? are you kidding?

sound bad

I have heard many speakers in my day. I am the kind of person that does his homework before I buy something. I did not do enough reseach this time, nor did Bose. There is some truth to Bose's claim that only 11% of the sound you hear is direct and the remaining 89% is reflected sound. I liken the idea to shouting in a closet, sure you hear a lot a reflection in the sound. Does it sound better than shouting outside of the same closet? I listened to these speakers at the bose store. The were the best sounding speakers that they had there. I figured that they would sound even better after I bought them. I gave them a chance to break in and I was happy for a while. Then I noticed that the sound was not as good as the speakers that I heard in a store that cost half as much. I figured that when I spend that kind of money I should have nothing to complain about. The highs are shrill and the the Lows are muddy. I really noticed that when I carefully listened to them, the sound better than the 501s, and the same as the 301s. The spring clips to attach the speaker wires did not let me use high grade wire. I placed them exactly where the book told me to. I had to move everything around to do it, but I found that it did not improve the sound at all. I would have to say that if these speakers were priced at 400 bucks I might have felt better about the purchase. When you train your ears to listen you don't always like what you hear. I am not one of those people that just say that something is bad to hop on the bandwagon. In fact I was a Bose fan at one point in my life. Those days are gone do to the fact that I got swindeled. You might like the sound of the 701s. I would have to say that you fall in to the "don't know what makes a speaker good" I urge you to do some shopping, talk to people, go to audio stores, use the internet. Do not get swayed by the marketing, listen to the 701s in your listening enviroment, you might like them, but them again you might not. "better sound though deception"

strange looking

spring clip conections, poor imaging,just all around waste of money

These speakers are a waste of money in my opinion. I bought a set. I let them have a few days to break in. These speakers sound no different than the 301s. I sent them back. I was saddened that I could feel so dirty and cheap by getting ripped off. The highs were thin and not very crisp. The midrange was fine. the bass, What bass? I felt like I was cheated. I own a pair of 301s, they are not a bad little speaker for surround sound. I expected to get a speaker that sounds like an 800 dollar speaker, not a 300 speaker. I did not like the fact that the conection is made at the bottom. The spring clip conection screams Low ball, Mid-Fi mass market. I could not use heavy wire with these speakers. there are speakers that cost less and still have a five way binding post. What were they thinking or should i say smoking at Bose when they came up with the idea for these speakers? Do not believe the people that tell you that these speakers are great, don't believe the people that tell you that these speakers stink like rotton flesh. get a set hook them up, decide. i wish I would have heard them for more then five minutes in a store before I bought them. i was extreemly dissapointed with the 701s.

Similar Products Used:

paradigm, Polk, Boston

Advertising

They really sound bad!

I listened to these at my local dealership. In order to make sure I had the best speaker for my money I decided to buy a few Bostons, Klipschs, B&Ws, Wilsons, JMLabs and Martin Logans. I decided to use an HSU powered sub for my tests. My center was an M&K.

I got in writing that each were returnable before I did this! Most dealerships will let you take home almost every speaker they have to test. They don't really mind if you open the box, play the speaker and pack it up and bring it back. This is normal pratice for them.

I currently have about 25 friends who are all certified audiophiles. We all did a blind test. The Bose were by far the best! They are so good that each of my audiophile friends sent 5 other friends to listen. All 125 of them agree that Bose is the BEST!

I have since gone out and bought the Bose cubes for my rear channels. I now have the finest system in the world!

Similar Products Used:

Ford Philco AM radio, Radio Shack 8-track tape player, GE clock radio.

None I can think of

Poor bass control, bizzare high end

These speakers need a little help! I like the old series 901s.

This system sux!

Similar Products Used:

Bose 501s?

The sound is great in my home and in my store. The highs are crisp. The mids are mellow. The lows are pure. A powered sub makes them ideal for music and movies.

None

I own a video store and use the 701's to play movies in the store. I also have a pair in my home. I love the sound from these speakers. Really, the sound is clean. For movies, the addition of a powered sub makes them the best sounding speakers on the market. You can't go wrong. Let your ears be your judge. When watching moives, the entire room fills with sound. For music, the same experience is had. These speakers don't cost to much either (in the overall process). The real rating is a "10" from me for value and overall rating.

Similar Products Used:

Advent, B&W, Boston, Polk, etc.

Excellent speakers all around:highs, lows, and inbetween.

None, except, as indicated elsewhere, use a powered sub for movies.

After reading Michelle's review I had to write. I have known for years that Bose makes a quality line of speakers for every walk of life. I didn't want to get involved in the type of chat that goes on in these review pages. However, for everyone looking, the 701's are the finest out there. Don't spend more and don't spend less. These speakers are the best overall for movies and music. You will just love listening to them. I was so glad to read the "blind test" because I too know that the guy actually did it and that Bose won out. In science we call such tests Double Blind experiments. These experiments are the only thing that holds up scientifically because people's options are influenced so much by outside variables. Nice job. Such studies show, even with such a small sample, that personal taste is influenced by knowledge of an item in question. Without knowledge of an investigated item, standards of quality common to people (such as sound quality) prevail over suggestion. Electronic tests are different than listening tests, such as actual range of sound measured electronically. Upon investigation, electronic tests rarely have significance with listening tests. People only hear so much.

Anyway, get these speakers if you’re looking; listen to them, you will agree.

Similar Products Used:

Carver

Look Kewl

Sound is not Kewl

Took them back! They didn't sound as good as the Novas. Bought some Missions so there is a happy ending.

Similar Products Used:

Radio Shack Novas

When you listen to these speakers you say to yourself, "these sound good." The highs are smooth, the mids are mellow, the lows are effective.

None-I have a great powered sub, 200 watts, that might be why.

I just got these speakers last week. I spent the weekend setting them up. These speakers are so cool. I watched three movies and the sound filled the room everywhere. I have never heard anything so clear and clean. I played music constantly when I was watching movies. Again, the sound, from rock to country, was clean and clear. The music is everwhere in the room, not just a few good spots.

I can't write enought about these speakers. They sound excellent, really excellent. If your looking for speakers in the $800.00-$2000.00 range, you have found them. The speakers are bright, yet mellow, and have good depth of sound. You simply can't do better.

Similar Products Used:

Cervin Vega, Boston,and Paradigm.

These speakers sound great all around. The highs are crisp, the mids are mellow, the lows are sweet.

None

After reading the ups and downs about these speakers, I had to write. I sell speakers for a living. I work at a top of the line audio store. The only reason we carry the 701’s is because the demand is so great for them. Bose sells 3:1. Why? Because no matter how hard we try and talk people into higher profit margin speakers, they like the way Bose sound, especially the 701’s. We are trained to push people from the Bose to other, higher profit speakers. It is also true that the high-end speakers that audiophiles claim are so much better actually do not cost the dealers more, only the consumers. If they only could see the invoices, they would be a lot less talk.

Go out and listen, don’t look. These speakers are awesome and will fill your room (s) with beautiful sound. I love them.

Similar Products Used:

All, I work at a sound store and listen to them all.

Great highs, great lows, excellent mids.

None

Best speakers ever made. The sound is crisp, clean and soothing. It is clear that negative comments are from people with limited audio experience, or none at all. I too ask some of the salesmen at places that carry the Bose 701's if the profit margin is low and all told me "off the record" that they are low. They told me the margins were much higher on the "audiophile" type speakers but they all actually cost the dealers about the same. Interesting.

Anyway, if you are looking, these speakers are great for music and movies. As pointed out, use a powered sub with them to obtain super bass with moives (all speakers need a powered sub so this is not a negative about the speaker). These are a total "10" but the rating only goes to "5."

Similar Products Used:

Listen to them all at the audio stores.