Bose wave radio sounds like a system that costs five times more!

emorphien

emorphien

Audioholic General
Ok, that had me rolling on the floor. Honestly I've heard some amazingly stupid things but that they said that in an ad and all over the internet just blows my mind.

Experience a bold standard in audio performance, simplicity and elegant design. The Wave® music system delivers the lush, room-filling sound you'd expect from large, complicated systems. Yet it requires little space and is delightfully simple to use. Forbes FYI says that "you'll think you're listening to a ... sound system that costs five times more."
:eek:

It would be one thing if the Bose were $100 and they were comparing it to $500 stereos. But when you're comparing $500 to $2500, there is a significant leap in capability and quality once you pass $1000 IMO (in fact perhaps they have no idea what $700-1000 can get you). It may have come from Forbes FYI but still. I wouldn't generally start a thread whose purpose is to bash Bose on any forum, plenty of people have that taken care of anyway but this is the first time I've seen this ad or heard that line and I just can't stop giggling.

So in the spirit of the Steam Vent, what other outrageous audio claims have you heard companies make lately?
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
My dad has one and as much as I hate the tiny cubes, I have to admit that little box does fill the room very well. I wouldn't spend that kind of money on that thing, but it isn't nearly in the same category as the cube systems. My bedroom system cost about the same and sounds better for sure, but takes up about 4x the space. I don't have a problem with the space that system takes up though....
 
Last edited:
emorphien

emorphien

Audioholic General
j_garcia said:
My dad has one and as much as I hate the tiny cubes, I have to admit that little box does fill the room very well. I wouldn't spend that kind of money on that thing, but it isn't nearly in the same category as the cube systems.
No doubt, I agree it's better than the cubes but it's the claim that blows my mind, not the sound.
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
Yeah, they are definitley over buttering their bread with their ads for it. It is a bit ridiculous actually...
 
emorphien

emorphien

Audioholic General
I wonder if there have been any "improvements" to the new wave radios in terms of sound compared to the older design (with the top loading CD player) like I have on my bedside table (don't worry, I inherited it).
 
no. 5

no. 5

Audioholic Field Marshall
Bose wave radio sounds like a system that costs five times more!
well now that you have my attention... :D

Forbes magazine for audio advice? sounds like using "Knitting magazine" for advice about cars :rolleyes: .
 
Rock&Roll Ninja

Rock&Roll Ninja

Audioholic Field Marshall
emorphien said:
I wonder if there have been any "improvements" to the new wave radios in terms of sound compared to the older design (with the top loading CD player) like I have on my bedside table (don't worry, I inherited it).
"Bass one half octave lower than the original" according to their website.
*Supports MP3 CD-Rs (my father's old model didn't play any CD-Rs)
*has a remote (don't remember if the original did)
*Comes in black (original in white only.... Huh, Bose was ahead of their time!)
*Bose®Link.... something to do with streaming audio I believe.

The $500 Wave isn't that bad all things considered (the Tivoli music system is $100 more).... Certainly alot cheaper than the $2500 bookshelfs I'm still paying off. Theres also a $1200 "tall" wave radio.... haven't ever seen/heard one. Now thats an outrageous price for a tabletop CD player.

But if I were to buy a premium tabletop (which I have no reason or intention to do, because, I like, own a *real* stereo), I'd buy the Tivoli because it looks nicer, and is forward compatible with the digital Am/Fm (I won't call it HD).
 
Jack Hammer

Jack Hammer

Audioholic Field Marshall
Dead Horse...

...Bose threads have really been beating the dead horse lately...

I like the sound of the wave radio. I think for the money you could get more, but it sounds nice for a tiny package. If I found one used at a garage sale for a good price I wouldn't hesitate to buy it and use it.

Jack
 
emorphien

emorphien

Audioholic General
Jack Hammer said:
...Bose threads have really been beating the dead horse lately...

I like the sound of the wave radio. I think for the money you could get more, but it sounds nice for a tiny package. If I found one used at a garage sale for a good price I wouldn't hesitate to buy it and use it.

Jack
I think ya missed the point.
 
no. 5

no. 5

Audioholic Field Marshall
Rock&Roll Ninja said:
Theres also a $1200 "tall" wave radio.... haven't ever seen/heard one. Now thats an outrageous price for a tabletop CD player.
I have listened to one of those, it was at a freinds house and thay were listening to NPR with it.
it made talk radio sound pretty cool :p .
 
Seth=L

Seth=L

Audioholic Overlord
They should try truth in advertising.:D

"The Bose Wave® radio sounds just as good as many $150 mini-systems at Wal-Mart. Bose offers you the same sound for more, about $350 more, in a slightly more appealing package."

Wait, as far as the interest of the company, maybe they shouldn't try truth in advertising.
 
M

MDS

Audioholic Spartan
I haven't seen the particular ad that was mentioned but I do regularly hear an ad on the radio where an 'audio engineer' (who knows the true extent of his qualifications) that raves about the Wave Radio and uses the same kind of statement about how wonderful it sounds and how it rivals much more expensive systems.

I don't know much about it but I do find it funny that every review you ever read or hear for any piece of equipment always says something to the effect of 'Sounds better than X equipment costing many times more...'
 
Seth=L

Seth=L

Audioholic Overlord
MDS said:
I don't know much about it but I do find it funny that every review you ever read or hear for any piece of equipment always says something to the effect of 'Sounds better than X equipment costing many times more...'
What they don't tell you is "brand X" is Dogg Digital Audio, Paradyme, Theater Research.:D
 
D

Duettadude

Enthusiast
Hey! Paul Harvey (almost deaf) and Rush Limbaugh (is deaf) say it's GRRRRRRREAT! :p














(I'm a Rush fan, BTW, but it makes me scratch my head :confused: )
 
Jack Hammer

Jack Hammer

Audioholic Field Marshall
emorphien said:
I think ya missed the point.
Which point was that?:cool:

That Bose overstates their products abilities and overcharges the consumer for it?

Or, that when people have nothing better to do with their time they start beating a dead horse by bashing Bose?;)

Jack
 
Resident Loser

Resident Loser

Senior Audioholic
I actually have...

...a Wave Radio...got it free in a local retailers contest...

It sounds pretty good for it's footprint...it is placement sensitive, you can affect the bass response by rear-wall loading...I also have a GPX portable CDP ($7USD after rebate) plugged into the AUXL...Would I pay the retail price? I've always said probably not, but after living with it for a few years and with the newer units built-in CDP and optional changer, I have been giving it some consideration...

As far as their sales rhetoric (or hype, if you prefer), I'd tend to agree, for it's size, it probably does sound as good or better than what the average consumer who spends $1200-1500 will get.

jimHJJ(...pretty much plug'n'play...)
 
Rock&Roll Ninja

Rock&Roll Ninja

Audioholic Field Marshall
Jack Hammer said:
Or, that when people have nothing better to do with their time they start beating a dead horse by bashing Bose?;)
Thats just what us audiophiles do for fun. Kinda like Harley guys bash Suzuki all the time.
 
emorphien

emorphien

Audioholic General
Resident Loser said:
As far as their sales rhetoric (or hype, if you prefer), I'd tend to agree, for it's size, it probably does sound as good or better than what the average consumer who spends $1200-1500 will get.
For it's size, there are few things on the market to compare with it however others have pointed out alternatives (the Kloss unit, etc) which are supposed to be considerably better and I'm sure there are others in the $1200-1500 range (but who spends $1200-1500 on a tiny tabletop stereo?). If you compare it sonically to all the options for a stereo system from 0 to $1500 it's going to fall right down at the bottom. If you compare it in terms of performance for its size class, it's probably midrange based on what I've read about some of the other similarly sized units. But then again, so is it's price. For $500 it is neither the most expensive nor the best small tabletop stereo, so it's really not that unreasonable a device at all.
 
P

palmharbor

Junior Audioholic
Paul Harvey promotes their stuff

Old folks have all the money but know nothing about hi fi electronics..but they listen to Paul Harvey News and they think
he is honest...keep in mind he told listeners that he had an economy car...a Buick Park Avenue! He was hustling Buicks
then and now he is hustling Bose and the old folks buy it cause
Paul Harvey says its sounds like a big expensive system.
It reminds me of the saying "there is no fool like an old fool"
 
newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis
Top