[OCD,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,]

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Originally Posted by jvlgato /img/forum/go_quote.gif White Zinfandel. Sweet and tasty. It's the first wine you drink, and you think you're pretty sophisticated because you're drinking wine. It sells a lot, and it really does taste pretty good. But after a while, as you learn more and your palette gets more educated, it starts tasting like Kool Aide. You become critical of it and prefer something deeper and richer and not so sweet. Some call you a wine snob now, but there's no going back because it just taste syrupy sweet and just not worth drinking. But lots of people drink it, and that's cool. Whatever makes you happy. This is what I told a wine lover who asked me why I didn't care for Bose. She got it right away then. You could substitute Chivas for a single malt scotch lover.

Well said

 

[momomo6789]

i think of it as being more tainted never going back to those days of cheap headphones out of your ipod =/

 

[Todd R]

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Originally Posted by 089709867 /img/forum/go_quote.gif So how much should they cost?

About half

 

[swaffleman]

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Originally Posted by Todd R /img/forum/go_quote.gif About half

Yeah. I'd say that the bose around ear headphones would be an excellent value for around $60-$70 instead of $120.

 

[estreeter]

If I can use another product as an example of poor VFM over actual performance, take the B&W Zeppelin. It gets solid reviews pretty much everywhere, but for the same money you could buy something like the CA DACMagic AND a decent entry-level amp here in Oz : hook these up to your computer and tell me the sound from the Zeppelin compares ? Its simply not good VFM at the asking price, and I view Bose in an even less positive light.

 

[Currawong]

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Originally Posted by 089709867 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah ok.. your opinion is inconsistant with the general thought everyone else has / no highs no lows must be bose. Why compare some ancient headphones anyway? Improvements have been made thus the move to QC2 and QC15.

Since Bose are readily available in stores to try out, it's easy to reconfirm the "all treble and bass" sound their gear has.

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Yeah, that's always a good idea. You know I've listened to some Grado's that I didn't particularly like - so now I hate Grado, all of the stuff they make is garbage.

See above. Stores usually stock most, if not the entire Bose headphone range.

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rly. I listened to the sounddock 10 next to other iPod docks and shelf systems. Same goes for their headphones.

You can't with their stereo or 5.1 systems though.

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If I see one more person quote this ridiculous review again I'm going to scream. Plus If I recall correctly these are meant to be listened to off axis (Direct/Reflecting design) and the freq test is I think done on-axis. THX? How many high end audio companies care about THX? Logitech??

Unfortunately that article is still correct, even though it has been some years since it was written. I can go into a store today and easily confirm much of what is in it.

At least on Head-fi, when something is over-hyped, we can blame fanboyism for the most part (head-gadget-fi). Bose and Monster go out of their way to saturate the market with their over-priced wares and prevent comparison with anything better value or quality that would reveal this.

 

[FraGGleR]

Since I am currently taking a marketing class, I can take a stab at this discussion without resorting to audio speak.

First off, most people don't know what good audio quality sounds like. A large, large majority of consumers are content with $200 HTIB's and Ipod earbuds. And that is ok. When they want to feel and look like they have some coin, they want to buy things that everyone can recognize as expensive or luxury. Bose can make an average sounding product that will certainly sound better than the entry level stuff, but charge a large premium for it because it satisfies the needs of its target market. The people who want better sound, but want a premium or luxury product are going to be drawn to Bose and Bang and Olufsen. These people don't buy Bose because they truly think its the best. They buy it because it is the most expensive stuff you can buy in the mall and it sounds good enough (they haven't heard better so how can they know).

The people here are not Bose's target market. We are audio enthusiasts who are in a near pathological pursuit for better sound. I am but a baby here, but I have been into home theater for quite a while and certainly know good sound from big box store sound. I came here looking for guidance because I knew that there has to be better sound than what I was getting out of my $30 Sony headphones. Most people here don't really care what things cost, as long as it gives them better sound. That is why a Fiio E5 can have as much value to someone pursuing good sound as a $10,000 amp. Bose simply does not sound good relative to its cost and what is available to consumers if they are better educated. I have heard some Bose, and I will say they don't suck, but they are hardly any better than my $30 Sony's, and most certainly not 10x the price better. In comparison to my SRH840's from Shure, which I got for less than hald the price of some Triports, I got sound that literally made my jaw drop. There was no comparison.

So there, Bose doesn't suck, they just don't belong in audio enthusiast/audiophile discussions because they are made for the mass market and simply do not hold up to scrutiny here. They serve their purpose and for their target market, they are great, just like Skullcandy.

BTW, the white zinfandel was a great analogy. For people who don't know better, its great. For people who have experienced better, it is completely unpalatable.

 

[Slash47]

On this very forum, their is a 'Subway vs McDonald's' thread... I bet many people here actually eat that. Any food-ophile will laugh and point at you for that.

So I think the above post is excellent, although I disagree that it absolves Bose or Subway/McD or any other 'bad' company from blame.

They sell junk. Hitler was great at his branding, to take it to the extreme. (Being a bit abstract here, please don't take offense.)

I think people are obliged to develop their taste.

 

[Sherwood]

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Originally Posted by Slash47 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hitler was great at his branding

Godwin's law rears its ugly head on pg. 4 of the bashing.

 

[bba1973]

My brother bought a set of Bose computer speakers for around $80. They sound pretty good for computer speakers, but I don't think they're worth that much. I will say they sure give my Fiio Walkbox a run for its money...

 

[devin_mm]

I think it's time for a thread close, this is not constructive and is starting to get out of hand.

 

[atbglenn]

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Originally Posted by bba1973 /img/forum/go_quote.gif My brother bought a set of Bose computer speakers for around $80. They sound pretty good for computer speakers, but I don't think they're worth that much. I will say they sure give my Fiio Walkbox a run for its money...

I like your avatar. Chris Squire's Fish out of Water. Awesome album

 

[Donald North]

I'll give them credit for knowing how to do active noise canceling well.

 

[bba1973]

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Originally Posted by atbglenn /img/forum/go_quote.gif I like your avatar. Chris Squire's Fish out of Water. Awesome album

Thanks. I like it too.

 

[IPodPJ]

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Originally Posted by migs008 /img/forum/go_quote.gif OK I get it. BOSE sucks. Now let me just think of a way how to tell this softly to my dad who thinks it's the #1 producer of audio systems in the world.......maybe.

If they were the #1 producer of audio gear, why aren't they featured in ANY audio magazine? You see Bose products in magazines like Forbes, Popular Science, Better Home & Gardens, Golf Digest -- never in an audio magazine. And none of the reviewers have any experience with high end audio gear. They are a marketing giant and that is why their name is so popular, not because they produce good sounding audio products.