Why People hate Bose

[deepakgang]

Well to answer the title of the thread - people dont hate bose.. if they did the company would have ceased to exist. But when you are talking about audiophiles who cares about sound reproduction, accuracy and all that falls into what they enjoys in the reproduction of sound, may it music or movies, Bose is not worth the hype it has created. It might have done a lot of R&D for some of its technologies like Waveguide and a lot of marketing, but their reluctance to publish the results of their effort and the we-know-its-the-best-so-buy-it-if-you-can-afford-it kind of attitude along with average performance and premium price puts people off.

If they were really serious, they could start a separate range of purist sound reproduction taking care of audiophile communities comments. Then we will see

 

[Cnu]

I think the Missile was too fast for you ... surely all these people cannot be wong ... err wrong!! Was it a supersonic cruise missile? Then you have to be at the destination (target zone) of the missile in order to really experience something. hyeah:



Precisely. What is good for movies may not move the listener when it comes to music.

Lets all pretend the OP had an outbreak of rashes and now things are back to normal with the application of some topical anti-inflammatory anti-bose cream.

But I am really afraid the OP may be permanently tainted with people whispering behind his back in social gatherings... "He's the guy who likes Bose over his 2-channel audio ..."

If you are still unmarried .. I am sorry to say your chances look very bleak now ...

Better you change your Name, your Drivers ID, Birth Certificate, School TC form etc etc and your forum username to avoid the stigma ...
Society can be very unforgiving ... hyeah:


--Gobble

just a small info i wanna ask u...have u heard Bose multi-media companion 5...see dude...i dont wanna question u but its my experience i n my friends had...if this forum helps anyone who is going to buy a new speaker at that price...may it help him choose...and if he denies to buy and writes the reasons...it wud help others to be reasonable of what it lags...

 

[malvai]

Personally I feel that for most people who want a fairly decent setup with a great badge value for their everyday passive listening - BOSE is a fair deal.

Now when it comes to analytical audiophile listening where every detail counts - it obviously falls very short of expectations.

both the scenarios are as different as apples and oranges.

To each his own. I say.

 

[hemantwaghe]

just a small info i wanna ask u...have u heard Bose multi-media companion 5...see dude...i dont wanna question u but its my experience i n my friends had...if this forum helps anyone who is going to buy a new speaker at that price...may it help him choose...and if he denies to buy and writes the reasons...it wud help others to be reasonable of what it lags...

anyone tried audioengine against bose?

I have Edirol MA-150 with that want to make mini rig ( Roland U.S. - MA-15D: Digital Stereo Micro Monitors) ...wann do a shootout against bose! ( BTW being studio monitors ,still these speakers have good amount of bass...)

 

[shershah]

just a small info i wanna ask u...have u heard Bose multi-media companion 5...see dude...i dont wanna question u but its my experience i n my friends had...if this forum helps anyone who is going to buy a new speaker at that price...may it help him choose...and if he denies to buy and writes the reasons...it wud help others to be reasonable of what it lags...

hehehe - Cnu - do you know who you are talking to? - Gobble - man! - he is kryptonite man - he has "been there-done that" -

what .. man? - yo want to shoot youself in you mouth? - crazy bleed -

no man - serious - on which planet do ya live? - nobuddy messes with gobble and remembers who his ancestors were - you are crazy dude - trying to walk this uncertain path-

hearken back to your youth - were you abused by authority?

and Cnu - relax - you need to have everything open!

 

[gobble]

just a small info i wanna ask u...have u heard Bose multi-media companion 5...see dude...i dont wanna question u but its my experience i n my friends had...if this forum helps anyone who is going to buy a new speaker at that price...may it help him choose...and if he denies to buy and writes the reasons...it wud help others to be reasonable of what it lags...

Chill dude! Just light hearted fun!

Yes I did hear a demo at the local Bose Bose Bose Bose Bose showroom ...

See how Boomy it sounds?

PS: If you are getting married ... don't ever ask for a Bose system as dowry ...

--G0bble

 

[gobble]

hehehe - Cnu - do you know who you are talking to? - Gobble - man! - he is kryptonite man - he has "been there-done that" -

what .. man? - yo want to shoot youself in you mouth? - crazy bleed -

no man - serious - on which planet do ya live? - nobuddy messes with gobble and remembers who his ancestors were - you are crazy dude - trying to walk this uncertain path-

hearken back to your youth - were you abused by authority?

and Cnu - relax - you need to have everything open!

You have been warned ... Eieeeeeeee! ...

MuhawhawhawHahahaha! hyeah:

 

[theironhorse]

i dont hate bose.. they do make some good stuff....

but i dont like them either.. for that price point i wud rather do a custom build..

 

[sups]

Chill dude! Just light hearted fun!

Yes I did hear a demo at the local Bose Bose Bose Bose Bose showroom ...

--G0bble

Hey Gobble,

Can you please share your experience for your audition with Bose speakers? I mean what are the major shortcomings that stuck you.

Best,
sups

 

[Vivek Rao]

Guys I had a QC1 headphone of Bose for 3 years now and have used it very rarely. After 3 years the status of the headphone muffs are below. The adhesives have come off, the cheap blue sponge is poking out. The whole thing reeks of poor material useage, adhesives used not condusive to tropical conditions...

My AKG and Philips which I use far more than the Bose one has survived for the last 10 years (naturally the thin artificial rexin on top peels out but the whole darn earmuffs dont fall apart.

 

[Vivek Rao]

Sorry please read as TP1 (Triport over the ear version)

 

[square_wave]

When it comes to high performance of audio gear usually there is one thing which is deemed very important.

Ability to accurately reproduce music as it is heard in life in a concert or recital hall or ability to recreate what is there on the master tape.

Where you looking for this aspect when you listened to bose ?

Bose is a complete product when it comes to impressing people by producing a very smooth and synthetic sound which is far away from the real thing! But the truth is that it impresses most people who are not looking for the real thing ! It is custom tailored to do that. They impart this smooth flavor to almost anything you play on it. This works for them. It is a huge chunk of the market.

There are many folks who actually prefer a bose system to a perfectly setup hifidelity sound system. There is nothing wrong in it. You may actually fall into this camp. If so, you are lucky ! You actually save a lot of money

It is futile trying to validate your findings on an audiophile forum because most folks here would have done this many moons back and moved on. It is like taking a photograph on an iPhone and actually liking it better than what you got when you casually clicked with a top of the line SLR. To understand what the SLR is capable of, you may need to spend quality time with it. You will be amazed what it can do if you figure out what it can do !

End of my Friday rant !

 

[vinod_david]

 

[sbg]

When it comes to high performance of audio gear usually there is one thing which is deemed very important.

Ability to accurately reproduce music as it is heard in life in a concert or recital hall or ability to recreate what is there on the master tape.


...
...

It is futile trying to validate your findings on an audiophile forum because most folks here would have done this many moons back and moved on. It is like taking a photograph on an iPhone and actually liking it better than what you got when you casually clicked with a top of the line SLR. To understand what the SLR is capable of, you may need to spend quality time with it. You will be amazed what it can do if you figure out what it can do !

End of my Friday rant !

I guess a lot have been said and done about "B..e" ( its is registered trademark and I'm not sure if I'm entitled to use their trademark/logo etc - It will not be suprising if they come with their legal rep on these discussion!)

The point is, I too felt like bashing/redicule again but to preserve the sanctity of all these discussion and to promote Positive outlook to share Good things in life - will give my realife experencies( may be later tonight or so).

What I wanted to convey right now is that ( not to de-mean any person in this thread or whomso ever reading this) People are lot different when things of subjectivity comes to discussion - and citing an anology also does not help in these discussion to certain individuals. what I mean here is that, there are people who are so egostic/blind/naive that they will always feel the snap taken from and Ipho..e is 1000 time better( or no better at all) than what you take from any SLR or any point and shoot. or the other way to put it in realistic manner - few pepole cannot comperend the difference between the 2 snaps. Its like ( again ,for people who can understand) - I cannot hear much above 14 Khz( around this frequency) - so If any crappy speaker outputs 15khz or top of the line speaker outputing 14.5 or 15 khz ( whatever the suble or gross quality difference). I'm still ignorant on what the hell is those "audibles" sound like.

shall update my examples later.

 

[G401fan]

Bose is the largest selling speaker company in the world.

Interestingly, it is possibly the only hi-fi vendor that does not advertise in Audio magazines, neither high-end nor mass market.

They do advertise heavily in lifestyle magazines, which is why they've been so successful. Their target audience is the average middle-to-upper income consumer who needs to redecorate his home by buying a new stereo / home theater set-up (along with the other standard gizmos), but couldn't be bothered with the technical details, complexity of installation, or the niceties of audiophile sound quality. The small satellites also go well, with minimal impact on home decor. High WAF.

It's similar to sales of music CDs or movie DVDs. Any store could tell you that the maximum sales are for the middle-of-the-road stuff, the grammy winners and biiboard chart toppers. These get sold to the no-taste segment, which is, incidentally, the largest segment of the music-buying crowd - mainly people who've got a new stereo/HT, and now they need something to play on it.

This is not to knock these people, as everybody has a right to his own taste or lack of it. It's just that their interests lie elsewhere and it may be too much to expect everyone to have the same passion as we do about music and sound quality. It may sound cynical, but it's also reality. Bose has been singular in focusing its attention on this market.

 

[linnhifi]

For the last 15 years i have been arguing that Bose is not value for money.

they are just ok in performance. First of all it is not an audiofile company.

They are mostly available in the stores only. They do not give after sales

support. Did they ever make a true sub-woofer?. We know scores of

companies cheaper, better and realiable than Bose for the same cost Bose

products cost.

 

[jaudere]

To OP, while comparing,you should keep the source same. May be in foobar your friend has done some equalization. So may be you should listen to your system with that laptop as source and not the CDP. Your systems looks impressive on paper.

I feel that only the recording engineer can comment whether a particular part of music/movie(that he mastered) is reproduced exactly by a system or not. For others its more subjective. Who amongst us has really experienced a battle field to comment on the effect of a missile? May be captain Rajesh?

According to me you have to buy a system that pleases your senses. Whether that system is true to source or no is another issue. Its about being happy. I have seen people cribbing with a rs 10 LAC system & some people being extremely happy about i ball 2.1 tarang. So one should aim at buying happiness and not truth. Now if truth is going to bring someone happiness,thats great. As in most of the matters, truth may not be sweet.

I consider myself lucky to have less discerning ears. I attain audio nirvana even with my locally made ventronics driven by marantz pm 6002 which is fed by my netbook via foobar . I can spend more on buying good music rather than spending on music system.

 

[gobble]

Hey Gobble,

Can you please share your experience for your audition with Bose speakers? I mean what are the major shortcomings that stuck you.

Best,
sups

Hi Sups

I was hoping nobody would ask me that ... I mean the thing still gives me nightmares. Sigh! But let me try and give you some highly subjective impressions -

Ever sat in a Rickshaw where the backseat space has been taken up by two huge wooden speaker boxes (the space where one normally keeps ones stuff behind ones back)? The thing takes up so much space that the backseat is permanently tilted a little forwards making the passengers feel almost doubled up in crouching position. hyeah:

Then the driver, rather than keep both hands steady on the handle for safe and alert steering, will also try to impress you in the middle of the road by playing DJ, tilting down with a thumb and forefinger perpetually on the volume control of some "Sweety" Amp or similar brand or make. Typically it will also be decked with flashy LEDs but let us stick to the aspect of sound here.

The shrill piercing sound of the tweeters have the same effect as a roughly handled ear bud might in your ears, while the hollow Boom of the woofer make your entire body tremble in resonance with the metal body of the rickshaw - although some call the effect as vibrating in "harmony" with the music And the sound always has a perpetual Doppler effect with a progressively flattening pitch - as if the sound source is moving away from the listener at high speed! hyeah:

Crash! Boom! Tinkle! Aaaaa ... Shriek! <vocals> Crash ! Boom! Tinkle! Aaaaa ... Crash ! Boom! Tinkle! Crash ! Boom! Tinkle!

Now close your eyes and imagine the tiny satellite Bose speakers on the walls are replaced by 5 such Rickshaws hanging vertically in your lovely living room with the windowpanes vibrating with the "Rhythm" and "Flow" of the "music" !! hyeah:

And the Demo ... Sssigh! The memory of that day is now faint but it went something like this -

Me: "So this is the SubWoofer?" quizzically ...
Salesman: "No sir! That is the Bass Extraction Additive Module"
Me: Pausing, puzzled ... putting two and two together after an initial stun effect - "Same thing .. right? A Woofer!!" I urge with resurgent confidence ...
Salesman: Exasperated and in a condescending tone ... "No sir this is not a Woofer! It is called a Bass Extraction Additive Module Only"

That night was an unusually warm night, as I lay in bed till 3am unable to sleep ... Watching the cobwebbed blades of the ceiling fan turn rather slowly with a creaking noise, due to low voltage, I suddenly realized I was feeling a chill ... like my blood was turning cold!

The chastising tone of the salesman and my humiliation at the store haunted me and I kept hearing his condescending voice again and again in my head ... "Repeat after me - Bass Extraction Additive Module ... Bass Extraction Additive Module" Bass Extraction Additive Module" " ... his voice seemed to echo over and over.

Before I realized what was happening .. reality blurred into the haze of dreams ... A huge low frequency burring noise of a spaceship deep in outer space (30hz and whereabouts) filled my auditory senses (think opening shot of Star Wars in Widescreen VistaRama projection). I walked down the aisle from the Captains bridge, making my way towards the loo ... desperately wanted to pee ... suddenly I noticed the door to my right from the corner of my eye, lost in thought I had just passed it without realizing. A sigh escaped my lips as I turned around and grabbed the handle and gave it a violent twist .. and Whooosh! I was sucked into outer space ...!

Round and round I spun, my screams silent in the vacuum of space ... I tumbled around in ether ... like I was in a spin dryer of a front loading washing machine ... A spaceman tethered to the ship tried to reach out to me ... but soon he reached the end of his tether and gave up ... something was sucking me away from the ship with alarming speed ... into the horrifying blackness of outer space ... the millions of stars that dotted the dark fabric of outer space, a silent and indifferent witness to my existential threat.. was it a Black Hole pulling me ..?!! I looked over my shoulder as I spun ... far out in the darkness where even light seemed to vanish and stars sucked in ... it was not a Black Hole!! ... it was ... a humongous bass-reflex port of a Bass Extraction Additive Module!! Suddenly I realized the low frequency sound was not emanating from the spaceship ... it had been coming all the while from this huge and dark Bass Reflex port that was looming progressively closer and was sucking me in ... along with the light of the stars .. and the stars themselves ... !!

I survived that nightmare without a heart attack .. but I am terrified of re-living that dream ... been a nervous wreck ever since ...

Hey do I have too much time on my hands ... ?

I gotta rush to office now.

Cheers
--G0bble

 

[shershah]

actually , i hate myself -

i was such a self-satisfied fool before that singular event in my life-

before this event i was full of myself - i had powerbook G4 - airport express - airtunes -technics amplifier - technics rack- technics loudspeakers - and even used Bose system - four double cubes and one piston subwoofer- i was king, man!

i also had a sony mini compo system - which i thought was superb - with better clarity of vocals than either the bose or the technics -

i also used ipod with sony MDR headphones - and they were so fantastic -

and then one day -

i went to Cochin - and listened to the Rethm speakers at Kakkanad - and my world fell apart-

i felt like such a fool having wasted the better part of my life having listened to bull dung-

bose - is bull dung - and one will only know it when (as square wave sez) when you have moved on and known better -

 

[denom]

Hi Sups

I was hoping nobody would ask me that ... I mean the thing still gives me nightmares. Sigh! But let me try and give you some highly subjective impressions -

Ever sat in a Rickshaw where the backseat space has been taken up by two huge wooden speaker boxes (the space where one normally keeps ones stuff behind ones back)? The thing takes up so much space that the backseat is permanently tilted a little forwards making the passengers feel almost doubled up in crouching position. hyeah:

Then the driver, rather than keep both hands steady on the handle for safe and alert steering, will also try to impress you in the middle of the road by playing DJ, tilting down with a thumb and forefinger perpetually on the volume control of some "Sweety" Amp or similar brand or make. Typically it will also be decked with flashy LEDs but let us stick to the aspect of sound here.

The shrill piercing sound of the tweeters have the same effect as a roughly handled ear bud might in your ears, while the hollow Boom of the woofer make your entire body tremble in resonance with the metal body of the rickshaw - although some call the effect as vibrating in "harmony" with the music And the sound always has a perpetual Doppler effect with a progressively flattening pitch - as if the sound source is moving away from the listener at high speed! hyeah:

Crash! Boom! Tinkle! Aaaaa ... Shriek! <vocals> Crash ! Boom! Tinkle! Aaaaa ... Crash ! Boom! Tinkle! Crash ! Boom! Tinkle!

Now close your eyes and imagine the tiny satellite Bose speakers on the walls are replaced by 5 such Rickshaws hanging vertically in your lovely living room with the windowpanes vibrating with the "Rhythm" and "Flow" of the "music" !! hyeah:

And the Demo ... Sssigh! The memory of that day is now faint but it went something like this -

Me: "So this is the SubWoofer?" quizzically ...
Salesman: "No sir! That is the Bass Extraction Additive Module"
Me: Pausing, puzzled ... putting two and two together after an initial stun effect - "Same thing .. right? A Woofer!!" I urge with resurgent confidence ...
Salesman: Exasperated and in a condescending tone ... "No sir this is not a Woofer! It is called a Bass Extraction Additive Module Only"

That night was an unusually warm night, as I lay in bed till 3am unable to sleep ... Watching the cobwebbed blades of the ceiling fan turn rather slowly with a creaking noise, due to low voltage, I suddenly realized I was feeling a chill ... like my blood was turning cold!

The chastising tone of the salesman and my humiliation at the store haunted me and I kept hearing his condescending voice again and again in my head ... "Repeat after me - Bass Extraction Additive Module ... Bass Extraction Additive Module" Bass Extraction Additive Module" " ... his voice seemed to echo over and over.

Before I realized what was happening .. reality blurred into the haze of dreams ... A huge low frequency burring noise of a spaceship deep in outer space (30hz and whereabouts) filled my auditory senses (think opening shot of Star Wars in Widescreen VistaRama projection). I walked down the aisle from the Captains bridge, making my way towards the loo ... desperately wanted to pee ... suddenly I noticed the door to my right from the corner of my eye, lost in thought I had just passed it without realizing. A sigh escaped my lips as I turned around and grabbed the handle and gave it a violent twist .. and Whooosh! I was sucked into outer space ...!

Round and round I spun, my screams silent in the vacuum of space ... I tumbled around in ether ... like I was in a spin dryer of a front loading washing machine ... A spaceman tethered to the ship tried to reach out to me ... but soon he reached the end of his tether and gave up ... something was sucking me away from the ship with alarming speed ... into the horrifying blackness of outer space ... the millions of stars that dotted the dark fabric of outer space, a silent and indifferent witness to my existential threat.. was it a Black Hole pulling me ..?!! I looked over my shoulder as I spun ... far out in the darkness where even light seemed to vanish and stars sucked in ... it was not a Black Hole!! ... it was ... a humongous bass-reflex port of a Bass Extraction Additive Module!! Suddenly I realized the low frequency sound was not emanating from the spaceship ... it had been coming all the while from this huge and dark Bass Reflex port that was looming progressively closer and was sucking me in ... along with the light of the stars .. and the stars themselves ... !!

I survived that nightmare without a heart attack .. but I am terrified of re-living that dream ... been a nervous wreck ever since ...

Hey do I have too much time on my hands ... ?

I gotta rush to office now.

Cheers
--G0bble

This is precisely why a new thread will start(perhaps by the OP ) reading " W I H G " (WHY I HATE GOBBLE) :lol:hyeah:

@ GG,

Seriously, you have way too much free f@#King time at your disposal. Make good use of it by writing some goobledygook action/hi-fi/space/alien/drama novel / script for a movie. What say HFV'ians???

Bambaiyaa Hindi mein bole toh isse kehte hai 'Dimag Ki Maa Ch*dna'