Why Do Audiophiles Hate Bose?

[Montucky]

And then of course you have to struggle to contain yourself at Xmas dinner when relatives brag about their recent BOSE speaker or radio purchase, or when visiting innocent acquaintances. Lord Help You if they discover you work in the industry or have a reputation as the "hiFi Guy", as they prod you for assurances of how wisely they have spent their HiFi dollars.

What do you say? Offend them with your true opinion, or hold your tongue and do them a dis-service by going along with the conspiracy? That's no way for a brand to make friends.

This. This is it right here. It is SOOOOOO hard for me to restrain myself, but I try my best for the sake of the friendships. Haha. The civil side of me is like "Hey, buddy. As long as you're happy with your purchase, that's all that matters," and that's typically how I handle it, BUT, the nerd side of me that is raging inside is like "AAHHHH! You spent HOW much? You could have spent half that and gotten a system from [insert beloved Audioholics-approved brand here] and it would have utterly destroyed that overpriced sub-par set you got. Rabble rabble rabble!" I tend to contain my inner monologue these days so I'm much more pleasant in person than I used to be. However, I simultaneously feel disgusted with myself though. I used to be so overtly opinionated. I don't know which is better.

That said, while I do give Bose a lot of grief for home systems, I WILL give them credit for excellent noise-cancelling technology. I've used their aviation headsets before and came away pretty impressed. Especially since it was on one of the worst case scenarios being one of the loudest aircraft the USAF had in its fleet. The C-5 Galaxy with the old GE TF39 engines. Those things would absolutely scream and the Bose did an impressive job handling that level of noise. I absolutely cannot fault anybody who wants a pair of Bose noise-cancelling headphones for frequent airline travel since they're reasonably comfortable to most and make the cabin a more pleasant place to be. The sound on those, however, would still be totally subjective. Still not my cup of tea, but I wouldn't give you any grief for going that route.

Believe it or not, Bose does have ONE place in my home: We have the Wave Radio. Essentially it's the clock radio/cd player that goes in our babies nursery and even there I'm disappointed in it. At least the kids like it and there's pretty much nothing on there for them to mess up so at least there's that. It's my family's version of a Fisher Price toy. Haha.

 

[j_garcia]

I don't hate them either. We have a Soundlink Revolve+ that she received as a gift and I use it all the time because it is convenient. It doesn't scream AUDIOPHILE but it gets me sound in places like the garage very easily.

 

[highfigh]

This. This is it right here. It is SOOOOOO hard for me to restrain myself, but I try my best for the sake of the friendships. Haha. The civil side of me is like "Hey, buddy. As long as you're happy with your purchase, that's all that matters," and that's typically how I handle it, BUT, the nerd side of me that is raging inside is like "AAHHHH! You spent HOW much? You could have spent half that and gotten a system from [insert beloved Audioholics-approved brand here] and it would have utterly destroyed that overpriced sub-par set you got. Rabble rabble rabble!" I tend to contain my inner monologue these days so I'm much more pleasant in person than I used to be. However, I simultaneously feel disgusted with myself though. I used to be so overtly opinionated. I don't know which is better.

That said, while I do give Bose a lot of grief for home systems, I WILL give them credit for excellent noise-cancelling technology. I've used their aviation headsets before and came away pretty impressed. Especially since it was on one of the worst case scenarios being one of the loudest aircraft the USAF had in its fleet. The C-5 Galaxy with the old GE TF39 engines. Those things would absolutely scream and the Bose did an impressive job handling that level of noise. I absolutely cannot fault anybody who wants a pair of Bose noise-cancelling headphones for frequent airline travel since they're reasonably comfortable to most and make the cabin a more pleasant place to be. The sound on those, however, would still be totally subjective. Still not my cup of tea, but I wouldn't give you any grief for going that route.

Believe it or not, Bose does have ONE place in my home: We have the Wave Radio. Essentially it's the clock radio/cd player that goes in our babies nursery and even there I'm disappointed in it. At least the kids like it and there's pretty much nothing on there for them to mess up so at least there's that. It's my family's version of a Fisher Price toy. Haha.

Noise canceling headphones aren't new- they were introduced in the '50s, but they're relatively new for music. Bose hoovers up more dollars than anyone else, so people seem to think they invented this, but they didn't.

Being honest does have its pitfalls. When I was in college, someone I had known from high school asked for my opinion on the Sharp cassette deck with all kinds of buttons, a timer, etc and I said that if that stuff wasn't there, it would be a mediocre piece and he was a bit offended. I understand why and I guess I could have been a bit more diplomatic, but......next day, he admitted that it really didn't sound great.

 

[MrBoat]

I don't 'hate' Bose. They are easily avoidable enough. OTOH, in spite of the so-called advancements of modern audio, I am somewhat underwhelmed, at least according to the claims. Although admittedly, I really wasn't expecting much. Why? Because I have witnessed audible, audio nirvana, countless times by now, most notably my uncle's comparatively crude tube gear and full range speakers nearly 50 years ago. Enough to whre I quit having to search for it.

Science, in the hands of the marketers, tends to give human hearing way too much credit these days. I am constantly reminded that for decades by now, we have been told that many speakers were not only able, but were reproducing sound accurately, and the golden ears swore by it. So, why trust them now? What did, and what do they actually think they were/are hearing? Then I hear of an amazing product, only to find that it is the same as pretty much everything else, but just shaped differently enough to say it's not, or contains some trace amount of exotic fiber or alloy that the universe was missing.

I'm sorry but, the ship for profound, audible improvements via mechanical devices has sailed, and if people want to be totally honest with themselves, they can be fooled by computer designed/manufactured chip amps and speakers for pennies on the dollar, by 2018.

 

[GO-NAD!]

I confess that I bought an Acoustimass (2 satellites + "bass module") setup about 25 years ago. In my defense, I was living in some pretty tight digs at the time, so it worked for me then. But, there's no doubt, if I'd done more research, I could have found something much better for less. With all the on-line resources available today, there should be NO excuse for not knowing any better. I learned a LOT over the past 25 years - especially when I came across Audioholics!

I wouldn't have a problem with their products, if their pricing was commensurate with performance.

 

[bikemig]

I've owned 2 bose products. I owned a pair of the 201 speakers that I used in a stereo system. When I went to circuit city to put together my system, I was really happy that I could afford bose speakers since I associated them with quality. They weren't bad.

Here is actually a pretty good review of the 201 speakers that makes all the points about what is terrible about Bose but also makes some good points about Bose. It's an interesting and different view of the company and at least some of its products:

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/review-bose-201-series-v

The other product are the QC 25 headphoones I am listening to now. I just picked them up on a Black Friday amazon sale. I like the sound. It's not great but it's very decent. And I really like the design since it relies on a wired connection and a triple A battery. I prefer wired over wireless for travel (no need to muck around with bluetooth and it doesn't always sound that great) and I prefer triple a A battery over a li-on. The li-ons eventually lose their ability to charge. WIth a battery, you just pull out the battery after your trip and forget about it until your next trip. I like the simple on and off switch for the noise cancelling feature. The hard shell is good as well and nicely thought out. This is a fine travel phone and I prefer it to the ones I used to own, the Sennheiser HD 4.5s.

 

[Good4it]

Bose is just like Dyson, Sharper Image and others who promote their products as high end and price them as such. In reality they preform just a little better than the cheapest stuff. at least that’s the way I see it.

I had 901s and thought they were OK but that was long ago when I had very little to compare it to.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Bose is just like Dyson, Sharper Image and others who promote their products as high end and price them as such. In reality they preform just a little better than the cheapest stuff. at least that’s the way I see it.

Good point about Dyson being like Bose. Their vacuums (to name one) are very poorly built and not as good as other less expensive products. I found out the hard way.

 

[ellisr63]

I listened to some 901s in the late 70s that were in a Bose demo semi that sounded fairly good with walnut plaques behind them. Every single bose setup that i heard before, and after that sounded horrible IMO. SO IMO if they are setup properly in the right type of room they can sound ok, but there are much better speakers for the same amount of money or even less IMO.

 

[highfigh]

I'm don't dislike Bose. I have heard them in few places around the town often pubs. I guess it won't matter if your drunk you'd forget what you was listen too.

I may buy some Bose one of those home cinema in the box ones if cheap enough because I would have the feeling I may not like it or maybe it could be improved with Behringer DCX2496.

I have often ran my JBL G-125 at full range with DSP crossover switched off I can get lows mids of course and highs up about 8Khz or so before it rolls off.

Every other speaker company provides specs except for Bose.

Thinking that your equalizer can help bad speakers sound good is like thinking wax makes a car go faster and using a system in that way is backward- find the best speakers you can afford and build around them. If you equalize them so they sound better, I would ask "Why didn't Bose do this in the first place?".

If you can find a way to connect that equalizer, let us know.

 

[highfigh]

Good point about Dyson being like Bose. Their vacuums (to name one) are very poorly built and not as good as other less expensive products. I found out the hard way.

My mom answered the doorbell one day and the guy leaned in, to toss a can full of stuff onto the carpet, so he could show her how great his vacuum cleaner was. She had just finished vacuuming and, being a redhead, let him know she wasn't happy about what he had done but she let him try his shiny new model, which failed miserably in lifting the dirt out of the wool, loop pile carpet. He was mortified and she got her Hoover upright from the closet, which got the carpet clean again before sending him on his way. That happened in the late-'50s or early-'60s and the Hoover was still working well after the year 2005.

 

[mtrycrafts]

.... That happened in the late-'50s or early-'60s and the Hoover was still working well after the year 2005.

Yep, Hoover is usually on the top of the list with Consumer Reports mag ratings.

 

[highfigh]

Yep, Hoover is usually on the top of the list with Consumer Reports mag ratings.

Replacement parts are still cheap, too. Brushes, the rubber band and bags are the only things it ever needed. Maybe the switch, but that part was still being used when it needed to be replaced.

 

[CB22]

I spy Bose.

New idea for a Bose commercial: Do you wan't quality, luxury and mediocre sound quality for a Merry Christmas with the family? They look great and sound ok. Bose - creating memories with you the family this holiday season. Then VO comes in: "Bose in your local Best Buy for twice the price it should really cost."

I digress... There're noise cancelling headphones are good though.

 

[Beave]

Good point about Dyson being like Bose. Their vacuums (to name one) are very poorly built and not as good as other less expensive products. I found out the hard way.

But, but, but, the Dyson vacuum cleaners have digital motors inside. That's what they tell us in the commercial. And digital motors must be good, right? I mean, they're digital!



(What the h3ll is a digital motor?)

 

[Montucky]

But, but, but, the Dyson vacuum cleaners have digital motors inside. That's what they tell us in the commercial. And digital motors must be good, right? I mean, they're digital!



(What the h3ll is a digital motor?)

Well, since digital is often defined as 1's and 0's, which in other words is simply "on" and "off," then yeah. I suppose the Dysons DO have "digital" motors. Haha.

 

[highfigh]

Well, since digital is often defined as 1's and 0's, which in other words is simply "on" and "off," then yeah. I suppose the Dysons DO have "digital" motors. Haha.

Are they driven by a square wave signal, or is it PWM?

 

[Beave]

Well, since digital is often defined as 1's and 0's, which in other words is simply "on" and "off," then yeah. I suppose the Dysons DO have "digital" motors. Haha.

Or maybe the two states are "working" and "broken." It's DIGITAL!

 

[highfigh]

http://noaudiophile.com/Bose_901/

 

[lsiberian]

my car has a bose system. It's terrible. I intend to replace it as soon as I can.