The Art Of Bose Bashing
Nov 08 '04 (Updated Mar 06 '06)
The Bottom Line Audio is a wonderful hobby! Let's all respect one another's tastes and preferences. Anything otherwise would be both foolish and childish.
This review has been sent around the world and back again...not by yours truly as I NEVER spam anybody with my reviews. It has since been reconstructed by myself and now is in its final form. Please enjoy!
Original Review date = Feb. 14, 2004...Valentine's Day:
I guess from the beginning of time itself humanity has shown its strengths and weaknesses sometimes with very little subtlety. Certainly we are a breed of beings quite capable of love, compassion, honesty, integrity, good-hearted humor, good will, bravery and self sacrifice. Unfortunately this very same breed is quite comfortable at times with hatred, greed, lying, sarcasm, snobbishness, cheating, ignorance, prejudice, cowardice and selfishness.
So why should someone who writes audio and video reviews for EPINIONS submit an article opening with a paragraph the likes of what you have just read? Well, because I have written what I consider to be a very passionate review on the most passionate speaker system I have ever encountered since the day I fell in love with the audio hobby. The speaker system I'm referring to is the legendary Bose 901. Strangely, as popular as this speaker was and is, it is also loathed and hated by many audiophiles for several reasons. Also unfortunate is the amount of outright abuse Bose 901 audiophiles receive when voicing their love for these fantastic speakers.
You see, when the first reviews of the 901 went to press in 1968 they were raves. Because of the raves and because the speakers were so satisfyingly different from anything else at that time, the little Bose Corporation enjoyed seemingly instant overnight success. The reviews were all from magazines that had many audio manufacturers including Bose sponsor their print. Bose did run small black and white ads in everyone of them. The co. was still in its infancy.
Then along came the first somewhat negative review from supposedly an unbiased Stereophile magazine issue. See J. Gordon Holt's review...www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/425/ This seemingly courageous publication supposedly relied less on advertising for its income freeing the reviewers to write whatever they felt like writing on given pieces of audio equipment. Holt mentions problems with how the 901's sound characteristics {especially in the bass frequencies} seem to change from one room to the next. Holt then makes the statement that many Bose 901 owners and admirers took quite an exception to..." However, we doubt that the 901 will appeal to perfectionists who have developed a taste for subtleties of detail and timbre."
Who's "we" and how many others on Holt's panel were there? Were they just kissing a$$ or were they quite sincere? No subtlety and detail in the 901's???? You've got to be kidding, Mr. Holt...they are there in abundance! After this rather surprising remark from Mr. Holt...Amar Bose replies to the review rather defensively! In contrast to Holt's remark...Julian Hirsh stated what I believe to be ever so true about the 901...that it is merciless in revealing all faults of program material...including not only the source itself...but the associated electronics...the preamp and amp! Make no mistake, folks...as this was just the beginning of the controversy that now is in full force over this speaker system!
I find Mr. Holt's review to be fascinating! If you can find the time...it is so very much worth reading the entire review. Please understand that all other reviews up to this point in time...1971 to be exact...were pretty much raves. Although Holt does not necessarily rip into Bose, he does question the designer's philosophy. These same questions are being asked today and it seems from that point in time on...the Bose 901 pros and cons have only intensified as clearly a dividing wall had been erected between audiophiles of discerning tastes!
However, this was not the last as Consumer Digest attacked the performance of the Bose 901 Series I speaker in its 1972 publication as "wandering aimlessly about the room" and stating that it was power hungry..."gobbling up wattage." The publication ended its article with this comment..."A best buy?...No way!" This was in direct contrast to the publication's competitor...Consumer Guide who stated that "The Bose 901's remain a speaker system by which all others must be judged!"
Unfortunately yet another negative reviewer voiced his opinion on the 901 and Bose decided to pursuit the man in court...Bose vs. CU. The outcome of the trial was at first in favor of Bose but then the court's decision was overturned later in favor of the reviewer's right to his own opinion. Here, I agree with the court's judgment as I believe we have the right to print exactly how we feel. The only problem I have with the particular reviewer in question was that it was discovered that the gentleman had a more than vested interest in a new speaker co. which may have thrown more incentive in his direction to speak very negatively about the 901.
Well, sometimes success breeds hate and contempt and the Bose Corp. seems to be a classic prime example...not entirely beyond their own fault. By the mid to late 70's the 901's were steamrolling along with enviable success and as Bose became more widely available through discounters, high end audio dealers appeared to only built up contempt for them!
Bose incidentally started marketing the 901 in the late 60's in high end fashion by carefully selecting its authorized dealers using Fair Trade Laws to control or set their product's prices. Even though Fair Trade Laws have been long since repealed, they are now substituted by and replaced with "controlled pricing" which basically accomplishes the same objective by not only Bose but many respectable brands. That is..."Lower the price of our product below our set price without our authorization and we'll drop you like a hot potato!" Of course the benefits to the individual dealer is that no one will be allowed to undersell him. Obviously there are ways around this but I'll save that for another topic.
By the late 70's, Bose lawyers had been turned loose by Amar Bose to pursuit other manufacturers that may possibly have infringed on the co.'s patents and this fact {right or wrong on the part of Bose} has only added fuel to the fire. Battle lines were clearly drawn between the high end and the highway discounters that all of the sudden were flooded with Bose speakers by the turn of the decade and by 1983 all high end publications clearly ruled out any mention of the Bose 901 or any other Bose product for that matter as Amar Bose continued to turn his lawyers on competitors!
Stereophile magazine which featured J Gordon Holt's original negative review refused to even list the 901 as an acceptable audiophile speaker. Yes, in 1983 if one were to walk into a specialized high end store and mention the Bose 901 as a possible ultimate speaker purchase then one was likely to find his or her way to the door rather quickly with a merciless barrage of insults and sarcastic comments thrown at them as I have myself unfortunately experienced on more than one occasion.
So who could blame the high end or Stereophile magazine for not liking Bose? I recently came across an article that stated Bose has even launched legal assault on late and great founding father Henry Kloss's Cambridge Soundworks for developing an inexpensive alternative to the Bose Wave Radio! Even the great educational institution MIT...where Amar Bose and his son have taken active roles in teaching and research are now also targets for Bose's legal prowess! Said institution helped fund much of Amar's research and development! So what indeed is going on here?
I surmise that any speaker company that wishes to develop Bi-Polar Technology had best be very very careful in how they approach and label their technology. Do not even mention the term Direct/Reflecting as it may very well be an express ticket into the courtroom. This fact may very well indeed be why so many high end speaker crafters concentrate on developing wide dispersing forward radiators rather than tip toe into dangerous waters. Personally, I do not blame them one bit!
The fact that Bose seems quite content to keep prices high on their speakers only serves to add fuel to the fire. Bose owners have found out the hard way when seeking advice on various audio forums that they become prime targets for these rascal-filled snobbish sites.
Thus the art of Bose bashing has become quite popular among the so-called purists while Bose owners themselves find themselves as easy prey in many audiophile corners and this circumstance has found its way big time onto opinion web sites such as this one. Here it is the year 2004 and I still hear the same comments I experienced in 1973 only with more intensity and motorized by even more hatred and contempt!
You will notice that when an EPINIONS reviewer writes a most positive review on the 901 or any other Bose speaker he or she is likely to receive some rather negative comments by other members almost immediately. Also, every rave review will be answered shortly thereafter with an equally intense negative review as there seems to be very little "middle of the road" reaction to Bose speakers...particularly the 901's. Only one other manufacturer has laid claim to this love/hate forum and that is Klipsch with their horn loaded speaker systems. More than a very select group of audio enthusiasts love the Klipsch approach but a tidal wave of so called audio experts will find tremendous fault with the product.
And who could blame Bose for disassociating itself with the high end? Bose does not seem to take too kindly to many of the tactics some high end stores use to sell audiophiles overpriced gear.
Sorry for the lengthy introduction to "The Art Of Bose Bashing" but I feel you need to know why things are the way they are and that a bit of history education is important in order to understand why the Bose bashing occurs in the first place! I need to say this as I would like to make it perfectly clear that I am not here to defend Bose so much as promote respect among fellow audiphiles who do find the co.'s products more than worthwhile for consideration.
The Art Itself
Here are some typical so called observations Bose bashers use against Bose admirers:
1. Ignorance...Bose buyers are not aware of other high end brands because Bose sells in general low to mid-fi audio stores where they cannot be compared to ultimate quality transducers. Also because of this situation and because they never read Stereophile Magazine, Bose lovers are not aware of excellent high end amplifier brands like Belles, Creek Audio, Krell, Parasound, Mark Levinson, Conrad Johnson, Musical Fidelity, Plinius, Rotel and Audio Research. Bose owners are not educated in the art of true sound reproduction! They are some of the most naive people on the face of God's good earth!
2. Bose lovers are tone deaf or have just plain lost their hearing completely.
3. Bose lovers are gullible. They have been brainwashed! To call themselves seasoned audiophiles is absolutely ludicrous! They believe blindly in Bose's aggressive advertising and marketing. They follow like sheep while the biggest con artists in the business...Bose itself takes a P.T. Barnum approach = "A sucker is born every minute." Bose products are overpriced, overhyped, over marketed while under manufactured with cheaply made outdated materials like paper woofers and tweeters along with foam surrounds as opposed to polypropylene or composite materials like Kevlar with rubber surrounds.
4. No highs no lows...must be Bose! Bose lovers are not attuned to or aware of audiophile listening qualities such as deep well defined tight room shaking bass, subleties/nuances in music, transient response [quick buildup and decay of various musical sounds such as plucked strings], transparency, accuracy, musical timbre, neutrality, proper soundstaging, discretion, overtones, dynamic range and musically emotional involvement.
5. If a Bose owner really rants and raves about his/her purchase and joyfully explains his/her happiness about it and how ultimately satisfying the whole thing is then the person is one of the following:
a. in denial
b. a Bose dealer
c. a big fat liar
d. ignorant
e. all of the above.
Why is it so hard for some people to accept the fact that many Bose owners are indeed perfectly happy with their purchases? Thus...# 5 on my "Bose basher" list.
I love # 4 on my "Bose bashing" list as Bose 901 owners are perhaps the most elite group of audiophiles when approaching the reproduction of TRUE natural DEEP bass! I'll never forget that when we used to have the 901's setup in our huge converted attic how you could FEEL deep bass throughout the house that literally shook the place and anything that was loose would vibrate! Unfortunately, when circumstances required moving the 901's out of that great room and into a much smaller room in another home...well most of the speaker's charm also departed along with the excellent bass response!
In this sense, part of Mr. Holt's review was right on the money. Then again, this situation is not unique only to 901's but other speakers as well. The right speaker for the right room as Roy Allison proved in the mid 70's and right now my Polk R30's are right on the money for our humble 8' x 12' computer room. Still, I admire the Bose 901 speakers although I do believe now that they really are best suited for much larger than average rooms. It has taken me years to fully understand this but I do believe that this situation only further fuels some audiophiles' perception as Bose being a rip-off artist.
In response to # 3 on my "Bose bashing" list I will counter with an excerpt from the very "Steroephile" article that the so-called high end uses against the 901's as "the truth and guiding light"..."Much of the 901's popularity is attributable to Julian Hirsch's rave report in Stereo Review, and there is no doubt but that Amar Bose's compellingly convincing ads had their effect, too. But these things alone could hardly account for the 901's popularity."...Thank you, Mr. Holt!
# 2 is quite an ignorant and immature attitude by others and really has no place in audio circles whatsover...but that is what happens sometimes when something out of the ordinary becomes successful. Famed organist Virgil Foxx once stated about the so-called music and audio purists..."They are the ones who talk about it...but can't do it!" He even referred to one of them as having his "nose so high in the air that he could not even smell the very thing of which life is made!"
I will talk of # 1 from the list a bit later in the essay as it is quite the most devious dim-wittedly clever little rap against Bose and Bose owners in general.
As I stated earlier in the article, Bose is not without deserving of some of the criticism the co. receives. Also, I would like to make it extremely clear that not all criticisms of Bose speakers fall under "Bose bashing". There are some really honest straightforward intelligent negative observations by EPINIONS reviewers on Bose speakers. There were a couple of reviews that I gave a VH rating even though I disagreed with the assessment. But when someone tells me that they ran their regular conventional speakers with the Bose 901's with the equalizer activated and cannot understand why the sound is so bad...then I am liable to give an NH rating to that review. The 901 e.q. will make conventional speakers sound horrible at best and even with the 901's running simultaneously the sound will be most incorrect!
Also if someone theorizes how badly the 901 should sound without giving an actual accounting of at least a basic audition, there too I am liable to give a low rating to that review. You'd be surprised at how many Bose reviews here on EPINIONS actually lack even the slightest hint of an honest listening evaluation. Now as far as Bose deserving some criticism is concerned, I will explain why they deserve what they get sometimes!
Bose was one of a few well thought of speaker companies that were fighting the trend of 4 channel reproduction and eventually home theater configurations through advertising campaigns {and we all know that Bose advertizes very well!}as the co. simply felt why add the extra channels for ambient [rear] reproduction when their own speakers accomplished basically the same task quite naturally with their direct/reflecting stereo design?
Although the co. fought the trend for sometime they finally decided to give in with the introduction of their AV slimmed down 501 and 601 Series IV models along with their Acoustimass systems which involved little cubes [sats] and bass modules. A few of The Acoustimass Systems were great while others were not! Many of the home theater AM's are way over-priced. But there is a need for small systems that can be heard and not seen. Bose seems to be among the very few to answer that need by certain consumers. Not all of the AM systems represent good value either!
Even more embarrassing is the fact that there was a more than noticeable dropoff in quality with the newer floorstanding models 501 and 601 as compared to the older versions. The company had downsized the number of drivers while eliminating the patented "Free Space Array". Not only that but a newer 701 model that offered very little upgrade from its lesser brethren was now being featured as Bose's most expensive stereo speaker system. You are not going to be happy with my reviews on these newer models. Believe me...it was equally unpleasant to have to write them!
As stores like Best Buy do not carry the 901, many Bose admirers perceived the 701 to be the co.'s new "flagship" model. There are a couple of reviews on this wonderful site that will prove me correct here. Some folks were just not aware that Bose still offered the 901 as its top model and always will. If one can find it, there was an old Bose ad from the late 70's that stated the co. had decided to etch it in stone basically.
Remember too that when Bose started out they were a small manufacturer not unlike many high end companies of today with basic ads in selected magazines and relying on word of mouth. Also, today you have literally hundreds of speaker crafters to choose from as compared to considerably less back in the 60's and 70's. Yes, Bose's current competition is definitely fierce! This fact only adds to the perceived mediocrity.
It's ironic as I recall back in those days Bose in its literature stated that unless the listener did not perceive a big difference and a much better sound quality then all the technology in the world would not make a difference. Yes, this is Bose from its early days! They basically told you not to buy the 901 unless you could absolutely hear the difference. The co. appeared to have a good repoir with the public.
For years the co. has claimed that all of Bose's profits are re-invested in research. If this is true...one has to wonder where the money for the numerous ads is coming from. If not from profits...then where?
But times have changed and Bose is perceived by many as just an aggressive advertising lawsuit-filing, evil, greedy empire. Well, I'm not interested in defending Bose as I am simply pointing out that Bose owners often fall prey to unnecessary and downright mean-spirited attacks by some others who seem to have severe psychological handicaps. Go ahead and place a search on your pc for various audio forums and you will see first hand the total foolishness of these rascals. I am a nobody...but somebody has to speak up about this rather childish behavior toward Bose owners who actually DO enjoy their purchases.
Here are some current raps against Bose that do not necessarily indicate inferior quality:
1. Bose never publishes Frequency Response Specifications.
2. Bose does not replace model #'s often.
3. Bose still uses paper woofers and foam surrounds as opposed to the newer "space age" materials other manufacturers use. They sound too different from conventional speakers.
4. Bose relies too much on older rave reviews.
5. Bose is lying about its 901 model boasting full range drivers as such a driver does not really exist!
6. Bose speakers require too much space in one's listening room in order to successfully optimize the reflected sound.
7. Bose speakers are setup in noisy malls with very little attention to proper placement.
8. Bose never talks about using expensive esoteric audiophile speaker cables with their 901 model and suggests that regular 16 ga. or 18 ga. zip cord is good enough!
9. Bose Stores are setup in malls in Radio Shack-like fashion where the 901 is sold with incentives such as a free gas grill. How can this speaker maker be taken seriously as a manufacturer of high end speakers?
10. Bose sales persons are offered tremendous spiffs [monetary incentives or commissions if you will] when they sell Bose speakers and that is the real reason for the 901's success!
In reference to #1, Frequency Response specs can be deceiving as the listening room itself must be considered and different rooms will make a given model sound different itself depending on speaker placement, room dimensions and acoustic properties. Aside from this fact, Bose was built on the premise that such specifications are meaningless in the final analysis. High end pros should know better than anyone else about this!
"Silent Speaker" designer Win Burhoe who also co-founded EPI along with Edgar Vilchur and did some major designing at Energy states "It is impossible today to determine sound quality of speakers from specifications. The flaws in speakers which limit clarity or cause listening fatigue do not show up in specifications or in most cases even in elaborate acoustic measurements." I wholeheartedly agree.
Yes indeed! Although Bose did not publish Frequency Response Specifications, various hi-fi publications did attempt composite frequency response measurements and found both the original 901 and 601 models to be very respectable in this regard. However, the Bose AM systems did not fair so well!
As for the 901 full range driver rap, I'd say that woofers, tweeters and crossovers introduce their own distortions and often sound like woofers tweeters and crossovers. Remember the object of the game is to make the speakers disappear leaving the listener engulfed in the performance itself! Admittedly, many manufacturers of today are producing different drivers and crossovers that reap astonishing results! Polk, PSB, Axiom and Paradigm speakers would make for great argument against the Bose approach. To each his own!
The use of good quality oxygen free copper speaker wire can provide optimum hookup to one's amplifier and result in superior definition. This whole audiophile cable vs. 16 ga. zip cord thing originated from Julian Hirsch's Stereo Review magazine article in the mid 80's about early esoteric audiophile cables not really outperforming thick lamp cord sold at the local hardware store and further fueled fire between Stereo Review and Stereophile magazine followers.
Just because a high quality speaker manufacturer offers a free gas grill with the purchase of their "flagship" speaker system should not either deter or determine the actual purchase. If something else sounds slightly better to you, then by all means go for the competition as the "free" gas grill will not make a damn bit of difference as to how good or bad the 901 actually sounds!
Unfortunately, this will appear to many as an anti-high end situation as these types of stores generally do not embrace "come-ons" like this one. But suppose that the perspective 901 buyer is totally thrilled with the sound at its asking price? In this situation, that person is likely to blissfully accept not only the 901's but the free gas grill {which can be expensive in itself!} to boot and that is one party that is not to be missed!
Incidentally while on the subject do not get the wrong impression that I hate high end stores. Nothing can be further from the truth. It's just that I do find that more than a select few get snobbish when you tell them that you are a Bose owner. John Rutan's store...Audio Connection Of Verona,NJ on the other hand takes a different approach! He respects everyone's tastes.
Although he does not consider the 901 to be an ultimately most accurate speaker system and that he and I disagree respectfully on this matter, he would be perfectly happy to offer you an amplifier along with honestly good speaker cables at more than reasonable prices to help you improve your Bose experience. For this I and many fellow Bose lovers are truly grateful to him and his wonderfully patient and passionate staff! I'll definitely have more for you on this in another article.
Listen, we all hear differently for whatever reasons. although no one person's hearing may be perfect in itself, we all have our own preferences and ideas about what sounds the best and I find this to be very interestingly beautiful! A friend of mine that I really do miss these days because we were victims of a major corporate downsizing back in 1997...Dennis used to constantly tell me about his admiration for JBL speakers.
I explained my personal dislike for them because of their overly bassy sound in the early 70's but his excitement about the newer models with their Titanium tweeters caused me to check the beasts out and indeed in many cases I found them to be very accurate and pleasing transducers. Of course, there were a few models that I most assuredly did not care for and one in particular that I reviewed for this site.
But because of Dennis's excitement and passion for the benevolent manufacturer, I became aware of the newer JBL sound that was clearly superior to the old one. By the way, he and I both agreed at that time with the use of paper woofers as opposed to polypropylene used by some companies. Again, I generally find polypropylene woofered loudspeakers to be overly bassy with high coloration. This is not to say that composite materials now used by other manufacturers do not yield great results because I know for a fact that they do!
As for Bose not changing and replacing model numbers often I feel that this indeed is a huge plus for the co. as successful designs need to slowly evolve as Matthew Polk has stated in the past. All too many manufacturer model numbers change annually and old models are gone before any real benefits can be reaped. Also, it is generally smart to keep a well respected model in the line that people can easily identify and seek out! Do you hear me Sony?!!
Speaking of Polk, the co. may very well be headed for some bashing itself by audiophiles as Polk speakers used to be sold strictly in high end stores but now are sold at more and more highway discounters. I guess you could call it Polk poking?!! All too many times when a manufacturer does this it is perceived as a descent into mediocrity.
I do not care for tags such as low or mid fi. Keep an open mind when audio shopping. Don't be fooled into thinking that high quality only exists in high end shops but also do not think that low quality only dwells in the highway malls! Do not think for one second that a high end proprietor cannot save you money or satisfy your budget because believe me he can! Conversely, don't feel that a department store won't steal your hard earned cash.
The speaker buyer has a great field in front of him or her. There are plenty of goodies to choose from! Audio shopping should be fun and a most pleasing experience but try not to let store atmosphere affect your final choice. This way you will widen the goal posts and kick the game winning field goal!
Look, I don't care much for politics getting involved with audio equipment reviews or any other matter. I do not like to play that game! Recently, some comments have been made about politics being involved with more than one reviewer of the well respected Stereophile publication but aside from that I do recommend picking up their guide to good sound just as a reference and not as the Bible truth. I do respect Mr. Holt although he certainly opened up a can of worms back in 1971. He did at least do us a great service by bringing up the 901's sensitivity to different rooms and room placement in general. Stereophile does list some great speakers that you cannot audition at department stores. Just keep in mind that there are other speakers to choose from of good quality not listed in the publication and I defy anyone to tell me differently! Also, do not be afraid of speaker brands that are unfamiliar to you. Afterall, this is how excellent companies like Paradigm, PSB, Bose, AR, Advent, Polk and Definitive started out!
As for Bose 901 owners being ignorant of expensive high end brands and models I would tell you this...Think about it...I mean really...do you honestly feel that a person willing to spend about $1500 on a speaker system would not at the very least be somewhat knowledgeable about some of its competition? Of course we are going to test the higher priced waters a bit! # 1 on my Bose Basher list is really presumptuous is it not?
Yet I have experienced this very kind of attitude on numerous occasions. I've had proprietors and salesmen tell me "to clean the {proverbial substance} out of my ears." All of this happened as I was being very mild mannered and polite. Unbelievable...how snobbish and downright rude certain select audiophiles can get!
As a matter of fact I would like all future Bose bashers to save us the song and dance in their reviews and perhaps just make the degrading remark by referencing my Bose Basher List! Instead of wasting everyone's time and space plus your own precious time that you could use to actually offer a constructive evaluation, just refer everyone to #1 or #5 or whatever # from my list and spare everyone the devious cleverness of your wit!
Do note that most Bose bashers rate Bose products low to bring down the overall rating without even mentioning details of an actual listening test or audition. How can anyone write a believable review without actually giving detailed listening evaluation is beyond me! Some bashers are actually just repeating what they heard from their audiophile friends. It gives them a phony sense of "superiority" to camouflage their own "inadequacy".
They pretend to be the "be-it-all know-it-all" guru of gurus when it comes to telling you what you should listen for in music reproduction when the truth really is...NO ONE SHOULD TELL YOU WHAT IS GOOD AND WHAT IS BAD FOR YOU!! You are the one who has to live with whatever you choose...and whatever you choose is just fine and has no bearing on what is good or bad FOR THEM! Honestly...most music lovers know how to listen although there are a few who do not. Who they are is not for you or me to judge.
Yes, Bose bashers are an amazing breed of self-centered ignorant psychologically impaired critters that desperately need attending to. They seem to have an insatiable craving for self-importance that can only be fed and satisfied by making Bose owners feel as if they are inferior audiophiles if audiophiles at all. They tend to leave remarks intended to provoke Bose owners into response to their own unfounded hostility while they honestly believe they truly have "class" when in reality...if the real truth be known to all...they haven't the slightest idea of how to obtain it! Generalizations, theories, cleverness and sarcasm seem to be the proud trademarks of the lowly common Bose basher.
Thanks for taking the time to read this humble servant's viewpoint and perhaps you would like to leave a remark. It would be cheerfully welcome regardless of how you personally feel about the subject matter. Happy Valentine's Day to my lovely wife, family and to all the wonderful people I've experienced here on EPINIONS! God bless you all...PJ2
Here are some comments left by members from the original review both pos. and neg. I believe that these reactions only serve to prove my point!...
"I learned quite a bit from reading your recent impressive essays....I must say, it is great seeing you posting again.. Happy belated Valentine's Day to you"...Mimi
Response by sam-pro..."Thanks...Mimi, coming from you that means quite a bit to me and I am so happy to share my love for this hobby not only with you but all EPINIONS users and members. Love you all."
"I stand by what I said...when the review was in a more general category. Some people can hear the phase difference between two notes in an octave, so the phase/frequency response can be important. And, provided the amplifier is additive (the mathematical term -- meaning that if the input is the superposition of two signals, then the output is the superposition of what the output would be for each of the two signals), then the amplitude/frequency response and the phase/frequency response can be measured, so I see no reason for Bose not to publish them. If the amplifier isn't additive, we have a problem."
"However...an excellent review."
Response by sam-pro..."Thanks, Arthur for both the comment and guiding me with the proper category."
"Very informative essay. Valentine's day was quite awhile ago by the time I read this (!) but have a Happy (late) Valentine's Day! ^_^ "
Response by sam-pro..."Ditto! Thank you so much for stopping by and saying hello with your very nice comment!"
"Truly one of the most inept, hyperbole ridden and humorously wrong-headed articles ever written about audio and Bose. A monument to the gullibility of the human spirit. I have seen this article before, it's been posted in newsgroups and electrical engineering discussion groups as "audio humor". You are truly the Mr. Magoo of audio. HTH!"
"Thanks, wonderful read...I was actually linked here from www.avsforum.com"
Response by sam-pro..."and thank you, Shaz! So nice of you to stop by ! Glad you liked it...Oh yes! And thanks for linking AVSForum to the review! Welcome aboard, folks!"
"I was struck by the 'Art O Bashing' post. I guess I fit into critic's rank and file - vis-a-vis: I always thought that Bose were inherently good loudspeakers from my 1st. exposure to 4 - 901s in a strip bar that kicked butt in those days. I mean, it was my 1st. exposure to great sound in a small package; No longer did I equate size-[volume/woofer] to performance. Now, I recently 'scored' 2 - 501 series lV in orig. boxes that I've been assured, were baby-ed. Was 375.00 Can. - the pair, too much? and what's up with the stapled-non-removable grills??! What's the max power handling of these also?"
Response by sam-pro..."Thanks for the comment. I am not particularly fond of the 501 Series IV speaker but if they sound good to you by all means ...enjoy! Remember...you and you alone are the final judge as you must live with whatever you choose...not me or any other of these high-fellootin' reviewers! I assume that you listened to 501 Series IV speakers before you made your purchase as one should avoid making a purchase on another's recommendation alone. Speaker listening and evaluation is highly subjectve. The stapled grills are classic as many manufacturers like AR and Advent used stapled grills dating back to the 60's. Personally, I do not care either way and it has no bearing on whether a speaker system is good or not. The speaker should be able to easily handle 150 - 200 watts rms without any problem but DO avoid "amplifier clipping" which can kill any speaker regardless of its power rating. Bose speakers are well constructed and I have yet to experience one blow or burn out!"
"Stunned Silence..."
"Unbelievable review- the T.D. Lysenko of audio. So this is what everyone is LOLing about on the discussion boards. According to this guy everything I learned at EE school was wrong...head shaking..."
"Thanks for the laugh! LOL!"
" Certainly one of the most distorted, mis-informed and anti-factual audio pieces I've ever read devoted to some of the worst speakers ever made. It's become a monument to audio humor on several forums. Good job!"
"In light of your comment on three posts, the irony of you spending hours on an essay defending bose seems to be lost on you. Cheers!"
"Astounding!"
"Apparently paranoia and delusion go hand in hand, it explains your preference for Bose. You're a bit dim so I'll spoonfeed you: Your review was posted on several audio newsgroups and discussion boards, which is why you probably got so many new negative posts Einstein. For a perusing of reactions to sam pro's but-of-a-million jokes review see: http://groups.google.com/groups?sourceid=mozclient&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&q=sammon bose HTH!"
"What I find astounding is that the email77, who has not provided any reviews of his own in over 4 months on Epinions, is spending this much time attempting to discredit this review. Although I still disagree in part with the review, in that frequency response curves (both amplitude and phase) can be valuable indications of the fidelity of amplifiers and speakers, I have no respect for these comments."
Response by sam-pro..."Thanks again Arthur for bringing some reason into the comments here."
Here are some of my other Bose reviews:
Bose 901 Series VI http://www.epinions.com/content_105506836100
Bose 701 Series II http://www.epinions.com/content_131513355908
Bose 601 Series IV http://www.epinions.com/content_131591605892
Bose 501 Series V http://www.epinions.com/content_132407070340
Bose 501 Series IV http://www.epinions.com/content_83733614212
Bose 301 Series V http://www.epinions.com/content_153271701124
Bose 301 Series IV http://www.epinions.com/content_83020123780
Bose 201 Series V http://www.epinions.com/content_106862775940
Bose 201 Series IV http://www.epinions.com/content_83994316420
Bose AM-16 http://www.epinions.com/content_158703718020?alert_type=0&comments=1&ratings=1&submit=Submit
Bose AM-3 Series IV http://www.epinions.com/content_96887869060
Bose Lifestyle 901 http://www.epinions.com/content_83989073540
BOSE.COM http://www.epinions.com/content_98264583812
Please checkout this great review by EPINIONS Reviewer "Bruguru" on The Bose 901 Series V...It is the most level headed review I've ever seen!..."A Lifetime Of Listening Enjoyment"...http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-4FBB-3656044-39702080-prod1
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Epinions.com ID:
sam-pro
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 - Top 500 |
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Member: Peter J Sammon II
Location: The Bloomfield Burying Ground, USA
Reviews written: 218
Trusted by: 121 members
About Me:
Every once in awhile something great arrives at relatively low cost to you...Priceless!
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