I saw my first Bose informercial Last Night!

[Eman]

The Bose 3-2-1 superior sound system! Wow, come and sample this amazing technology for yourself in our tour bus with a 5ft by 5 ft listening area - Cool.
The victims in all this - two old farts and a pair of speakers from a 1980 20 inch TV.

I literaly would have died of laughter but the 'only 19.99 so call now operators are standing by' message never came up.

[Markymark]

There is a Bose outlet near me and that stuff is REALLY expensive and, in my opinion, doesn't sound as good as it should for the price.

[Gaara]

Bah, my favorite is their advertisments in magazines and such. There is one for the bose wave radio that has quotes from Sound and Vision saying it is a revolutionary new system, and talking about how great it is, with a asterisk at the end. If you follow the asterisk you see that the quotes were from 85 and 89, I think this type of thing would be big twenty years ago! A lot changes in twenty years.

Jared

[LuSh]

The irony in all of this is that if you posted about Polk Audio on an audiophile forum like Audiogon, you'd be laughed at like you laugh at people who buy Bose on this forum...Bose offers some wonderfull products for people who aren't interested in complication and size, just like Polk Audio offers wonderfull products for the budget minded people.

[michael_w]

The irony in all of this is that if you posted about Polk Audio on an audiophile forum like Audiogon, you'd be laughed at like you laugh at people who buy Bose on this forum...Bose offers some wonderfull products for people who aren't interested in complication and size, just like Polk Audio offers wonderfull products for the budget minded people.

I had the same happen to me when I went to a diy audio meet. They were talking about polk and how it is nothing fancy but then again at the time I happened to be sitting right next to a set of line arrays with about $2500 worth of parts in them... (not even counting what they would cost after you get a cabinet for them and sell them)

[audiobliss]

LuSh - You're right except for where you imply that Bose fills a niche. Bose is junk; nothing more, though perhaps a lot less. It is good for nobody.

Read this; 'tis interesting:
http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html

[LuSh]

That link is rather dated, and has been floating around for quite some time. And yes Bose does fill a niche, a rather large one. It is great for people who simply don't care how good one's system is, but like decent sound from a small cube, that is house friendly. I know a few people that think Polk Audio is mid-fi junk. It's ironic that 1 mans garbage is another mans treasure. I've stopped pointing fingers years ago.

[audiobliss]

Hmm. Ok, you're right. It does fill a niche. And does a great job of it. However, that niche is totally unnecessary. And no it's not good for anyone. And no, it doesn't have decent sound.

Sorry I'm coming off so harsh on this, but I can't help it. If Bose's products were priced at a third of what they are priced at, and if they weren't marketed as being the best in sound, it'd be different. Sure, they may be as good as KLH. Maybe even better. However, it also costs at least 6 times what KLH costs (at least).

So, in light of Bose's prices and what they say they are, they're junk. Horrible. Not good for anyone. They're a disgrace. Just a huge marketing company that happens to sell speakers.

[PolknPepsi]

My 85+ yr. old Uncle bought one of those 400 dollar Boze tabletop radios and was unhappy with it because he could not hear it very well without the treble/bass controls like on most others.

Maybe I should have traded him something for it an given it a labotomy.

[LuSh]

Consumer demand for the Bose product would indicate that there is a niche. Price is always determined by the market. If Bose products were overpriced their would be none sold. Just my 2 cents.

[aaharvel]

Consumer demand for the Bose product would indicate that there is a niche. Price is always determined by the market. If Bose products were overpriced their would be none sold. Just my 2 cents.

Gas is overpriced yet people still buy it to get from point A to point B.

Maybe some people have just been fooled that if it doesn't have the Bose label on it, then it's not worth buying...

hmmmm....

[bobman1235]

The POINT is they only sell due to deceptive marketing. I understand your point - if people buy them they must be doing something right - but people buy them because of the fact that they think they're the best based on lies. You can buy something the exact same SIZE and ease of setup from a dozen other companies for a tenth of the price, and it will sound ten times better. Doesn't that tell you anything? Sure they fill a niche - ripping people out of their money by telling them their **** (literally) is gold.

You say Polk is looked at the same way - not true. Polk is marketed as what it is. It's by no means overpriced. It's an honest company. People on this forum don't mock Bose because it's crappy, they mock it because it's crappy but MARKETED and PRICED as the best.

[Airplay355]

You can't compare Gas to speakers. People NEED gas, most ( I say most because I know there are exceptions :) ) don't NEED speakers. Lush is right. Bose may be overpriced in our eyes, and may sound like **** in our ears but there is obviously a market for tiny 2.5 inch cubes. If there wasn't the company would be belly up.

[Markymark]

I know a few people who have been fans of Bose for a long time now. My dad even went out and got one of the wave radios. He doesn't really care too much for the sound but he needed something compact for his desk (he worked out of his house at this time) so he kept it. It is just sitting in a box somewhere now.

[FutureAudio]

If someone needs compact speakers get it from companies like cambridge soundworks. They make GOOD speakers unlike Bose which simply is only spending $ in marketing it seems and what not. Bose is really RIPPING people off. I dont mind them charging 10x or even 20x if the speakers were really good or atleast as good as polk but they are not.
I must admit though that many years ago I also used to think that bose has one of the best speakers in world. Their marketing is just too good. :(
Polk needs better marketing. Hire me. :D

[michael_w]

Ask anyone who isn't really into audio if they were to buy a home theater system what they would buy. Most respond with bose simply because of ignorance and that they have been told over and over that bose is great. I do agree that they do have their market as a somewhat high-end home theater in a box company for those that need extreme waf in their system but despite that it still is an overpriced product.

BTW those informercials are funny. "WoW with just those 2 speakers I can really hear and feel the sound coming from all directions!!! It's just like being in a theater and it really does sound better than my 5.1 system at home!!"

[aaharvel]

You can't compare Gas to speakers. People NEED gas, most ( I say most because I know there are exceptions :) ) don't NEED speakers. Lush is right. Bose may be overpriced in our eyes, and may sound like **** in our ears but there is obviously a market for tiny 2.5 inch cubes. If there wasn't the company would be belly up.

that wasn't what i meant Airplay. Of course there is a market (huge market) for Bose- why else is polk putting out an overpriced radio and a surround bar. What I was referring to was him saying that Bose can't be overpricing the true value of their products because people still buy them. Normally he would be right- but when you add their marketing tactics into the equation- well... you figure it out... :)

[BrentMcGhee]

We need to stop bashing ("telling the truth") bose here on this forum, we are not going to accomplish anything by doing so. All we ever do is get all riled up and get in the same arguments day after day.

Yes Bose is an overpriced, maniplulitive, poorly made etc, etc. Lets move on, we know truth, we are all preaching to the choir.

[Willow]

The bose informercial I think is funny is when they hold a candle up to the speaker and it moves nothing, then they pull out a replica of the guts inside the radio put it against the speaker and it blows the candle out. The host says "WOW".

[LiquidSound]

I think that's called a deceptomercial.

[Eman]

We need to stop bashing ("telling the truth") bose here on this forum, we are not going to accomplish anything by doing so. All we ever do is get all riled up and get in the same arguments day after day.

Yes Bose is an overpriced, maniplulitive, poorly made etc, etc. Lets move on, we know truth, we are all preaching to the choir.

Its time for action!

There should be an official Bose education day where we all intelligent people go to a store and inform and convince potential Bose customers they are getting overpriced and overhyped stuff.

[PolkThug]

I had fun showing customers the high tech surround material that Bose attaches to their cube speaker cones.... its cloth.

[LuSh]

Why wouldn't a company want to promote their stuff as the best? GM promotes the vette as the sportscar on the planet, anybody wanna compare to a Porsche or Ferrari? Polk Audio claims to make and sell quality speakers for a fair price. While I tend to agree, I know of many people that think Polk Audio is the biggest corporate whore around and offer **** in comparision to other brands such as PSB, Paradigm and Energy. It's all a matter of perception.

Quite honestly I think everything Polk makes is bright and harsh with very little audiophile qualites with the exception of the LSi line. Having said that I don't often share this opinion with people because it doesn't matter what I think, it matters what the person spending the dough thinks. And if a person wants to buy Bose because its small and sounds good, who are we to sit back and judge, or pretend their uninformed.

The reason I bring this up is because people that are into audio outside of this forum, aka Audiogon, Canuckaudiomart.ca etc...carry on about the very same converstations about you. They'll sit and point fingers at the mid-fi posters that shop at Best Buys, FutureShops and CC's of the world and disregard complete systems if the source is anything less then $1k. Bose doesn't sound good? Great, but very few people are buying Bose because it sounds good, they buy it because its been around offers one of the best after sale services centers and chances are it will be around in 10-20yrs if something does happen. If somebody wanted good sound, I doubt very much they'd be shopping at the locations that carry Bose.

[audiobliss]

GM promotes the vette as the sportscar on the planet, anybody wanna compare to a Porsche or Ferrari?

Sure. 2006 'Vette C6 Z06 against anything you got. Take it around Germany's Nurburgring test track along with some other cars. It'll beat Porsche's $500,000 Carrera GT, Lamborghini's 200,000 Gallardo, Lamborghini's 300,000 (or more) Murcielago, etc. Pretty solid claim there with GM.

[Holydoc]

And if a person wants to buy Bose because its small and sounds good, who are we to sit back and judge, or pretend their uninformed.

Lush,

I was staying out of this conversation because I am new at this hobby. However your statements are incorrect and presumptious.

It is one thing to be AWARE of a product because of its advertisement. It is another thing to be INFORMED about a product from its specs and quality. Customers of Bose are AWARE of what the product is advertised to do, they are not INFORMED on the specs of what the product can actually perform.

Just because the Bose company tells you that its speakers sound good, does not make it so. It definitely does not make you INFORMED. The Bose speaker systems sound better than your conventional mono-speaker that comes in your Television. That is what your typical consumer is comparing the Bose too. They are not INFORMED that an even better quality speaker will make that sound stage even better.

The Bose company makes you AWARE that their speakers have patented features that make it perform like no other speaker. You are not INFORM on how these features affect the specs and quality of their product so that you can compare to other speakers. Companies like Polk, Swan, etc INFORM you of their specs so that you know exactly what the capabilities and quality of the speaker you are buying.

Personnally, I think it is very appropriate for the knowledgeable people in this forum to "sit back and judge, or pretend [the Bose Customer is] uninformed". Because if you are selling a product that deals with accoustics and you will not specify the accoustic capabilities and limitations of your product, you are not informing the public, you are taking advantage of the fact that people are uniformed.

[Willow]

http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/jk/051005.htm

This is what I like :

Bose has developed their ideal curve for frequency response over the years and uses a custom computer program to balance both the speaker volume and frequency output. The Infiniti M uses a DVD 5.1 "Studio" Surround Sound system. The "Studio" moniker is part marketing, but represents the personal sound provided with the seat-mounted speakers one might hear in a studio. The 5.1 describes five channels of sound with frequency response from 3 Hz to 20 KHz and a sixth channel, typically through a subwoofer that reproduces frequencies from 3 Hz to 120 Hz.