Direct/Reflect Sound is very nice at lower volumes

Don't play them loud in front of your friends, you will be embarrassed.

I was very excited to bring these 701's home. I was more excited to bring them back. They sound great at lower volumes but as soon as you try to start a party with these you are going to be disappointed. I can't go past 1/3 on my Sony ES receiver before they start to lose the crisp sound which they have at 1/4 volume. I feel bad writing this review mainly because I don't think that these speakers are designed for what I want out of them. Like I said, at medium sound levels they sound great. I want loud speakers. Fortunately Bose allows you 3 months to try these speakers out. I needed over two before I could decide to split with them. I found a pair of Klipsch RF3's which I am very excited about. I think that they will give me more of what I want. As for the Bose, try them out, you have nothing to lose as long as you decide within 90 days.

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch RF3, Mirage OM - 10, Boston Acoustics

Against other $700 speakers there are no strengths to speak of. I noticed below a "reviewer" that said these are the best speakers ever made; which may very well qualify as the funniest thing I've ever heard.

First off, before you ever fire them up, try this: lift up the cabinet. You'll notice how light and flimsy it is, that should be a quick indicator of how much went into making them. My center channel speaker weighs more than these, and well.... its a center channel, not a tower speaker.

They are inaccurate and do not faithfully reproduce the sonic spectrum. Not that any speakers does (completely), but these are so far from that impossible goal that it amazes me that anyone falls for the sham. However, if you'd like boses version of how your recordings should sound, then they've got your ticket. All I see here is incoherent ravings such as "they sound so sweet! the highs aren't too harsh like other speakers". Maybe these morons are right. Other, higher quality speakers that actually took more than $15 to produce may sound harsh. Some of your favorite recordings will sound abrasive when accurately reproduced (like for example, running them through a reference tranducer such as the B&W N801, or Revel Salon), And to that I'm sorry folks. Maybe you should go complain to the music studio for not using bose to record them (which by the way, no one does). True accuracy of reproduction can reveal things about music that you never knew was there before, a rewarding and enlightening experience. And thats what I like. Accuracy is a beautiful thing, it is the unobscured truth of the matter, and it is what all true audiophiles long for.

A note to normal people:
If bose fans choose to go on being cheated out of what their favorite music REALLY sounds like, then let them. Its their loss, not ours.