I purchased a pair of Bose 301's for our small country church. I had a couple of solid steel stands made and erected them about 5 feet off the ground. I must admit they sound very good within the environment of our sanctuary. In fact, they sound excellent. Since installing them we have had a number of soloists perform, and they all expressed the same sentiments.

Clarity, tightness, no distortion at high levels, slick looks, excellent wall mounting brackets available

The bose 301's sound better than ANY other speaker you find at a cheap-discount store, such as bernies & circuit city. Seriously, better sound can only be obtained from an actual audiophile set of speakers from an audiophile store, that sells names like: Von Schwiekart, Paradigm, Teil, NAD & Krell. cheap infinities, jbls, polks, and yamaha's are just plain traditional speaker designs, nothing special here, dont expect anything special. 301's offer better imaging / staging than these. When used ALONE with an amplifier and an expensive ($150) pair of interconnects, these speakers can be played flat, and produce perfect amounts of highs, mids, and lows. Of course though, dont expect this on a cheap bernies receiver (sony or some crap like that). Use an amp / cd player / AD decoder from an audiophile store. My current $1000 system consists of an NAD 314 intergrated, AudioQuest interconnects, NAD 512 CD Player, & Bose 301 Series IV.

Similar Products Used:

none. bose holds the patent to direct/reflect technology, and collects royalties from AR for the crappy speakers AR makes with those woofers stuck in the side.

The date of manufacture of these speakers (according to the back of the speaker) reads 79919. I think that means July 19, 1999. I bought these from a factory outlet store in Geneva, New York. I paid $280. for the pair and received a free center channel speaker too. I use them in my 12'x 15' stereo/computer room and I have them set up along the longer wall, about 2.5' from the adjacent walls and about a foot from the rear wall. They're on stands which are at ear level when lounging on the couch, opposite and centered between the speakers. (I'm not using the center channel with these speakers). Anyways, these speakers sound good. Also, this may be hard to believe but it is true, these speakers will sound better in your home than at the factory outlet. They come with a 30 day-no-frills-money-back guarantee, so you've got nothing to lose-try them for a month and if you're not satisfied return them and get your money back. I listen to alot of different music and all of it sounds good. (Pink Floyd, YES, Vangelis, SRV...). Maybe these speakers match up better to my system than those who trash these speakers. (Older Yamaha receiver RX-950, Sony CD player). I a/b'd these speakers with my Cerwin-Vega VS-150's to my sister and mother (having the 301's sitting atop the Vega's) and my mother picked the 301's over the vega's (listening to Hilary Stagg, playing the harp, on Pleasent Dreams) saying that while the Vega's had more bass, the 301's had more accuracy between harp notes and she said that given a choice she would prefer to listen to music on the 301's when listening over a period of time. My sister picked the Vega's but said the 301's were more 'soothing' and would go with them in extended playing time. (She's a blues/classic rock listener and in the dictionary next to the word bass there should be a picture of a vega 15" woofer)((anyone remember the old 18's?? wow)) Anyways they both eventually went with the 301's overall. And, by the way, I went with them too. So I would do it again, if I had to. Once again, you got a month to decide if you want to stick with them or not-try 'em out in your own room and see if it's what you're looking for. Someday I might go with the PSB Stratus Goldi or Legacy Classics or Sig III's but for now the 301's are doing a good job.

The Sound!!!!, The Price!!!, The sound GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

None as ive seen

BOSE BASHERS: If any you were really audiophiles youd know that its not about construction, materials, or names, it is about the SOUND.. Any one that bashes any product for those reasons, has no buisness leaving a review on this board.

These speakers sound really good for the price, i admit placement is dificult, but they sound good placed badly, and they sound great placed right, the thing is, with reflecting speakers there are alot of angles that need to be right, but then off of those angles, the waves, comming out help give warmth, a square or rectangular room is best, these sound good on low power at 45 watts,(minisystem) but on a 100 watt per chanel kenwood vr2080, these speakers really sing, descent bass for bookshelf, but but the vocals mids and highs sound very acurate and liflike, i have no complaints, Another GREAT SOUNDING, not necessarily hight quality, bose bashers, but the important thiing is

IT SOUNDS GREAT IT SOUNDS GREAT IT SOUNDS GREAT

Similar Products Used:

AR, JBL, and Cheaper products

unique` design

small sound

I have had these speakers for 3 years and they are as you say ok. I would have to say that Bose has gown down the hill when it comes to the products they sell. The Bose speakers from early days were top of the line. Now they are average. There is no kind of bass from this speaker. I had to use the subwoofer to manage the bass in the 301. They do have the space and stereo image down in terms of the sound, but the sound could be better. I would have to tell you that the highs are too sharp, leaving me with the tiny pain in the ear. midrange is how you say, just fine. I have the Sony receiver, a good model the ES, and I sometimes want better speakers. I went to prison for 6 months and wanted to hear some Elvis when I came back to the free world. I was upset that the Bose speakers did not sound as good as I thought they would sound when I bought them. I am not pulling your arm, when I got out, I bought a stereo to hear some musics and the Bose 301 just did not make me smile. Carmaleta said that they sound good, but she is a woman and does not know how to listen to the music. I try some Santana with the 301, I was how do you say disapointed with the sound. No base, no tinggel in the spine. Phew I spit on the speaker.
No really these speakers are Mediocre at best. I thought you might like the story. I have listened to these speakers for awhile. They are basic, in that they put out sound. They might be the best speakers that Bose has, and that is a sad truth in this world. I could use them for rear speakers and that is about it. This would be when the average person listens to a movie and has abosolutly no clue what sound is supposed to be like. I was not infulenced by the marketing monster that Bose is. I bough these speakers because the sounded like the best speaker from where I bought them. That is not saying too much these days, I guess you get what you pay for. In my case you pay for more then what you get. There are better speakers for the price that sound better. If you are not one of those perfect listening Experience type of people, then these speakers might be for you. If you demand quality, stay far away from the 301s, but something else.

Outstanding midrange. Good treble to 18 KHz. Open spacious sound and large "sweet spot" when properly installed. Can play very loud with very little distortion. Handsome. Rugged.

FR peak at around 160 Hz. Apparent tweeter resonance at around 2500 Hz. Installation limitations.

I am a 28 yr old data communications engineer from Trinidad W.I. and have been interested in audio for the past 21 years. I must say that BOSE seems to be the Microsoft of the speaker world. In my own experience, one generally encounters two types of personalities when it comes to BOSE: People that swear by their products and people that have nothing good to say.

I'll admit that bose does undertake sizable marketing campaigns but why not ? Because they are an audio company ?
They have also effected significant supply and installation contracts with luxury car and airline carrier companies.

I suppose these must be bad things since a good audio company must not be financially and commercially viable, but should consist only of a few anti social scientists and engineers in R&D...Yeah right !

Being objective, I must say that the 301s are very good speakers period. I will not say excellent since there are a couple of clear flaws which I will mention a bit later.

These babies are gifted in many areas that count: Power handling for one. These speakers are only too happy to absorb >100 W and play VERY loudly without complaining by buzzing, chuffing or any other of those rude noises !

The speakers handle midrange remarkably, particularly vocals that are really naturally animated in the listening area.

These speakers generate an open spacious sound that seems to spread far beyond the boundaries of the listening area.

Keeping in mind that these are BOOKSHELF speakers, once correctly installed, these speakers exhibit wide bandwidth: Useful bass down to about 38 Hz and practical treble up to 18 KHz. With the exception of two peaks (160, 2500 Hz) this response is reasonably flat.

The weaknesses are those two frequency response peaks and the installation limitations. I have no qualms admitting that these speakers sound quite ordinary when incorrectly installed! The solution to that is quite simple: If you cannot install them as BOSE suggests then buy some other product that you may install in the way you want to! Otherwise purchase and correctly install these babies and I guarantee years of listening pleasure (if good sound quality is your fancy of course)!

I recommend these speakers for casual listeners and audio enthusiasts looking for a good pair of speakers in the 300 to 400 dollar range and whose listening rooms are about 1200 to 1800 cubic feet. Throw in a good 250 Watt powered subwoofer for slightly larger rooms or try the 701s.
The BOSE 301s work well for music and movies. A speaker that is similar in many regards is PARADIGM's Monitor 3s which I also really love for these applications.

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JBL, Definitive Technology, Paradigm

Marketing

Value for the money - - NONE!!

I left a review a few days ago for which I apologize!

Boy, was I wrong!!! Led astray by the evil Bose marketing machine.

After pondering all the negative reviews regarding Bose, I had to revisit my local Circuit City. There I listened to the Infinity IL10's. A mere 30 minutes later my Bose were traded in and for $65/speaker more I have seen the light!

Hallelujah!! C'mon everyone with me - Hallelujah!!

I cannot believe the difference in quality of these Infinities as compared to the Bose 301 IV. They reduced the Bose marketing machine to D U S T !

I put the Infinities up against the Polk RT800 (a speaker system with a significantly higher price) and the Polks fell apart when heavily driven by an Onkyo 777B.
The Infinities held together like a champ!!

I guess what I am saying is for $65 more per speaker you can get the Infinity IL10 which totally shatters any Bose marketing B*LLSH*T! Don't waste your money on the Bose 301's when you can get so much more for such a small increase.

An epiphany awaits anyone who still believes Bose makes speakers.

BOSE ARE J U N K ! ! ! ! !

Similar Products Used:

Infinity and Polk

not ur typical ear-piercing sound. looks, definitely.

placement

I've listened to the above-mentioned brands, and I tell u I cannot understand all the Bose bashing that's going on here. 301's aren't expensive, they're just reasonably priced if u ask me. and for the price they provide the listener with soothing sound that DOES NOT AT ALL SOUND LIKE CRAP!
Forget about all those bose-bashers & just go to ur local audio retailer & listen. Be your own judge.

me? i give it a 4.

Similar Products Used:

polk, b&W , mission

well... they're loud...

treble way too high, bass too boomy, weird shape.. shall I go on...

OK let me just say these speakers suck! I bought them because a friend of mine had a pair, and I didn't relly get a chance to listen to them. I bought them at sears and brought them home... I hooked them up to my onkyo575x receiver and immediately had to turn the treble way down. It was bothering my ears at low volume. The bass was not punchy at all, way too boomy for my taste. The only word I can think of to describe these speakers is annoying!!! Bose is annoying! I just couldn't stand to listen to them. They can direct reflect all they want, these speakers, and most other bose products are terrible, especially for the prices they charge! Needless to say, I returned them. I got acoustic research instead... Much better!! (look at my reviews on AR328ps and AR226ps if youre interested.) Oh yeah... THE PRICE???! for $300 go get a pair of polk RTi35. you'll be much happier! If you don't mind spending more go buy some acoustic research!!

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Acoustic Research Onkyo Sony JVC

AVAILABLE AT BIG K

CAN'T BE USED AS STAND FOR MY KHARMA GRAND ENIGMA FRONTS

DEAR AUDIOPHILES AT AUDIO REVIEW: I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO ENTERTAINED BY STEREO REVIEWS IN MY LIFE!! BOTH THE BOSE HATERS AND THE BOSOFILES SHOULD TRULY CONSIDER A CAREER IN COMEDY WRITING! MY WIFE RETURNED FROM OUR LOCAL CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SUPERMARKET WITH A SHINY NEW PAIR OF 301-4 BOOK SHELF SPEAKERS. SHE BOUGHT THEM BECAUSE SHE LIKED THE WAY THEY SOUNDED. I GUESS SHE WAS IMPRESSED BY THE BOOMIENESS OF THE BASS NOISE COMING OUT OF SUCH A SMALL BOX.SHE WAS NOT TOO THRILLED WITH TREBEL CLARITY(TOO HIGH)(EARS LIKE A BAT) HAD TO MUDDY IT UP WITH SOME HIGH CUT. OTHER THAN THAT SHE SEEMS TO PREFER THE NOISE THAT ISSUES FORTH OVER THE BIG HORN SPEAKER ON THE VICTROLA.I THINK SHE MAY BE BEING FOOLED BY THE FACT THAT THE BOSE SPEAKERS ARE CAPABLE OF STEREO SOUND REPRODUCTION.(TO MY EAR NOTHING BEATS CARUSO ON A WAX CYLINDER THRU THE VICKY) BOTTOM LINE... USE YOUR OWN EARS TO DECIDE WHICH LOUD SPEAKERS YOU PREFER, AFTER ALL, COMPARED TO THE KHARMA GRAND ENIGMA REFERENCE SYSTEM ALL $300 SPEAKERS SOUND KINDA WEAK.

Similar Products Used:

1923 RCA VICTROLA,1936 CROSLEY SUPERHET