[Smuckers]

I've been thinking lately about purchasing a Bose system. The commercials sound really great, but when I asked a few folks about it, they weren't so positive and said it was more hype than substance. So, I'd like to know the experience of people on the board. Is the Bose really as good as it claims, or does the company just have a great marketing campaign?

[poorcollegeguy]

Its mostly marketing hype. You can get the same sound and size speakers for a lot less money. Or you could spend the same money and get a lot nicer speaker setup.

[gundyrat]

Refer to Phil A's weblink on how wonderful Bose is
My link

[Phil A]

poorcollegeguy, on 25 January 2010 - 09:36 AM, said:

Its mostly marketing hype. You can get the same sound and size speakers for a lot less money. Or you could spend the same money and get a lot nicer speaker setup.

I would concur. They advertise tons in all sorts of media. It costs money to do that and it is reflected in the price of any item (not just audio) you would buy that engages in such practices. They are also very protective and known to be aggressive from a legal sense. I think it was years back when a well known national audio publication did a review that was not liked by Bose and they were sued. Thiel (a very high end speaker company - www.thielaudio.com) was sued many years back for a having a model number 2.2 and changed it to 22. Also read the link Gundy put it to my link. It is very informative. Bose also sued Cambridge Soundworks from what I understand (www.cambridgesoundworks.com). Cambridge, which largely sells direct to customers (they used to have a few stores) used to advertise twice as good for half the price. At one point I had Cambridge Soundworks speakers in my bedroom system, two satellites and a passive sub (more like a woofer), a center channel and a Cambridge Soundworks powered sub. My brother still has the sub (I gave it to him probably 10 years ago). I upgraded speakers and had the small Cambridge satellites and passive sub laying around. I think the set was $330. An old neighbor came over who happened to have the Bose small cubes and sub that was $750. He was curious about the Cambridge Soundworks. I ended up selling them for $150 and when I was over there the following week the Bose were gone. They gave them to one of their parents. They said they did a comparison with a bunch of people over and couldn't believe the difference. Everyone has different tastes. In order to make an intelligent decision on what you prefer you need to compare things at the same sound levels on the same electronics. If you read the link Gundy referenced in the other thread, you'll find out that does not happen with Bose. They are in their own display. In many stores they have switching devices (which can degrade sound but which can also give you a comparison) but the stores that carry Bose I've never seen them hooked up where you can compare. If you are not allowed to compare, how can you really come to decision on preferences on which you think is better? I think the link in the other thread I posted is right on and factual and has measurements. I think the best way for anyone to buy anything is via auditioning it themselves with the same or a similar system to what they have with software (music, movies) they are familiar with. That way you make the decision what is best to your ears and budget. Web searches on facts and opinions are OK too.

[SoundGuy]

I used to have a set of Bose 901s that I bought back in the late 1970s and they were great. When the foam surrounds dried out and I couldn't get them fixed, I did some research and found that Bose has been resting on their laurels and just selling products based on their names. My new speakers are Infinities.