Wednesday, March 17, 2004
Bose Speakers: Not All You Thought They Were?
Posted by Jason Dunn in "ARTICLE" @ 04:31 PM
"Popularity. Popularity of a name brand doesn't equate to quality. Bose mystique feeds off of its well-targeted audience: the ignorant, ill-informed, mass-market consumers who search for simplified hifi audio solutions in "all-in-one" chain stores such as Walmart, Best Buy, Sam's Club, Price Costco, Sears, Montgomery Wards, etc. A Bose speaker, when put up against the in-store competition of Technics, Cerwin Vega, Pioneer, Kenwood, and Sony speakers, may indeed sound like a better buy. Since these Japanese mega-icons are established corporate monsters, the buyer will feel confident knowing that he or she made a thorough comparison with other household brand names. The truth is that generally the companies that make the best electronics, tend to make the worst speakers. Their mass-production business models of cheap labor, overseas assembly, nonexistant QA, and focus on bottom line spending leaves little room for the integral psychoacoustic research required for designing an outstanding speaker.
I would estimate that the vast majority of current Bose owners are the victims of miseducation or a complete lack of audio education, and a false belief that they own the best speakers on the market. A small minority will buy Bose for the actual sound quality knowing full well that they are paying more for a badge than for performance. The size factor by itself should be a non-issue since Polk, Gallo, and others have already made smaller speakers than Bose for less the price and equally big sound. A simple way to test this theory is to see just how familiar a Bose owner is with the real industry leading brands, like Klipsch, Paradigm, Definitive Technology, and B&W. "What's that? I've never heard of that no-name brand."
Audio newbies often throw out the "But I heard that Bose is good!" defense, to which I respond "From who?" Was it a sound engineer, electrical engineer, materials scientist, studio engineer, sound producer, recording professional, musician, Mark Levinson? Ray Dolby? George Lucas? Anyone credible? Or was it your neighbor with the GoldStar walkman, Teac boom box, Funai mini-system, and Sylvania receiver? Perhaps the ubiquitous Bose Ads that they find in completely irrelevant magazines such as Popular Science, Times, Playboy, GQ, People, Astronomy, etc, had some sort of subliminal effect against the better of their judgment? But that's just conjecture..."
This article was rather eye-opening. I admit it, I was one of those people who thought that anything with the Bose label on it was automatically high quality. They have impressive-sounding demo stations at big stores, and a big marketing machine that cranks out a lot of brand recognition. The sheer cost of Bose speakers made me shun then, but after reading this article, even if I had the money I probably wouldn't get them. ;-) I've always been a big fan of Klipsch speakers myself, although I hear Polk Audio is also an excellent brand. This article is worth a read if you're into serious audio, and I'd also be interested in hearing any counter-points to the author since this beyond my scope of knowledge.
And if you're looking for 5.1 alternatives to Bose speakers, the author has yet another article to assist you. Although I have to admit I'm a little dubious about someone who puts a mirror behind their computer...is watching yourself do email really that important? :lol:
I would estimate that the vast majority of current Bose owners are the victims of miseducation or a complete lack of audio education, and a false belief that they own the best speakers on the market. A small minority will buy Bose for the actual sound quality knowing full well that they are paying more for a badge than for performance. The size factor by itself should be a non-issue since Polk, Gallo, and others have already made smaller speakers than Bose for less the price and equally big sound. A simple way to test this theory is to see just how familiar a Bose owner is with the real industry leading brands, like Klipsch, Paradigm, Definitive Technology, and B&W. "What's that? I've never heard of that no-name brand."
Audio newbies often throw out the "But I heard that Bose is good!" defense, to which I respond "From who?" Was it a sound engineer, electrical engineer, materials scientist, studio engineer, sound producer, recording professional, musician, Mark Levinson? Ray Dolby? George Lucas? Anyone credible? Or was it your neighbor with the GoldStar walkman, Teac boom box, Funai mini-system, and Sylvania receiver? Perhaps the ubiquitous Bose Ads that they find in completely irrelevant magazines such as Popular Science, Times, Playboy, GQ, People, Astronomy, etc, had some sort of subliminal effect against the better of their judgment? But that's just conjecture..."
This article was rather eye-opening. I admit it, I was one of those people who thought that anything with the Bose label on it was automatically high quality. They have impressive-sounding demo stations at big stores, and a big marketing machine that cranks out a lot of brand recognition. The sheer cost of Bose speakers made me shun then, but after reading this article, even if I had the money I probably wouldn't get them. ;-) I've always been a big fan of Klipsch speakers myself, although I hear Polk Audio is also an excellent brand. This article is worth a read if you're into serious audio, and I'd also be interested in hearing any counter-points to the author since this beyond my scope of knowledge.
And if you're looking for 5.1 alternatives to Bose speakers, the author has yet another article to assist you. Although I have to admit I'm a little dubious about someone who puts a mirror behind their computer...is watching yourself do email really that important? :lol:
