Better Sound Through Research

LiquidSound
LiquidSound Posts: 1,261
edited August 2002 in Speakers
More like 'Better Sales Through Marketing'
I was walking through the mall tonight, and came across a bose store. The first thing I noticed was a demo stand for 'Noise Cancelling Headphones'. They fit reasonably well and didn't look all that bad, but through the entire demo, I could still hear the background noise of the mall. How effective for THREE HUNDRED freaking dollars...
I asked if they had a demo room and they showed me to this little theater type thing. Inside there were about 15 seats, a table with two components on it, and a screen. You couldn't really see the speakers but could see these ominous black squares of cloth. It turned out to be a slide show done with six nice looking slide projectors. The whole shabang was a bunch of reality sounds and several dramatic uses of lighting.
Ok saying I have trained ears is like saying Dana Carvey still got a career. All I did was pay attention, and noticed several things that didn't equate the lead weighted price tag. The first thing i noticed was an 'edgy' sound from the highs. It made my ears cringe. Next was the hollow sound of the entire system..it didn't pull me and make me a part of the experience whatsoever. What was the real laugh was when they 'showed off' their crazy sound skills with an example of 1:spaciousness. a christmas song with lots of chimes in it that sounded as spacious as the placement of the speakers. 2:rumble. a large bass guitar *forget the name* to show how you'll 'feel' the deep notes. I barely felt a vibration in my armrests..much less my body.
Now, why did I spend this much time on such a **** system? Because people are spending three **** grand on a alarm clock radio with earphones as speakers. Even the guy who was there, and had no idea of true sound quality *not that I do* said "there was a lot there that didn't come through..it left something to be wanted"
It's old news...but I'll add my affirmation that bose sucks.
:rolleyes:
Two Channel Main
Receiver - VSX-54TX
Mains - Csi40's
Sub - Spiked Velodyne Cht-8 On Spiked Landscaping Stones

"If you could put speakers in a needle, I'd never see him again..." - My Girlfriend
Post edited by LiquidSound on
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  • LiquidSound
    LiquidSound Posts: 1,261
    edited July 2002
    Oh yeah, the big ominous black squares of cloth were taken away to reveal *TA-DAH* little **** speakers that I could balance a table out with real nice.
    Two Channel Main
    Receiver - VSX-54TX
    Mains - Csi40's
    Sub - Spiked Velodyne Cht-8 On Spiked Landscaping Stones

    "If you could put speakers in a needle, I'd never see him again..." - My Girlfriend
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  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,200
    edited July 2002
    listen up guys,
    Like it or not Bose has it's place in the audio world.

    Most people who buy Bose are the ones who don't know a rats **** from there own **** when it comes to sound.

    Not to mention they don't have the room for a quality system.There small and can give some nice sound.The price is high but guess what???????they sell like water in a thursty crowd.

    Don't get me wrong,I wouldn't buy them,Id rather hum the music to myself before i went that way.

    They do have a place in the world.
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
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  • TroyD
    TroyD Posts: 13,077
    edited July 2002
    I would agree with you that Blose has a place in the world. So did Jefferey Dahmer, however, I wasn't about to bring him in to my home either.

    My **** with Bose is that they are all about suckering people with fancy advertising and BS. They are fundamentally dishonest. If you ask them for any type of specs, they will do ANYTHING to not give them to you.

    BDT
    I plan for the future. - F1Nut
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  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,200
    edited July 2002
    Most people who want Bose don't know what "spec's" are bud.
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
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  • jcaut
    jcaut Posts: 1,849
    edited July 2002
    I got a chance to listen to my co-worker's 901's (that I mentioned in another thread) this week. He has them hooked up to his new Onkyo 989, and was playing CD's on an old Teac player :confused:

    Like others said on the previous thread: It's not that they sound BAD----They were probably the best-sounding Bose speakers I've heard, which is not saying much. They create a huge soundstage that sounds completely artificial. Kind of like using some DSP effect on a surround receiver. You can hear a little deep bass in there, but it's nowhere near impressive. Really, nothing about them sounds impressive, once you get over the inital surprise of the wide soundstage.

    My friend listens to a little jazz (with which they do pretty well) and classic rock (for which they are woefully inadequate). He's thrilled with them--- Think's he's now got "high-end" speakers) and I'm not going to try and burst his bubble since he didn't ask for my opinion.

    Bottom line is he spent $4300 on a receiver and two speakers that sound OK. My Rt55i's, without a sub, would sound better than those 901's. (and they look better too)

    Jason
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  • LiquidSound
    LiquidSound Posts: 1,261
    edited July 2002
    The Yugo has its own place too. But they're not charging 45 grand for it. I'm just doing my part as an informed consumer to spread the word of a grossly overpriced clock radio. I had no inclination that this little post would remove bose from the market. But if I've redirected the funds of a non-informed consumer to a better product, then I've done my job.
    Two Channel Main
    Receiver - VSX-54TX
    Mains - Csi40's
    Sub - Spiked Velodyne Cht-8 On Spiked Landscaping Stones

    "If you could put speakers in a needle, I'd never see him again..." - My Girlfriend
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  • jmasterj
    jmasterj Posts: 327
    edited July 2002
    We each of us evolve at our own pace. It's funny, one day it can't
    get any better. The next day we're looking to up-grade. I'll get one of these, no now thats not good enough,so I need to get one of those.
    Just give him some time. If he loves this like some of us do you're never really finished. Just waiting to hear something "a little bit better"...
    JmasterJ Polk to the Death
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  • pensacola
    pensacola Posts: 269
    edited July 2002
    Shoulda said, "I'll direct® $3,000 your way for this setup, if you'll reflect® $2,900 back my way.";)

    Give War A Chance
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  • LiquidSound
    LiquidSound Posts: 1,261
    edited July 2002
    Just remembered a good saying. If you can't hear highs..and you can't hear lows...it's gotta be bose.:cool:
    Two Channel Main
    Receiver - VSX-54TX
    Mains - Csi40's
    Sub - Spiked Velodyne Cht-8 On Spiked Landscaping Stones

    "If you could put speakers in a needle, I'd never see him again..." - My Girlfriend
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  • MxStYlEpOlKmAn
    MxStYlEpOlKmAn Posts: 2,116
    edited August 2002
    they call it noise reduction because their trying to reduce all the noise that comes through their trash...
    Damn you all, damn you all to hell.......
    I promised myself
    No more speakers. None. Nada. And then you posted this!!!!
    Damn you all! - ATC
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  • LiquidSound
    LiquidSound Posts: 1,261
    edited August 2002
    The "noise cancelling" headphones..which didn't work..were turned up really super loud to mask the fact their headphones didn't cancel a damn thing. And all that for 300 dollars!
    Two Channel Main
    Receiver - VSX-54TX
    Mains - Csi40's
    Sub - Spiked Velodyne Cht-8 On Spiked Landscaping Stones

    "If you could put speakers in a needle, I'd never see him again..." - My Girlfriend
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  • MIKLSAN
    MIKLSAN Posts: 8
    edited August 2002
    Before you flame me for being a Bose apologist, know that I own and love LSi speakers! Having said that, I actually have a pair of their Noise-Cancelling headphones that I use on plane trips. They work great. They make long flights much less fatiguing. They are designed to filter out consatnt low frequency noise - like jet engines, and they actually sound pretty good (better bass than my $200 AKGs!). Granted, $300 is a lot of cash for that function.
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  • burdette
    burdette Posts: 1,194
    edited August 2002
    I feel a lot of love in this room... so I can admit, I once owned a pair of Bose. Bought a pair of 301s to take to college because they were small (there weren't THAT many small speakers with 'decent' bass back then). Sold them after about two years to a guy across the hall who LOVED them. Looking back, I wish I'd bought the AR28s instead.

    I think Bose goes after people with a lot of discretionary income who also don't think they know "how" to buy audio equipment. Anyone paying $350 for a clock radio from an ad in Parade magazine probably hasn't spent the past 2 weeks going from store to store researching radios, and they aren't wondering what organ they have to sell to fund the buy. They can pay the dough and it looks cool and hell both Paul Harvey and Rush Limbaugh said it was cool... Most Bose Stores are located in malls, maybe even Outlet malls.. again, they're going after people with money to spend, who'll drop large bills on impulse.

    My father-in-law has an Acoustimas setup (3 of the double-cubes plus a *really* cheesy pair of Bose surrounds, don't even know if there is a tweeter in there). He could have afforded just about ANYTHING he wanted.. dropped $800 on the Bose in a heartbeat mostly because they were tiny. He is NOT the type who could tell you which tweeter was more open or which bass was muddy unless you pointed it out to him.

    The only Wave Radio owner I know got his as a bonus from work a couple of years ago. It *does* sound good for a clock radio, even sounds good for a setup that small... and I suppose it impresses the right people.

    Bose has found a niche where they appear to be successful. You can't blame Bose for filling a void in the market anymoreso than you should be pissed off at Daiwoo for selling $49 VCRs to people who really don't care. No matter how 'good' or intense the advertising, they can't MAKE anyone buy anything.. it still comes down to joe public paying the dough and being unconcerned about his alternatives.
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  • LiquidSound
    LiquidSound Posts: 1,261
    edited August 2002
    Miklsan, how many noise cancelling headphones did you go through before you decided on the abilities of the bose? Are they worth the price as compared to others?

    burdette, I can't blame bose for making money off uninformed and fat pocketed sucka's these days..but I can still pass the vital info about what **** they try to push on people. There's a LOT better for the money out there.

    Rush Limbaugh is smart but too self aggrandizing. That annoys me.
    Paul Harvey....now there's a guy I'd like to drink a beer with!
    Two Channel Main
    Receiver - VSX-54TX
    Mains - Csi40's
    Sub - Spiked Velodyne Cht-8 On Spiked Landscaping Stones

    "If you could put speakers in a needle, I'd never see him again..." - My Girlfriend
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  • HBombToo
    HBombToo Posts: 5,256
    edited August 2002
    And now we know the rest of the story:lol
    ***WAREMTAE***
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  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,987
    edited August 2002
    Eff Paul Harvey, and double eff that big pumpkin head Limbaugh......

    Cheers,
    Russ
    Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
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  • LiquidSound
    LiquidSound Posts: 1,261
    edited August 2002
    I'll take no part in that fantasy.
    "double eff that big pumpkin head" ..that's just wrong man.bleh.
    Two Channel Main
    Receiver - VSX-54TX
    Mains - Csi40's
    Sub - Spiked Velodyne Cht-8 On Spiked Landscaping Stones

    "If you could put speakers in a needle, I'd never see him again..." - My Girlfriend
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,644
    edited August 2002
    Originally posted by MIKLSAN
    , I actually have a pair of their Noise-Cancelling headphones that I use on plane trips. They work great.

    That's funny! The US Air Force said that they didn't work and cancelled the contract with Bose. We all know for the Air Force to do that they must be really effing bad....it's like getting fired from a government job....almost impossible!
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • TroyD
    TroyD Posts: 13,077
    edited August 2002
    There is a warehouse, I believe at Davis Monthan AFB, that has a bunch of those things because the AF said they didn't work properly.

    BDT
    I plan for the future. - F1Nut
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  • LiquidSound
    LiquidSound Posts: 1,261
    edited August 2002
    that's gonna leave a mark.
    Two Channel Main
    Receiver - VSX-54TX
    Mains - Csi40's
    Sub - Spiked Velodyne Cht-8 On Spiked Landscaping Stones

    "If you could put speakers in a needle, I'd never see him again..." - My Girlfriend
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