Depends on priorities
Well, it is easy to attack BOSE much like it is to attack Monster. Both arguably do the job they are intended to do. But, in reality, they are very overpriced for what you get. I liken it to getting a luxury sports sedan with a underpowered 4-cylinder engine... it may look nice, but in reality, it doesn't do as well as its competition.
Having said this, I own a pair of BOSE bookshelf speakers, but when I upgraded to Klipsch Reference series speakers, the difference was literally night and day. BOSE was just so underpowered and lacked a lot of detail and especially lacked good, solid, well-balanced base. Even with my old SONY receiver, the Klipsch speakers sounded MUCH better than the BOSE. If BOSE speaker systems priced themselves at about 1/4 of what they normally charge, you probably wouldn't see as many complaints about their sound quality. The problem is that, in a market where pricing is so competitive, you have to wonder how much longer the masses will continue overspending on BOSE speakers and Monster cables. For those that do their homework, other speaker alternatives will most certainly be less costly and outperform the BOSE speakers. Also, on a personal note, even though my BOSE 301s are ok, the materials used are pretty cheap. That is the irony as well. My Klipsch speakers all have cerametallic materials and are very-well constructed. Even the cabinets are solid with tight seams. The speaker grills attach magnetically, making the old "snap-in" types seem just plain silly (not to mention that almost every one of my friends and neighbors that have that type of grill on their speakers have broken tabs). The binding posts are also top quality and can take by GLS banana plugs and cabling with little effort and are just as solid as I've seen on any kind of high-quality speaker.
Even though the BOSE showroom had a good sound system set up, it just didn't seem full enough for my tastes. My wife and I were listening to a Corrs DVD-Audio at a BOSE store in the mall near our place and despite the "ideal" listening conditions (lots of sound dappening, ideal speaker locations, non-square/cube room, etc.) the $3500+ system didn't sound as good as what we have now in our family room. I'm sure that most speakers like JBL, Polk Audio, etc. will produce better sound than the BOSE systems and you'll be able to save yourself some money.
For some though, wanting to keep the speakers hidden is worth the money and for those, BOSE does an excellent job of making small satellite speakers. I'm not sure exactly how much that is worth, but, to me personally, I have no problem with seeing the speakers. I'm using bookshelf speakers for the fronts and rears (the rears are slightly smaller) and they're pretty and do not take up loads of room. What you require will largely depend on many of these factors and it is important to come out with a good balance of price, performance, aesthetics and design. Aside from listening to forums, it is good to hear the systems in person. Take a good CD with you (one that you are familiar with) and listen to it at different stores using different receivers and speakers. That should help narrow down your choices. Good luck!
