounded so boomy and one-notey. It was like a towel was thrown over my head when listening to those things, compared to listening to the same track on a set of the Klipsch Quintets with KSW-10 sub.

I still honostly think that Bose is overpriced for what you get.

No thanks, I'll stick with my Klipsch.

But, I do agree with one thing that dude says, it pretty much comes down to enjoying what you have, be it Bose or B&W or anything else.

[hooting_monkey]

I think the only respectable product Bose makes is their Tri-Port headphones. But thay still aren't on level with most of Grado's and Senn's products.

[D-MAN]

This is really preaching to the choir...

But I'm always up for a little BOSE-BASHING!

Sounds like the guy who wrote that drivel is on the BLOSE payroll.

Anyone with half a brain left and one good ear could tell that it is a BAD thing to have out-of-phase reflections coming at you from the adjacent walls. PERIOD. Doing it on purpose is EVEN WORSE!

DM

[artto]

hey, the guy obviously LOVES the sound of harmonic distortion and can't discern what he's missing due to frequency modulation distortion and near term phase anomolies from to all the direct-reflected sound.

And I must disagree on another matter.............yes......... it pretty much comes down to enjoying what you have, be it Bose or B&W or anything else.

But then its not about "Hi-Fidelity" anymore either. Thats what audio as a hobby is really about, or at least it used to be before many people seemed to think that its simply a matter of preference. I guess most have lost touch with what live music actually sounds like.

[neo33]

"But, I do agree with one thing that dude says, it pretty much comes down to enjoying what you have, be it Bose or B&W or anything else."

I respectfully disagree. And you're going to tell me that you'll enjoy the distortion coming from those 2 and a half inch drivers because you paid 3000 bucks for them?

[skonopa]

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On 8/27/2004 4:58:56 PM neo33 wrote:

I respectfully disagree. And you're going to tell me that you'll enjoy the distortion coming from those 2 and a half inch drivers because you paid 3000 bucks for them?

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Hell no! That is why I have Klipsch, because I know better. But, if after all the attempts at convicing him otherwise, via demos, comparing specs, and anything else and the guy still rather have the Bose, than I'll just simply respect his decision and move on. No point wasting my time doing the equivalent of beating my head against a wall, and let him have his distortion and out-of-phase reflections, while I continue to rock on with my Klipsch.

[nicholtl]

I wonder if anyone has tried a pair of their new Quiet Comfort 2 Noise Cancelling Headphones? Despite their mediocrity in almost all their products, this one is worth the $300. I bought it a few weeks ago and I've never experienced anything like it. I guess cotton earplugs would do the same trick for sleeping, but the music these puppies produce are pretty sweet, I must say. Sickeningly sweet.

[hooting_monkey]

Buy a pair of Sennheisers for the same price and be amazed at how bad those Bose headphones sound.

[Jabez Scratch]

I'm sorry, Bose, but a "Bass Module" is not a subwoofer. If the Acoustimass system were half the priced at which it is sold, I could say that perhaps it is suitable for some home applications. But Bose prices are comical, given the relatively low quality of sound. I have friends who got suckered into buying Acoustimass systems. I know a high end system and, believe me, senator Bose, you are no high end system. The bass is muddy and indistinct with no thump or impact. The higher frequency caused me frustration becuase you anticipate a more trembly sound in certain songs or movies, but it just never comes.

And don't get me going about the "reflecting sound principle." I'm no sound engineer, but proper sound reproduction depends upon directionality, not bouncing sound waves off of walls. The latter causes sound to arrive at the listening position at the wrong time (too quickly or too late).

Anyways, I still get a good, hearty laugh playing dumb and chatting it up w/ the Bose salespeople in the malls.

[J.4knee]

To esteemed windbag who wrote that article I would love to offer my critique of my first and every subsequent "Bose" listening experience.

1. They are extremely inefficient requiring excess power to push a comfortable listening level in to a room.

2. They seriously lacked sufficient bass response even when using a sub woofer.

3. When pushed to louder volumes these full range speakers sounded like muffled midrange drivers. When I demoed the lifestyle system I was seriously disappointed at how poor the sound quality got when o they were turned up. These little cubes sounded like they were going to burst, a very over stressed sound.

4. Their subwoofers are perhaps the worst I have heard. Im not a big fan of subwoofers mainly because there are a lot of poor units on the market. That being said to me the Bose subwoofer sounds like the driver has a blanker stuffed in it.

5. There is no seamless integration of any of their systems. When I listed to my La Scalas the sound is coming from the entire cabinet or at least it sounds that way. I can't hear the a distinct difference in sound transition from the tweeter through the squawker to the woofer. It just has a seamless sound that is very refined and, well natural. When I listen to Bose I get a very distinct separate sound from the cubes to the sub. An as I alluded to earlier they sound like they are really being pushed to work, to me this is a very disconcerting sound

[kenratboy]

I sell the stuff, and I spend plenty of time listening to them, by myself and with customers. I let the customers deceide (if they want to get the best speakers for the money), and nobody has picked Bose! Hmmm...

If you have never listened to Bose, the first thing you will notice is they DO NOT SOUND BAD - they just sound normal. Then, you look at the price, and pop over to some Polk's, Klipschies, JBL's, etc. at as little as HALF the price, and all of a sudden you understand what is going on - you are getting <$50 speakers for $300/pr. However, the lifestyle shistim is just pathetic when you actually have it off by itself. Compare the SIZE of the Quintet/KSW-10 with the acoustamess 10 system, and you quickly realize that for ~20% less money, you have nearly the SAME SIZE SYSTEM (umm, Bose is all about size, but by almost NOTHING) and it sounds a HELL of a lot better.

However, thats just sound/specs. What makes me a blose hater is the way the company works and the poor quality in their products.

[Scp53]

thanks for posting this link. im gonna post about all the dumb things tomorrow...maybe if i have time or remember. but from what I started to skim over its pretty funny

scp53

[Deang]

The 701 is a good sounding speaker, and the 901 properly set up with good amps and a good equalizer can surprise you. Man, you Klipsch guys are harsh.

[DrWho]

Ok wow, i couldn't read the whole fricken thing because the guy's total lack of logic was driving my insane. I wanna know what his IQ is because he's a fricken idiot that needs to be slapped with a herring.

Sorry, I just hate how some people think that being diplomatic and refined will justify an attempt to contradict the laws of physics.

My goodness!

[Istari]

The Bose Quiet Comfort II is a good set of headphones. Best part of what they do is reduce the background noise (Jet engine, lawn mower, anything that is loud and constant) to a much lower level so you can listen to music while flying or riding your lawn tractor. They are basically a noise cancelling device that works well. There are other makes of these types of phones that sell for 1/3 less than the $300.00 though. I have seen them in various airports but can't think of the name... Only Bose product I'll ever recommend is the Quiet Comfort headphones.

[DrWho]

oops

[DrWho]

Well the bose wave radio is nice...yes, it is a bit pricey but i've never had or seen people having any kind of problems with it (it also gets insanely good radio reception). I personally would never purchase one due to the price, but they don't sound bad at all for what it's supposed to do.

I've also heard the bose noise cancelling head phones when visiting a friend of mine training to be a pilot...ya, they reduced a lot of noise, but the process had a wierd effect on the sound that would lead me to never consider buying them for listening to music (let alone the price point).

[boomer9911]

Man, being a Klipsch owner and member here for 3 years and I keep missing out on these damn Bowling with Cubes Tournaments..need to send invites..

[lynnm]

I have a Bose Wave radio in my kitchen that I nailed for $C3.00 at a garage sale and must say that it is about as good a radio one will ever find.

Bose competitors (Koss/Tivoli et al) may well offer better value but I have to say that if you can pick up a Wave on the cheap....You have nothing to lose they are damned decent.

[hooting_monkey]

But you can also buy a ProMedia 2.1 and a little radio with a headphone jack and have tremedously better sound.