"Stephen McLuckie" wrote:


"Farrell8882" wrote in message
news:Ac%9c.30674$K91.88721@attbi_s02...
A friend of mine asked me "Why _not_ Bose?" and I really don't have an
answer
for her. I know audiophiles routinely revile the brand, but that's not an
excuse I'm comfortable sharing. It's not one I can either defend or
expound on.

I recall reading a very good point-by-point analysis here (or somewhere
people
here would be familiar with) that takes apart Bose (both the speaker and
the
myth), exposing what a really shoddy piece of workmanship a Bose speaker
is.
It's technical, but not incomprehensible.

I only paid partial attention because I'd never buy anything by Bose, so I
had
no reason to read any more deeply. I've seen it a couple of times in the
last
few years, including sometime this winter.

Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

This is probably what you read: http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html

Stephen

That website (which uses measurements I made for Sound & Vision) is un-tutored
ang quite misleading. For example it states that most $1300 audio systems have
frequency ranges of 15 Hz to 25 kHz. While 25 kHz is not unusual the number of
packaged commercial systems that can do a realistic 15 Hz is exactly zero.
Further the bandwidth, shape and abberation shown in those curves is quite
typical of what you get from the systems in the price range the website claims
are much better.

FWIW, the reason Bose is so successful, and perhaps so hated in some circles,
is that they sell certain customer segments what they really want (small,
nearly invisible, nicely styled) and not what we think they should want.

The Wave Radio is a great example; its a highly styled, easy to use boombox
that's perfect for certain customer segments (seniors, accountants, house
wives) who could really use a boombox but who wouldn't be caught dead with one.

IMO the primary knock against Bose home audio products is premium price. But
even then you're not going to get demonstrably better performance for the same
or less money if your not an experienced enthusiast. The competition will also
usually be more difficult to install.