OT: Bose

GridIronGhost · Post by **GridIronGhost** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 1:26 pm

I was at the Bose store yesterday and was blown away with the sound, not to mention the price! I have tinitus in both ears 24/7, so my hear is not fine tuned as it use to be. I know I have seen some posts in regards to Bose products being overpriced...on this forum. So let me ask, if not Bose, then what is as good or better then Bose...while saving some cash? I want the TriPod light weight head sets that are on sale for $129.99. What is better? Also they have a home theater system that I'm thinking of getting to replace my JBL/Pioneer system. The Bose system is $2399.99 and sounds awesome. Are these products a waste of money?

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 1:29 pm

Yes...the Bose home systems are ridiculously overpriced. You can get a comparable system for around 1500, rather than 2400. They sound really good, but you can always find similar for cheaper. They sell by the name...like most expensive things do.

As for the TriPort headphones...I freakin' love mine. They are so light and comfortable and they reproduce sound exceptionally well. I'd recommend them in a heartbeat. You do have to be careful with them though. They have been known to break at the hinge (where the cups meet the headband). If you're careful with them and don't just toss them in bags without a care in the world...they should be fine. Like I said, comfort and sound-wise, they are outstanding.

BTW...I know the home systems are overpriced because my dad has one of their acoustimass systems. He spend 2000 on it. I went and spent 800 bucks on a Panasonic Home Theatre in a Box and it sounds just as good. Sometimes you can find oustanding deals on Polk or Acoustic Research systems that sound really damn good.

GridIronGhost · Post by **GridIronGhost** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 1:51 pm

Thanks DB, my feelings exact about the headphones. I thought I would ask before pulling the trigger on this headset. I never tried a more comfortable headset with this awesome sound, that's why I want to see if anyone has opinions on any other headphones.

Fry's has a Polk system on sale for $699, think I'll go check it out.

F308GTB · Post by **F308GTB** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 2:02 pm

No offense to Bose owners, but it really is garbage. Maybe too strong a word, but Bose does well with advertising and name recognition. People have been brainwashed into thinking Bose is a fabulous brand. Perhaps so, but not for the price they charge.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 2:09 pm

F308GTB wrote:No offense to Bose owners, but it really is garbage. Maybe too strong a word, but Bose does well with advertising and name recognition. People have been brainwashed into thinking Bose is a fabulous brand. Perhaps so, but not for the price they charge.

Yeah...it's not garbage, but it's certainly not any better than equipment that costs half as much. Now, their headphones really do sound sweet though. Both the TriPorts and the Quiet Comfort 2's sound oustanding while being really comfy. There aren't many headphones out there that can combine the two as well as they can.

snate · Post by **snate** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 2:11 pm

Amongst audio professionals BOSE is generally accepted as an acronym for "Bring Own Sound Equipment" or "Buy other Sound Equipment."

There is a much quoted saying, "I hear no highs, I hear no lows, it sounds like s***, it must be Bose".

GridIronGhost · Post by **GridIronGhost** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 2:12 pm

F308GTB wrote:No offense to Bose owners, but it really is garbage. Maybe too strong a word, but Bose does well with advertising and name recognition. People have been brainwashed into thinking Bose is a fabulous brand. Perhaps so, but not for the price they charge.

No problem, but if not bose then what? What would you recommend for head phones? I want something comfortable, closed, and with sound as good as or better the the Bose TriPorts .

F308GTB · Post by **F308GTB** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 2:24 pm

GridIronGhost wrote:
F308GTB wrote:No offense to Bose owners, but it really is garbage. Maybe too strong a word, but Bose does well with advertising and name recognition. People have been brainwashed into thinking Bose is a fabulous brand. Perhaps so, but not for the price they charge.
No problem, but if not bose then what? What would you recommend for head phones? I want something comfortable, closed, and with sound as good as or better the the Bose TriPorts .

I'm personally a fan of Sennheiser cans, but the ones I have are open ear. Sound incredible though.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 2:46 pm

I wouldn't buy a Bose home theater or speaker system, but I won't deny that they make some damn comfortable headphones. My wife has some Triports, and the sound seems good enough out of them--I figure if I'm listening to MP3s, AACs, or some other compressed music file, then they will do a fine job. They are better than any stock earbuds or cans from an MP3 player, that's for sure.

I have a pair of noise cancelling Sennheisers (PXC 250) that I really like. Not as comfortable or stylish as the Bose (and they don't cancel as well as the 3x more expensive QuietComforts), but the sound is very comparable to the Bose, if not slightly better. Plus, they eliminate the bus engine's rumbling.

For home theater, I really like the Klipsch stuff I've heard, but am not too informed. Remember that Bose requires special in-store setups and tends to keep their stuff quarantined from other brands to avoid comparison and present their stuff in ideal conditions (look at the surround sound one that has the speakers a foot or two from your head on all sides).

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 2:51 pm

Headphones and home theater are two different beasts. With headphones, you want comfort as well as sound. I have to admit, the Bose headphones are pretty nice.

For home theater though, I'd really stay away. Not bad stuff, but it's really overpriced. For $2500, for instance, you could get:

A Denon AVR-3805 -- MSRP $1200, a very well reviewed home theater receiver.

A set of Axiom audio home theater speakers (http://www.axiomaudio.com/) with a free 30-day trial.

If you're looking more for a walk-in, walk-out solution, than a nice Yamaha or Onkyo receiver and a good set of Polk speakers should get you set up. Also, if you can swing it, get floorstanding or bookshelf speakers for your front left/right speakers and a robust center speaker. The cubes are okay but don't deliver the range of the other speakers, and also make the sub do too much work instead of just kicking out rumbling bass.

Good luck!

Neckthai · Post by **Neckthai** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 6:21 pm

If you go with the Tri-port, do not ever lose the little bag that you carry the headphones in.

I lost mine on a bus in Japan last year, and have now broken both hinges because I snagged the headphones on on something in my travel bag.

Nothing a little 200 mph tape couldn't fix, but it was depressing when I broke them.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 6:39 pm

snate wrote:Amongst audio professionals BOSE is generally accepted as an acronym for "Bring Own Sound Equipment" or "Buy other Sound Equipment."

There is a much quoted saying, "I hear no highs, I hear no lows, it sounds like s***, it must be Bose".

Yup. Bose is just a mass-market brand which managed to get into cars and kept their name around.

People who are serious about sound will avoid it. They use a lot of signal processing, which is a big no-no for purists.

Look around for reviews for speakers. Stay away from the Japanese electronics makers. They can't make speakers either.

Some brands to look into: Atlantic Technology, Energy, Mirage, Bowers and Wilkins (B&W).

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 6:46 pm

I've heard a lot of good things about Paradigm speakers, too, which are made in Canada (eh). They offer a pretty nice range of products and price points.

skidmark · Post by **skidmark** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 6:58 pm

Avoid Bose like the plague when it comes to Home theatre systems. Their headphones are fine if you like them, but their acoustimass crap really needs to be avoided. Not only does it miss a large part of the frequency range, but if you go that route... you can't upgrade to any other brand. Bose has its own proprietary system so its speakers and setup works completely different than the rest of the home audio world. Avsforum has a speaker forum that's great for going in and playing the bang for your buck game. I put together a system that I'm very satisfied with for under $1000 last year by stalking that forum for a few days.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 11:49 pm

Just to promote the Tri-Ports and the Bose brand a little more. Here's a cool story.

I bought my Tri-Ports on 3/30/04 in Carlsbad, CA. Today, the dreaded broken headset occurs (which I was expecting since I cracked it a while ago). I walked into the Bose store in Glendale, CA without my receipt. I told the guy what happened, and I walked out of the store with a brand new pair. Now that's customer service.

In fact, they only had the Blue versions when I went in, so the guy told me to take the blue ones, use them on my trip to Atlanta this weekend, and come back next week and swap them out for the silver version. Freakin' awesome. They may have sh*tty home theatre systems, but I love their headphones...now I love them even more.

WillHunting · Post by **WillHunting** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 9:49 am

Brando70 wrote:For home theater though, I'd really stay away. Not bad stuff, but it's really overpriced. For $2500, for instance, you could get:

A Denon AVR-3805 -- MSRP $1200, a very well reviewed home theater receiver.

I don't like Bose, they sound okay in the stores, but they are way overpriced. I bought the Denon AVR-3805, for about $800 NEW, I matched it with a pair of Quads 22L (and center channel), bought used for about $900 and it sounds way better than any $2400 BOSE system. If you are willing to do some work/research, you will get ALOT for under $2000.

EDIT: I tested Paradigm and Energy speakers during my research last year and I am VERY impressed by both brands (and B&W as well). Some of the book shelfs aren't too expensive and well worth the price. The only thing is that you might not have an authorized dealer near you.

J · Post by J » Tue Apr 05, 2005 10:28 am

Hey, this is my first post on your great little forum here.

I also recommend doing some searching on avsforum. Here are the speaker brands I narrowed it down to during my search:

Ascend
Bowers and Wilkins
Paradigm
Rocket
Axiom
Athena
ACI
NHT
SpeakerCraft

I wired my new house for in-wall speakers, and plan to someday install SpeakerCraft. In the meantime I am using Athena Point5 ($300 for the satellites and center at onecall right now) and a Panasonic receiver that has a digital amplifier, which has provided a lot of bang for the buck.