By Alice Hill
RealTechNews
Although I consider myself a techie, an audiophile I am not. Sure, I love to look at the $100,000 systems and marvel at what they must sound like, but at the end of the day, I usually buy Sony or (gasp) Panasonic and JVC and call it a day.
So when I came across an outstanding rant asking why is Bose SO popular (see the brand chart above) I had to agree with the writer. He did a huge piece on it, but I have included a few of his key points and then I urge you to read the entire rant if you’re in the mood for some long soul searching from an audio expert who knows. The wild thing is: Bose beats out IBM, Apple, Nintendo, Dell, Sony and pretty much everyone else in brand surveys. And yes, I did buy the Bose iPod dock, so I guess they got me too.
Why is Bose so Popular?
So let’s examine some of the reasons Bose has carved out such a strong niche in the audio market and then I’ll offer my own observations and hopefully level the playing field a bit. Going all the way back to the Bose 901’s new window (and farther) the company began a campaign of branding and word association that remains with them to this day. A few examples of words that have become synonymous with Bose are: Direct Reflecting, Acoustimass, and Waveguide.Now all of these terms may or may not mean anything to you, but how about a few more examples: Lifestyle System, Wave Radio, 3•2•1 system, Mini Cube System, etc, are all examples of the strong branding behind Bose. Simply put, it’s very likely you can go out and buy a system from Bose today that was available in-name 5,10 or 15 years ago. This was a very smart branding move on their part, as it allows the product to be introduced, mature and plateau in a time frame that other products have long since been forgotten.
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Frequency Response
Speaking of frequency response, Bose doesn’t publish frequency responses for their consumer products. Dr. Amar Bose new window was quoted as saying “looking at frequency responses on paper and charts doesn’t really matter – it boils down to how it sounds to people”. I will be the first to admit that frequency responses aren’t a good way to judge a speaker, especially if you’re comparing similar speakers. But I think it’s safe to say Bose would be exempt from the similar speaker comparison example.When your competitors publishes their frequency responses and your company doesn’t, you’re either betting that your average customer doesn’t care enough to investigate statistics or that they really don’t matter at all. Given the fact that Bose cites several technological advancements as a direct result of their engineering, I’m betting it’s the former.
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Summary
I’ll close in saying that Bose is very often an emotional purchase by uninformed (through no fault of their own) buyers looking to buy a ‘surround sound system’ and more often than not the size of the Satellite Cubes is what seals the deal. However if you’re after genuine sonic fidelity and aren’t limited to a speaker that’s tiny, I urge you to do your research, hear multiple systems and refrain from impulse purchases, your ears and wallet will thank you.
Source: Home Theater Blog
Our Question: do you love Bose, agree, disagree, and where do you draw the link on audio products?
I recall a similar study done on televisions a while back … there was one TV whose contrast and sharpness was, according to the experts, way too high. It was given the lowest score of almost all the TVs. But the Average Joe participants in the study liked that one more than any other!
Wish I could find the link to the writeup.
But, much like the quoted summary, it’s a combination of 1) uninformed consumers and 2) the old “if the shoe fits … wear it!”
Like Rolex, is all in branding and marketing. Do you ever see Paradigm or other hi-fi equipment advertisements? They are master marketers for the masses.
I think Bose does a great job marketing to the people (like my wife) who want something that’s name brand, has a good reputation, is easy to use and lets them be up and going quickly with minimal hassles. Kind of like Apple and it’s product line, and the TiVo. “Serious” computer geeks or gadgeteers would build their own box, or their own DVR. Or they’d buy a lower-cost MP3 player that does everything the iPod does. But for the masses, the iPod is the only MP3 player worth having, and they might like a Macintosh (hence the “Switch”) campaign, and the TiVo, well it just does what it does well (we have 2, and I have ZERO interest in building a PVR because the TiVo’s been flawless for years)
As far as Rolex is concerned, I’ve had my GMT Master since 1976. Been in the shop three times for hands, a band and a new face. Not bad for a self-winding watch, it’s 30th “birthday” this May. Paid $435.00, retails now for what $3600.00. Consider this – there are very few watches on this planet which will get you out of town when necessary, a Rolex is one of them. Try bribing someone with a Timex in some foreign country when you need to leave NOW.
There are brands out there that do live up to the marketing hype.
Just my 2 cents,
Ron
I’ll also add that in the “audiophile” world, there’s a lot of (and there’s no nice way to put this) snobbery and envy. I think the guy from Bose got it right when he said to buy what you like. But the “audiophile” world, composed mainly of freshly minted engineers with some free cash, loves to pore over specs, frequency response diagrams, pages of obscure measurements and numbers, then spend a lot of money on the system. I work with a lot of these people (and was one for a little while), and it’s just another way of trying to out-do the other guy. Same as getting a faster car, faster PC, camera, etc. For women it’s typically handbags, shoes, clothing, weddings — although that’s by no means a hard and fast rule, since there are ladies who like the gadgets too. And there are men that like handbags and shoes
I heard it described as the wife factor. That women hate cables and huge speakers and the little cubes are cool and minimal. I have to say that I like the cube concept, but always felt too skeptical to buy into it. I have giant JBL speakers that weigh a ton, but I am sure they are just as bad.
I went to a presentation by an ex-TiVo employee and she said that they had to do focus groups in Sacramento since there were too many hardcore geeks in the Bay area .. and they were designing the TiVo for the geek’s wife, not the geek. I will be getting a Bose Wave radio in the next few months (corporate anniversary gift) and I am excited — it will replace a tuner, cd changers and speakers in our family room with one device that I can hook my MP3 player into, hit play and it will play music. It may not be the best sound ever, but all we typically do is have the music running in the background, or have NPR on and it should be more than capable of that task. We still have the home theater in the basement, but for when we have guests over we can converse in a room that doesn’t look like we are Worshippers of the Electronic Equipment Gods.
I’m going to speak from both sides of the fence. I own Bose speakers tht we purchased in the very early ’90’s. Great speakers. They always have made my basic component system sound much better than it really was.
On the other side, there is a Bose store in the area. We were looking for a new system and we stopped in to see what they had to offer. Honestly, for the money, we weren’t impressed. That much money for a music system? Forget it. For that kind of money I could start looking for a nice used jet ski! Now THAT’s sound! LOL
My step brother is a speaker designer and has worked at a couple of different highend-ish places. His take on Bose is that it’s the laughingstock of the speaker industry. Sort of like Rolex as a “prestige” watch. I have a set of Bose 301’s and that is only because my brother was desperate for money when he was in college and I haven’t had a need to get new ones. I would snitch my wife’s Klipsch forte’s if I needed something better.
I have a Sony surround sound system with all Sony components except for the speakers Which are Pinicale. My next door neighbor has a Bose 901 system and a system with Klips. When I first got my system working I invited him over for a comparison. His Klips cost more than my whole system . He Told me my system put his to shame especially the Bose. I also aske a friend who was a Bose Engineer over to see what his apraisal would be. HE No longer will speak to me. I have a 200 and a 300 disk cd/dvd player full of cd’s and think Bose I much overrated for sound quality.
I used to work at BOSE.
The company slogan was “No Highs, No Lows, Just BOSE”
Reminds me of the old joke about Dr. Klipsch running into Dr. Bose at the airport.
Dr. Klipsch sees Dr. Bose, cups hands in front of mouth and yells “Hello Dr Bose”. Dr. Bose sees Dr. Klipsch, turns to face the corner where the walls meet and says “Hello Dr. Klipsch”.
If Bose is the laughingstock of the speaker industry, they are laughing all the way to the bank. But the poeple that spend so much and get so little deserve what they get. Its so easy to find better for less.
No highs. no lows…must be Bose.
bose makes awful consumer products, but their pro audio systems are actually quite decent. still a bit pricey, but along with the product you do get amazing customer service, no joke. i personally wouldn’t buy em, though. my $.02
bose is simply the best soud system I have come across, I went to a demo and was blown away with the technology put into the designs of the speakers. I have to say their space saving, great sounding systems are the best on the market, around the clock customer service. the price is high but once you have them you’ll keep them forever.
Can I use my Bose link speaker on any other systems besides Bose. If yes, what are they?
Thanks!
[i] Kweh! says:
bose is simply the best soud system I have come across, I went to a demo and was blown away with the technology put into the designs of the speakers. I have to say their space saving, great sounding systems are the best on the market, around the clock customer service. the price is high but once you have them you’ll keep them forever. [/i]
Actually, what you don’t realize is that with those demos at the Bose store, you are listening to their $1300 surround sound system (worth about $150) connected to about $100,000 worth of hidden equipment (amp, DAC, CDP, interconnects, etc.). Anything will at least sound pretty decent with that kind of power behind it, even shitty Bose speakers.
“Space saving” and “great sounding” never go together. Bose’s tiny speakers can never reach the highs or lows that a standard speaker can reach — all you get is so-so midrange. Their systems are not the best on the market — more like the absolute worst. Anyone who knows anything about audio knows that Bose is the laughingstock of the audio industry.
Also, a surround sound system is inferior to a stereo system (music is recorded in stereo; it should be played back in stereo — good stereo systems should be able to replicate the soundstage, whereas cheap surround sound systems basically cheat to attain soundstage).
Do some reading on and see for yourself.
Jealousy is possibly the most sincerest flattery.
I tried different systems and I do vouch for the superlative audio quality of Bose Systems.
Perhaps the reason for Bose being such an immoral corrupt company is because Dr. Bose is an immoral person himself? Despite being married and having two young children, Dr. Bose began a 20 year relationship with his German “assistant”, before finally doing the right thing and divorcing his wife and getting married to the German broad.
This kind of immorality clearly has carried forward into the operations of this company.
Funny for some the evaluation hinged on the “German Assistant”.
Would it be better if the assistant was Indian?
Any ways
My evaluation of Bose for home theater system leads me to recommend it only if size is at premium ow not.
I suspect why Bose wont publish frequency response is because of the multiple audio paths that they create to reflect sounds.
Regarding why the Brand is viewed as better is a DUH point.
Why is a Gucci bag any better than any other bag ?
Brands enable people to flaunt wealth.
Its probably because its more expensive some one may want it for that factor.
Anyone who will look at a small size speakers like the bose 301 will be very happy with the sound it gives. If you want the boom get a powered subwoofer it works very well with them. The bose 901 are very hard to set up ( You have to have the right backround) But if you do they sound like a live outdoor concert. For the most part Bose lives off the fame of the 901 and 301