Bose

I'm talkin about home speakers...bose isnt known for car systems...they just put their name on it so they could charge a lot of money.

Bose do one thing and one thing well - Lifestyle systems. Designed to fit into the design of a home unobtrusively.

From an SQ point of view, there is a LOT better out there for the price, and in fact for a lot less.

D

I have to agree with geistwerks on this. Bose products are overpriced for the quality of equipment you get. With the cost of one of those systems you could get a decent reciever and a speaker set the likes of Paradigm, PSB or Energy that would be eons better than the Bose setup. Bose has become a status symbol for some reason over the years. The mass market consumer has been brainwashed that Bose must be good because it's expensive.

My father bought a pair of bookshelf Bose a few years back. They were one of the more expensive models and they sounded ok, he was using them as background music. Out of curiosity I put them up against a pair of Paradigm Titans I have. I had them in the same room powered by all the same equipment. There was no contest, the Titan's sounded so much better. The Titan's had better bass and smoother highs. The mids were sweeter and the soundstage was broader. Switching between the Bose and the Titan's was like night and day, the Bose reminded me of the sound from a cheap boombox. I tried to tweak the Bose's sound by changing placement, electronics and interconnects. I just could not get the Bose to sound good. What's funny about this is that the Paradigm's were less than half the price of the Bose.

I also recently tried out those Quiet Comfort 2's. They are ok, but the Grado SR60's blow them away. The Grado's are so much smoother and there is more bass presence. The Grado's are only $70 compared to the Bose's $300. Albeit, the Grado's are not noise cancelling, but IMHO they just sound better.

I'm not really out to bash Bose. If that's what you like, then good for you. They have made some intersting products, like the wave radio and the wave music system. These products are nice, but very expensive. Basically a $500 clock radio and a $1300 boombox.

Do as geistwerks said and bring some CD's to a decent audio shop. I'm not talking Best Buy or Circuit City. I mean small shops that deal with higher end audio. You don't necessaraly have to the listen to expensive stuff, just tell that that you want to hear some more budget minded equipment. Tell them you've heard Bose and want to hear what can be had for the same money.

Go here (http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html) for some interesing reading from a guy who really dislikes Bose.

Building your own speakers is an art form. Alot of trial and error is involved. If you have the time and money it could be a good project. I'd love to do a set using Vifa and Dynaudio drivers.

Klipsch makes good speakers. I've heard the Referance and Heritage lines. I don't usually like the sound of horn speakers, but I do like the Klipsch that I have heard. I haven't heard the Energy series yet.

How much are you looking to spend on a system? I'm sure some people here can come up with some suggestions based on budget.

Those Dahlquists are pretty old, as long as they are not dry rotted, they should be pretty good. If you just want to do stereo and don't have a need for a tuner, go with an integrated amp. The Rega Brio and Marantz PM-7000 are nice. If you really want a full blown reciever, I'd go with the Denon AVR-1804 or AVR-2803, the NAD T-742 is also good.

Originally posted by geistwerks

the connections are all proprietary, and almost everything you already have will not be compatible.

I can confirm this with the bose system in my car. Instead of one amp powering all the speakers, bose has it set up that all the speakers have their own mini-amp. It sucks that I can't just replace certain components in my system (if i want to upgrade the speakers, then the head unit won't be able to power them or if i upgrade the head unit the bose speakers won't hook up to it cuz they run on the wrong ohms). If I want any upgrade I have to rip out the entire system! argh.

Originally posted by aviationwiz
That's the car buddy. The japanese aren't known for high quality cars, they are known for cheap cars. Pick up a Caddilac with a Bose Audio Setup, it's the best sounding car system your going to find, and all the features and settings you want are right in the dashboard of the car where the radio and cd players are etc.

That's a pretty brash statement. I've heard the Bose system in a Cadillac, not bad, but the Mark Levinson system in the Lexus SC blows it away. The Carver system in the BMW Z3 is also #### good. I have Bose in my truck, it's not bad, but it's nowhere near the systems in the Lexus or BMW.

does anybody know wheter the mazdaspeed protege's sound system is good? i'm lookin at it for my first car if i can save up enough money...also...any suggestions for my speaker setup in my room?

#1
I was wondering whether the car had a good system (can it accept the ipod)
#2
If you look earlier in the post it was agreed upon that i don't really want bose in my room, even though i like them, and i was looking for alternatives... and a reciever to drive dahlquist or another speaker (possibly using ipod as source if it would sound good?)

Yeah I'm not into Bose flaming either. I have a "premium" Bose system in my car (Mercedes, if you must ask) and it sounds pretty #### good, better than what was in my last car (Lexus, because I know someone will ask too).

Also, I happen to mind numbingly expensive Bose sound system for my Home Theater and it sounds simply stunning.

I plan on asking for Quiet Comfort 2 headphones for Christmas.

They might be overpriced, but there is no way they have poor sound quality.

People who flame just can't shell out the cash!

Bose?? definitly not the best in terms of price and sound but hey it does a pretty good job in looks... but like geistwerks said.. it all depends on your preference... just like how some audiophile thinks vinyl records or LPs are superb compared to digital recordings...

i've own a set of acoustimass speakers although they are nothing compared to my Mcintosh system or B&W... they are in no way poor quality... so i really don't see the point in flaming bose threads... plus... would someone flame a thread that praises Maserati or Ferrari when they are overpriced, interior is ONLY decent, and engine is way too loud... over other cars you can get for 1/2 the price?

and on the topic of cars.. if possible don't get anything factory... since they never sound as good as aftermarket for the same price... my E-class has a 7 speaker system that sounds decent but is nothing in terms of clearness, smoothness or bassy as my previous car with JL audio amps, and focal speakers

Go listen to some Paradigm speakers and tell me Bose is good quality again.

I test listened a pair of Paradigm Atoms ($189 a pair) against a Bose Lifestyle System with Subwoofer and the Paradigm pair (without subwoofer) wiped the floor with the Bose.

Bose aren't *bad* speakers per se, they just charge WAAAYYY too much for them. They should be on par with those cheap "Home Theater in a Box" things they sell everywhere.

I wouldn't trade my Paradigm system, which cost about the same as one of those Bose packages for anything.

--Matt

PS. Bose speaker cones are CARDBOARD, I'll take my composite surrounds, with Ceramic tweeters and real rubber speaker surrounds any day over the overpriced cardboard speakers that are bose.