My old Bose Soundlink II - a loyal, relaxing mate

[cooltoad]

Sadly enough, during my initial search for the "premium audio" experience, this was the thread that got me hooked to this forum. I gathered from the discussion that Bose was meant to be avoided like the plague
Nowadays if anyone asks me for an opinion on Bose, instead of boring them to death with talks on THD, synthetic sound, V-shaped curve etc I ask them to go and listen to it and buy it if they're liking it

Same here. Nowadays , i wish I could undo everything and get settled with a naim muso-like box, just something simple, yet without compromises.

 

[Orez]

My experiences with it in brief: Overall I enjoyed it but feel let down by its quality as compared to another JBL which I have that is 1/3rd its price.

Pros:

• For its size, the amount of distortion free volume that can be pushed out is amazing. Having seen it, hearing the Polk Magnifi Mini was not that big a surprise!
• Makes listening to everything very nice.
• Good BT range, as much as BT allows

Cons

• Cannot use it for extended listening. Shutting it down is a relief if played for a long duration.
• Battery quality was poor. Do not remember when the unit needed to be always plugged in, but it was not long after a year and I do not think we overcharged the battery a lot.
• The light to show BT pairing conked off post 12 months- no white/ blue light anymore. Have to guess if it is paired or not.
• Played havoc with Android pairing. I remember getting success with Samsungs but failing with HTC to the point that I thought unit was defective (HTC paired fine with the JBL)
• Pairing/ Unpairing new devices when existing devices were paired was an issue (even if the existing devices BT was turned off)

 

[Deleted member 15865]

My experiences with it in brief: Overall I enjoyed it but feel let down by its quality as compared to another JBL which I have that is 1/3rd its price.

Pros:

• For its size, the amount of distortion free volume that can be pushed out is amazing. Having seen it, hearing the Polk Magnifi Mini was not that big a surprise!
• Makes listening to everything very nice.
• Good BT range, as much as BT allows

Cons

• Cannot use it for extended listening. Shutting it down is a relief if played for a long duration.
• Battery quality was poor. Do not remember when the unit needed to be always plugged in, but it was not long after a year and I do not think we overcharged the battery a lot.
• The light to show BT pairing conked off post 12 months- no white/ blue light anymore. Have to guess if it is paired or not.
• Played havoc with Android pairing. I remember getting success with Samsungs but failing with HTC to the point that I thought unit was defective (HTC paired fine with the JBL)
• Pairing/ Unpairing new devices when existing devices were paired was an issue (even if the existing devices BT was turned off)

Oh, that’s a harrowing experience you had. Was it this (older) Soundlink II versions in the pic (first page) or a newer model? Because I haven’t faced any of the problems in over 6-7 years now. Never tried with Android phone though. Also the battery is still good to go. And I find it quite fatigue free.

Same here. Nowadays , i wish I could undo everything and get settled with a naim muso-like box, just something simple, yet without compromises.

Oh yes, that feeling! Especially when one of the many variables in a component system starts playing truant. Helps to lie low for a while and magically some solution appears and I start enjoying the complicated system for the sound only it can deliver. So we can look at it as the larger system being like eating out at restaurants, parties etc. And then (with or without a tummy ache) longing for home dal chawal - the simple Soundlink/Muso etc.

 

[Ashenden]

Hi Sachin, have you heard the Naim Muso or the cube. They are very well regarded by reviewers and users alike. If only they cost around $900-1000 in India, like everywhere else, it would've been a very compelling solution.

 

[Deleted member 15865]

Hi Sachin, have you heard the Naim Muso or the cube. They are very well regarded by reviewers and users alike. If only they cost around $900-1000 in India, like everywhere else, it would've been a very compelling solution.

Sandeep, after a brief turbulence I am now back at peace with my component system. I do want to check the Naim Mu-So out of curiosity though. It’s the only Naim product you can buy without getting sucked into the entire Naim ecosystem. With streaming catching on, one can see the market growing exponentially for audiophile single-box systems.

 

[Ashenden]

Sandeep, after a brief turbulence I am now back at peace with my component system. I do want to check the Naim Mu-So out of curiosity though. It’s the only Naim product you can buy without getting sucked into the entire Naim ecosystem. With streaming catching on, one can see the market growing exponentially for audiophile single-box systems.

Yes, true. I was very late in starting using streaming, but once I got used to it, the convenience trumps everything else. This AIO naim box would also help a lot of people to experience good audio at a reasonable cost (at least in US/UK). Hifimart had one for sale but at twice the international price

 

[Deleted member 15865]

Yes, true. I was very late in starting using streaming, but once I got used to it, the convenience trumps everything else. This AIO naim box would also help a lot of people to experience good audio at a reasonable cost (at least in US/UK). Hifimart had one for sale but at twice the international price

Yes, remindful of the hi-fi boxes of the 80s and 90s that each household prominently (dis)played. With hi-res media and these AIO boxes we could see a revival of quality sound back in Indian home. Guess asking a friend/relative travelling back from Dubai to get one could be an idea till there’s a sizeable market here for dealers to right-price it.

 

[Deleted member 15865]

Best wireless speakers 2023

Set your songs free with a wireless speaker

www.whathifi.com

What Hi-fi list. AudioPro and Ultimate Ears dominate.

 

[Orez]

Oh, that’s a harrowing experience you had. Was it this (older) Soundlink II versions in the pic (first page) or a newer model?

Not sure of the model, bought in 2013 or 2014. The issues of pairing were standard across devices though because I bought two and both had similar issues (and in the showroom as well). If there are two devices which have paired with it, then getting the older pairing automatically connect even if the new one is disconnected is an issue. Even at the showroom, in the demo, it was a multi-step process based on whether a new phone had to be paired or an existing one (Android phones).
I also remember from the demo that iOS behaved differently - do not remember the speed/ ease of pairing but remember that volume of Soundlink is exactly same %age as that of iOS phone. Both the volume bars move in sync - iPhone vol 50% will imply Bose volume at 50% irrespective of physical buttons pressed. If volume in Bose is changed, volume bar in iOS changes. This does not happen in Android.

 

[Ashenden]

With streaming catching on, one can see the market growing exponentially for audiophile single-box systems.

Coincidentally Paul's (PS Audio) video today is on this subject of streaming

 

[Naturelover]

Coincidentally Paul's (PS Audio) video today is on this subject of streaming

Here he says (minute 3.05 onwards) that even if your source is not that good, it is worth spending good money on electronics and speakers.
Won't that bring out more of the shortcomings of the source and render the setup not quite so enjoyable?
Like I have a subscription to gaana.com. Sounds nice on my PC but not quite so on my main system. Maybe not the best compressed streaming source but that's the only one I have.

 

[prem]

PS Audio sells equipment. What else do you expect him to say?

 

[Deleted member 15865]

Here he says (minute 3.05 onwards) that even if your source is not that good, it is worth spending good money on electronics and speakers.
Won't that bring out more of the shortcomings of the source and render the setup not quite so enjoyable?
Like I have a subscription to gaana.com. Sounds nice on my PC but not quite so on my main system. Maybe not the best compressed streaming source but that's the only one I have.

But he makes and sells amplifiers, doesn’t he? He has to get people to buy them even if they downgrade their source.

 

[Ashenden]

Here he says (minute 3.05 onwards) that even if your source is not that good, it is worth spending good money on electronics and speakers.
Won't that bring out more of the shortcomings of the source and render the setup not quite so enjoyable?
Like I have a subscription to gaana.com. Sounds nice on my PC but not quite so on my main system. Maybe not the best compressed streaming source but that's the only one I have.

His recommendation to upgrade to an entry level component based setup has it’s merits, like to sprout IA and Elac monitors. It should be a lot better than say playing on wireless speakers like Sonos or Apple homepod. But as you rightly said, for a highly resolving setup such a source will be the bottleneck and will be more evident. He’s after all a salesman, so.....

 

[rikhav]

Sandeep, after a brief turbulence I am now back at peace with my component system. I do want to check the Naim Mu-So out of curiosity though. It’s the only Naim product you can buy without getting sucked into the entire Naim ecosystem. With streaming catching on, one can see the market growing exponentially for audiophile single-box systems.

.
You should definitely check out the Naim Mu-so
You won't regret, infact you will be super impressed. Yes but at a very steep price

 

[Naturelover]

There's a Naim Mu-so for sale in Bangalore from a respected FM

 

[Ashenden]

Hi folks, for a new person starting out with a component based stereo and has only Spotify as his source, beyond what cost (DAC+Amp+Speakers) will the system start resolving the difference with a CD?

 

[rikhav]

Hi folks, for a new person starting out with a component based stereo and has only Spotify as his source, beyond what cost (DAC+Amp+Speakers) will the system start resolving the difference with a CD?

Depends what amp and speakers. But even entry level amp and speakers with a khadas dac, allo usbridge, a basic BD player like Sony bd370 will surpass Spotify by a substantial margin for CD playback (BD player connected digitally to Dac)
And for computer file playback, by a very huge margin

 

[Ashenden]

Depends what amp and speakers. But even entry level amp and speakers with a khadas dac, allo usbridge, a basic BD player like Sony bd370 will surpass Spotify by a substantial margin for CD playback (BD player connected digitally to Dac)
And for computer file playback, by a very huge margin

Ok, thanks. My bedroom setup is entry level, Marantz CD/PM6004 and WD 225 speakers, should be around 1.1L cost, but on a blind test I normally fail to spot the 320kbps mp3 from the CD. So, either it's me (with the deaf ears ) or the system not resolving, hence the query.