Competition for Wave Radio/ CD Player ???

Alex2507

Alex2507

Audioholic Slumlord
My brother in law said he wanted a wave radio CD player. Size/form factor is important. What's out there to compete with the blose? TIA
 
MinusTheBear

MinusTheBear

Audioholic Ninja
Tits in ***? :D Thats probably a better way to spend his money and support the Canadian economy at the same time. :D

There are plenty of speaker docks out there today. Go to a store and listen to a bunch with him. If the store sells the wave radio, there will be alternative products. I wouldn't expect much in regards to sound quality but you might be able to save him some money in the process and afterwards with the left over money have him treat you to a lap dance. :)
 
R

riker1384

Junior Audioholic
You could take a look at "executive" shelf systems, AKA minisystems or micro systems. There are ones you can get that are basically a miniature stereo receiver, with metal construction and a lot of the features of a real receiver, but in a smaller box with a smaller amp section. Some have a CD player built-in, while others have one in a separate chassis. Yamaha, Onkyo, Denon and I think Teac make these but there might be others. With them, you can get real stereo separation and you can upgrade the speakers later on, or add a subwoofer.

Here's an examples; I haven't used these so I don't know which are best, I just want to show you what I'm talking about:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882120098
http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-CSV720S-Executive-System-Universal/dp/B000BD1ADC/
http://www.amazon.com/Denon-D-M37-CD-micro-system/dp/B001EO7UHC/
http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-MCR-730BL-Micro-Component-System/dp/B001N5RWRK/

For one-box solutions, Cambridge Soundworks has some (http://store.cambridgesoundworks.com/content/Radios.htm). Polk has the I-Sonic which I've heard good things about, but it looks a little overly complicated to me with a lot of features. (I don't think they have a CD player though.) http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-I-Sonic-Entertainment-System/dp/B0014HS938/ There are also a ton of minsystems marketed as "Ipod docks" that might not come with a CD player.

Here's a one-box with a nice wooden cabinet: http://www.amazon.com/Tivoli-Audio-MSYTPE-Digital-Metallic/dp/B000NW3VGA/ I've never heard it, though. It's awfully expensive.
 
pzaur

pzaur

Audioholic Samurai
My brother in law said he wanted a wave radio CD player. Size/form factor is important. What's out there to compete with the blose? TIA
There really isn't anything else that crappy at the price range you're talking about. How about a clock radio?

-pat
 
BMXTRIX

BMXTRIX

Audioholic Warlord
This one is probably comparible to the Bose unit in sound quality and will leave a bit of cash in the pocket...

http://www.amazon.com/Mini-Stereo-MP3-CD-Player/dp/B0016X9ACE/ref=sr_1_54?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1270564634&sr=1-54

Really, good audio requires speakers which have a bit of size to them. They don't have to be huge, but tiny speakers will never really do the job, especially when put into small enclosures.

In-wall & in-ceiling designs can be done with basically zero-footprint and sound decent with components hidden away out of sight completely.

EDIT: I did a quick Google and came up with this article which focusses on Bose and the competitors to the WAVE radio...
http://www.consumersearch.com/table-radios/cd-mp3-table-radios

This one is called out as an excellent alternative (except at high volume): http://www.amazon.com/iLuv-High-Fidelity-Bluetooth-Speaker-System/dp/B000NI360U?SubscriptionId=0K76CZ6RCX2Y05HSNPR2&tag=csfstext-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B000NI360U

$100 seems like money well spent if decent sounding background music is the goal.
 
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adk highlander

adk highlander

Sith Lord
I think this is a good replacement for the wave radio.

 
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Alex2507

Alex2507

Audioholic Slumlord
We have this in the bedroom. Carolyn uses it more than the $600 speakers I put in the ceiling. Sounds fine for background nusic.
http://www.ihomeaudio.com/iP98
I'm going to have my brother in law (Pat) look the thread over but this this recommendation doesn't have a CD player.

I think Pat has got to be able to find a fit with BMXTRIX's and Riker's suggestions. Just for the record BMX does this stuff for a living. You can pretty much take what he says to the bank when it comes to A/V.
 
ParadigmDawg

ParadigmDawg

Audioholic Overlord
Screw that CD player, this one has a kitchen timer:D

http://www.ihomeaudio.com/iP39


I'm going to have my brother in law (Pat) look the thread over but this this recommendation doesn't have a CD player.

I think Pat has got to be able to find a fit with BMXTRIX's and Riker's suggestions. Just for the record BMX does this stuff for a living. You can pretty much take what he says to the bank when it comes to A/V.
 
Alex2507

Alex2507

Audioholic Slumlord
I think this is a good replacement for the wave radio.

We have a winner !!! :D ... at least for funniest reply. :p

Anyway my choice would have been for Rick's suggestion of the Cambridge Soundworks i765 toy for $250 because of the built in powered sub. Even a little sub will add enough bass that it puts the playback quality on a higher level.

Then if that idiot from Forbes ever heard it he could say that for half the money it sounds better than a system that sounds like it cost five times as much money. :rolleyes:
 
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Geno

Geno

Senior Audioholic
I've had a Boston Acoustics Receptor radio for several years now. It doesn't pretent to be anything more than a tabletop clock radio, but the sound it puts out is surprisingly good. Cost around $150 at the time. Some of the better i-Pod docks have impressed me as well.
 
Alex2507

Alex2507

Audioholic Slumlord
Yesterday I was just about to recommend a Bose system to this electrician at work but it turned out that he already had one. It cost him $600 for the wave radio and another $200 for the 4 banger CD changer. He said it was his whole house music system though. I told him that that was fantastic and I was really wanting a system like that for myself.

His crime was working real hard to get under everybody's skin on whatever level possible. A little after praising his purchase of Bose he overheard me telling one of his real home theater owning co-workers how much Bose sucks and he asked if I was trashing Bose. I said not at all. Bose is fantastic. I did forget to recommend store bought Monster Cable though. You want to make sure that you pay top dollar. :rolleyes:
 
Rickster71

Rickster71

Audioholic Spartan
Yesterday I was just about to recommend a Bose system to this electrician at work but it turned out that he already had one. It cost him $600 for the wave radio and another $200 for the 4 banger CD changer. He said it was his whole house music system though. I told him that that was fantastic and I was really wanting a system like that for myself.

His crime was working real hard to get under everybody's skin on whatever level possible. A little after praising his purchase of Bose he overheard me telling one of his real home theater owning co-workers how much Bose sucks and he asked if I was trashing Bose. I said not at all. Bose is fantastic. I did forget to recommend store bought Monster Cable though. You want to make sure that you pay top dollar. :rolleyes:
Watch out for those electricians, they lack in critical reasoning skills.:D
 
3db

3db

Audioholic Slumlord
Friends of mine are riding the "wave" as welll. I heard it and it did fil thei rroom with bigger sound. However, it was all boom and sizzle and it occured to me that the mids were lacking big time. For those who never heard a good stereo system, I can understand how they might get hooked on the boss sound. I would grow tired very quickly if I had to listen to the "wave" fater 10 minutes.
 
D

DrBoost

Audiophyte
You might find that if he wants the Bose, nothing else will do. Bose has mixed the best tasting Kool-Aid in the world, those that have drank it are usually compromised for life haha.
 
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