Comments on: Why Bose Sucks

By: Cherry Carver

Cherry Carver — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:00:47 +0000

I bought a Bose with CD changer for my husband at Christmas last year. It was the only thing he wanted. Cost over $800. He was so excited to finally get one. We played a CD and it sounded absolutely horrible–tinny, with no real range whatsoever. We put the same CD in a $70 Sony boom-box and–compared to the Bose–the Sony made it sound like we were in Symphony Hall. Needless to say, I was both sad and furious that Bose ripped us off with their tacky machine. We packed up the “system” and mailed it back to Bose. They even refunded shipping. That was the only good part about our experience with them. After that I read a bunch of scathing reviews online about Bose and their cheap paper tubes. Never again!!! I’ve heard that Tivoli makes a great radio–but it seems overpriced, and I don’t want to get burned again. I want to surprise my husband for Christmas with something GOOD this time. Any suggestions besides Bose?

By: kgfrombeelo

kgfrombeelo — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 15:47:03 +0000

My parents got the BOSE 3-2-1 system and thought it was Gods gift to mankind. AT first I was excited but I couldnt beleive how OFF the sound was. The small front speakers deliver absolutley no highs and no kind of bass in any range. They are basically only good for soap opera dialogue. Then the subwoofer is loud but does not deliver the right kind of low end. In fact even people voices come out of the subwoofer which should never happen. Its like the sub only exists to fill out what the speakers cant, where as is a real system the sub should be expanding the range the overall system, not just masking its weaknesses. Meahwhile my parents think its the greatest system ever because its says BOSE on the front and the subwoofer makes all sorts of noise. Thats basically what the whole system is, NOISE 3-2-1 for $1000 dollars. They would have been better off with a $300 Sony receiver, a pair of Boston or Polk book shelf speakers for $150 and a mediocore powered sub(a true subwoofer) for $150. I fact that would probobly have been ALOT better for $300 dollars less.

By: Shawn Kearney

Shawn Kearney — Sun, 24 May 2009 21:56:18 +0000

Bose sucks because they compromise too much. The Wave Radio is a perfect example. Bose has been far too “size oriented” in the last 15 years at the compromise of quality. Yes, you can put bass in a small package by using transmission lines and bandpass enclosures, and these techniques are good, solid performers. But Bose pushes these technologies to the absolute outer limit of what is physically possible.

One technology, bandpass design, as used in the Lifestyles system is especially prone to the puffy, loose sound that Bose has become famous for. The Lifestyles systems truly are a wonder of overpriced garbage.

Older systems, like the 901 series, weren’t terrible – but far from the pricetag they demanded. In the end, Bose enjoys taking either the mundane or the tried and true and rebrands them as “waveguide technology” and “direct-reflecting loudspeaker design”.

What exact “better sound” research is involved by putting a little speaker pointing off-axis?

By: hisfirstime

hisfirstime — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 00:13:56 +0000

Crap speakers, Crap service, snooty, smooth talking salesmen who try to convince you otherwise…
Just CRAP!!!
USE YOUR EARS AND LISTEN>>> DON’T BELIEVE THE ADS!

By: just10

just10 — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 05:03:41 +0000

I can’t stand Bose. I’ve wasted a ton of money on Bose and didn’t get any of it back. So fuck you Bose and SMD for being a pathetic money-hungry company.

By: Carl L

Carl L — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:39:36 +0000

Bose has been about smoke and mirrors from the get go. Even the famous (infamous?) 901 was designed to fool the ear. Their research is done to determine what non-audiophiles will perceive as good sound and to see how many corners can be cut to achieve this. If they made cars the speedometers would read 10 mph faster so you would think you are driving a fast car. It’s all about trickery and profit. The evil triumvirate of mass marketing: Bose, Walmart and Starbucks.

By: John

John — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 02:25:00 +0000

Consumer Reports magazine once compared the Bose table radio and the Tivoli Audio table radio and gave the Bose a higher rating. But if you read the report they admit that the Tivoli radio sounded better (look it up). It turns out that the Bose radio had a remote and Tivoli did not which to me sure made Consumer Reports suspect. After all, one buys a radio for the best sound, right?
Bose’s reputation came from the 901 speakers (I owned a pair) in the late 70s but have not kept up with other speaker companies. Listen to a Bose system at very low volume and it becomes clear that most of what you hear is treble and bass. Consider that most music is found at midrange frequencies and you can understand that Bose is fooling your ears into thinking that you hear midrange.
Clever advertising plus a large presence in chain stores is how Bose sucks in most buyers. Don’t fall for it, listen to other systems and walk into a high end sound salon (They will not bite and will leave you alone) and listen to how speakers should sound.

By: Julio

Julio — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 04:29:14 +0000

BOSE shops the retailers that sell their product and will endanger the job of a salesman that doesn’t present their product in a positive light by providing a report to the salesman’s manager. As an A/V salesman who cares about his clients, I truly hate this company.

By: Martin

Martin — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 23:41:41 +0000

I opened different Bose speakers and i was shocked how cheap components and speakers they use!!!!!!!!!!!
Bose is way overpriced!!!!!!!
What a crap.

By: Ran

Ran — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 07:15:23 +0000

well it is kef for me. great book shelf speakers. cant afford the floor standers …… yet

By: tazz

tazz — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 16:55:29 +0000

i loves my 2.1 altec lansing pc setup, well, not much of an audiophile here! but coincidentially, here’s a link i ran into today:
Dell, Bose and Apple Have Most Trust Among Consumers, According to Survey – http://www.dailytech.com/Article.aspx?newsid=1609

By: holla

holla — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 15:03:31 +0000

bose sucks. even their car audio setups are shit and a bitch install aftermarket to.

By: Ray

Ray — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 13:57:19 +0000

To paraphrase another well known quote, it’s all in the ears of the listener. I have many visitors which choose the Bose iPod speaker system over the sound of my home theatre system which has the Yamaha YSP1000 speaker system. My wife prefers the sound of her Sony mini-stereo system ’cause that is what she listens to all the time. As for radio/alarm clocks, the Cambridge Soundworks radio system blows them all away (or so I think ’cause that’s what I listen to in my office). To each his own!

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 13:06:25 +0000

I heard the Lifestyle 321 and its nothing special at all, its also not cheap, for the same price u can get a much much more decent setup. Even yamaha’s YSP1000 sounds sooo much better then the Lifestyle 321. You can check it out at dewalliah.

The wave radio also sucks, the Nakamichi Soundspace 3 alarm clock costs the same and blows it away by miles.

By: Fonzie

Fonzie — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 13:00:30 +0000

Bose has the best quality sound in Lifestyle, 321 and wave radio systems but what sucks is the chinese speakers they are making for the computers and iPods