Omar Bose...

Paulsax, Too bad high end audio manufacturers don't know how to market their products. They continue to advertise in the same old magazines with declining subscriptions. Not only are the subscriptions declining, but they have also disappeared from the magazine racks as well. You forgot to mention price. Bose has managed to keep their products affordable, unlike high end audio manufacturers. The Bose 901 is their most expensive product with a retail price of $1400 including speakers, stands and dedicated equalizer. I recall my brother stopping by to hear my Dunlavy speakers with Audio Research electronics. He liked the sound, but he was not willing to take out a second mortgage to buy a high end stereo system.

But what this really boils down to is taste or is it? There are many high end companies and either you like their products or you don't. Nobody likes all high end products. Some are warmer sounding and others are cooler sounding. Some have better bass and others are more open. So, what is it about Bose? It's more than just the sound. It's like some entity has created a hatred for Bose by starting rumors. An entity that feels threatened by a company that can actually produce their product at a reasonable price and sell it for a profit. Maybe it is even deeper than that. Maybe it is national/ethnic or maybe it is religious. This is something we may never know, but from what I have seen this is much deeper than just a matter of taste in an audio product. Why else would Michael Fremer take it upon himself to bash a successful man at the time of his death and make an all out effort to degrade a successful company. Does Michael represent a specific group of people? Who knows?

Rrog,

I've often wondered about the Bose "haters". Why so polarized? It was enough of a phenomena that my curiosity got the better of me so I worked up a few profiles of the haters.

You have the ones that have to get a deal on everything. They hate Bose because they can't get a deal on their products. Bose is very firm on their prices. Evidently the haters are not smart enough to figure out that Bose could "list" the price higher then "let" someone grind them down to to what Bose would have sold it for in the first place...all so the customer can feel like he got a deal which then makes him feel more like a man (instead of the idiot he is).

Then you have the snobs. Their equipment is so much better than Bose and it just kills them when someone is just as happy with their Bose Wave Radio (and probably more so) than they would be with the "snobs" TOTL Best Buy components or whatever brand of audiophile components the snob has decided is best. They don't get it that some people just don't want a mess of equipment and wires cluttering up the house and/or don't care about if they can tell if the guitarist is using nylon, gut or steel strings. They just enjoy the song he's playing.

Another group is what I would call the "Tommy's" (as in the Rock Opera by The Who). It's these peoples way or no way. They have seen the light and it is ________ (fill in the blank). At least in The Who's story, after the revolt, it showed that the "deaf, dumb and blind" way doesn't work for everybody. I have hope for the Tommys of the world.

Well, that's a couple profiles and I'm sure there are more, with, maybe, roots tracing back to insecurity and inferiority.

It's fine to have opinions, I just wonder why someone would waste their life opining about all the things they hate. Seem like a waste to me.

Here's a couple of my opinions:

Rrog, you have a very nice system...Audio Research and Dunlavys. Mine is a little different... Conrad Johnson ART preamp, Pass XA100.5 monos and some customized Magnepan 3.6's but I'm sure I would enjoy listening to yours a lot.

To Bose Wave Radio owners....Excellent choice. My wife and I bought one for her Mother. She loves it and we liked it so much we bought another one for us.

Back in the day, I owned a pair of 901s, properly suspended from the ceiling, against a long concrete wall, driven by an AR preamp(the best preamp I had on hand), Ampzilla amp(the best amp I had on hand), an early Linn LP12 rig, Mcintosh tuner, Revox open reel. I was the envy of the neighborhood. This system did some wonderful things, and, those were wonderful times,lol. Yes, I had lots of other speakers, and equipment, but the 901s were enjoyable back then, and that was, and is, what it is all about. I am certain the majority of you have not heard a proper 901 set up, then, or now. MrD.

Rrog well put. I personally am not a bose hater, rather i put them in the bag with monster as a company that does not really deliver value for money but defends that practice by things like limiting reviews (though you are correct and I suspect that bose wont often get a fair shake now days). I had a friend with bose no too long back and a driver failed. I found a replacement online for something like $10 and holding both together they were identical. that plus the 1/2 inch particle board and crude wiring made for a speaker with about $100 of materials that he spent way, way more money on. in this case he loved them and thats the only thing that matters. as his friend i would rather have seen him get his 100 dollar speaker for a more reasonable markup but we live in a free market and if they can pull it off who am I to poke them. to be clear omar bose was really a game changer and i can criticize the company practices but in no way criticize him. rip indeed.

unrelated, sort of. does anybody know if the wave radios have different spec or if they make a wave looking radio that is not the full monty? I ask because i've heard wave radios (i thought) and they sounded like clock radios in a hotel room, yes gross exaggeration . something is not adding up. folks around here are usually pretty decent judges and the WR love is leaving me scratching my head.

Early in my audio career, I was part of a Bose demonstration at a hotel in NY for the audio retail community. We connected a model 901 to an electrical outlet for about 8 minutes, showing that, the drivers can withstand a lot of current, and, the use of no crossover, they were practically indestructible. After the 8 minutes, we connected it back up to the crown amp and it played fine. How many of us would dare do that with our speakers. The foam surrounds back then deteriorated, and now they use butyl rubber, as most now do. Say what you want, but at todays price of under $1500. for a set, including the eq, set up properly, against a proper wall, suspended from the ceiling, as they should be, they are a product that can deliver some listening fun. I will not buy a pair, but honestly, you can spend a lot more, and do a lot worse. I must have installed a hundred pair of 901s back in the day (many to the NY Jets franchise), and the owners were very happy. Just a fun product, that does do some things very well ! MrD