Bose Wave Music system

[Tom Andry]

This is your official "keep it on topic or else" warning. Those who can't play nice with others will be asked nicely to take a vacation. We're all adults (or at least proport to be) - let's try to act like it. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I'm not talking to you.

 

[markw]

If you're looking at table radios, don't forget Cambridge Sound Works

http://www.cambridgesoundworks.com/store/category.cgi?category=aud_radio

They don't flood the market with advertisments in every doctor's and dentist's office and Parade Magazine, but they are at least on par with Bose. I've been using one of their discontinued Model 88 radios since '99.

Of course, if you can get a Bose for what several of the other posters paid, well, that's a no-brainer.

 

[salaz]

Ok, I say it should be priced about $250.00

Just remember that it would be used mostly for a small room while studying. That is the same room that I have the Klipsch reference speakers, Denon 2930CI, 3805, HSU VTF-2 MK2 - used mostly to watch movies. When I listen to music from this setup, I am not too impressed - It sounds ok but not wow ok, and I usually play music between 55 and 75 DBs (loud volumes don't impress one bit). Now, when I play some CDs using the subwoofer (crossover at 80hz even though speakers can handle 42hz), the bass is just intolerable to my ears and I have to use two channels instead - much better but something is lacking - that crystal clarity you get when listening to live music without any amplification. I though the Bose would come in handy in this regard (never expected that it would compete with the room's stereo system but that perhaps it would sound clearer or cleaner)

So did it..?

I just picked it up at the store today and listened to several CDs - hmmm.. I am not too impressed but I must say that it does sound similar to my system at the same volume (55-75 DBs) for the 80hz and above. And for Classical music in this range it keeps up nicely. I have other radios between $50-100 and this BOSE unit is much better than all of them, no doubt about that. Do I think it is worth $500...maybe not, but what is the competition? If there is another radio that sounds as good for half the price, let me know ..hopefully they will offer a 30-day trial.

About power consumption (plugged in to Kill-a-watt): well my 3805 and 2930Ci powered up (no subwoofer) uses 130Watts at this volume. The Bose uses 8 watts at the same volume and sounds the same to my ears. Assuming 6hrs/day and .10/kwh - that is $28 vs $1.75 per year. So all else the same, unit pays itself in almost 20 years. Perhaps there are other factors, such that the 3805 and 2930CI would add more heat to the room during summer, put bigger dent in the environment (pay attention Mr. Gore), etc. but I won't factor these - just plain electricity usage.

The unit looks nice, uses a small footprint, does a decent job at what is designed to do - I say about $250.00 is a fair price since it does sound better than the cambridge (I have listened to that radio as well - bass sounds too distorted...I have lots of problems with bass, I don't handle it well .

 

[MDS]

Interesting...$4,000 or so in highly regarded HT equipment and you think it sounds no better than an expensive clock radio.

 

[mazersteven]

About power consumption (plugged in to Kill-a-watt): well my 3805 and 2930Ci powered up (no subwoofer) uses 130Watts at this volume. The Bose uses 8 watts at the same volume and sounds the same to my ears. Assuming 6hrs/day and .10/kwh - that is $28 vs $1.75 per year. So all else the same, unit pays itself in almost 20 years. Perhaps there are other factors, such that the 3805 and 2930CI would add more heat to the room during summer, put bigger dent in the environment (pay attention Mr. Gore), etc. but I won't factor these - just plain electricity usage.

.

I think your wrong. If with most speakers it only take 1 watt to produce 80-90 dB's then your receiver is not using what you claim. Only during dynamic scenes at high volumes does your receiver use more watts to drive them.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong please.

 

[no. 5]

I don't have a recommendation for a music system, just a suggestion for a feature to look for as it's clarity at low volume that you are after; good tone controls.

The reason being that human hearing is not equally sensitive to all frequencies for a given volume, so what sounds clear and balanced at 75dB, will sound a bit more midrangey at say, 60dB. So with tone controls will allow you to compensate for that, and allow you to hear everything clear at low volumes.

some questions about bass: have you tried multiple subwoofers?
Obvious perhaps, but do you have a SPL meter?
does bass sound distorted over good headphones (as in, Grado's or Sennheiser's)?
if you disable the x-over and listen to music in two channel, does bass sound distorted?
I don't mean this to sound like an interrogation, it's just I'm a curious person, and your finding bass to sound distorted has gotten me interested.

 

[no. 5]

I think your wrong. If with most speakers it only take 1 watt to produce 80-90 dB's then your receiver is not using what you claim. Only during dynamic scenes at high volumes does your receiver use more watts to drive them.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong please.

You are correct the receiver not using much power, and I'm not sure if you’re wrong, but, the receiver is doing more then just amplifying, it may only be using a watt in amplification to the speakers, but any other circuits that are active in the receiver will draw power in addition to the amps, and salaz included his 2930CI in the power consumption figure, so that thing adds another 45 watts.

 

[emorphien]

Something tells me you need to work on the calibration and setup of your other system, particularly if you claim your subwoofer sounds bad (what sub do you have though?).

 

[Seth=L]

Something tells me you need to work on the calibration and setup of your other system, particularly if you claim your subwoofer sounds bad (what sub do you have though?).

Apparently the musical HSU STF-2 MK.2, strange how bad it sounds. To the OP, try different placement. And a better sounding system for the same or less would be something from Boston Acoustics, and beats the hell out of Bose on overall functionality.

 

[Sheep]

http://ebaumsworld.com/2007/02/cheesiest-movie-moment.wmv

They're starting to circle

ROTFLAMO! Did the shark blow up when it hit the water??!

HAHAHAHAHA!

SheepStar

 

[salaz]

Something tells me you need to work on the calibration and setup of your other system, particularly if you claim your subwoofer sounds bad (what sub do you have though?).

Yes, I calibrated with Radio Shack's SLM. I didn't say it sounds bad, but distorted or muddled if you prefer - It sure wakes me up when I'm watching a movie, nevertheless - and I'm only using about 15% of its power at that. So the distortion might sound ok for movies but not for music. I bought the HSU vtf-2 mk2 based on recommendations from these forums. I am not unhappy about it, since I bought it primarily for movie watching in a bedroom.

 

[salaz]

I think your wrong. If with most speakers it only take 1 watt to produce 80-90 dB's then your receiver is not using what you claim. Only during dynamic scenes at high volumes does your receiver use more watts to drive them.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong please.

The receiver itself takes about 60 watts when turned on (no volume at all) per the kill-a-watt device.

 

[salaz]

Interesting...$4,000 or so in highly regarded HT equipment and you think it sounds no better than an expensive clock radio.

..at the same volume (55-72+ dbs) within 80hz an above. There is no competition at higher volumes. And no comparison whatsoever for movie watching.

 

[salaz]

I don't have a recommendation for a music system, just a suggestion for a feature to look for as it's clarity at low volume that you are after; good tone controls.

...

some questions about bass: have you tried multiple subwoofers?
Obvious perhaps, but do you have a SPL meter?

Yes.

does bass sound distorted over good headphones (as in, Grado's or Sennheiser's)?

No, but I believe that is not a fair comparison since the sound is in my ears as opposed to bouncing around the walls, etc.

if you disable the x-over and listen to music in two channel, does bass sound distorted?

Sounds better in two channels but lacks something..not too sure what yet.

 

[emorphien]

Yes, I calibrated with Radio Shack's SLM. I didn't say it sounds bad, but distorted or muddled if you prefer - It sure wakes me up when I'm watching a movie, nevertheless - and I'm only using about 15% of its power at that. So the distortion might sound ok for movies but not for music. I bought the HSU vtf-2 mk2 based on recommendations from these forums. I am not unhappy about it, since I bought it primarily for movie watching in a bedroom.

You say you calibrated it, is that simply for levels? If the crossover is set too high and especially if it's placed in the wrong place then it can sound terrible. There's no reason you should be thinking it sounds distorted or muddled if you have it properly positioned and set up.

 

[Resident Loser]

Coupla' things...

...maybe I have misread or misinterpreted what I read, but power draw at the outlet has zero to do with the amount of power an amp might be required to produce for a given dB reading on an SPL meter...so don't confuse the two...My loudspeakers are relatively inefficient yet they require <5Watts (as indicated by the power amps' output display) to produce SPLs in excess of 80dB...What it may draw at the outlet is anyones guess since it has no bearing on things sonic, therfore has never been measured.

Also, re: distortion w/sub...are you quite certain you are not confusing structural rattles, noises and things that go bump-in-the-night that might be excited by the LF information produced by the sub as speaker distortion?

Alternatively, placement is definitely an issue as has been previously suggested...The subs' location may be producing standing waves...

jimHJJ(...FWIW...)

 

[majorloser]

ROTFLAMO! Did the shark blow up when it hit the water??!

HAHAHAHAHA!

SheepStar

That was a special exploding torpedo shark that the Penguin sent after Batman. Got to be careful with those things

 

[no. 5]

does bass sound distorted over good headphones (as in, Grado's or Sennheiser's)?

No, but I believe that is not a fair comparison since the sound is in my ears as opposed to bouncing around the walls, etc.

Actually, that was the point.

If bass sounds good in headphones, with room interaction removed from the equation, that would really seem to indicate that the problem that you hear in your systems bass quality is caused from room interaction.

if you disable the x-over and listen to music in two channel, does bass sound distorted?

Sounds better in two channels but lacks something..not too sure what yet.

Again, this leads me to believe that it's a problem with room acoustics; two sources of bass generally lessen the effects of room modes.

 

[salaz]

You say you calibrated it, is that simply for levels? If the crossover is set too high and especially if it's placed in the wrong place then it can sound terrible. There's no reason you should be thinking it sounds distorted or muddled if you have it properly positioned and set up.

Perhaps I am not calibrating correctly - I thought it would be simple. What I did was this: I set the Radio Shack's SLM to 70 - Then manually adjusted each Speaker from the receiver's menu to sound at 72 db from my listening position. That's it. I have not experimented placing the subwoofer at various locations, etc. I set the crossover at 80hz.

 

[salaz]

Actually, that was the point.

If bass sounds good in headphones, with room interaction removed from the equation, that would really seem to indicate that the problem that you hear in your systems bass quality is caused from room interaction.


Again, this leads me to believe that it's a problem with room acoustics; two sources of bass generally lessen the effects of room modes.

I will try it...but any cheap system sounds good with headphones on. I will try to find my old headphones and report back..