<strong>In the industry, BOSE is known for it's terrible sound reproduction and its great marketing skills. There is even a slogan given to it by people who are in the know- "no high's no low's, it must be BOSE" Not only that, but the price tag they slap you with is enough to make some people dizzy. On the other hand HK, JBL and Infinity are all the same company, so unless you go higher up the line, purchasing computer speakers won't make a huge difference soundwise between the companies. </strong><hr></blockquote>
Yep, I'm well aware of that little slogan; nevertheless, Bose produces some kick-ass Pro-sumer products. To my ear, they sound wonderful, and the systems are well designed.
Are they high-end audiophile class systems? Nope. They also aren't priced that high either. Go sit through a trial demo of their LifeStyle 35, and tell me "No highs, no lows"
Hmm, well maybe I shouldn't disregard BOSE. It's just that usually the construction of them and the fact that they have 2" speakers is just disgusting to me. They do have a lot of good math behind them (the company was founded by a couple of MIT students back in the day) and so their engineering is decent. But if you spend the same amount of money you can get a lot more in my opinion. The subwoofers alone are generally two 6 1/2" speakers, given the fact that subwoofer volume is directly related to moving air, this is physically impossible, and so BOSE puts them in a bandpass enclosure which amplifies a specific range of Hz (approx. 30-65 roughly guessing) through calculated porting. The result is still good for what it is, but it is uncomparible to even a basic 12" subwoofer in a good enclosure with a solid 50-150 watts. which can reach down to 20hz to give you that really good growling rumble durring bass tracks or movies with explosions.
I really liked the analogy of audiophiles=unix. Because unix by itself is very stable but hard to work with. Know what your doing and it becomes OSX, the holy grail of sound. What I like about my setup is that I use it for movies and music, so I don't have to purchase a seperate A/V setup. It's accurate, and I didn't spend more than $350 bucks (I get some things at cost though).
It's also funny about Minidiscs, because those things are worthless to me, especially now that we have multifunctioning mp3 hard drives. I'm not a purist really, I just read up and prefer perfection (which is why I've now switched to a macintosh), especially when you can get close to it for a low cost.
Anyway, like before, just make sure whatever you get sounds good to you.
<strong>Hmm, well maybe I shouldn't disregard BOSE. It's just that usually the construction of them and the fact that they have 2" speakers is just disgusting to me. They do have a lot of good math behind them (the company was founded by a couple of MIT students back in the day) and so their engineering is decent. But if you spend the same amount of money you can get a lot more in my opinion. The subwoofers alone are generally two 6 1/2" speakers, given the fact that subwoofer volume is directly related to moving air, this is physically impossible, and so BOSE puts them in a bandpass enclosure which amplifies a specific range of Hz (approx. 30-65 roughly guessing) through calculated porting. </strong><hr></blockquote>
-- the 5 sets of 2" speakers (with two speakers mounted together per set) look good, can be mounted anywhere, and allow you to blend the speakers into your room, rather than have your audio system be prominent
-- The RF remote kicks ass -- I love not having to point it in any direction; the console also has an infrared "blaster" so you can control your TV and other devices from that one RF remote once you set it up
-- The bass unit can be put anywhere, behind a couch, whatever -- again, it blends into your room
-- The ADAPTiQ technology is excellent -- you wear a special headset and insert the setup DVD after your speakers are all mounted where you want them. You then sit in 5 typical listening locations while sounds are played from each speaker, and the headset you're wearing measures the sound. The system then analyzes the data, and configures the DSP filter for the speakers based on the accoustics of your room, the location of the speakers, and where you'll typically be when you listen to it.
-- The built-in DVD player works quite well and is full-featured. When combined with the included surround sound speaker cubes, the effect for DVDs is excellent.
-- The sound quality is excellent -- crisp highs, and lows that you can *feel*. It really does sound excellent, despite the tired "no highs, no lows, must be Bose" mantra -- try listening to a properly set up and configured system yourself, I think you'll be impressed.
Is it up there with audiophile component systems? No -- but it's close enough that spending the extra money and living space for an audiophile-quality system that delivers a few % better sound just isn't worth it to me. Great sound, and an ergonomic setup that lives with me, rather than forcing me to live with it. I like. Other people seem to as well:
I know people are going to knock Bose or whatever, but it's not like they make bad speakers. I'm not an audiophile, so I suppose I can't really comment on subtle differences between different brands, but Bose seems like they make good stuff.
When compared with all those Harmon Kardon/JBL speakers that Apple sells, those little 2" Bose speakers knock their socks off! I listened to some sound sticks, and creatures, and pro speakers, etc. in the Apple store, and they all sounded tinny, worse than my brother's $40 Altec Lansing set. Then I went down to the Bose store, and sat on this couch and turned on the radio. The volume had been set to a very high level so it blasted me unexpectedly, but even at a very high volume, those little speakers remained completely clear and sharp. At normal volume, they seemed perfect. Again, I'm not an audiophile, but they were amazing compared to those crappy Apple ones. Of course, the setup I was looking at was something along the lines of $2000, so I could never afford it...
i'm a semi-starving, web/multimedia design, college student and i got my QS dual 1Ghz via loan, so i decided to get "everything i needed and kinda wanted." i also got a lovely cinema display. and what better to complement the whole system than a set of the Pro Speakers with an iSub? 'sides, i thought i shouldn't have to waste the apple speaker jack -- unfortunately (?), this was before they made that breakout box for the ASJ.
anyhow, hooked up to my PC, i've got a model 88 radio. THAT sounds great, but the bass isn't as "boomy" as i like it. on the Mac, the iSub can cause quite a commotion. i wish i was able to "tune" the iSub tho. outside of iTunes, the bass is a little tad (a very little, bittle tad) boomy.
the only other means for comparison in my room is my girlfriend's bookshelf stereo and her little HK speakers for her PC.
and i think Apple or HK says that when you hookup your iSub (and i've actually got it directly connected to the tower's USB), there's some sorta crossover that works between the Pro Speakers and iSub.
so's i think you should have a listen, AND also consider your needs for space, use, and looks!
As an audiophile without the $, I would agree that if you at all care about audio quality and faithful reproduction of sound, you have to get a separate amplifier/receiver and audio speakers.
Otherwise, if you are going to get powered speakers - get the one that appeals to you the most visually.
Comments
<strong>In the industry, BOSE is known for it's terrible sound reproduction and its great marketing skills. There is even a slogan given to it by people who are in the know- "no high's no low's, it must be BOSE" Not only that, but the price tag they slap you with is enough to make some people dizzy. On the other hand HK, JBL and Infinity are all the same company, so unless you go higher up the line, purchasing computer speakers won't make a huge difference soundwise between the companies. </strong><hr></blockquote>
Yep, I'm well aware of that little slogan; nevertheless, Bose produces some kick-ass Pro-sumer products. To my ear, they sound wonderful, and the systems are well designed.
Are they high-end audiophile class systems? Nope. They also aren't priced that high either. Go sit through a trial demo of their LifeStyle 35, and tell me "No highs, no lows"
<strong>
Yeah, I know it's a terrible analogy but at least it doesn't involve cars.</strong><hr></blockquote>
<img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
I really liked the analogy of audiophiles=unix. Because unix by itself is very stable but hard to work with. Know what your doing and it becomes OSX, the holy grail of sound. What I like about my setup is that I use it for movies and music, so I don't have to purchase a seperate A/V setup. It's accurate, and I didn't spend more than $350 bucks (I get some things at cost though).
It's also funny about Minidiscs, because those things are worthless to me, especially now that we have multifunctioning mp3 hard drives. I'm not a purist really, I just read up and prefer perfection (which is why I've now switched to a macintosh), especially when you can get close to it for a low cost.
Anyway, like before, just make sure whatever you get sounds good to you.
-CFPC
I need some, I'm going to pick up my daul 867 BTO in a few weeks, I gess and I didn't order any speakers.
Does anyone know any good speakers for under £50 which are going to sound good? and fit with the new Power Macs?
£50 for some speakers sounds a lot if you ask me.
Especially the silvery apple ones !!!!!!!!
Anyone help???!!! <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" /> <img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" />
<strong>Hmm, well maybe I shouldn't disregard BOSE. It's just that usually the construction of them and the fact that they have 2" speakers is just disgusting to me. They do have a lot of good math behind them (the company was founded by a couple of MIT students back in the day) and so their engineering is decent. But if you spend the same amount of money you can get a lot more in my opinion. The subwoofers alone are generally two 6 1/2" speakers, given the fact that subwoofer volume is directly related to moving air, this is physically impossible, and so BOSE puts them in a bandpass enclosure which amplifies a specific range of Hz (approx. 30-65 roughly guessing) through calculated porting. </strong><hr></blockquote>
Here's another perspective. I recently purchased a Bose Lifestyle system 35 for about $2999: <a href="http://bose.com/home_audio/ht_systems/ls35/"; target="_blank">http://bose.com/home_audio/ht_systems/ls35/</a>;
Here's what I like about it:
-- the 5 sets of 2" speakers (with two speakers mounted together per set) look good, can be mounted anywhere, and allow you to blend the speakers into your room, rather than have your audio system be prominent
-- The RF remote kicks ass -- I love not having to point it in any direction; the console also has an infrared "blaster" so you can control your TV and other devices from that one RF remote once you set it up
-- The bass unit can be put anywhere, behind a couch, whatever -- again, it blends into your room
-- The ADAPTiQ technology is excellent -- you wear a special headset and insert the setup DVD after your speakers are all mounted where you want them. You then sit in 5 typical listening locations while sounds are played from each speaker, and the headset you're wearing measures the sound. The system then analyzes the data, and configures the DSP filter for the speakers based on the accoustics of your room, the location of the speakers, and where you'll typically be when you listen to it.
-- The built-in DVD player works quite well and is full-featured. When combined with the included surround sound speaker cubes, the effect for DVDs is excellent.
-- The sound quality is excellent -- crisp highs, and lows that you can *feel*. It really does sound excellent, despite the tired "no highs, no lows, must be Bose" mantra -- try listening to a properly set up and configured system yourself, I think you'll be impressed.
Is it up there with audiophile component systems? No -- but it's close enough that spending the extra money and living space for an audiophile-quality system that delivers a few % better sound just isn't worth it to me. Great sound, and an ergonomic setup that lives with me, rather than forcing me to live with it. I like. Other people seem to as well:
<a href="http://products.consumerguide.com/cp/electronics/review/index.cfm/id/21440"; target="_blank">http://products.consumerguide.com/cp/electronics/review/index.cfm/id/21440</a>;
<a href="http://popularmechanics.com/technology/audio/2002/8/for_your_ears_only/"; target="_blank">http://popularmechanics.com/technology/audio/2002/8/for_your_ears_only/</a>;
When compared with all those Harmon Kardon/JBL speakers that Apple sells, those little 2" Bose speakers knock their socks off! I listened to some sound sticks, and creatures, and pro speakers, etc. in the Apple store, and they all sounded tinny, worse than my brother's $40 Altec Lansing set. Then I went down to the Bose store, and sat on this couch and turned on the radio. The volume had been set to a very high level so it blasted me unexpectedly, but even at a very high volume, those little speakers remained completely clear and sharp. At normal volume, they seemed perfect. Again, I'm not an audiophile, but they were amazing compared to those crappy Apple ones. Of course, the setup I was looking at was something along the lines of $2000, so I could never afford it...
anyhow, hooked up to my PC, i've got a model 88 radio. THAT sounds great, but the bass isn't as "boomy" as i like it. on the Mac, the iSub can cause quite a commotion. i wish i was able to "tune" the iSub tho. outside of iTunes, the bass is a little tad (a very little, bittle tad) boomy.
the only other means for comparison in my room is my girlfriend's bookshelf stereo and her little HK speakers for her PC.
and i think Apple or HK says that when you hookup your iSub (and i've actually got it directly connected to the tower's USB), there's some sorta crossover that works between the Pro Speakers and iSub.
so's i think you should have a listen, AND also consider your needs for space, use, and looks!
[ 08-21-2002: Message edited by: nathan22t ]</p>
Otherwise, if you are going to get powered speakers - get the one that appeals to you the most visually.