BOSE. newb questions.

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[PaUL]53

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My friend is absolutely praising BOSE speakers. After i found out that there are thousands of hardware forums that hate BOSE, i tried to convince my friend to take a look but he still thinks BOSE rocks.
BOSE = Better Sound Through marketing
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I am looking to buy some new speakers and my friend is suggesting that I buy a BOSE set instead of the logitech z-560's. Looks like my friend has been sucked into the maketing hype. Can someone tell me how to convince my friend that bose is way overblown.
 
Just leave it alone. Bose is all about psycho-acoustic gimmicks and marketing hype. Their sales-force is of a much higher caliber than their engineering department. That wouldn't bother me, but they try to pass off mediocre SQ as the Jesus Christ of Hi-Fi. If your buddy can't hear the difference, you can't make him hear it. If he wants to spend more for less, well somebody has to support the Bose shareholders.


If he gets really bad you might want to stage an intervention or something. Otherwise, just make sure you don't get his infection.
 
Agreed,

Bose isn't bad, it's ok sound in tiny plastic boxes... Which appeals to the masses. They're nothing great tho, and you can get more for your money if you do a little research.
 
listen to this.

If you're going to spend alot on speakers you might as well buy BOSE. Klipsch......, don't buy no name brands Paul! Hey helicopter pilots use $1500 AUD BOSE headphones. They use BOSE speakers in cinema's.
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It is even worse than it sounds. Well the users at the www.arstechnica.com forum were saying that pc speakers are crap and that bose speakers are even worse, they recommend axiom, polka and denon etc. Despite what they say, PC speakers have some advantages over dedicated home theatre equipment.
 
you might as well buy BOSE. Klipsch......, don't buy no name brands Paul
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So what's Bose, generic?

Their older models are actually not bad, but these days, "directional cubes" and "surround sound with 2 satellites" all use $5 drivers in their design, but charge you $2000.

Not only are these small cubes incapable of producing the types of frequencies they advertise, their subwoofer designs are horrid.


The theaters around me do not use Bose speakers. They use Klipsch (surprisingly). Tell your friend to come over here.
 
Originally posted by Tides
Agreed,

Bose isn't bad, it's ok sound in tiny plastic boxes... Which appeals to the masses. They're nothing great tho, and you can get more for your money if you do a little research.
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BOSE is bad because they're crap is way too overpriced. http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/Bose_Lifestyle_35__White_/4852-6449_7-9871246.html Enough information for any BOSE-o-phile to change their mind. If that doesn't work then you can't be saved. It's sad how the casual pc user buys BOSE speakers and dell computers and anything that is advertised on T.V. While the tech-savvy aren't as gullable and do a little research before they decide what they are going to buy. Is the THX certification overrated as well? A THX certified speaker set and souncard for $500 AUD, doesn't look that good.
 
That's the great thing about growing up building everything yourself... Never put on the spot to get ripped... Dell, *shiver*. Bose, no thx. I'll just enjoy my hd280's thank you very much(headphones). Hell I'll even take Logitech pc speakers over Bose.
 
Originally posted by [PaUL]53
BOSE is bad because they're crap is way too overpriced. http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/Bose_Lifestyle_35__White_/4852-6449_7-9871246.html Enough information for any BOSE-o-phile to change their mind. If that doesn't work then you can't be saved. It's sad how the casual pc user buys BOSE speakers and dell computers and anything that is advertised on T.V. While the tech-savvy aren't as gullable and do a little research before they decide what they are going to buy. Is the THX certification overrated as well? A THX certified speaker set and souncard for $500 AUD, doesn't look that good.
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THX Certification is overrated and meaningless when it comes to Multimedia Speakers.


They actually mean something when you get into higher range audio.
 
Really depends on your ears in the end, what sounds great to you might not sound great to another. I've been able to get some great sound from my computer that I'd have to pay 1k easy for a home theatre system to reproduce.

Oh hell yes! <---I AM the newbie cheese!
 
Originally posted by [PaUL]53
BOSE is bad because they're crap is way too overpriced. http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/Bose_Lifestyle_35__White_/4852-6449_7-9871246.html Enough information for any BOSE-o-phile to change their mind. If that doesn't work then you can't be saved. It's sad how the casual pc user buys BOSE speakers and dell computers and anything that is advertised on T.V. While the tech-savvy aren't as gullable and do a little research before they decide what they are going to buy. Is the THX certification overrated as well? A THX certified speaker set and souncard for $500 AUD, doesn't look that good.
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At the bottom of the page on that link:
For people to comment on the system is for rich folks. Thats fine, but don't be freaky jerk about it and give negative comments on the system. Second, the people at CNET or the guys that talk about the midrange or bass is not perfect because they dont know anything about music or music systems. There is something called amplifier that plays a lot with adjustment of sound and base. As far as sound quality goes no system, absolutely no system in the world can beat the natural sound of bose. If you dont know sounds or music dont even think about making comments about bose. Almost every luxury car is nowadays equipped with bose speakers. I guess they must be idiots or may be you, who have given negative comments here
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Had myself a good chuckle.
 
.
For people to comment on the system is for rich folks. Thats fine, but don't be freaky jerk about it and give negative comments on the system. Second, the people at CNET or the guys that talk about the midrange or bass is not perfect because they dont know anything about music or music systems. There is something called amplifier that plays a lot with adjustment of sound and base. As far as sound quality goes no system, absolutely no system in the world can beat the natural sound of bose. If you dont know sounds or music dont even think about making comments about bose. Almost every luxury car is nowadays equipped with bose speakers. I guess they must be idiots or may be you, who have given negative comments here
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That is a hardcore BOSE fan. Is he a BOSE shareholder? .[
Almost every luxury car is nowadays equipped with bose speakers. I guess they must be idiots or may be you,
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So by his logic anything that's installed in a luxury car is good. Then the luxury car manufacturers are stupid when it comes to speakers, i don't think they spend any time researching sound reproduction, they are a little more interested with cars. Just because your ferrari came with free bubble gum doesn't make it the best bubble gum in the world. The fact that bose speakers are installed in luxury cars doesn't mean jack shit. It seems like the ferrari make the speaker set look good. Another one of bose's gimmicks.

I am buying new speakers. should I get the logitech z-560's or the z680's? What website should I go to for speaker reviews, because www.tomshardware.com are just THX fans
 
hmm i didn't get any sleep so i can't think of any sites with good computer audio reviews atm, just do a search on yahoo with logitech z-560 & logitech z-680 respectively...

edit: but dont forget about the Logitech Z-5300's... THX certified (whatever that means) but have gotten some nice reviews on sites, from what I've seen. They're also much cheaper (140/150 price range), probably best bang for your buck.
 
Yea that bose writeup has found it's way to plenty of sites...cut, garbled and whatever... It seems to sum up Bose pretty well...
 
Heh, you quoted my sig
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Sorry. I remembered seeing your sig and I thought it really described BOSE. I just quoted it because that would be plagerism (old copy and paste) and I forgot who's sig it was. Hey it's a great sig:) I don't feel like reading all of http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html but the true BOSE-o-phile (idiot) would refute all of that information with stupid examples of where BOSE speakers are used : helicopters, cinema's, luxury cars, department of fair trading (well they would be investigated if they weren't so popular). So should I get z-560's or z-680's?
 
z-5300's are not available at my local computer stores. i could get the z-5300's but it would be alot easier to get the z-560's or z-680's. and I need to find a good speaker review site. I don't think Tomshardware.com would be classified as audi-o-phile.
 
try using> epinions.com...do a search on your speakers, that's more of a buyer review site tho... neoseeker.net or com or wahtever ...do searches on those systems and it'll show a bunch of sites that have reviewed that particular setup. i'm still thinking.. i was at a site today that had reviews on all that stuff... can't remember... i didn't sleep last night i'm trying to stay awake so i'm somewhat incoherrant sorry
 
Forgive me audiophiles for I have sinned. It was approximately a year and a half ago, and I was in a mall with a BOSE outlet. I was serenaded by their siren song of marketing and bought a noise-cancelling headset.

It's actually not bad at cancelling the sound of the PC fans humming alongside me. It has fair sound repro and at the very least (hows this for good word-of-mouth marketing) it's pretty comfortable to wear for a long time.

After reading more I haven't bought BOSE since, but almost feel like I needed this confessional!!

We now resume our regularly scheduled [H]ardness.

pb
 
Don't sweat it, man. It's not that everything Bose produces is utter garbage, it's that they market it as gold-plated and sell it for 10 times what it's worth.

Personally, I think their Wave Radio is pretty spiffy, but there's no way in hell I'm paying that much for it.
 
Love closed headphones :) What hum? Computer? Noise? Huh? Why are people coming into my room late at night complaining about noise? What noise?
 
Originally posted by polobear
After reading more I haven't bought BOSE since, but almost feel like I needed this confessional!!
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Why must you read bad things to be convinced? You could just listen. Especially with a nearby Bose outlet.

Originally posted by Tides
Love closed headphones :) What hum? Computer? Noise? Huh? Why are people coming into my room late at night complaining about noise? What noise?
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Closed != Noise Cancelling
 
Zach, it's like anamorphic art... in order to see the picture you need to change your own perspective. In my case, sure, i have a Bose outlet close, but it's not like i can put other systems next to it and listen.

And if you notice in the stores that sell mixed brands, Bose is never in the listening room. Plus, they always seem to play their own little clips (not a regular dvd or CD like the others do) that mask some of their shortcomings.

Once you start to read other perspectives and can begin to accumulate better data and ideas, you can listen more skeptically. but they really do have a marketing machine and they are very good at that.

pb
 
Originally posted by polobear
Zach, it's like anamorphic art... in order to see the picture you need to change your own perspective. In my case, sure, i have a Bose outlet close, but it's not like i can put other systems next to it and listen.

And if you notice in the stores that sell mixed brands, Bose is never in the listening room. Plus, they always seem to play their own little clips (not a regular dvd or CD like the others do) that mask some of their shortcomings.

Once you start to read other perspectives and can begin to accumulate better data and ideas, you can listen more skeptically. but they really do have a marketing machine and they are very good at that.

pb
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Yea, I guess if you don't know anyone with good audio gear or have a good local dealer it would be hard
 
I don't know if this is still the case, but back about 10 years ago the military PX/BX's (think of them as Uncle Sam's own department stores) carried Bose along with several other brands like Infinity and Klipsch. One of my favorite things to do was to sit in on one of the Bose demos and give the rep holy hell. :D

You ask the right questions and you can have them stuttering and sputtering in no time. If that's not enough fun, ask for an A-B comparo with any other half-way decent speaker in the room. That gets you an invitation to leave pretty quickly. :p
 
no closed just means i wont hear much of anything when i have em on, outside of the headphones...
 
Originally posted by Hal|9k
I don't know if this is still the case, but back about 10 years ago the military PX/BX's (think of them as Uncle Sam's own department stores) carried Bose along with several other brands like Infinity and Klipsch. One of my favorite things to do was to sit in on one of the Bose demos and give the rep holy hell. :D

You ask the right questions and you can have them stuttering and sputtering in no time. If that's not enough fun, ask for an A-B comparo with any other half-way decent speaker in the room. That gets you an invitation to leave pretty quickly. :p
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i don't know anything about military PX/BX but I remember my friend saying that they use speakers in the military and at the space shuttle launch (100% marketing hype) . So I will read http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html to try and convince my friend that BOSE is a conspiracy (ok i'm joking). I just woke up and found another 12 posts to my topic. Well i am still looking for a speaker review site. tomshardware.com is not audiophile, tom said that the THX certification is a stamp of good quality.
Originally posted by Duck-BOT
THX Certification is overrated and meaningless when it comes to Multimedia Speakers.


They actually mean something when you get into higher range audio.
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so I guess I shouldn't trust Tom too much. I haven't tried epinions.com yet, i just woke up.
 
I read all the posts and kep waiting for someone to give the "no highs, no lows, must be Bose" quote. Guess I'll have to pinch hit.

Trust your ears - unless you're really remote, there will be outlets that will have a whole range of stuff to listen to. Take music you know and like, and use it on every system so you've got a solid benchmark. Better yet, listen to your CD on the most high-end setup you can find so you know what it's SUPPOSED to sound like. Then listen to the other stuff and buy the system that sounds the closest and that's in your budget.
 
Considering the large emphasis on marketing that Bose places on its products as well as the ostentatious boasting of "innovation" and "performance", I am curious as to why none, count them: ZERO, of their speakers are THX-certified. George Lucas offers certification to any product from any company willing to undergo the scrutiny of his tests. I'm sure Dr. Amar Bose has brought in many Bose speakers to the Skywalker Ranch for certification only to have them rejected time and time again. I am no fan of THX-Certification myself; However, no one can deny that it is perhaps the singly most powerful marketing tool in the entire industry. One tool that Dr. Bose would not have overlooked, but again, one that he could not obtain for himself.
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Wtf. holy shit. I can get $350 AUD logitech speakers that are THX certified but the $6000 AUD BOSE sets don't have the THX certification.
 
Originally posted by [PaUL]53
Wtf. holy shit. I can get $350 AUD logitech speakers that are THX certified but the $6000 AUD BOSE sets don't have the THX certification.
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Ahh, yea. THX multimedia certification and THX home theater certification are two very different (albeit equally worthless) standards.
I find it very ironic that you dismiss Bose as marketing hype but then attempt to lend some form of credence to THX multimedia certification. :rolleyes:
They are both one and the same.
 
i am no fan of THX, I am just saying that BOSE has not even been able to get the certification yet. THX is overrated but you have to admit that BOSE is selling thousand dollar speaker sets that could not even achieve a THX certification which is an absolute rip off. The fact that BOSE could not get this little certification is a sign of how crap their speakers are. This is the first time I have heard of a company not being able to get the THX certification. Logitech sell $350 THX certified speakers which shows how easy it is too get the THX certification. The fact that the Jesus Christ of hi-fi can't get some little certification is enough to prove that bose is overblown. I never said that THX was a good certification. I just alluded that if they were the best of the best (which many people think) they would have got the THX certification, but BOSE is far from the best.
 
I have another BOSE-o-phile friend that says that a ferrari won the dB competition in auto-salon and it had BOSE speakers.
you know why I have never heard of Klipsch? Because they suck.
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No actually it's because they don't spend millions of dollars on advertising. I don't really care that people like BOSE, it's just that they think they are the best speakers in the world. That is absolutely ridiculous.
no speakers can beat the natural sound that comes from BOSE
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well wouldn't a $10000 bose set beat a $9000 bose set. Does that mean that if bose started to make $5 speakers that they would beat klipsch? Why do people care that they use BOSE speakers in luxury cars? I don't get it? i tried to prove my point by using a witty remark, I said 'if your ferrari came with free bubble gum would it be friggin mad bubble gum?" my friend answered yes. why do people think that BOSE is the holy grail of speakers? How could BOSE get a reputation for the best speakers in the world. how could BOSE all do this with marketing gimmicks? Well BOSE are now being bought by uneducated and ill-informed consumers. i never knew that luxury car manufacturer's, cinema owners, helicopter pilot's were classified as uneducated, ill in formed consumers.
 
It depends what your friend is doing. If he wants 'perfectionist' sound, tell him to do more research.

If he thinks BOSE will satisfy his needs, let him waste his money. Odds are that he will be pretty happy with them in the end. (or won't admit how much a $500 set of other speakers beats his $3000 set of Bose)

In the end, whoever has the money makes the decisions. Let him buy what he wants.
 
Originally posted by [PaUL]53
i am no fan of THX, I am just saying that BOSE has not even been able to get the certification yet. THX is overrated but you have to admit that BOSE is selling thousand dollar speaker sets that could not even achieve a THX certification which is an absolute rip off. The fact that BOSE could not get this little certification is a sign of how crap their speakers are.
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What makes you so sure that they even tried or wanted THX certification? Do you realize its just a little badge that they pay for to make people think they are good?

Originally posted by [PaUL]53
I just alluded that if they were the best of the best (which many people think) they would have got the THX certification
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no.
 
What makes you so sure that they even tried or wanted THX certification? Do you realize its just a little badge that they pay for to make people think they are good?
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It's Bose, they'd probably be more than willing to pay for it if they could get it. After all, they do spend so much money on marketing as it is, that getting certified would be a drop in the bucket.

Unfortunately THX is primarily a power output (over a specific frequency range target) specification, and Bose systems are far too anemic to approach the SPL levels required to merit THX (not multimedia THX) certification. They probably don't get low enough out of their "Bass modules" with many of their systems regardless of SPL.

edit for clarity
 
Originally posted by leukotriene
It's Bose, they'd probably be more than willing to pay for it if they could get it. After all, they do spend so much money on marketing as it is, that getting certified would be a drop in the bucket.

Unfortunately THX is primarily a power output (over a specific frequency range target) specification, and Bose systems are far too anemic to approach the SPL levels required to merit THX (not multimedia THX) certification. They probably don't get low enough out of their "Bass modules" with many of their systems regardless of SPL.
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Of course THX measures sound output, because louder sounds better (High SPL = High SQ) ;)

just so you know, I am not pro-bose
 
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