CNET on Bose

[Worf101]

I try not to be a Bose basher out of hand. I usually tell my friends that there are other speakers out there of similar designs that are cheaper and sound as good if not better. Still, a great many people out there swear by the soundcubes and nothing else. Well this schism of opinion has even made it to into the 'general press". CNET deals primarily with computers and tech but they rate all home entertainment machinery as well.

Well, they've finally weighed in on the subject and have said essentially what I and others have, Bose makes a good sounding product that they CAN'T recommend considering it's price and the plethora of excellent similar products for less money.

Read it for yourself. I trust CNET, they've no axe to grind and get no Bose advertising dollars so....

http://reviews.cnet.com/surround-spe...ml#reviewPage1

Worf

[Ajani]

It's always good to see impartial reviews of Bose products... As you generally either see over the top love or hate for their products.... All the Bose Products I've heard sounded quite decent... But IMO, they were way overpriced for what they offered...

[Woochifer]

IIRC back in the day, Steve Guttenberg was the editor of Audio magazine. Most other writers on various tech sites have no background whatsoever with audio equipment, and approach their reviews with more of a computer/gadget freak viewpoint (i.e., bigger spec numbers, more features, etc.) so I tend not to take their recommendations seriously.

[vibe]

honestly, compare bose to top speakers a price tier below bose, and see which sounds better or if there is much of a difference. you'll see bose aren't as great as others.

[filecat13]

It's burned into the modern consumer's psyche that Bose is best. I've had people listen to some of my top end gear and be really impressed. They inevitably ask "Is that Bose?" When I say, "No,' they want to know why I didn't get Bose, because, after all, "Aren't they the best?"

[Poultrygeist]

I have enjoyed the Bose Wave Radio which is assembled in my home town. Before I had a surround system, it served well in producing the audio from my HDTV.

[mav52]

Never was a Bose person, but I sure would like to have the money they have made off their little speaker systems throughout the years. Talk about a marketing department.

[Hyfi]

I was just in a large appliance store yesterday looking at fridges for the garage. In the conversation the guy mentioned they had several floors and one just for home theaters. I walked up the steps and took a peek. All I saw were stacks of BOSE HTITB systems and that was all that was hooked up to the TVs. As I came down the steps, I said to they guy that they had a bunch of nice TVs but they should really get some better HT gear to sell.

He looked at in in such a funny way as if to say "What else is there?"

I just smiled and walked out.

[BallinWithNash]

I grind my teeth when I walk into a HT store and only see Bose .... go CNET

• Like

[Hollis]

Bose...always sounds like something is missing to me. Highs are kinda meh...mid range is kinda meh.

[recoveryone]

Never was a Bose person, but I sure would like to have the money they have made off their little speaker systems throughout the years. Talk about a marketing department.

Not sure how old you are, but Bose made its name off floor standing speakers, primarily the 901 series back in 1968. Now I will give them credit for jumping on the Satellite/sub setup bandwagon in the early 90's and establishing themselves as the premier system to beat.

[wygant97]

I usually tell my friends that there are other speakers out there of similar designs

[harley .guy07]

I usually don't trust a company that has to set its products in dedicated areas of the shop or store away from like products so people can't directly compare them hoping that their name will get the sale and some times it works mostly from people simply looking for good sound and don't necessarily study audio and don't want to hear about the tech side of it. But if these people would just loose their preconceptions and listen then they would know that bose is not the last word in anything.

[recoveryone]

I usually don't trust a company that has to set its products in dedicated areas of the shop or store away from like products so people can't directly compare them hoping that their name will get the sale and some times it works mostly from people simply looking for good sound and don't necessarily study audio and don't want to hear about the tech side of it. But if these people would just loose their preconceptions and listen then they would know that Bose is not the last word in anything.

That is where the marketing smarts keeps them on the forefront. What other modern audio company setup their own store fronts, and make contracts with limited resellers to make sure they get separate demo areas. Also what other company buys air time to promote their products with infomercials. The Bose sound may not be a fit for everyone, but you can't knock there ability to promote it. It's gives the average consumer the thought that Bose products are exclusive and trend setting.

[harley .guy07]

I do understand that their marketing team has there stuff together knowing that they have pretty much stayed the same and have added a few products here and there that are spin offs of products they already have and they have not seemed to do anything new in the last few years speaker wise but they still seem to keep their loyal fans from which have no real want or need in their own mind to learn what real audio is and what speakers should sound like. For every Bose speaker out there I can think of more than several in the same price category that can destroy it as far as sound, build quality, and overall product you get for the money. Like I have said before with Bose you are buying 90% myth and 10% speaker.

[Poultrygeist]

Remember the old saying "no highs, no lows, so it must be Bose"

[2low2rl]

Remember the old saying "no highs, no lows, so it must be Bose"

lol. but i am a fan of bose.

[firebook23]

I was doing some research on google ad word the other day. For a laugh I typed in bose. it seems they spend $15,000 -$25,000 a day just on google adwords. that is crazy!