I have spent allot of time looking and listening to speakers. I always try to find the best speaker for the least amount of money. Fortunately their are speakers out their that provide this.
The Low End Audio equipment companies have really changed course. People have become so used to noise, that they have come to relate high volumes with increase noise levels. Take away the noise, and people walk away feeling like the volume was too low (that is unless you pump it up to the point their ears start ringing). Lower volumes on speakers have become a non-issue. How many people go to the music store to listen to a pair of speakers and ask for the volume to be turned down?
Low Quality MP3 files and high BASS speakers that target people without a complete understanding of how to really listen. You must spend time training yourself to recognize quality audio reproductions, and it seems that the only way to do this is to go to a good high end audio store, and spend time in front of some good speakers.
After spending some significant amount of money on a pair of Thiels, I was surprised to find myself listening to music in my home at audio levels way below anything I have ever done before. Imagine listening to wonderful music and easily talking to your friends and family.
After some significant time listening to pro-audiophiles, including a local professor from the Eastman School of Music who has been blessed with some of the best set of ears in the world. These people always put down and rip apart all Bose products, and I never had a reason to doubt them.
For a long time audio magazines have been, very upset with the drop in quality of the sound Bose offers.
Finally, and recently, I got a chance to test them first hand, in a direct comparison with other speakers. Something not offered to many people, since Bose sells their speakers in stores that ONLY sell Bose, or in commercial stores that have so much outside noise that it becomes impossible to actually listen to them.
I have yet to compare a speaker that has a price equal to or less then any BOSE prices, and not found myself unhappy with BOSE. Unfortunately I did NOT compare mass produced speakers of name brand companies such as Sony, Yamaha, etc.
I did bring in a pair of my RCA sat speakers that cost me under $100 a pair at RadioShack. The RCA's were half the price of the BOSE, and sounded clearer and crisper then the Bose sats. At Higher volumes the speakers produced less noise, and are audible at lower volumes then the BOSE.
What I found has been inline with everything I have heard about the speakers. The high's seem a little sharp, almost piercing. The Sat's are hurting in the mid-range area, and the floor stands have deep thumping base with very little range of quality sound. The prices are sometimes double the price of comparable equipment.
As far as having High end large speakers, the BOSE large speaker selection is HORRIBLE. I compared these large standing $1000 speakers with a $600 pair of B&W floor stands. The B&W are amazing, while the BOSE speakers remind me of the large floor stand speakers RadioShack use to sell in their stores before they picked up RCA brand named items.
WOW, I am simply floored at the low quality these products offer. I have an uncle who spent over $1000 for a 5.1 BOSE surround sound, and it is horrible.
Please, save your money and don’t buy BOSE speakers. The great name of the old BOSE, has since been replaced by a marketing hype of ultra expensive I-Pod Generation speakers.
The success of this company has shaped many other companies strategies, including Sony and Yamaha. Companies that use to produce decent speakers are now focused on producing speakers that sound best in large rooms with allot of noise (aka Malls and Circuit City). These environments are often filled with large numbers of speakers, each providing a area that provides large amount of sound reflective absorption and no flat surfaces. Switching speakers often means changing audio locations, and volume, which makes it even harder to review speakers. When you get them home, in a closed space with out all the background noise, the weaknesses quickly appear.
It is important that, if you want to spend money on a good quality set of speakers, go to a place that has seperate listening rooms. Ask to compair a few recommended speaker types, and if they are a good audio store, they should take time to bring in the speakers and set each one up in turn, allowing you a clean, noise free, home like environment that allows you too directly compair speakers for yourself. Sound Reproduction requires a personal approach, and many people find that different speakers sound better to them then others.
Mike
