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Review NaN of
Price Paid:
$150.00
from BestBuy Summary:
having these speakers for a good 4 months, i've used them in many situations and have put them through somewhat of a stress test. The first thing you realize about these speakers are that they're very attractive. But they have dedicated right/left pairs which in my opinion is a negative thing. at first touch, its smooth and made of somewhat thin plastic material(ABS to be exact). The entire speaker is very sleek and contoured. there are no very rough edges and has a very new, modern look/feel. the Bose logo on each speaker is the right size and is aligned to the center, right next to the unique looking port. The port looks similar to the one on the Bose 201. The speaker grille, it seems is permanent. I've tried to remove it but it was very difficult and i didn't want to break it. Inspecting the Grille material, its either very thick or is double layered for higher wear/tear resistance.
Using a high powered LED flashlight, i saw two small 2.5 inch drivers of paper cone and foam surrounds each sitting on a plastic structure the length and width of the grille size.
The purchase includes six small pea sized rubber feet for the speakers. three for each. so it may be set horizontally on the table, bookshelf or whatever you wish.
as you play around with it more, you notice that you can also place it vertically with the curved side facing down and the Bose logo on top. It may also be inverted with the curve on top, bose logo on bottom but it is very unstable.
I use these speakers as my portable pair powered by the Sonic Impact T amp. mounted on an L shaped base, it has a base and a vertical wall. The speakers are positioned, facing one notch away from center. -this is with the stock wall mounts.
If you know, the T-Amp is cheap but the sound is serious quality for 30 dollars. and with Mods, it'll even sound better. but the main thing i power it with is a Pioneer SX-535 22 WPC vintage stereo receiver. with bass boost and treble turned nearing 70%, the 161's sound best there. I'm most surprised every time i listen to FM radio. It comes through well and the sound stage is fairly wide and i could just keep turning my head left and right all day. Running with the T-Amp, Bass is minimal. It's just enough to satisfy me. hitting somewhere around 60-80hz and then it cuts off rapidly. -this is during battery powered operation.
with the Pioneer receiver, the bass is very full. the treble is sweet and soft. never yet have i experienced brightness with this speaker.
i listen to many concert recordings... Hillsong United if you recognize, their cd's are mainly concert recordings, not many are studio produced. The audience are loud and clear on the Bose 161's, it seems that what needs to be heard most, is heard most, loud and clear. what i like most about this speaker is its spaciousness. As Bose produces, "Concert like Performance", it sets you in the music, you're not listening to music, you're in the music.
its unbelievable to me as im sure it will be for you, that these little 161's has more depth than my Polk Rti4's. Im sure the Rti4's are wonderful speakers, but with my room set-up and all that i've tried, i cannot attain its highest sound. the Rti4's seem more layed back than the Bose's.
These are advertised as multiple use speakers as well as surround channel speakers and they work well there too...
for the size and performance, the Bose 161 stereo pair was worth my 150 dollars. Strengths:
highly versatile, tough material, thicker/layered grille clothe. Weaknesses:
Heavy for its size, surface may not be as resilient as expected, naturally weak bass and treble. Similar Products Used:
Polk Audio Rti4
Sonic Impact T-Amp
Pioneer SX-535
Onkyo TX-SR304s
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