Bose Wave Music system

I have 2, one at home for kids to play CD and one in the office for radio. The sound is ok at best. In my opinion, $499 is complete waste of money, if you have enough space, buy some shelf system for the same amount of money is much better. The only advantage is compact.

We always spend part of the winter holidays down at the Virginia shore with another family, who usually bring along their Wave (of which they are, like most nonaudiophile owners, quite proud), to provide some background music in the rental house. Naturally, being a curious audiophile, I once decided to grab some of my own disks from the car and spend a little time finding out how well it could really play. Bottom line: I certainly wouldn't buy one. Of course I kept this to myself -- my apologies to the satisfied owners above -- but the only reaction exceeding my annoyance with its marginal sound (not in ridiculous comparison with audiophile systems, and not just relative to the hyperbole proffered by Herbie Hancock ads and innocent owners, but in absolute terms for a device in its category) was my contempt at the money asked. I feel there's not much else to this admittedly attractively designed product beyond a truly brilliant marketing scheme (or should I say scam).

Zaikesman, for the money ($499) is there something in particular that you would recommend? I'm looking for something simple.

Tivoli "Music System". Single box, cd, am/fm, ac/battery, subwoofer, remote, and more. $599.

http://www.tivoliaudio.com

Audire: Sorry, no recent experience or intent on my part. When I wrote "category" I was probably being too narrow, considering that I was also thinking of more boom-box and shelf-system style devices as well as plain old table radios from various eras, all cheaper and better sounding but not all as small or attractive as the Wave. To be specific my main sonic objection to the Wave was what I felt to be the way too obvious and poorly judged colorations, and their attendant congestion, imparted by the inescapable EQ Bose employs in attempting to make the thing sound like more than it is. Distractingly unnatural and unenjoyable to me. With the recent surge in new and good-looking tabletop/lifestyle devices thanks to the iPod, there's a lot of shopping around someone could do before dropping $500 sound unheard.