I'm submitting this review to counter the poor review given by "A distrubed citizen." Either distrubed continued to buy every Bose product even after he decided they were crap or he's rating something that he doesn't really own. I'd advise him to stop posting falsified, biased reviews and to break out that dictionary he's such a fan of and learn how to spell retarded, disturbed, revelation, and addict.

Thanks
Daniel

Small, easy to hook up, well packaged

Sound quality

My American Accoustics were decent speakers, but with 2 12 in woofers in each speaker, my living room was overwhelmed by them. I went on a crusade to get something smaller. I ran out and bought the Bose on reputation alone. I got home, hooked them up, turned them on and was immediately disappointed. I played with the EQ settings, speaker placement, music choice, everything I could think of and there was always this dead sound. I returned the speakers and learned that the Polk RM6600's were in that day, so I bought them, upgraded to the 450 sub and these are so much better than the Bose that there is no comparison, really. I always thought Bose was the best, but after some investigating, I've learned the TRUTH.

Similar Products Used:

Polk Rm6600, American Accoustics SW12/12

Size

Sound, soundstage, bass, treble, build quality, component quality.

There were so many controversial reviews of this that I decided to go to the showroom last month and have a good audition just to hear for myself.

I think the sub/satellite concept if OK like M&K.

At first, some dramatic music was played that tended to make the system seem to sound great. But I brought my own music CDs which I am familiar with and suddenly with these CDs (audiophile ones from Chesky, Proprius) instead of the demo ones, the true colours showed.

Bass was there but it wasn't deep and was ill-defined and lumpy.
Treble had a metallic twang to it and sounded harsh.
Vocals and instruments sounded thin and unnatural.

After a while, it became very tiring - as there were some other customers, I decided to let them do the listening. Back to the demo music and surprisingly, the faults showed up again.

Tannoy Mercury M2 sounds better anytime.

Having heard for myself, I have come to a conclusion. Save your money - don't fall into the trap of buying these. Buyer beware!!

Similar Products Used:

Budget bookshelf models from Jamo, Mission, B&W, JMLab, Celestion, Tannoy. Also M&K (not budget) models

Hi-Tek package.

Bose "Acoustispasm".

Bose "Acoustispasm".

Similar Products Used:

B+W,others.

Below you will find a listing of milestones in the history of Bose. I think it is in the best interest of prospective buyers to read over this carefully before shelling out their hard-earned cash.
__________________________________________________________

1964-Founding Of Bose
In the 1950s, Rev. Dr. Amar Buffet Bose IX observed loudspeakers didn’t deliver natural sound. Extensive research into the science of sound, lasting all of 20 minutes, led to the formation of Bose Corporation.

1968-Birth Of A Legend
The legendary 901?Direct/Reflecting?speaker is introduced, coming down from the sky playing "Carmina Burana." It reflects 89% of the sound off walls ?similar to a live concert taped by a bootlegger with his Fisher Price tape deck ?for natural, lifelike sound.

1969-Double Blind Test
Bose pioneers the double blind test, wherein Bose speakers are placed in a room and our competitors' speakers are placed in a high school gym. The first man to hear our speakers leaves the room saying: "No highs, no lows -- it must be a Bose."

1972-Pro Loudspeakers
Bose enters the professional ranks by producing a loudspeaker system designed exclusively for the demanding, discriminating tastes of the professional musician.
Unfortunately, these people didn't buy our products.

1972-Syncom?Testing Computer
Bose establishes the proprietary Syncom computer to acoustically measure speakers against a laboratory model to guarantee a level of consistency and reliability. The next day the computer crashes and is never repaired.

1973-Promotional Offer
Bose invents potato salad. This comes free with any purchase over $5,000.

1975-World’s Best-Seller
The 301?Direct/Reflecting?speaker system is launched into space following the Apollo 17 mission. Renowned Bose technologies, versatile design and affordability make it one of the world’s best-selling speakers. Too bad it doesn't sound very good.

1982-Moving Sound
Bose introduces a custom-designed, factory-installed system specifically for automobiles. Some of the world’s most luxurious cars today, including Hyundai and Yugo, feature Bose sound systems.

1983-Immobile Sound
Hyundai and Yugo drop our speakers from their available options, as a result of their quality control standards.

1984-Acoustic Waveguide
Bose designs acoustic waveguide technology and brings component system sound to a compact system with a side order of fries. Experience full sound with rich bass from an extremely small enclosure which sounds just as bad as you've come to expect from Bose.

1985-Advertising
Bose dupes 101,031 people into buying our speakers as a result of an aggressive advertising campaign.

1986-Acoustimass?Speaker Technology
Acoustimass speaker technology is born at 3:05 p.m. weighing 6 lbs. 3 oz. Room filling sound is available without a room full of equipment. Virtually Invisible?speaker design includes cube speaker arrays and compact module. By cutting out the insides of the cube speakers, they can be used to make high quality ice cubes at no additional charge.

1987-Inventor Of The Year
Acoustic waveguide technology creates a stir in the scientific community, earning Dr. Bose and Dr. William Short “Inventor of the Year?honors. Those who determined the "Inventor of the Year" picked up their checks in the mail shortly thereafter.

1989-Acoustic Noise Cancelling?Headsets
Bose Acoustic Noise Cancelling headsets are created to bring clear communication and protection into the cockpit for pilots and on the ground for air and ground crew.
They work incredibly well at cancelling all sound in the headsets. Plane crashes have increased every year since.

1990-Lifestyle?Systems
Bose develops Lifestyle?systems. Our proprietary system design approach and Virtually Invisible?speaker design create an unmatched level of performance and design, unless you include any speaker that is made by our competitors.

1993-Wave?Radio
The Wave radio, the world’s finest sounding radio (in our unbiased opinion), is introduced. Acoustic waveguide technology delivers rich, deep sound ?not previously heard from an enclosure this ridiculously overpriced.

1994-Auditioner?Audio Demonstrator
Auditioner audio demonstrator is created by our renowned engineer Mortimer M. McMarmocet. You hear the exact acoustic performance of a building’s proposed sound system before the building is constructed for the amazingly low price of $1 million dollars plus a $200,000 surcharge for installation. Potato salad not included.

1995-Jewel Cube?Speaker
Bose designs the Jewel Cube speaker to bring high performance sound down to size ?easily hidden behind your hand, which a lot of our customers requested, since many routinely play hide & seek with their speakers.

great sound in a "problem" room

price

This speaker systme seems to elicit either 1's or 5's, either a bash or a defense. Personally, I'll give them a 3 for value and 4 overall. I personally do not care for Bose marketing and resisted even considering them as a choice. But auditioning several leading contenders, even taking some home for tests eventually led to a home trial of the AM 15's. They worked. I needed a 5:1 home theater setup in a 24 ft by 26 ft family room with a 18 ft ceiling (and they had to be small enough to satisfy my wife's constraints). Only the Bose gave a full rich sound that came anywhere near what I got with my large floor-standing speakers. The best decision was to spring for the speaker stands so I could position satellites exactly and I found that contrary to the Bose manual, there was only one way to position the sub-woofer for decent sound. As it is, I'm a happy customer and several more sets of ears confirmed the choice.

Similar Products Used:

KLH, Infinity, ADS, Advent