Why People hate Bose

[gobble]

Being a novice i did a big crime of asking the point why people hate bose...i never thought this will lead to hurt emotion's of some peoples...i stressed so many times but very few considered it and others quoted example of other models...i have not heard any other model except Bose companion 5 and wen i and my friends (around 6) heard it...bose felt nice to them and even i havent heard any distortion...so thats being the reason why i considered it to be discussed(positively)...i understand that you ppl are audiophiles and you knw where bose looses its quality...as Mr Square Wave said that they have programmed dsp so that they aim at producing distortion free instead of producing the original sound...im very much convinced by his opinion(Post 32)....that really i feel the difference...as i felt that when again i heard the system...Thank you all for their inputs for making me clear about this...cheers

Hey Cnu
This thread has turned into a mini family soap drama .. sorry if I sounded like I am belittling your question or did not give you a serious or respectful answer. Sometimes (oh no all the time?!!) I tend to get carried away by the joke impulse (consider me my own victim ). Like I said in an earlier post, it was meant to be some light hearted fun ribbing and poking.

Hey Cnu, I think the crime is not on your part. Its actually on my part when I tried to enquire what EXACTLY are the drawbacks of Bose sound system with respect to its rivals.

Oh no ... you can't take all the credit for that ... you thief!! hyeah:
Cheers
-G0bble

 

[jaudere]

Hi hiten,

I agree absolutely to what you say. But clear one doubt for me. How to you know if the signal produced by a system is true to source unless you were present at the time of actual performance ?

Even the recording itself is processed sound &not original sound. And that is to the liking of music director/recording engineer who use equalization during recording. In that process he makes it impure. It also depends on the quality of microphones & software and hardware used for recording.

In single sentence ,'what is the gold standard for comparing a system to the original other than your own ears and that too when you attend the performance that is not amplified artificially.
One system sounding better than other does not automatically mean that its true to the source.

If what you say is correct about audiophiles ,to end their pilgrimage at right place,they should stop listening to recorded sound and attend live classical music baithaks on some open terrace where the audience is restricted to 20-30. There are no microphones involved and only acoustic instruments like tabla or harmonium are used. No question of reflections because its on open terrace.
There the quest for pure sound will really end. Whether that will make them happy is another question.

If its only the purity thats under consideration,why to fight over whether one interconnect is better than others. When one says one cable gives better sound,it itself implies that one is searching for sound of his liking and not for pure sound. The initial cable itself might be giving original sound but this fellow likes the new one and thats why he THINKS it closer to original.

 

[sups]

Oh no ... you can't take all the credit for that ... you thief!! hyeah:
Cheers
-G0bble

I give up. You do have a tremendous sense of humour .

 

[vivek.saikia]

Hey Cnu
This thread has turned into a mini family soap drama .. sorry if I sounded like I am belittling your question or did not give you a serious or respectful answer.

Ha ha hyeah:hyeah: Very true. This thread really has all the ingredients of a perfect Bollywood masala flick! Love, Lust, Hatred (ofcourse for the speakers), deception, action, drama, comedy.
Though, I prefer not to love or hate Bose, but I visit this thread to just get my daily dose of entertainment. And I believe, the intention of OP was the same, to let some sparks fly and enjoy the show hyeah:

No offence anyone hyeah:

Peace out!

 

[edjamesx]

Hi CnU, Nice thread.

I own a bose 5.1 home theater speaker. After a while i audiotioned many other speakers some how i dont like them because , they blast the sound and hurting the ears.

BOSE worked well in terms of handling frequencies which exactly matches the human's hearing frequency. And worked well in sound acoustics ( the founder and creator of BOSE is a Sound acoustics engineer and did many research on this area). BOSE never hurt the ears. I personaly liked the BOSE speakers . But it depends on the individual preferences. Some people like the blasting and louder Some likes milder and sweeter sound.

BOSE's extra magic is in its acoustimas module.

 

[gobble]

Hi hiten,

I agree absolutely to what you say. But clear one doubt for me. How to you know if the signal produced by a system is true to source unless you were present at the time of actual performance ?

It also depends on the quality of microphones & software and hardware used for recording.
...
If its only the purity thats under consideration,why to fight over whether one interconnect is better than others. When one says one cable gives better sound,it itself implies that one is searching for sound of his liking and not for pure sound. The initial cable itself might be giving original sound but this fellow likes the new one and thats why he THINKS it closer to original.

Jaudere

I agree to your points wholly and have probably believed in this viewpoint from the start of my audiophile journey. I have spent 10+K on buying CDs of noname carnatic musicians and I find that like in the BPO/IT industry genuine competence of recording engineers is a rarity. I don't lose sleep over whether a recording is authentic more than if the recording sounds authentic to my imagination.

As for cables, I worry about frequency extension, snap, speed and "balance" that make up for the deficiencies of the rest of my gear. For example my speakers sound cold while I like warm sound, so the chord chameleon was a temporary good choice for its lower mid hump in frequency balance ... until I grew tired of its other shortcomings.

But we have to remember, a bad cable can destroy other qualities of the music reproduction that have nothing to do with authenticity.

And staying on topic ... I believe with Bose one might lose the chance to "tailor" the sound and make it sound more "organic" "natural" and "authentic". Bose may be good for the "processed" and artificially sophisticated sound. Then we should also remember that many people who reject Bose never achieve a truly organic natural or authentic sound with their other gear.

It is a game .. it is Maya ... (think Jaudere in a chariot with G0bble the charioteer ...)

Remember we all enjoyed music and were transported to heaven on a simple 2-in-one during our childhood? On gear that will invoke horror at the mention of their specs today? Many adult consumers are still in that state of mind, and for them Bose does the trick. For the rest like us, the quest goes on .... hyeah:

--G0bble

 

[deepakgang]

so its is correct if I say in a summary that Bose is a hi-end lifestyle product than a hi-fi audio product

 

[girish_sutar]

I guess Deepak summarized it better....Kudos.:clapping:

 

[jaudere]

so its is correct if I say in a summary that Bose is a hi-end lifestyle product than a hi-fi audio product

Yes. I even doubt about 'hi end'. Its a costly product with some kind of created aura is all that i can agree. (an aura that attracts many and repulses many)

@gobble:what is this maya? I am not at all familiar with games. All i know is musicmaya who is a forum member who is upset on me on another thread because i dont agree with his theory of high amp power is needed to produce rich bass.

 

[Cnu]

Hey Cnu, I think the crime is not on your part. Its actually on my part when I tried to enquire what EXACTLY are the drawbacks of Bose sound system with respect to its rivals.

hey sups

plss dont feel so...im really thankful to every one in this thread for giving their valuable suggestions...and with a conclusion...this thread had really told me lot about what is the thing which has to be looked while judging speakers...abt bose speaker system...well said Mr Square wave initially...and laterly by others for which im very much thankful to them...i guess this thread will be helpful to newbie's who can be taken away by bose representative abt their product

 

[BLASTO]

Most of the people I have seen who go for Apple and Bose are those who want to run away from the time constraints or are not COMPETENT enough to EVALUATE the products and wish to instead go with the mass to INSURE their purchase (more like a "BHED CHAAL").

Seriously, these are intelligent group of people compared to others who "think" they make informed decisions based on the specifications.

I have overheard people discussing why they should take the costlier TV because it has 150000:1 contrast ratio and the cheaper one is just 100000:1. Instead of giving absolutely false numbers like these with no reasons, Is it not good to just give no numbers at all?

Talk of Bose, they would NEVER release even the BASIC specification of their products

BTW, What do you get from the speaker specifications anyways? What is "Insdustry standard"? Without adding any brownie points to Bose, I personally think, Most companies still use numbers which are not usable. Better not to use them and use the senses instead to judge the products!

 

[xiro]

Better not to use them and use the senses instead to judge the products!

True, and when you have learned enough to use your senses, bose products just don't satisfy your senses need.

 

[manish26264]

Hi Guys,

Recently I had been to USA and had a chance to hear the Bose - Apple docking station, I was amazed by the low frequency coming out from such a small component, however it was lacking the High frequency considerably.

 

[cyberbaba]

Well to be honest i have NEVER been a Bose fan, yet i am a Bose owner today - ironically. I have always liked the low frequencies that the Bose Bass Module dishes out. I think only Transmission Lines can go that low. But the price never really justified the output which is why i never bothered about Bose.

But when I got a STEAL OF A DEAL to pick up a decent condition Bose AM 10 for INR 5K there was no turning down that offer - and hence me a Bose owner.

If you got the money and dont have the time and like brand name Bose is the brand for you. Its sure not Audiophile but an "Aunty Uncle" seller... LOL

Cheers!:clapping:

 

[asliarun]

...
BTW, What do you get from the speaker specifications anyways? What is "Insdustry standard"? Without adding any brownie points to Bose, I personally think, Most companies still use numbers which are not usable. Better not to use them and use the senses instead to judge the products!

I was quite impressed with the level of detail that Ascend Acoustics provides.

 

[BLASTO]

I was quite impressed with the level of detail that Ascend Acoustics provides.

wow!

 

[gobble]

I was quite impressed with the level of detail that Ascend Acoustics provides.

All those wobbly waves in the charts ...

are hitting me and putting me in a daze .... and my impression about these speakers is er ... wavering... feels like I am on Star Trek episode ... now my condition is worse than with the Bose nightmare .. someone .. help me please ... I can't stand ... :lol:

More seriously, brings us back to what Jaudere said - "Spec's ain't ever helped nobody" ... not for the average consumer goods buyer for sure hyeah:

--G0bble

 

[asliarun]

All those wobbly waves in the charts ...

More seriously, brings us back to what Jaudere said - "Spec's ain't ever helped nobody" ... not for the average consumer goods buyer for sure hyeah:

--G0bble

Those 3D graph reminds me of old Winamp visualizations.

An average buyer still needs some semblance of control over technology - that extra level of detail reassures them. Others who have another extra depth of detail feel even more reassured and confident (those who would say that PMPO is meaningless, use RMS instead).

However, some details ARE required. For example, it is easy to base one's audio purchase decision based on a listening test. However, what does one do if one is purchasing a refrigerator? Is "Active Ion" technology really superior to oompa loompa technology?

I would argue that while a lot of these technical details and graphs may not make sense to us, I would still prefer a company that discloses all these details versus a company that provides lesser details. Sharing this level of detail tells me that the company is confident about its product to the extent that they are willing to make it public.

 

[gobble]

Those 3D graph reminds me of old Winamp visualizations.

An average buyer still needs some semblance of control over technology - that extra level of detail reassures them. Others who have another extra depth of detail feel even more reassured and confident (those who would say that PMPO is meaningless, use RMS instead).

However, some details ARE required. For example, it is easy to base one's audio purchase decision based on a listening test. However, what does one do if one is purchasing a refrigerator? Is "Active Ion" technology really superior to oompa loompa technology?

I would argue that while a lot of these technical details and graphs may not make sense to us, I would still prefer a company that discloses all these details versus a company that provides lesser details. Sharing this level of detail tells me that the company is confident about its product to the extent that they are willing to make it public.

Yep which is why I lampooned Bose in the first place.

Like they say, all viewpoints have shades of truth in them ...

For example I am trying to make sense of the impedance curve of my fostex 166e . I don't like their lack of warmth that I took delight in the Wharfie 9.2s. Hell even the Edifier iPod tiny 1 foot boom box I heard had frequencies prominent that I cannot hear in this FR speaker in an A/B test. The upper mids are also too prominent in them making them sound "accurate" and even "hot" in this range unless I adjust the toe-in to nil to take advantage of off-axis dip in upper frequencies (the dotted lines) ... or use a dark sounding Mullard tube.

Look at the impedance curve of this driver. A peak around 1.5khz and a dip until 200hz at the mids and with peaks beyond 2khz as well. Of course the cabinet will change the response and the chart does not reflect accurate performance of my speakers.

So does that explain why it sounds relatively thin compared to warm speakers? The frequencies at 5 to 10 khz are easier to play than the frequencies around 250hz. But an amp with GNFB is supposed to be relatively immune to impedance variations of the speaker. Then what gives? Now if I tweak my upcoming tube amp project to switch from GNFB to No or Zero NFB (a highly recommended mod) what will be the effect? Will I dislike the sound even more as the SQ and frequency balance is now even more influenced by the impedance variations of the speaker? Then it could be the lack of overall frequency balance (missing sub ) in the lower registers that make it sound so. Damn psycho-acoustics!!

I don't expect to answer the above question or gain real intellectual insight without help from others more experienced in audio electronics. When I purchased this speaker I was zero in any gyaan, now I am perhaps at level 1 (out of 100) But still if I were to shop for speakers tomorrow, I would still look at the impedance curve before purchasing (and pour scorn over anybody who refuses to share specs ). In other words this half baked knowledge does not help me make a decision but I am kinda stuck on it like a neurotic. Definitely my aspiration for a non NFB tube amp will influence my search for a speaker with a relatively flat impedance curve. But the game has become more intellectual to the point where it can defeat the appeal of emotions that the simple experience of auditioning a setup can give. Eventually one may arrive at choice of gear that sounds marvelous all by fluke and pretend it was the intellectual approach that won oneself the rewards.

Like in many other areas of life, in the audiophile journey too the thrill of the chase can more rewarding than the actual fruits of the labor. hyeah:

Edit: Moral of the story: Don't "weigh" your Oompa Loompa's and get too analytical about their specs .. love them for what they feel like and know just enough to understand they are not broken .. or know when they are broken

--G0bble

 

[kernelpanicpopcorn]

After reading members views in various forums that Bose boasts much about its quality but its not that worth...at that price we can buy a nice pair of speakers n amplifier...i too firmly believed that....till yesterday night...till one of my friend has played a flac in his laptop with bose companion mulmedia 5 speaker system in foobar2000...it has got incredible treble...it produce such a smooth sound...i heard my system several of time...(Marantz Pm 8003 + quad 11l classic speakers + marantz cd6003 +solitone x interconnect + dac speaker cable)...my system cant be comparable with it...bose plays very smooth like silk with no disturbance at all...(my system cant even go any near to it)....bose costs only 22.5k where as my system costs 90k...cost 4 times it...i dont knw wat technology they use....but they have achieved superb sound...thanks for viewing...i dont want to be a critic to speak adversely abt other companies...at that price range...i dint hear any system with that quality...please once listen bose companion 5...

i respect your opinion, and if you prefer the bose system, so be it.
if you wish, i could even exchange a bose companion system for your system...

dhruv