[jilgiljongiljing]

Yeah the wave system is pretty good, again expensive, but its a good solution to save space and get decent sound at the same time. The home theaters arent bad as such, its just the price point that is annoying.

Unfortunately, due to excellent marketting and ridiculous pricing, its more like a status symbol for many folks. They will have a huge grin on their face when they say "I have a Bose home theater system". They couldnt really care if it actually were the best sounding, its just that they can tell everyone who visits them that they have a Bose home theater, and can maybe show it off. with some lame Kaboom explosions from popcorn flix.

 

[Davesrose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redo /img/forum/go_quote.gif 901 speakers work by reflecting most of the sound off walls and other flat surfaces, instead of aiming all the sound toward you, as conventional speakers do. With Direct/Reflecting® speaker technology, anything you listen to—from the latest DVD audio to your favorite vintage records—acquires lifelike realism, because the speakers reproduce the natural concert hall balance of direct and reflected sound. I guess acoustical engineers that spend thousands of dollars to avoid these exact reflections just haven't heard Bose yet!

I think the main problem with the 901s themselves is that there's no tweeter or big woofer. It's just an array of small speakers......so there's not enough tonality. My regular $300 bookshelf speakers have soundholes in the back to reflect secondary soundwaves off the wall too. And because of this patented technology, I don't know how well a subwoofer works with the speakers.....there's a reason why my dad has never used his 901s for DVDs.

 

[jwilldermood]

Back in about 1986 a girlfriend of mine had a pair of Bose bookshelf speakers in her room. We used to love to listen to them while "altered" and they sounded great. That same year I bought a pair of speakers at a local Hi-Fi shop from the Bookshelf Speaker company, a B&O cd player, and a NAD intgrated amp. I was sixteen and spent $1800, on credit. It sounded much better than the Bose setup. The NAD eventually blew up, a capacitor exploded and sent sparks all over my room. Anyway, the Bose speakers sounded great as long as you were exploring the fourth dimension

Jason

 

[mofonyx]

Maybe..

There was just a 2 month period after an A/V fair that I would like to get it as a home theater system.

But never had a thing for Bose for audio.

 

[Redo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davesrose /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think the main problem with the 901s themselves is that there's no tweeter or big woofer. It's just an array of small speakers......so there's not enough tonality. My regular $300 bookshelf speakers have soundholes in the back to reflect secondary soundwaves off the wall too. And because of this patented technology, I don't know how well a subwoofer works with the speakers.....there's a reason why my dad has never used his 901s for DVDs.

Those holes in the back are just to increase bass output. Sealed designs usually have tighter and more accurate sounding bass that usually goes lower. However they have quite a bit less sound output, not as much air gets moved around. Ported designs are also prone to having port noise, but better speakers or subwoofers usually get the port design right.

A sub would work just fine with your ported speakers

 

[Kees]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davesrose /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yep, the 901s were considered the rage during the 70s and 80s. I notice Bose still sells them. Since they're well over 30 years old, they've got to be good Actually it was about 1982 that my dad decided to get really nice speakers....he wound up with the 901s. So during my grade school/ middle school years, I thought nothing could compete with the 901s. Looking back, I don't know what I was thinking: my dad spent $2k on speakers that have no bass or high treble. The whole gimmic for the 901s was that they had 13 small speakers in each cabinet....all radiating in different directions so that the sound waves get reflected all over the room. No doubt Bose came up with this when quad sound was in its hey day!!! Lets just say the spacial qualities of not knowing where things are coming from is not exactly as engaging as 5.1 surround. *edit* just decided to get on Bose website to see what they advertise about the 901s now. Looks like they came out in 1968!!! Almost 40 years old, and I love how the ad says "breakthrough technology". Well at least they've lowered the original price of $2k down to $1.4k. Real savings! http://www.bose.com/controller?event...standing_index

You know what? The 901s were AWESOME. No kidding. That makes it so SAD that they make such junk nowadays.

 

[Morph201]

JWILLDERMOOD... I cant put my finger on it, but there is something.... very very very wrong with that avatar!!!!

 

[Davesrose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redo /img/forum/go_quote.gif A sub would work just fine with your ported speakers

I meant for the 901s.....I still use my ported bookshelf speakers with my 5.1 setup, and they sound great!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kees /img/forum/go_quote.gif You know what? The 901s were AWESOME. No kidding. That makes it so SAD that they make such junk nowadays.

And it could be that I've only listened to the 901s over CD. My dad did try to arrange the speakers in a way to get the most reflection. Supposedly that helps with bass.....but it still was a bit recessed. They probably sounded really great on vinyl in the day. A part of me does wonder what the new 901s sound like, since I notice they've reduced the # of drivers from my dad's 13 (think his is the series IV) to 9 (series VI).

 

[pataburd]

Admittedly, tangled in the marketing hype, I almost bought the Bose 401's when I was (a mere) 19 years old. Fortunately, the Polk Model 7's were on sale at that time, too. In the end, I bought the Polks, which I liked much better than the the Bose.

Before succumbing to the Head-Fi ranks, I really liked Aliante's Pinanfarina monitors, coupled with the Sunfire True Subwoofer.

 

[slwiser]

Went my primary sound system went bad around 1990 I purchased a Wave Radio and used it. It really does an admirable job for what it is. Yes, it probably was too expensive but the shape factor was real nice. It foot print was a lot smaller than those big speakers, turntable, and receiver setup that I had.

 

[vo328]

I remember loving how some Bose 10.2's sounded in my friend's living room. They sounded so damned good with just about everything we threw at 'em. I am quite sure that if I heard them today, I'd probably have a slightly different opinion. I also enjoyed the AM-5 when it first came out.

 

[Echopac]

I have a Bose LifeStyle system in my family room, not going to get rid of it, it's all wired and screwed-too complicated and expensive to replace , will sell it with the house in a couple years. Will start downsizing, already there in the Head-Fi department.

 

[bubsdaddy]

I have some Bose outdoor speakers that I have used for about 7 years now. They have held up well to hot Texas summers and cold Michigan winters. They still sound great for the $70 I paid for them. Really, isn't the issue primarily price vs. performance for most Bose products? I have a Tivoli radio that competes with the Bose radio for less than 1/3 the price.

 

[Graham_evo]

Yes, I think that if they placed their products at a much cheaper price their reputation would go up.

Ive found that they try to add in smaller features instead. A friends Wave clock/display gets brighter/darker depending on the light in the room. Most of the other competitors offer similar things such as a remote but I think one of the points Bose make is that they make premium sounding products (IIRC they actually state that they make premium audio home solutions on their site, but there is another section dedicated to pro' audio) that take up a lot less space and they say that this is where your £250 on a Wave ends up.

I just had a very large acoustically dead room built for my speakers

Sorry, just thinking aloud there.

 

[vo328]

Actually, I still use a set of powered Bose Computermate speakers in the garage for my workout sessions. Perfect application for these, given the environment, and sounds decent to boot. These were rugged cases (white colored) that were used by the Roommate series.