Is Bose a ripoff?

[al_capone909]

Used Klipsch since the beginning of my first stereo and loved every second (o:

Bought my first Klips in 1978 and bought Klips again in 1990.
Last year though, I decide it was time to go with a matched surround package and replace my hodgepodge of different brands. After reading many reviews and auditioning many different brands including Bose, I finally decided on Axiom Epic 60-350.

But back to Bose...Reviews ran from so-so to very critical and the audition left me unimpressed.

Need more? An actual quote from a avsforum post...
"I currently have a Bose Lifestyle 35 System. I thought I had the best system until I heard a friends Klipsch system. It litteraly blew me away. Apparently I bought advertising."

 

[chastulsa]

If you voted "YES" you need to go to your local Bose store and ask for a ADAPTIQ demo. If your not impressed after that consult a doctor for hearing problems. I am not saying they are the best but the ADAPTIQ technology is extremly impressive. If they were to sell it to other receiver mfg's home theater would evolve.

 

[rkr0923]

I voted NO Because I use Bose LOL
No I don't listen to loud ass mindblowing music on them but for watching DVD's don't think you beat them.
Two itty bitty speakers I have no problem mounting on the wall and sometimes the things I hear behind me scare the hell out of me although no speakers are there.
Price a little high, sure, what isn't
Look at BowFlex...........Way Way high and they sell like hotcakes
Can get the same workout for $100 equipment at Walmart

 

[vurbano]

. They open the box and bamn they have a decent sounding system.

Wrong. They could have had a decent sounding system for the same money. What they got was ripped off. They now have an overpriced piece of marketing that doesnt faithfully reproduce the frequency range. A Yugo at a Benz price.

 

[Kandiru]

For those of us who are audiophiles, things like Frequency Range and Sensitivity (dB/watt/meter) are paramount when evaluating a speaker product.

Now you tell what kind of self-respecting speaker manufacturer apart from Bose goes on to sell speakers WITHOUT PUBLISHING SPECIFICATIONS.

Would you buy a car based on looks? No, but if you are a parrot you will go and buy one "cause its on TV, and it's real". Goebbels used to say "a lie repeated x1000 becomes the truth".

My chilldren watch exclusively Animania and PBS-HD because they dont carrry junk food and junk product ads.

Bose is junk, i lived near Marlborough, MA and regularly met with two sound engineers working for the company, their bright ideas suppressed, budgeting is big on external styling and marketing. They did not sound like they enjoyed working there.

What else do you want? Tupperware for sure

This post makes me proud to be a member of SatGuys, i am glad that more and more people seek quality audio. If you really want to educate yourself on AV, here is the ultimate place on the net:

www.avsforum.com

Of course, getting Paul Harley's "Guide to Home Theater" and a subscription to The Perfect Vision will place you lightyears ahead of the plebeians.

 

[deathfromabove]

I laugh at Bose

 

[loves2watch]

Even the noise canceling headphones made by other manufacturers are just as good at less than half the price. Bose has great marketing and substandard products. Ever notice how the in store display in away from all of the other products so you can't compare?

 

[sprintcarcrazy]

Um, I have some 501's that are 22 years old and they sound extremely good as part of my home theatre and some outdoor speakers that are 7 years old for my poolside dive in theatre that sound great. Having said that, I would not buy their products today as they are more worried about advertising and selling anything than producing a good product.

 

[s8ist]

I used to work for Bose retail stores. First off, the ADAPTiQ demo is rigged. The technology isn't being used during the demo. They just EQ'd the left and right audio channels differently on the DVD so that when it plays back on the display that shows a jewel cube surrounded by a carpeted box and the other in plexiglass, it sounds like the one in the plexiglass is echoey and the one in the carpeted box is muffled. Then magically, after the LCD screen tells you that this is what the lifestyle system sounds like with the ADAPTiQ calibration enabled, the sound plays clearly. Problem is, it's all smoke and mirrors.

My fellow employees and I snuck the demo DVD into an Onkyo setup. We suspected that the demo wasn't properly set up because it sounded echoey out of the carpeted speaker and muffled out of the plastic encased one. That means the acoustics were completely simulated(FAKED). Magically, the Onkyo system similarly behaved as if it had these "boxes" over its connected speakers. I actually have heard the benefit of the ADAPTiQ system, but it is not as pronounced as the Bose demo, because the demo was produced to create a "WOW factor" which is a component of performing your duties as a "Demonstration Specialist."
Having a Lifestyle system is very convenient in terms of size and simple to use. If you happen to like the sound, these other two reasons are probably why you'd want the Bose home theater product. Otherwise, you could put together a better sounding HT for less.
I could go off on Bose for pages, as a company, it's philosophies, its marketing, its customer service, its product quality (or lack thereof). All I know is I worked there and I only think their products were worth it when I got my killer employee discount.

 

[loves2watch]

In answer to your question, yes you can get much better sound/speakers for less money. As there are many speaker brands on the market and sound tastes are subjective, the best thing to do is audition several respected brands. Make sure to take your own music CD, material that you are familiar with and test the speakers. Go to specialty audio dealers as well and check out the better brands that are not sold at the likes of Circuit City, Best Buy etc. Paradigm is one of the brands that give exceptional value for the price and consistently win awards for their sound.