[Dragnerok X]

Yes, I know, the brand is the scourge of audiophiles everywhere. I'm just wondering what the Average Joe sees (or rather, hears) in Bose products that we don't.

 

[kite7]

Better sound through marketing, that's all. They are not sure whether what they hear is good or bad but marketing tells them that what they hear is "good sound"

 

[Nubster]

Easily accessible would be my guess + marketing. I will say one thing...Bose was the first "real" headphone I had a chance to listen to. It was at a display at my local Target. I tried them on and they were in their defense much better than the crappy ear buds I was used to. You know...the ones that come with your favorite mp3 player. Anyways...it did cause me to go home and do some research which lead me here and after reading some I learned the error of my ways and ended up with a true pair of headphones along with an amp and D/A converter. So if nothing else...I will thank Bose for leading me here 

 

[soundboy]

Marketing and accessibility.
 
How many audio-related companies do TV and radio ads?  Except for Bose, virtually none.  Certainly name recognition comes into play.  Don't forget Bose also put their "premium" car speakers into luxury cars; in turn these car manufacturers trumpet their "Bose audio" systems and consumers equate Bose with hi-end audio.
 
Bose is everywhere.  They're at big-box stores like Target and they even have their own corporate stores.  Where can you get Grado headphones?  Sennheiser?  AKG?  Or even Sony MDR-V6's?  Chances are you'll fine Bose headphones and earphones before any of the previously-mentioned brands.  Let's face it, to vast majority of consumers, stepping inside a dedicated stereo shop is scary....and the attitude some of these retailers have aren't not exactly welcoming either.   

 

[Mikehattan]

Bose has done a tremendous job of creating a brand that people equate with quality AND making it easy for them to buy.  I also feel they make products that sound good in the store and sound better than the low-quality stuff they have by boosting the low end.  I know a lot of audiophiles whos first speakers were Bose.
 
I have a set of Bose in-ear buds that I got as a corporate gift.  I turned my nose up at first, but have come around to using them a fair amount.  I like them for times when I'm listening to my ipod/iphone at low volumes and need to pay attention to my surroundings, like when I'm out for a walk.  The low-end boost is good for that purpose.  Would I spend my own money on them? probably not, but I'm not giving them to my kids either.

 

[rawrster]

Quote:

Marketing and accessibility.
 
How many audio-related companies do TV and radio ads?  Except for Bose, virtually none.  Certainly name recognition comes into play.  Don't forget Bose also put their "premium" car speakers into luxury cars; in turn these car manufacturers trumpet their "Bose audio" systems and consumers equate Bose with hi-end audio.
 
Bose is everywhere.  They're at big-box stores like Target and they even have their own corporate stores.  Where can you get Grado headphones?  Sennheiser?  AKG?  Or even Sony MDR-V6's?  Chances are you'll fine Bose headphones and earphones before any of the previously-mentioned brands.  Let's face it, to vast majority of consumers, stepping inside a dedicated stereo shop is scary....and the attitude some of these retailers have aren't not exactly welcoming either.   

This.
 
The marketing dept from Bose has done a great job getting their product out there. I know their newest earphone product is the IE2 because of their marketing. I see Bose ads on the subway and various other areas. They also have a cable that is very easily noticed and is not similar to any other cable. The black and white cable is something no other manufacturer that I know of does. They also are everywhere. Best buy, target and many other stores carry their products. People see the ads, see other people wearing them, see them at the stores and want them.
 

 

 

[Uncle Erik]

Bose does a great job with marketing. Believe it or not, I think most of their ads are targeted to women. Women make most domestic choices and the small size and simple setup/operation are hugely appealing. They feature a lot of women in ads and the products are always set in an "ideal" household. Audiophile gear is almost always pictured by itself, never integrated into a smart home.

Bose also has excellent distribution channels. They're in every big box and department store. They position the products as easily integrating into the home, as well.

It is a very smart campaign.

Also, the products are tuned to hit the pleasure buttons. They don't show frequency curves or give stats. They're terrible, but if you boost the bass in the right frequency and emphasize the treble for "detail," it sounds impressive to those who don't know any better.

 

[Region2]

Bose marketing is intense.  I don't see any audio company do the same amount of advertising that Bose does.  Due to their latest ad campaign I haven't been to a subway station or been in a subway car that didn't have an advertisement for the IE2.  I've already seen more than a dozen people wearing them.

 

[Inceptor]

My friend said that Bose headphones are amazing. I asked him to name some headphone manufacturers; he picked out Bose, Skullcandy, and Dre Beats.
 

 

[MomijiTMO]

The Mac-like marketing. 

 

[whoelse]

Bose and B&O are lifestyle hifi that excel in design and give you decent sound better than audio in consumer retail store. A lot of marketing effort went to create lifestyle image and many non audiophile executive is after nice design lifestyle product. They are not audiophile grade, audiophile cares only bring out best audio experience near to the real performance infront of the listener creating the same soundstage, uncolor presentation of the music even the product is ugly looking. Carefully positioning of speakers, setting up audio rooms etc. Head-fi is another thing

 

[memepool]

I once posed the question the other way around http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/197902/why-does-everyone-hate-bose
 
but in answer to the OP  because Bose market themselves well, their equipment is reasonably well designed,  tolerably well made, reassuringly expensive and sounds a cut above most mass market stuff that passes for "Hi-Fi" if anyone even uses this term anymore, and where most people think it equates to a sub 100USD ipod dock...
 
Bose also make Professional PA equipment which always ads a little kudos to most punters and their acoustimass waveguide design was reasonably avant garde in the 1970s, so they have some serious engineering background from back in the day.
 
They have taken this and run with it for the last 40 years. Fair play to them. There are a lot of specialist Hi-Fi companies that have started to learn this lesson and woken up to the fact that if they want to continue trading they might be better off actually shifting product ouside the esoteric realm of 'real' Hi-Fi nerds.
 
Witness B&W, Arcam, Naim and Linn to mention a few "serious" Hi-Fi bods making Ipod friendly lifestyle systems in the last few years?
 
As for mentioning B&O in the same breadth. You need to learn your history a little better. B&O were making reference level audio equipment for broadcast and coming out with serious innovation while the those mentioned above were still in college. They were one of the companies that invented the consumer electronics market per se, as before this you almost needed to be an engineer to really get any kind of fidelity out of the audio equipment of the day.
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

[whoelse]

"B&O were making reference level audio equipment" right agree. Were making, I believe with their money muscle they can make good style if they want. Bose make some good audiophile speaker before too but the lifestyle market is a larger market and that's the product positioning for their design.

 

[K_19]

The bass IMO. More of the average music listeners like it than hate it. Plus the advertising and marketing of course.

 

[ZV3]

I've never thought Bose was anything good, even when I didn't know jack about audio. Most of the equipment audiophiles use,  99.99% of the general public never heard of. Since Bose is so popular and well-known, that's the kiss of death to true audiophiles!