[Vintage-Audio] Re Bose Speakers

Wed Jul 31 16:21:01 2002

IMHO Bose speakers are awful. All of them. The "Bose concept", at least as
it applied to home audio, was that of "aural illusion". The 901's, for
example, had one rear -  firing driver, which tended to create an illusion
of spacial ambience, as it's sound came to the listener's ears with  a
slight delay. This is not , by definition,
Hi-Fi", although it IS interesting. Many others also thought so, as this was
one of Bose's more successful efforts. The fact that this enclosure, along
with it's cousin, the 800 series, had no low end or high end, had to be
overcome by the use of an "active EQ" unit. This would poop up both the
highs and lows to make the overall sound somewhat linear. The problem with
this approach, is that it also boosts the distortion components that lie in
these regions.
In the early 1970's, when these were "all the rage", a friend and I ( both
professionals in the industry at that time ) went up to the Tech Hi-Fi
showroom in Boston for some critical listening using a variety of amplifiers
/ sound sources. We could both hear audible distortion in these systems, and
decided NOT to sell them in our retail store.
As a professional musician, and sound company owner for over 30 years, I
have had the opportunity to evaluate all sorts of pro - audio PA set-ups.
The Bose 800 ranks, IMHO, as one of the worst of all the smaller speakers
out there. They have to rely on the same crappy EQ as the home 901's. Anyone
who likes these things has obviously not been exposed to good PA sound, or
has "burned out" ears. Their main advantage, until recently, was their small
size. Now there are a whole herd of smaller, good sounding speakers
available.
Chuck N1LNH
-----Original Message-----
From: Duane Fischer, W8DBF <[email protected]>
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Date: Tuesday, July 30, 2002 11:24 PM
Subject: [Vintage-Audio] Re Bose Speakers


>
>
>Bob,
>
>Why is it that the commercial Bose sound terrific and the consumer versions
>sound so so? I used Bose 401 and 802 on stage and they were incredible
>performers, everytime and under all conditions. The home entertainment set
ups I
>have heard did not impress me, but I do have a critical ear, admittedly.
>
>Duane W8DBF
>
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