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Review 4 of 60
Price Paid:
$300.00
from Bose Factory Outlet Summary: These little Bose speakers were bought to go in my recently decorated living room. My long suffering wife, and my soon to walk child dictated that the £1700 worth of Monitor Audio speakers gracing my AV system needed to be moved to a safer location (the loft for now !!). So I needed something small and unobtrusive for every day use.
Before buying the Bose speakers I read quite a lot of negative reviews, and some good ones ! More importantly I also additioned several similar systems - including the Energy Take 5, and the Misssion FS2av - an NTX system. Given that both of these have received excellent review from the trade press why did I buy the Bose units instead ?
3 simple reasons - firstly the Bose units to my eyes looked better, cost less (as factory refurbished units, usually they are £550 in the UK), and (after insisting that the store demo'ed the speakers without any post receiver processing ! ;) ) sounded in the same ball park sonically as the other systems I looked at - if not with quite as much "bite".
So what did I think when I got them home ? Well they can't compare with the Monitor Audio & Rel system they are replacing, but for what they are they do a reasonable job. After some experimentation with position I have found they provide a open soundstage. But this does require VERY unconventional positioning of the speakers. Perhaps this accounts for the varied reviews form end users ?
Also the mid range seems a little lacking as does the treble, but overall the speakers have a balanced sound. I have found, unlike some others here, that the bass is adequate.
So overall I'm quite happy, however some crevats for potential purchasers.
1)Don't pay full price for them ( they ain't £550 speakers by a long way),
2)Do audition them before you buy them and make sure they are plugged straight in to the speaker outputs of the amp, I hear some Bose shops use thousands of pounds worth of pro grade gear to flatter the speakers.
3) Make sure you can take them back if your not happy - they probably won't suit everybody or every room.
4) Plug them into an Amp with plenty of punch. I tried them with a 5x40w Pionner AV receiver and they just sucked the life from it. Fine with my 5x100w Yamaha though.
5) Try plenty of different speaker positions before deciding they are pants !
Finally if you like 'em good, if not don't buy them, buy something you like.
Good luck Strengths: Size, resonable sound quality for £300 setup. Weaknesses: Not a £500 set of speakers, very sensitive to position. Need a powerful amp. Daft cables. Similar Products Used: Mission FS2av
Energy Take 5
Sony Pascal
Monitor Audio Silver Theater + Rel Strata
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