In defense of Bose

[Rickster71]

Below are a few observations of accidental listening sessions, using the Bose Pro line of speakers & amps. There must be a difference from their consumer stuff.

I've recently been to two live venues that both used these speakers: http://www.bose.com/controller?url=/shop_online/speakers/portable_amplification_systems/index.jsp


The first was a small outdoor seafood place, on boat marina at the New Jersey shore.
Luckily I had a reliable witness or two; Markw and I brought our wives out for beer, wine, and seafood.
We listened to one guy play a guitar, a Jimmy Buffet type. We all agreed he sounded very good and left it at that.

Later Mark and I went for a beer run, and noticed his speakers were set about 20 ft behind the musician, and walked over to check them out.
They were a pair of Bose (in the link above.) In between sets we got talking to and he explained how the setup was perfect for him; easy for one guy to load, unload, carry and set up. They did sound very good.
Now, Mark and I both realize it was partially because one guy playing a guitar is really the sweet spot acoustically for these speakers.

The next time my wife got me tickets for my BD to see Mindi Abair in a small jazz club on the beach in Asbury Park NJ.
A sample below, not the show I saw:

The place had maybe 40 tables and we sat front row center, with our table touching the stage.
It was too dark to see exactly what model of the 3 Bose set ups it was.
It again, very good, except this time I saw that we were also listening to what was coming out of their monitors.
So it wasn't only the Bose speakers and amps that we heard.
Also it's the same thing; jazz music and vocals hit the sweet spot for this set up.
I'm not a big fan, but they seem to work well in certain applications.

Mark, please add your thoughts.

 

[jinjuku]

Having set it up, the Bose commercial stuff is really nice gear. Well thought out for the one man band.

 

[Rickster71]

Having set it up, the Bose commercial stuff is really nice gear. Well thought out for the one man band.

We were really pleasantly surprised.
The first guy we saw used the L1® Model II. He showed us some of it's details, it has some really good features.

 

[gmichael]

I loved how she was tonguing that sax!

 

[markw]

Well, being dragged in kicking and screaming,...

...I have to agree with Rick. I/we were initially astounded by the sound at the first place he mentions. And, natural audiophile curiosity forced us to explore more, and our eyes and ears were drawn to this rather phallic looking system about 20 feet behind him. Yeah, we did get up and explored it on our beer run and, with the entertainer watching us warily, we checked it out from virtually every angle.

It sounded much, much, better than such a funny thing ever should.

to be honest, he was using some sort of vocal synthesizer with it and it had the ability to make him sound like he had backup singers harmonizing with him and that, combined with this speaker, put out some amazingly righteous sounds!

I wasn't present at the other venue but, from what I hear, expect to find these speakers with more and more performing artists in the near future.

 

[BMXTRIX]

The issue with Bose revolves a lot around their small speakers and misleading advertising.

Before their small speakers, they just had normal audio gear, and it wasn't bad, but now their focus on their Acoustimass junk is a complete disservice to the A/V industry and to consumers.

You know this already, but I do agree that they have a lot of stuff that still sounds really good.

The question is whether you, or others, want to support a company that continues to mislead consumers and waste their money on shoddy, proprietary product, and if their good product really doesn't have some competing product out there which is just as easy to use and setup. Plenty of pro-audio companies out there making active and passive loudspeakers which sound good and are easy for one person to carry/setup.

Recommending Bose, or praising them is like praising Monster. At the end of the day, almost ALL Monster product is well built (overbuilt?) and meets the needs of the applications it is intended for - but the issue is their deceptive practices which hurt the consumer and take consumers money from them unneccesarily.

I would rather see Monster in a system than Bose, any day of the week and don't think Bose needs their products praised until they find a better way to do their small speaker systems which doesn't screw consumers over.

 

[Rickster71]

All true BMX.
As I mentioned at the bottom of my OP, I'm not a fan.

It seems to appeal to, and work well for the single performer that isn't into the politics / practices of Bose.
My post was more about my, and Mark's impression; not the whole political ball of wax surrounding Bose.

 

[markw]

I wouldn't go quite that far.

The question is whether you, or others, want to support a company that continues to mislead consumers and waste their money on shoddy, proprietary product, and if their good product really doesn't have some competing product out there which is just as easy to use and setup. Plenty of pro-audio companies out there making active and passive loudspeakers which sound good and are easy for one person to carry/setup.

From my/our experience here, I would, without qualifications, support this product and, if I were a performing artist on the move, I would want to own one.

But, consider this: This is not my/our first rodeo. No other portable sound system I've heard has impressed me as much as this one has and, considering that there's many, many years of attending musical events for a basis for comparison, I think that says a lot right there.

And, while not wanting to speak for Rick, I think i can safely say that he's attended more than a few musical events over the years as well.

Oh, i also did semi-pro sound for various churches in the area for many years. Does that count for anything?

Now, if I hear others that can match what I've heard I would consider them as well.

As for their Acoustimass systems, yes, they are expensive and not my cuppa tea. But, too many people find them just too perfect for their needs.

Many, many people just love their looks, their simplicity of operation, and the fact that it fits easily into their living environment, and are more than satisfied with the sound they produce. As for me, I would never own one, but everyone's requirements are different.

Who am I to condemn a company that makes so many people happy and provides them with a pride of ownership experience that can't be measured by the same standards "we" apply to out audio equipment?

 

[BMXTRIX]

I'm not trying to argue that they don't have product which is appealing to some people, but they do so with very high prices and product which can be matched by others, typically for far less money.

The key difference tends to be the knowledge of the consumer.

While I have not had a chance to sit down and listen to the mini-line array speakers that are currently on the market from all the manufacturers, we certainly have product from EAW, JBL, TOA and others with a price that is often around $500 or so for the speaker.

So, that leaves $2,500 for an audio mixer/DSP, subwoofer, and some stands.

Yes, Bose puts together some simple stuff in pretty packaging - but the price to value still seems to be way out of bounds for any educated consumer, and this product certainly seems to be no different.

ie: http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fishman-SA220-Solo-Performance-System-Acoustic-Guitar-Amp?sku=483301&src=3WFRWXX&ZYXSEM=0&CAWELAID=201312106

Not sure if you have heard that model, but it seems well reveiwed.

 

[markw]

Haven't heard it but I'll keep an ear out for it.

Im sure some aspiring artist will blow for one soon enough and I'll get to hear it in the hands of one who can utilize it's potential to it's fullest.

It is tall and thin, like the Bose system, but the sound is the determining factor. I do believe all three Bose systems come with a bass box as well, not that I would expect thunderous bass from one, though.

But, keep in mind, though: It was the sound quality that initially drew our attention, not the physicality of the system.

 

[KEW]

The next time my wife got me tickets for my BD to see Mindi Abair in a small jazz club on the beach in Asbury Park NJ.
A sample below, not the show I saw:

The place had maybe 40 tables and we sat front row center, with our table touching the stage.
It was too dark to see exactly what model of the 3 Bose set ups it was.
It again, very good, except this time I saw that we were also listening to what was coming out of their monitors.
So it wasn't only the Bose speakers and amps that we heard.
Also it's the same thing; jazz music and vocals hit the sweet spot for this set up.
I'm not a big fan, but they seem to work well in certain applications.

Mark, please add your thoughts.

That video clip sounds incredibly nice on the $40 Logitech 2.1 computer speakers I listened to it on.

That doesn't mean that the Bose might not be great with content that would high-light the flaws of the computer speakers, but it definitely reinforces Rickster's comment about "sweet spot"!

Seriously, If you get the chance, listen to that video on an inexpensive PC speaker system - it is nice!

 

[highfigh]

Im sure some aspiring artist will blow for one soon enough and I'll get to hear it in the hands of one who can utilize it's potential to it's fullest.

It is tall and thin, like the Bose system, but the sound is the determining factor. I do believe all three Bose systems come with a bass box as well, not that I would expect thunderous bass from one, though.

But, keep in mind, though: It was the sound quality that initially drew our attention, not the physicality of the system.

How much of the bass was going through the Bose system? In a small club, which is where you heard them, the bass amp covered the low end and I would assume the keyboards had an amp for them, too. If not, they probably used some kind of subwoofer, because I have heard the Bose pro speakers and they definitely needed help in the low end. I saw Pat Metheny at Summerfest, here in MKE and it was the one year Summerfest took a different bid for the sound at all of the stages and they used the current model at the time, in the early '80s. The amps cut out far too often to make me think that the system was designed properly and I thought they needed more speakers anyway but either the system was in thermal compression or the mixer was just a tool but it didn't sound like the Bose pro speakers I have heard since.

 

[markw]

How much of the bass was going through the Bose system? In a small club, which is where you heard them, the bass amp covered the low end and I would assume the keyboards had an amp for them, too. If not, they probably used some kind of subwoofer, because I have heard the Bose pro speakers and they definitely needed help in the low end. I saw Pat Metheny at Summerfest, here in MKE and it was the one year Summerfest took a different bid for the sound at all of the stages and they used the current model at the time, in the early '80s. The amps cut out far too often to make me think that the system was designed properly and I thought they needed more speakers anyway but either the system was in thermal compression or the mixer was just a tool but it didn't sound like the Bose pro speakers I have heard since.

My exposure, which I'm relating here, was not in a club. It was essentially outdoors. The club experience would be Rick's second exposure which I cannot comment on.

Look at the link in Rick's first post to see what's being discussed.

If it wasn't made clear in the earlier posts, it was a solo guitar and there was no additional equipment, save for the synthesizer and the Bose system. ...not even a stage monitor.

It was set up outside, in open space, about 15 feet behind the performer, and well away from any room boundaries, save for the ground on which it was resting.

We were in a porch type environment with a roof and no walls. The performer was "on the porch" with us. As i said earlier, the system was outside, about 15' behind the performer.

Granted, this is not the type of system the Grateful Dead would have wanted for touring, but for this performer in this small/medium sized venue, it worked astoundingly well. ...well enough for two fairly well seasoned audioholics to be sufficiently knocked out by it's performance enough to want to investigate it.

 

[Rickster71]

How much of the bass was going through the Bose system? In a small club, which is where you heard them, the bass amp covered the low end and I would assume the keyboards had an amp for them, too. If not, they probably used some kind of subwoofer, because I have heard the Bose pro speakers and they definitely needed help in the low end. I saw Pat Metheny at Summerfest, here in MKE and it was the one year Summerfest took a different bid for the sound at all of the stages and they used the current model at the time, in the early '80s. The amps cut out far too often to make me think that the system was designed properly and I thought they needed more speakers anyway but either the system was in thermal compression or the mixer was just a tool but it didn't sound like the Bose pro speakers I have heard since.

That's the thing; in the jazz club I know it was in addition to the stage monitors.

We were going to dinner next door, so we arrived about 3 hours early to pick a table.
Ended up walking in during sound check and had a chance to talk to Mindi and her band, they were all very friendly.
If I'd seen the Bose at that time I would've asked about them; it wasn't until later when we arrived for the show that I spotted them.

To me, it sounded like her vocals and sax were coming out of them. (but I'm not sure)
Seems like some are aware of the Bose's limitations and are using them more in mid-range apps.

 

[Rickster71]

I'm not trying to argue that they don't have product which is appealing to some people, but they do so with very high prices and product which can be matched by others, typically for far less money.

The key difference tends to be the knowledge of the consumer.

While I have not had a chance to sit down and listen to the mini-line array speakers that are currently on the market from all the manufacturers, we certainly have product from EAW, JBL, TOA and others with a price that is often around $500 or so for the speaker.

So, that leaves $2,500 for an audio mixer/DSP, subwoofer, and some stands.

Yes, Bose puts together some simple stuff in pretty packaging - but the price to value still seems to be way out of bounds for any educated consumer, and this product certainly seems to be no different.

ie: http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fishman-SA220-Solo-Performance-System-Acoustic-Guitar-Amp?sku=483301&src=3WFRWXX&ZYXSEM=0&CAWELAID=201312106

Not sure if you have heard that model, but it seems well reveiwed.

Can't disagree with much that you've said.
I have to say it was more about our utter surprise, and a simple an observation.
I've heard Bose systems in people's homes, and I've always thought they sounded like poo.
My OP was simply meant as an observation; not a technical, financial, or political analysis of Bose.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Can't disagree with much that you've said.
I have to say it was more about our utter surprise, and a simple an observation.
I've heard Bose systems in people's homes, and I've always thought they sounded like poo.
My OP was simply meant as an observation; not a technical, financial, or political analysis of Bose.

No, no - Too late. You have been permanently branded as a Bose lover.

You will be ridiculed personally from this point forward.

 

[gmichael]

Ricky and Bose.....
sittin' in a tree.....
F & C K I N G.....

 

[Rickster71]

No, no - Too late. You have been permanently branded as a Bose lover.

You will be ridiculed personally from this point forward.

Ricky and Bose.....
sittin' in a tree.....
F & C K I N G.....

Well I got 3 CD's signed, and got to talk to 110-lb Mindi. That's gotta count for something.
Her and I can take being branded.
I think her sax weighs more than she does; I kept offering her some food.
EDIT: You guys are just jealous, because I've been chatting on line with Mindi all day.(about Bose)

 

[adk highlander]

I have nothing to say about bose but if Mindi was part of their marketing I may like them more.

Thanks Rick for posting the vid. I had not heard of her but I just picked up one of her CD's after watching the vid.

 

[markw]

Well I got 3 CD's signed, and got to talk to 110-lb Mindi. That's gotta count for something.
Her and I can take being branded.
I think her sax weighs more than she does; I kept offering her some food.
EDIT: You guys are just jealous, because I've been chatting on line with Mindi all day.(about Bose)

Well, I just hope you two practice safe sax.