Shame on Bose

[rgriffin25]

I think it is silly that there are so many "audio zealots" out there trying to save the mass public from buying over priced products. Don't get me wrong, I have steered my fair share of people away from the little black cubed speakers. How ridiculous would it be if we took this stand in other aspects of life. Here is an example.

Buying generic veggies at the grocery store.
Most times the name brand green beans are three times more expensive than the generic. Does this mean the name brand veggies taste better? Not in my experience. People feel good for buying a name they can recognize even if it costs more.

I have adopted a new approach to this. If people want to spend their money on certain products it's their decision. After all they are the ones that will have to live with it!

 

[rmongiovi]

It seems to me perfectly reasonable to say that the Bose "direct/reflecting" concept is flawed, and regardless of the price/performance ratio the speakers do not work as the marketing blurb claims.

While it is true that true audio performances have sound that reflect off of the back wall, those reflections are already present in the recording. Adding another layer of reflections, as the Bose 901 does, can only muddy the sound reproduction. Unless you were to buy a close miked version of a performance designed for reproduction on a direct/reflecting speaker system, you wouldn't have any hope whatsoever of creating a realistic soundstage.

 

[gmichael]

I think it is silly that there are so many "audio zealots" out there trying to save the mass public from buying over priced products. Don't get me wrong, I have steered my fair share of people away from the little black cubed speakers. How ridiculous would it be if we took this stand in other aspects of life. Here is an example.

Buying generic veggies at the grocery store.
Most times the name brand green beans are three times more expensive than the generic. Does this mean the name brand veggies taste better? Not in my experience. People feel good for buying a name they can recognize even if it costs more.

I have adopted a new approach to this. If people want to spend their money on certain products it's their decision. After all they are the ones that will have to live with it!

Maybe if this was a veggie forum you might see this. But it's an audio forum. We talk about audio here. When new members need info on what to buy and what not to buy we like to give them the correct answers.

Takeereasy,
Here here. Good points.

 

[Sheep]

Maybe if this was a veggie forum you might see this. But it's an audio forum. We talk about audio here. When new members need info on what to buy and what not to buy we like to give them the correct answers.

Takeereasy,
Here here. Good points.

We do? The political and Religious threads have far more posts then the audio ones. Also, when someone like Ventwood0 comes along, we end up treating him like a fool (which he is though). So, we don't always give the correct answers. If depends on the person.

SheepStar

 

[gmichael]

We do? The political and Religious threads have far more posts then the audio ones. Also, when someone like Ventwood0 comes along, we end up treating him like a fool (which he is though). So, we don't always give the correct answers. If depends on the person.

SheepStar

I'd rather give good advice than bad. But if I were in someone's home and they were telling me how great their Bose system is, I would just listen. Bose is still far better than most Walmart systems that the average Joe would buy.

 

[Sheep]

I'd rather give good advice than bad. But if I were in someone's home and they were telling me how great their Bose system is, I would just listen. Bose is still far better than most Walmart systems that the average Joe would buy.

Ok, I think you need to leave AverageJoe out of this.

SheepStar

 

[Johnd]

I think it is silly...I have adopted a new approach to this. If people want to spend their money on certain products it's their decision. After all they are the ones that will have to live with it!

Thus the adage "Ignorance is bliss." I thought that was part of the purpose of this forum; give some basic information to those who know no better, particularly if they're thirsting for it.

 

[gmichael]

Ok, I think you need to leave AverageJoe out of this.

SheepStar

I don't get out much anymore. Are you saying that we have an "averagejoe" member?

 

[Sheep]

I don't get out much anymore. Are you saying that we have an "averagejoe" member?

Yes, there is a member named AverageJoe.

SheepStar

 

[gmichael]

Yes, there is a member named AverageJoe.

SheepStar

My bad. Sorry AJ.

 

[jpaul]

In light of.

In light of all of the product deception now days and there is a lot.
I'm glad to find good information from someone or someplace that
researches the truth behind a product.
I've got a Bose 5.1 system (for 10 yrs). From the advertisment I thought
it was the best around. I thought what I was hearing was also the best sound
I could hear and never really look any more. (Satified thru ignorance?).
Until I went to a friends house and heard his Def. Tech. Pro cin..
I heard sound that I never heard from my Bose speakers. Since then I've Auditioned B&W, Dynaudio and a few more. All of them sounded way better than my bose. (the subs in the Bose couldn't even sound close to any of the subs I heard with these systems.) Now, I'm not a bose basher but, I spent hard earned money for those bose and was given the impression that they were the best. (Best to me includes quailty materials and technically advanced that produces the best in sound availible). That is what was said! They were not even close to the quality of the other speakers. I don't like spending 10 times more for a product that produces 10 times less than what they claim.
I have found that many prevously owners of bose found out the same way.
None of us like being mislead or ripped off. If we want to buy Speakers worth that amount, Then, they should perform as they claim. So the Idea to say if there are satified then thats okay, yeah fine but I was one of those and
I not happy with not knowing. I'm glad to know and this is the place for it. Thats why I'm here. So super kudos to the the Audiophiles who help us to know what were buying and what to look for on specs and how not to get riped off. Thanks!!!!!

 

[davo]

I think in this day and age of the internet, there is no reason to buy ANYTHING with out having researched it before hand. You can educate yourself on any aspect of home theatre . Though I supppose there will always be people who will buy stuff because it has a red stripe on the side or coloured flashing lights on it, but they forfeit their right to whinge about it. (I still like to hear Blose bashing)

Jpaul, sorry it took 10 years to find enlightenment!

 

[Seth=L]

I am not even sure why I like to bash Bose, all my points have been made by others, repeatedly. I still need to say it though. For the money, it just doesn't get any worse than Bose.

"No highs, no lows, must be Bose" -quote

 

[no. 5]

I am not even sure why I like to bash Bose, all my points have been made by others, repeatedly. I still need to say it though. For the money, it just doesn't get any worse than Bose.

me too; unity aganst a common evil maby?

 

[no. 5]

I was reading some Bose reviews (I don’t remember why) and these are the three kinds of Bose people I noticed:

First kind: “I just have to tell every one about my great new Bose home theater! …Yamaha? never heard of them”

Second kind: “I own Bose and it’s great! Everyone should just lay off Bose because they are great! Martin Logan? They are OK, I guess. What? Bass management? Set all your speakers to large - duh!”

Third kind: “I had Wilson Audio, and Bowers & Wilkins, but I replaced them with Bose 901’s because they are so much better!”

But the thing is, the third kind only exists as a marketing tool, no one in real life has ever said the above.
The second kind is a bit funny, because they are ‘experts’ and yet they miss many audio truths - like what a subwoofer is for.
The arguments for Bose have usually been: “I’ve had my (fill in model number) for 12 years and they are still kicking!” well great! I have a pare of monitors from the 70’s that are still kicking, any good speaker should last a long time.
“a lot of people say Bose doesn’t have any bass, well guess what: I thought the tripods were in my house when I watched ‘war of the worlds’ the bass was that good!” of course they have bass! Anything under 300Hz is bass - what we mean is there is no sub 50Hz bass.
“the direct/reflect is what makes Bose so great!” show me one loudspeaker that does not interact with its environment.
In fact surround speakers are suppose to have wall reflections, a lot of companies make those, are thay as great? I even read one that said because of the direct/reflect, ‘you don’t need a center or surrounds!’ whaa? So because of extra wall reflections, you don’t need a channel for dialog?

Anyway, that has been eating at me for some time, and I’m glad I got it off my chest.
(edits of updated observations may come later)

 

[furrycute]

"Better products through marketing."

If you spend enough advertising dollars, you'll convince people to buy almost anything.

 

[no. 5]

sad but true.

realy shows the difrence between a market driven company, and a marketING driven company

 

[abboudc]

I received a mailer from the Good Guys & while flipping through it found what is basically a HTIB from Bose,only it advertises as "an intelligent system that learns your moods & creates custom playlists on the spot to match how you feel.Right. 5 cubes,a sub,& a 48 CD player for $4000!!!
Shame on Bose for preying on the ignorance of the average consumer.You may say that if someone is stupid enough & has enough money to blow on this crud then they deserve it,but I find it insulting for them to put this krap together & try to tell me that it's going to learn what mood I'm in & what I want to listen to. There is going to be a "Bose demo day" in my area in about 3 weeks. I'm going to go there &(probably get arrested or escorted out) try to expose these frauds for what they are. With a tad bit of cooperation from the GG's staff,maybe we can embarass these rats a little.

A fool and his money are soon parted.

I actually don't feel bad for people. If you spend $4000 on a sound system (even $1000 for that matter), without doing a little research, you deserve what you buy.

 

[evilkat]

You know what I wanna see? I want to see Audioholics go out and get a Bose system and do a complete and thorough analysis on it, complete with response graphs, etc.

I have a feeling we already know the answers, but if those answers were to come from an authority like Audioholics, it would lend credence (and google hits!) to the truth about Bose.

Afterall, isn't this the credo of this site?

(And yes, I've already seen the intellexual.net article from back in '04)

 

[no. 5]

You know what I wanna see? I want to see Audioholics go out and get a Bose system and do a complete and thorough analysis on it, complete with response graphs, etc.

perhaps a set of 901's as thay are supost to be "the best"