compdude512

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $299.00 from H.H. Gregg

Summary:
Christmas 2002, I decided that the original speakers that came with my stereo had enough. That prompted me to look for speakers. I had three brands in mind, but the main one was Bose. I already knew that Bose was a leader in sound, so I demo'd their products first. The first ones I listened to were the 141s--the big bulky ones. They sounded great, but I needed something a lot smaller. Then I hit the button for the 151 Environmental Speakers. They were much smaller, but the sound quality did not change at all. They were equal to or better than the 141 model. With their excellent bass response, accurate sound, and mind-blowing environmental capabilities, I knew these were the speakers for me. As long as I've been using them, they've never failed me once. If you're looking for speakers that won't let you down, you should get these 151s. As far as I know, they are no longer sold in stores, but some places on the Internet still sell them.

Strengths:
Great Bass, Excellent Sound, Space-Saving, Wall Mountable

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
Quam Bookshelf Speakers Model 6x1

Price Paid:  $114.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
A great addition to an out-of-retirement system! With a pretty decent mid-fi inside the house and all the speaker terminals spoken for on my distribution amp, I dug out all my old stereo junk in the basement to make a separate set-up in the garage. Routing cables through the wall facing the backyard, I hooked-up a pair of old AudioSource I/O speakers. With just a receiver, a BBE Sonic Maximizer, and CD player, my backyard ROCKED! In fact, it rocked a little too hard for those tired old speakers when my wife "fine tuned" the BBE and blew the woofers to pieces. This ended-up being a good thing. As I started looking for replacement speakers, I demo'd all the brands available at the big box stores (and a couple at the high-end audio shop). The 151's were by far the sweetest sounding of the big-box offerings. And, even though this might not be fair without a side-by-side comparison, I felt the detail and timbre of the 151's was just about as good as the B&W WM4's I listened to at the high-end store, at about a buck-fifty less. They may not have the same punch and precision in the 20 to 35 Hz range as the B&W's, but it's a shortcoming that most people won't even notice. Anyway, I was prepared to wait 'til after Christmas to slap down full retail on the 151's when, lo and behold, Circuit City had their pre-holiday-lets-start-the-madness sale, and reduced their 151's down to $114. Bought 'em on the spot. Once hooked-up in my backyard, the real surprise came. With some unusually mild late-November weather, I had a chance to spend a few hours listening to Christmas CD's outside. The new speakers just blew me away. They sounded better than in the store, even without any BBE process applied. The accuracy and clarity of CD's is very good. FM broadcasts have a much wider frequency representation than with my old speakers. When adding a little BBE lo-contour, any low frequency deficiency is erased. The Bose 151's are, in short, one fantastic set of outdoor speakers, regardless of the price.

Strengths:
Clean sounding. Good clarity at higher replay volume levels. Acceptable dynamic range.

Weaknesses:
Mounting bracket provides EXTREMELY limited mounting options. A much more versatile bracket is available from Bose as an option, but it costs $29 (it should be the bracket included with the speakers).

Similar Products Used:
AudioSource

Price Paid:  $350.00 from Nave Base

Summary:
I have owned and used these speakers as rear surrounds for approx. 8 yrs now and am happy to say that I have no problems to report. Although there are much better sounding rear speakers available now, i have had no reason to replace/upgrade. If I ever win a lottery and decide to upgrade, they will fit beautifully in the outdoor patio. I would not recommend them for home theater use.

Strengths:
weather resistant (i hope)

Weaknesses:
muddy sound pricey