Everything imaginable!!! absolutely the best speakers ever made!!! The base is only paralled by MAYBE the Wilson Audio WATT/puppy. and the Treble! My god, dynaudio wasted their time designing those silly esotar tweeters(not to mention B&Ws wacky nautilus tweeter design, but I'll get into that)!!! Who'd have thought that the best treble in the entire world could come out of a $2 paper wizzer cone?!

The only weakness I can think of is that thier not for free!!!!!!!!! I love them THAT much!!!

I wanted a very accurate 2-chan music only system for my gameroom in the basement. so I decided that B&W Nautilis 803s with a Rotel RCD-990 CD player, Bryston 14B-ST amp (500 watts x2, $5500), and Bryston PB-25 MC pre-amp($2900) would be the way to go. And they where great!!! the base was incredibly dynamic with the 500 watts per chan, and the treble and mid range where some of the best I'd ever heard. But then One day my girlfriend made me go into the nearby bose-outlet. I didn't want to go, being the snobby rich audiophile that I am, but I went just to appease her. The first (and only thing) I heard where the Bose 301s. I couldn't believe my ears. The 301s have the best treble I've ever heard. Way better than those $95 tweeters that the 803s use. Here I went and spent $5000 on a pair of speakers when all along I could have gotten a $300 pair of BOSE that put my 803s to shame!!! I felt SO stupid. The 803s claim freq. response of 36Hz-20kHz. If thats true, then the 301s must be capable of like, 25Hz-40kHz!!!!! At least!!! That stereo everywhere sure works too! I used to have to SIT DOWN in the same chair to get the best out of my 803s. But with 301s, I can just wander the room and really scrutinize my favorite recordings. I mean the most carefull listening is always done while moving seats, right??? The best speakers on earth! I sold my 803s the next day and used all the money left over( I got $3600 for some stupid jack*ss!!!) to buy the 301s for $300 and spent the remaining $$$$ on candy bars and yahoo stock. I kept all the expensive electronics, I mean, $10000 of electronics is just the begining of what bose deserves right?!
The moral of the story? Bose speakers are the best in the entire world. end of story. If you spend money on ANYTHING other than bose, your wasting it;)

Similar Products Used:

B&W Nautilus 803s. Bryston electronics. Revel Ultima Studio.

Bose is the worst, what can I say? non-existant treble and even worse midrange. Sloppy, muddy , bass.

Doesn't matter where you put em', they'll sound horrible.

These speakers just plain suck. They have a narrow frequency response and sufficient power handling for a sub-standard, white-trash home theater system. One of the 8000 flaws is that their speaker "design" does not make that big of a difference (direct regurgitating)if they are not placed in the best position(what the hell is this supposed to mean?). For all the anti Bose people, I guess your the only ones here with brains. Keep up the good work guys!!!



The reviewer before me can't help if he's unexperienced. Lets try not to hold it against him. He either works for bose and is part of a special dept. that has taken on a mission to even the average on this site with a bunch of insane reviews offering ludicrous praise. OR, hes NEVER heard anything but bose and shelf-systems, and therefore has NO basis whatsoever for an objective conparison.

Similar Products Used:

Cerwin vejfoenfoejnoenmoga (learn to spell "god"), klipsch.

I wrote a review about these speakers when i recently bought them, now I have to change what I wrote. The Bose 301 are not as good I thougt, I just get rid of them, because I could place them right In my listening room. Simply, I was wrong, Bose 301 don't deserved four star, simple one of them. I got a pair B&W 302 speakers, that are cheaper that those Bose and there is a big diference, the B&W are real speaker the other are not serious music devices. Simply I got a wrong impresion about Bose. I sold them already. Now I am really listening to music with my B&W.

Cross from CA sound can also be measured using test discs, oscillascopes, and comparison charts but it is also subjective as well. Notice no movie theater (or chain of theaters) claim to use Bose speakers, notice no recording studioes use them as reference monitors (funny since these are the most sold speaker in the world but the professionals knows), and no Bose products could even qualify for a THX certification (or much less have one, not even the select). For a company that markets "direct-reflecting sound" isn't it amazing that the listening rooms of stores that sell them are sound treated (considering that these are isolated from other speakers you would think that they would set-up a more reflective environment). Why not put these on a switcher so the average "Joe" could compare them more easily (I know you lose some comparative quality on a switcher, but you can switch from one Bose product to another) if your product is so great (obviously they have something to fear). Compare the build quality of this to others in it's price range, Bose has paper woofers/tweeters (others at least treat the paper/poly woofers and use usually a poly-carbonate or aluminum tweeters), spring clip wire connectors (most companies now offer binding posts in this price range), thin particle board (others usually use 1/2" MDF), non-braced/non-dampened interior (most other companies brace/dampen similarly priced speakers), and all of which can easily be gauged just by lifting the comparative products (in HT and music equipment, weight usually indicate build quality, heavier the better). The 301s color the sound with a harsh mid-bass hump (exaggerating the 70-90hz range, this can be due to the cabinet resonance), overly colored midrange (the cross-over to the tweeter is too high so the eight inch woofer is trying to do a poor job of reproducing vocals), and tweeter is harsh and way too rolled-off (paper resonates at this range and can't go to well above 13000hz). Though human hearing can hear 20-20000hz range, most good amps and AVRs go beyond this both ways because they know that the harmonics we can't normally hear still reinforces the sounds that we can so isn't it logical to buy speakers that have as broad a range of frequencies as possible? This is easily the worst buy for it's price range and you can buy almost any brand of speakers of similar category (bookshelf for bookshelf, towers for towers, and sub/sats for sub/sats) cheaper than Bose, sounds better than Bose, and built better than Bose. Do yourself a favor if you buy this and take these into any good audio store (not mass-market like Sears, Best Buy, Circuit City, etc...) and ask the dealer to do a comparison with any speaker at the same price point or lower and you will understand what the rest of us who gives these Bose products a 1 star rating is talking about (and in addition you will see what we mean about sound quality, build quality, and price comparison for similar products) as we are not bashing but speaking the truth. I think everyone not on death-row deserves better, especially if you have to pay for it.

Oh sorry, now my actual review. I was looking for a set of bedroom speakers, something small for under $400 a pair. I looked through all the consumer places, and found most speakers medicocre to poor. Bose was the pits. Bose 301's did nothing right.
The analogy of a love or hate like a Rolex is completly wrong. A Rolex is a high prestige, precision instrument of art and beauty. The only thing not to love is the price markup.
Bose is common to it in MARKUP only, not quality. Bose owners think they are getting a Rolex, but they are getting a cheap mickey mouse watch.
I eventually settled on some Signet Sl280's I found for under $300. The Seas tweeter is an absoloute transparent joy to behold, especially at the price.
I went back and listened to the Bose again.
I was shocked---the 301's were so much worse than I had originally assessed.
1 star.

Subjectively, they sound poor, Objectively, the sound bad. It's like someone took my favorite music and played it over a speaker hidden in a closet. There is so much audio information missing that flaws scream at you "This speaker sucks!" For $250-$350 range, many major speakers are not so blatently compromised.
So Bose deafadhypeicianados* get real! This is Low-Fi.

* deafadhypeicianados is a term I coined to describe how obviously tone deaf Bose lovers revel in their poor hearing capability, and thier lemming like attraction to glossy ads and hype.
One star

Mediocre sound quality to foist unsuspecting souls into buying them.

That after 25 years of "research", these garish nightmares have not changed a bit. They still use the same cheap parts.

I am uphalled that there are only a few 1 star reviews on this posting. I honestly think that if you were to add up the IQs of the 4 and 5 star reviewers and multiply by .01, you would come up with Boses profit margin; ie %80. And those who claim "I've heard B&W DM602s, and the 301s are JUST BETTER" are simply deaf people offering eulogy upon the days before they lost their hearing, a chance for them to feel "more normal". If you are a fan of background noise, then these are for you, if you actually CARE about music and accuracy of reproduction, buying these would be a dreadful mistake. Bose is to fine audio what a GEO metro is to fine automobiles; poor mans dream-- rich mans trash.

I will soon be buying a pair of B&W CDM9NTs, REAL SPEAKERS!!! But I have the utmost confidence in my currently existing DM604s to put the 301s in "their place" THE TRASH CAN! Any speaker that is ubiquitious in a store where washers and dryers are sold can not possibly looked upon with awe... To do so would be to deny oneself what the world really has to offer.

And to those who want to send me hate mail:
I welcome any responses. especially those attempting to put me in my place. However an unintelligable response(what I expect to recieve from bose fans) is likely to be laughed at. If you think that bose is made by god himself, you are wrong, sorry to break it to you. And if you wish to put your wits to the test I appear As "The Anti_Bose in chat room from time to time.

Similar Products Used:

Technics studio monitors. They are similar, but products that I ACTUALLY USE include B&W, Infinity, Paradigm, Revel....

It fits anywhere

It fits anywhere but on the floor

I agree with the last reviewer. Lister for your self. Who cares what other people think. If your not please, then your not pleased with the product, so just listen your self

I use them as rear speakers in my surround system and i think they are great

Similar Products Used:

201 series

Clean Sound With Full tonal Quality, Durable Design and Sleek Styling, Reasonable Price.

Flat Sounding Mid-Range Unless Equilized Accordingly.

First of all I would like to point out that this review board was very helpful in my deicision for purchasing speakers. I enjoy reading all of the comments on this site and hope that my experience and comments can be of some help for others.

First of all, a brief breakdown of my speaker system: I chose the Bose name for all of my speakers (other than my powered sub) because of my size restrictions do to the recent remodeling of my livingroom. I am running the 701's as my front speakers (see my review for the Bose 701 Series), the 301's as my surround speakers, the VCS-10 as my center channel speaker (see my review for the Bose VCS-10) and a Yamaha YST-SW160 powered sub-woofer in the rear of the room. This combination has proven to be a superb system for both music and home theater. But this review is for the Bose 301 Series IV, so lets concentrate of this model for now.

As an audiophile I enjoy testing my components in a variety of situations, so I tested this model speaker in various locations with different power levels. Although I purchased this model for my surround speakers, I thought it necessary to test them as front (main) speakers as well. I did this by placing them on stands and driving them with 100 watts per channel RMS. I found the results to be somewhat pleasing although a little inadequate for main speakers in a large livingroom. The bass frequencies were quite impressive for such a small unit and offered adequate depth for a smaller room (maybe something about 10 ft. x 12 ft.), but it did not seem to carry enough for my large livingroom. The midrange was a bit unclear and muddy, but some equalization on my part cleared up this low point and made the mid sounds quite satisfactory. The highs are a strong point of this model. Superb driver placement sends crisp and clear highs bouncing around the room in a way that fill the total listening environment no matter where you are sitting! These speakers did not show any signs of distortion until driven to ear drum shattering volume, and even then they did not complain as harshly as many other speakers I have tested.

Since I purchased this model for my surround speakers, I can only say that I am overwhelmed with the clarity and sound from such a small enclosure! As rear speakers, this model fills the back of my livingroom with depth and clarity that I have not experienced until now! Driven at 100 watts per channel RMS and placed at the far left and right corners of the room (mounted about 7 ft. off the ground, turned in and tilted down slightly) I find the overall sound very impressive during DVD home theater viewing and while playing CD's in genres ranging in Rock, Techno, Pop, Jazz and Orchestral arrangements.

I think Bose is driven to provide high quality sound from small enclosures. I would not claim that they are the best ever made, but for a middle aged man who takes his music and sound VERY seriously, they are just the ticket. If you are going to spend big bucks on a speaker system, then I would encourage you to pay close attention to speaker placement (as most Bose models use driver placement to bounce sound off from walls) as well as being sure to drive the speakers with clean and adequate power. This particular model did not sound very stable when powered at much under 75 watts. I also feel that they are best suited as surround speakers rather than front (main) speakers, unless used in a smaller listening environment. If you are looking for classic and modern looks, durable and small design, as well as overall impressive depth and crisp highs, then look no further than the Bose 301 Series IV speakers. They will not only impress yourself, but your family and friends as well, for years to come. If high quality surround speakers are your goal, then the Bose 301 Series IV would be a very wise investment.

Your Friend,

~ MARTY ~
M.P. Productions

Similar Products Used:

Too Many To Mention

decent imaging, fairly smooth, spacious

extention at the high and low end, detail, and quality

Alright guys, I just have to say that I work in audio at circuit city and have for over a year, so I have had much time to listen to all the speakers. I know, you probably think I'm a numbskull teen who thinks he's an audiophile; but I'm going to break it down like this. the bose don't sound bad, and they are not too expensive. I could tolerate them in my house; however, for $50 bucks more the polk 35 or 35i's are much cleaner on all ends of the spectrum, built better, play louder and despite other reviews I've seen, have much better bass. The same goes for the infinities; the il10 is definitely more expensive, but the older rs3's are the same price and sound better. I prefer the polks just because the inifity's tweeters are slighty overbearing for me. Don't get me wrong, there are definite situations where the bose may be a more flexible choice as far as placement, and like I said, the sound is good enough to satisfy 75% of listeners. The rest of us who are pickier about sound yet don't want to spend a fortune more should probably opt for one of the other 2 brands if you're at CC,or else a set of bostons or klipshe (believe me, some b&w's would be heaven for me).

Similar Products Used:

Polk rt35's, infinity rs3, infinity il10