I have recently purchased a $40 a pair of speakers. They blew these so called "wonders of sound reasearch" out of the water. These things cost $400 dollarsmy speakers cost 1/10 of that cost and have huge bass (down to 35hz). thank you I'll stick to my cheapys.


P.S. this is the lowest i can give them without being a -100

They make good wheel chocks for my truck.

My dog refuses to pee on it.

These blow me morning, noon and night. Only a total boob would buy this trash. At the price or one-tenth of it, there are few greater rip offs in this world than this marketing-induced dreck. It has the sound of my dog with really bad cheese gas. Yet still, there are donkeys who keep buying this skee-ball prize. And then they delude themselves by saying how nice they sound, convincing the next moron to take the bait. Buying a Bose is like getting VD -- you just can't wait to infect someone else to make you feel better that you had to get it. At least you'll save on pest control, as they'll drive all the roaches from your home.

good for target practice

can't wipe your butt with them

I've never owned any, but I've heard them. And hearing them, I wish I had a pair. One speaker to crap on and the other to cover it up with.

Direct/Reflecting Architecture, size, engineering.

Volume

*NOTE : The price listed was for the pair.

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Almost everyone seems to be down on these little Bose 301s. It's kinda sad, they're wonderful little speakers, especially if you don't have a great deal of room to plant some enormous towers. That, and they're aesthetically (that means their appearance) pleasing. I think the tweeters, which I hesitate to call them tweeters, as they're more like "really bright midranges" are very well matched to the 8" woofer. If placed correctly in a room, they project a virtual audio image much larger than the speaker is, which incidently is the whole concept behind the direct/reflecting design.

It's a shame that people cannot review a speaker based on its own merits, or how well it fulfulls its design criteria. These are not Cerwin Vegas, don't expect to get foundation crumbling bass from them. They *DO* project realistic bass, which I believe is the problem. Most people who evaluate speakers in these forums have never been to a symphony or opera to know what real instruments actually sound like, and how the dynamic range is perceived naturally by the human ear. Instead, they're comparing their home sound with that of the hollywood oversampled, overmixed, overvolumed, overcompressed, prefab, packaged computer-generated sound effects used in movies. Go see a real orchestra perform some of Mozart's work, then go buy a high quality recording of the same work, bring it home and listen to it on these speakers. That's the area where these little guys really shine.

For the money, these days I'd probably buy some JBL S38s, they're a bit larger, but they're a tad cheaper, and are going to have a more accurate frequency spectrum since they're 3-way (Woofer, midrange, and tweeter) versus the 301's 2-wayish design (bright mid direct, bright mid reflect, and woofer). When I bought these speakers, JBL offered no such product. Things change.

One other nice feature of the 301s that you DON'T hear, but DO in other, more expensive speakers is port noise. I can't vouch for everyone, but after visiting a local high-end home audio equipment dealership here in town, that's something I noticed quite a bit. Even in some of the more expensive equipment, klipsch, definative, polk, etc, they all had significant port noise. (Port noise for the uninitiated is the sound created by air rushing into and out of the bass "port" which is usually either a slot or a round hole in the speaker cabinet.) Port noise, when loud enough is a *SERIOUS* distraction, you buy all this expensive audio gear, and then add 20-30dB of white noise, and you're not gonna be very happy.

As for the ratings, I'll give the 301s a 3 for value, as their price runs a little hot, and today there are more excellent quality bookshelf-sized speakers than ever. Overall rating will be 5 stars, as they're champion performers. The can't shake the house when the dinosaurs roar, or when the deathstar explodes, but they're not designed to either.

clean non directional sound

none

when someone want to buy a speaker...they should first of all..what kind of sound they are looking for...i know what i want in my sound..i dont like direct soundfields...thats why the bose speakers are the best.,..they produce non directional reflective sound....i use my 2 pairs of bose for my fronts and sorrounds...better than bi-poler or di-polar speakers..(if you know what those are)..when i go to the theater i do not hear direct sound...when i go to a concert..i do not hear direct sound..i hear sound all around me..hence the need for bose direct/reflective speakers....the 301's are a great set of speakers if thats the kind of sound you are looking for...if you like direct sound..these speakers are not for you....but do not bash them for what they do...they do that perfectly...reflexing the sound off your walls and sourroundings....try them for movie sourrounds and you will se what you are missing...dont let other people's test dictate what you should buy with your own money.....i love these speakers for what they do....coupled with a velodyne 12inch sub..they are the bomb.....better thanany set up in the $1000.00 to 2000.00 range...(again ..in my opinion)..have fun guys.......my center is bose 301...behind my 56 inch tv...with a advent 550s 250watts subwoofer...source is denon 5600dts and sony dvd and jvc svhs and sony 70es cd player....

Similar Products Used:

jbl,infinity.

I actually had the unique opportunity to experiment to use these speakers for 1 week, you see a co-worker of mine had these owned the same receiver as I had a Pioneer 606S. The main differences like environment (his home and my basement), mounting height (his about 18" from the ceiling and walls at my place on stands), and of course different source materials (VCRs and DVDs his name brands such as ProScans and mine Symphonic and Creative Labs) the only thing we had that was also identical are the Radio Shack home theater gold interconnects which I highly recommend when it goes on sale ($10).
It was amazing on how different these speakers sounded with similar designs. The Optimus LX-8s that I loaned him were very clean compared to the BOSE (it was slightly boomy before I added more sound dampening materials but not even close to how bad the BOSE were). The dynamics were awful and the treble was very harsh (BOSE). The bass was very boomy and was hard to match with my sub (AUDIOSOURCE SW-8 which is actually very good performer on movies and just good on music). The sound stage was large and was somewhat echoy (? that how you spell it) without really being stable or clear at high volumes (could not stabilize the speaker to Dolby Digital referance levels using the DVD ESSENTIALS and an SPL meter from Radio Shack). Sound effects, voices, and music all had a very muffled sound on the movies that were tested: T2 the terminator stepping on the skull lacked the crisp visceral sound I was used to, Desperadoes (must have if you own a sub) had a very unusual muffled boomy noise, Blade the initial disco scene was boomy and very distorted, and finally on Highlander the voices of Sean Connery and Christopher Lambert lost some of their gruffness as did most women lose their finer soprano like quality (of what it did to the Queen sound track was inhumane). To make matters worse, our women (his now ex-wife and my now ex-girlfriend) noticed that the BOSE was far worse and actually gave the BOSE far harshier criticism (it is said that the fairer sex has better hearing), this only was confirmed by some of our co-workers who came over as well (some now former fans of BOSE and even they were amazed though one guy said that he would never say a Radio Shack product sounds good or better than anything else on the market), and also all our friends that could be invited to hear the difference (though everyone thought the BOSE did look better but not good enough for the sound difference).

What is my evaluation? At one time in my life I really wanted these speakers but couldn't afford them but now after listening to them I definitely know that I bought the right speakers (these Optimus LX-8 are normally $199 each but now they are being sold at clearance price). The other thing I also learned was that my speakers need to mounted on special brackets to wall to keep them 18in from all walls (I thought they sounded much better at his house). BTW my friend sold all four of his BOSE 301 IVs and bought the LX-8s to replace them and actually netted money and a better system. I really don't think that these speakers sound as bad as some of the other critics on this review area and this is one of the best sounding BOSE product out there though you can help it out by buying a real sub for it and setting the speakers to small and crossover to sub at 150hz to remove the boominess. Even putting these speakers in the position by some coincident to what other reviewers said before me these speakers are not that great when compared to another brand designed around a similar philosophy. For the price and quality = value I give this product...

The Bose 301 are the best speakers that Bose makes, BUT they still SUCK!!! Do a side by side blind folded comparison between the 301's and anything other bookshelf for around the same price or less. You will be shocked! Bose is not an audiophile company. They do not care about sound quality and product quality. They are in the business of making money lots of money. They spend millions of dollars on advertising making people believe that their product is superior to anything else. Bose is nothing more than a marketing scam. A perfect analogy would be advertising the best tasting fruit juice in the world. Juice that that makes your body build muscle and lose fat. Juice that is made from only natural ingredients. Juice, that while extremely expensive, is every bit worth it. The secret is that the "juice" is only my piss in a bottle with a fancy label on it.
Don't fall for the name. Everything Bose makes is crap. The only way to enjoy Bose is if that is the only speaker you have ever heard, then you will never know what sound quality is.

Alero-
It seems to me you're more worried about what I've written than reviewing and writing something yourself. Each time your name appears, it is in the same category as my name and makes some statements about what I have written and the what kind of lifestyle modifications I need to make based on your observations.

With ALL of your words dedicated to my activity, who is it that is obssesive and and compulsive?

And what about putting me into my place? What the hell are you talking about? I'm not going to waste any more time with anything posted here directed toward you. If you have something for me, then leave me your email next time so I can reply and you can reply. Otherwise, anything written on a bulletin board that never addresses A/V equipment is a waste.

If my reviews are not to your liking, make no sense to you, annoy you, lead you to conclude I have no life and need to get one, and are a total waste of your tiome, why read them?

By having your mommy continue to read THEM ALL to you while she tucks you in, you demonstrate how stupid you really are. I just hope that she limits her activity in your room to simply "tucking you in"!

Highs, Midrange, ease of placement

Cheapish construction, spring clip connections

Have used the 301 111 now for about 5 years, initially as main fronts in HT and as main stereo, with 80WPC Yamaha RX.
Have them up on 36" steel stands, and have used them with and without sub (180watt Yamaha 12")
As front mains(no sub) a bit lacking in bass but great highs and mid range.
Recently changed them to rears in HT set up, same amp but Bose 701's as mains, with JBL SC305 centre.
Am only feeding rears with 35 WPC at present, but more than enough rear action on DD movies, Pro Logic TV etc..
Set up consists of Sony 48" Rear proj. TV, Sony 725 DVD, Yamaha RX, Sony 200 disc CD changer,and Sony Hi Fi VHS videos X2.
Use quality cables and interconnects for feeds, and with time and patience on placement of speakers, have no problem hitting 115dBa + @50% volume on RX (about 50Watts RMS)
Many reviewers sh*t canning Bose products, but for my ears no problems, sounds ok to me.OK general construction a bit crap, but personally, I wouldn't really care about appearance, I evaluate and buy products for their SOUND!!!!
Remember, be subjective, go with what sounds good to you, sit back and ENJOY it!!!!!
Am upgrading RX soon (either Yamaha RXV3000 or Sony 777es) for full DD & DTS and more power! Should make my little set up sing!!!

Similar Products Used:

Bose 701

They have bass, sloppy bass. They aren't as huge as they could be.

Honestly, pretty much everything.

It truely makes me sad whenever I read a positive review of this speaker, I feel so sorry for those people throwing their money away on these speakers, or almost any BOSE product. When I see a supposed audiophile give these speakers 5 stars...I die a little inside...

Simply put there are much better values out there for the money that offer far superior performance. Please do not simply go to Best Buy or Circuit City and run straight for the giant BOSE display. BB and Circuit City are really not the right place to be shopping for Audio products, especially Best Buy, they sell KLH for god's sake. If anyone who has purchased these speakers has enough time to write a lengthy review praising the supposed great quality and performance of this speaker, they have enough time to research better products listed on this site. Take a look at B&W, look at the great value provided by Axiom Audio and NHT. Don't let the mass dilusion that BOSE is great victimize you too.

Ok, now my personal experience with these......*shudder, BOSE speakers. A long time ago, about 1993, my dad took me down to Circuit City with the intention of buying a new stereo system. After selecting a decent Sony Receiver, CD player and tape deck (yes, there are better products than Sony for Components, don't get me started), we looked at speakers, and after listening to...well, only BOSE products, we selected the 301 Series III's...and paid a hell of a lot more than they were worth.

In my naivete, I thought these were cool, good speakers, just like all those who believe BOSE's massive ad efforts. But after maturing a little, mostly in developing a sense of hearing....I quickly realized how bad these speakers were. The bass doesn't go low, when it tries, you lose all detail, and the drivers simply bottom out. Highs? you've got to be kidding me, from a 3" woofer, you aren't going to get highs, you get mids. The speakers are absurdly light for an 8" woofer, and made of cheap fibreboard. Also, lacking a crossover, there is a dead spot in the frequency response. I can't say enough bad things about the design, the direct/reflecting "engineering" (being an engineer, I abhorr using that word to refer to any BOSE product) provides a vague sound field, and horrible imaging, when you listen to music, or even a movie, the position of the sounds is vague and clearly colored by the reflecting design.

Do yourself a favor, don't expect a bookshelf to make bass, and go to your local audio store, buy B&W DM303's, and know that your $300 just bought you the best value you're likely to see in a long time. Or go to www.axiomaudio.com and buy a pair of M3 Ti's for $275, read the reviews here, they're nothing but excellent.

Just please, please, don't make me read another glowing review for this inferior product.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 601's, heard about everything B&W makes, Axiom M3 Ti, and plenty more bookshelf speakers