Bose Acoustic Wave music system II is garbage

I have friends with both versions of the Bose Wave deal (the $500 and the $1200) and the last way I'd describe the sound would be "bright". Possibly a defective unit in the OP's post...

I don't deny that they're both a bit overpriced; for the $500 Wave, I think $300 would be more reasonable. However, it's a free market; and they sell like hotcakes anyway, so why should Bose change anything?

Those adverts are annoying, though...on local TV so much here that I'm starting to memorise the copy (see my signature below.)

 

I personally dislike Bose home stereo equipment as well, including the headphones. My brother swears by his Bose Home theater system with the tiny satellite speakers and the subwoofer behind the couch, I find it hard to listen to even a football game on his TV!

However...
My band invested in two Bose L1 systems for our little three piece semi-acoustic combo, and we've received nothing but compliments on it since. Plus, we no longer need monitors. As skeptical as I am about this equipment, it works.

 

This is why I've spent $200-$300 on Cambridge Soundworks radios over the years. People have varying opinions about them, but at the least the quality and value are commensurate with the price point and intended use.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUZn0spqR7Q

How about a Bose hot tub? !!

 

I think the OP is very fortunate that he and the relative agreed that the Bose unit sounded like crap. Can you imagine the dilema if the OP thought it sounded like crap, but the relative thought it was the best sounding thing he had ever heard?

Actually, when I started to read the OP's posting, I thought "This is not going to turn out well".

 

yawn!

 

...which, combined with the completely open environment, makes the sound TOTALLY different vs. the OPs.

You simply cannot compare the two experiences at all, they are apples and oranges.

The reason it sounded good is most likely because the distortion/clarity was good.

 

- Because they are very successful.

- Because they ARE a standard, for an awful lot of people who never hear anything else.

- Because some of their products have sounded quite good, like the 901. OK, let me amend that "...in their own way" since those had a different kind of soundfield.

Bose is really an engineering company with yes, excellent marketing. And FAT profit margins, which by definition make their products a "poor value" if you define that as "more expensive than they should be." They could design anything over there, believe me. But they choose to make certain kinds of very profitable products. They are very very much like Dolby: they do NOT exist to promote great sound. They exist to MAKE MONEY.

(The Dolby example would be their whoring out Dolby B to every crummy cassette deck on Earth, with no regard for whether the performance of the deck itself would really let their system work. It was NEVER about better sound, it was about LICENSING FEES).

But if we follow that definition, we must also apply it to [insert your favorite high end audio company]

 

Those are great units, based on what I heard in the shop. $350, IIRC. But boy, was the one I looked at (radio + CD player) ever complicated...

 

For the sake of full disclosure, I should point out that although he wasn't blown away, he initially thought the sound of the Bose was superior to his Sony mini hi-fi. Then I tossed the same Prodigy CD on the Sony, turned on the subwoofer and whatnot, and after about 30 seconds he was ready to return the Bose.

But I mean, I don't think he was ever convinced that the quality of the Bose justified the price tag. It was more that he was trying to take lemons and make lemonade.

 

The Cambridge SoundWorks i765 All-in-One Music System can be had for $300 at their website...a great value, IMO.

Of course, Cambridge hasn't a fraction of the marketing firepower Bose has; else they'd easily get $500 for the i765, it's that good.

 

Consider this one, also...for about half what the Bose Wave goes for.

http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-MCR-04...ef=sr_1_8?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1292487796&sr=1-8

 

You can say that again, brother. :thumbsdn:

 

Although Bose has some great marketing, I think their product is overrated, especially after attempting to fix one. I acquired a PC subwoofer that was trashed for being non functional, so I did the sensible thing and began to take it apart, to find out what was wrong... Took all the screws out (or so I thought) and still wouldn't come apart. Turns out, Bose hid some screws under the stick-on decor face panel, so I all but had to destroy it to remove the screws. Even once apart, there were gobs of clear adhesive around the edge and onto the circuit board, one couldn't even begin to attempt to repair/replace a defective component or even a blown fuse. In other words, this equipment is clearly designed to be disposable ...oops, disBOSEable (typical "mass market" quality).

I'll gladly keep my classic Pioneer HPM-60 speakers anyday!

 

Makes total sense. Even a high end company that is favored by someone, is going to be viewed as being overpriced by all others (i.e. "a said component may sound awesome and seem to be worth $1,500, but is priced at $3,750, making it overpriced from the viewpoint of most). Gone are the days when companies like AR (Acoustic Research), offered outstanding products and then make them affordable (priced with sanity so the average working person could actually afford them). Nowadays if an outstanding product is offered, the price needs to be double, triple, or even quadruple that (or in the case of "quality" speaker wire, tenfold or more).

 

Yeah, Bose is successful ... for whom? for the company of course

They cheat people, specially the ones who want to buy a sound system for the first time. Hence they are a standard for a lot of people. But they make their money by swindling with cheaply manufactured crap, overpriced to death and hated by audiophiles.

And of course Bose is everywhere. In every store, Mall, even in supermarkets. They try to market as much as possible, with NO PRINCIPLES, NO ETHICS. Just cash in grab, no matter how crap the products are.

Can't believe that some fans on this forum are even defending Bose

 

I agree.

 

1. They are successful
2. The masses buy their products
3. They have a huge profit margin

Those would be all great attributes If this was Money magazine or Forbes. I want to read about companies that actually care about sound and their customers. Bose is only concerned about making their pockets deeper.

 

Wow, talk about looking at the past through rose colored glasses. Did you miss the big thread about Pioneer's new line of speakers? There are still some overperforming great products out there for those willing to do some research. Products like that have always been outnumbered by junk, but to pine for the 'good old days' when there were good products to be had is nonsense IMO. The good stuff is still out there.

Back to the OP.... My aunt has one of these systems. She loves it. It is easy for her to use and has a much nicer appearance when compared to the mini-system that it replaced. It gives her background music in the living room for parties.

Actual sound quality is irrelevant with these Bose systems despite their marketing bluster. Anyone who cares about sound quality (like those of us here) should avoid the brand for the most part. They cater to a market segment that for whatever reason nobody else except Bang & Olufsen has ever tried to exploit.

 

And what about the $400.00 cables audiophiles buy? A $25.00 piece of wire selling for $400.00........

I used to sell all this stuff by the way, and yes the Bose is way over-priced for what it is. Huge profits of several hundred dollars on these units, and actually even huger profits on all the "cables" and stuff some buy.

 

No its not worth that at all...I AGREE!

I just meant it sounded a lot better than I expected, as many say its total crap sounding. I just heard it for 5 minute or so and left thinking..." wow it is high priced but not NEARLY as bad as we make it out to be."

 

I, for one, vow never again to post unflattering remarks about Bose - regardless of how accurate those remarks might be - because I've realized that some posters might own this brand and insulting other people's gear isn't cool... AFAIC.

Just my $.02 of course.

.

 

I never had anything against Bose, or their marketing (pseudo technical nonsense) or the fact that they want to make money. I always viewed them as being about as offensive as those cool flat Nakamichi tabletops - I woudn't buy one, but I could understand the attraction of the design and the relatively affordable price.

But, one of the sales guys at a big box electronics shop here in Tokyo told me that Bose required its products to be displayed in a separate area, or on an "end" so that consumers would not be able to compare the sound to other products, and that if the store did not comply, Bose would pull the products. Not only is that unethical, it borders on an illegal sales practice.

 

Their marketing is hype and that is what is so offensive. Of course all commercials exagerate to some degree but Bose takes it one step further. That commercial on TV where they quote Forbes as saying it sounds as good as a system costing 5 times as much. As good as a five grand system?! I'd sure like to see that review (and see if Bose purchased some big ads around that time).