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Author Topic: Why is the general public so enamored with BOSE? Robert Minichino Master Film Handler Posts: 350 From: Haskell, NJ, USA Registered: Dec 2005 posted 12-18-2007 11:53 AM                        One of the reasons why the Bose satellite systems sound so boomy is there's a pretty big gap in frequency response from where the sub module covers to where the satellites start picking up, so you don't get much real midbass. The Bose stuff is pretty well executed for what it is, but the packaging forces huge engineering compromises and they market it as if it's the ideal configuration.  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 12-18-2007 12:50 PM                     I don't think Bose was the first to the sattelite/subwoofer thing but I would give Bose credit for pushing the concept of a subwoofer to augment the main speakers as a sort of necessity if one is looking for full bandwidth, particularly from small speakers. They also are one of the firsts in the concept of designing speakers that are not acoustically flat out of the box but to use electronics to produce flat results (not like a traditional graphic EQ but more like B-6 alignment for subwoofers). So I would think it is more of a Henry Ford to the car comparison...he didn't invent it but he sure popularized it and brought it to the masses. The difference between Bose and Ford...Ford was about bringing it to the masses cheaper (benefits of moving assembly line) where as Bose tries to get as much dough as possible out of their designs...which isn't necessarily wrong, if they can get it.  |  IP: Logged James Westbrook Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1133 From: Lubbock, Texas, Usa Registered: Mar 2006 posted 12-18-2007 02:55 PM                     UA experimented with the Wave Cannon on their main THX house at Prestonwood in Dallas. Fred Fisher referred to it as "The Sewer Pipe". I don't recall UA buying any more Bose cannons after that...  |  IP: Logged Pete Naples Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1565 From: Dunfermline, Scotland Registered: Feb 2001 posted 12-18-2007 04:43 PM                     Fred Fisher! There's a name I haven't heard in years! We did a few sites over here with him, Spean Bridge Cinemas, which became part of Vue. My experience with the bass canon was also underwhelming, to say the least. I've one site that bought it against my advice, they still have it but it's resting in a stage store, we hooked up a couple of good old fashioned JBL's in it's place. However, the Bose 101 is a cracking wee speaker for booth monitor, or surround use in small theatres. The Bose 802 PA cabinets are fantastice in my epxerience, BUT you must use them with their associated bottom end cans and the system controller to get the best out of them. Many is the outdoor gig we did with them where they got muddy and wet. Hose 'em down gently, allow to dry naturally and they just come back for more.  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 12-18-2007 05:03 PM                     The base section of the 802 (pro version of the 901...looks VERY familiar) is the 302 which is a dual-port tuned sub. It could be used with either the 402 (kind of a column speaker with 4 drivers) or the 802. I never much cared for the 802 other than it is small, relatively light and can get quite loud. Steve  |  IP: Logged Bruce Hansen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 847 From: Stone Mountain, GA, USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 12-18-2007 05:13 PM                     A girlfriend I had some time ago, had Bose 201s or 301s (I don't remember which) in her bedroom. The first time she spent the night at my house, she made a comment about how much better the speakers in my bedroom sounded. When I told here they were $20 each (on sale) at Radio Shack, she was sick. The 901s need at least 200 watts per channel, they must be put in the proper place in your room, and they need that special EQ inserted into your system, and they still sound like crap.  |  IP: Logged James Westbrook Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1133 From: Lubbock, Texas, Usa Registered: Mar 2006 posted 12-18-2007 05:23 PM                     Is Altec-Lansing still around? I recall they had a facility west of Oklahoma City on I-40 but that was 20 years ago...  |  IP: Logged Cameron Glendinning Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 845 From: West Ryde, Sydney, NSW Australia Registered: Dec 2005 posted 12-18-2007 05:31 PM                     BOSE, I personally think its more a case of consistency of not being total crap and boy have there been and still are some truely bad speakers! Bose's use of full range speakers does have one advantage, they tend to beam the higher frequencies, which can in even the most reverberent or poor acoustic enviroments sound good. Infact often better results than quality products. In the PA market (their 901 variation) at the time was small high power light weight and for some of the reasons above, did stand out from what was around in the PA market in the time. There old trick is a dip in the frequency response between 1-2k tends to take the harshness out of the cheapness of the aproach. Altec lansing is a bit too good to be discussing in a thread about bose, but they sort of exist as a badge for chinese produced computer speakers, although they are now selling a " high power" variation of their classic A7 which have been brought back from the dead. Great Plains Audio are building the drivers on the original altec machines.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-18-2007 07:17 PM                     quote: Bruce Hansen The 901s need at least 200 watts per channel, they must be put in the proper place in your room, and they need that special EQ inserted into your system, and they still sound like crap. Yea but the Flame Linear Power amp that most used to drive them helped keep the house warm. Mark  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 12-18-2007 07:54 PM                     As to Altec...if you build the cabinet, Great Plains Audio will build the drivers. They currently offer the 515, 416, 399 (the evolution of the 288 but in a squatter package), 902, 909 and the 604. Audio Associates out of OK offers the MRII594 and MRII564 horns (3-bolt patterns on both. We are a GPA dealer for new and recone and have sold MANY GPA drivers...excellent stuff there.  |  IP: Logged Evans A Criswell Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1579 From: Huntsville, AL, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 12-19-2007 02:55 PM                        Back from 1992 until 1998, I had a pair of Bose 201s as my rear surround speakers, back in Dolby Pro-Logic days before Dolby Digital became available to most people through DVD. They worked great as "back of the room surround speakers" since they both got the same signal (mono) and there wasn't much high frequency there.  |  IP: Logged Brad Allen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 688 From: Evansville, IN, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 12-19-2007 10:25 PM                     There are many other Co's building small speakers that sound much better than Blose, for half the money. But people are hooked on the name. If Paul Harvey recommends them, it can't be bad.  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 12-20-2007 12:15 AM                     Anyone remember those upward firing, floor sitting Sonab "OA-x" series?  |  IP: Logged Scott Jentsch Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1061 From: New Berlin, WI, USA Registered: Apr 2003 posted 12-20-2007 09:43 AM                        I can remember back when the Bose cube speakers got popular, I had the chance to demo them against the Polk RM series (don't remember the exact model number, but they might have been RM6). The salesman told me that before I got too serious about the Bose speakers, to give these things a try. There was a big difference between the performance of the Polks vs. the Bose cubes, but mostly when pushed, like you would need to when watching a movie or some good music. At low volumes (like whole-house audio sorts of applications), the Bose speakers sounded fine, but they really showed their limitations when you wanted to turn the volume up. The Polks were made of some kind of heavy composite material that made each satellite weigh several pounds -- no rattling there! While I couldn't afford the RM series, I did pick up a pair of bookshelf speakers that I'm still using today. That said, my favorite brand for over 10 years has been Boston Acoustics. My home theater is still running the 555x THX fronts that I bought back in 1993/1994, they're running with some VRS Pro and VRX surrounds, and I have two sets of in-walls and a pair of outdoor Voyagers. Speakers are a funny thing, though. Everyone has their own preferences, and I never tell people what they will like or what they should buy. I let them know what the differences are and how to listen for them, but ultimately, it's a matter of taste. Some people like Klipsch, but I don't like their sound at all. If I could pick up a pair of those original RM6's in good shape, I'd pair them up with an Outlaw subwoofer, and that would make a mighty fine sub/sat system that would make a Bose salesman cry!  |  IP: Logged Robert Throop Master Film Handler Posts: 412 From: Vernon, NY USA Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-21-2007 10:33 AM                     When the National theatre on Broadway in NYC opened in the early seventies they had Bose screen speakers personally installed by Dr. Bose. The story I heard was that when he realized that a screen would hang in front of his speakers he got upset. They were subsequently removed and replaced with A-4's. Bob  |  IP: Logged

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