Bose 301 Bookshelf speakers?

[StageLeft]

I'm getting a Sony STRDE945 receiver as a gift and I need a decent pair of primary speakers...I'll be getting the rest of the surround setup later...These cost about $350 US which is the most I'm willing to spend for my two front speakers.

Has anybody got any experience with these? The receiver puts out 110 watts a side...I know these are rated at 150 but, as with most speakers, I wouldn't expect them to handle the volume at 10 - but will they be pretty good and hold me over until I buy the center/sides/sub...?

 

[Farbio]

go with something alot better than bose, its really just high end wannabe stuff. look at paradigm especially, the titans are right around that price i think. or look at b&w, the dm602s should be right around 350 as well. or, your best bet is to wait till a nice store like sound advice has a clearance sale - we got my roommate some very nice klipsch floor standers for 300/pair, when they should have been almost 300 each. but whateveru do, don't think bose are that great

 

[StageLeft]

Ok thanks Thats what I needed to hear because I don't know much. My receiver is pretty nice but I was under the impression that Sony speakers are not particularly good. I was probably going to go to some audio shop and see what they have and what they say so I'll keep those ones in mind that you mention...

 

[Thorn]

Skoorb!! Noooooooooooo!! :Q

Don't do it! Please let me give you this great bit of advice...

Friends don't let friends buy Bose.

Check into the Paradigm Titans (~$200US /pr) or Atoms (~$175US /pr). They're an excellent spkr for the price, near-hifi quality. Great stuff. Check here for more info.

HEY! Wow, you live in Canada (where Paradigms are made)... you can even get them cheaper than we can. Check into them, you won't be disappointed.

 

[thebestMAX]

Bose speakers have a sound all their own and not necessarily accurate. Either you like em or you dont.

Lots in that price range. See if you can find any Polk Audio to listen to.
I have RT-7 bookshelfs as secondaries and am constantly amazed at them. Dont know if you have Circuit City there but they sometimes have them as do Brandsmart and local shops.

Previous posts have great suggestions also.

 

[konichiwa]

Just out of curiosity, what's wrong with Bose? I don't own them but I always thought those JewelCube speakers put out a lot of power for the size they are. :Q

 

[Napalm381]

Bose: Bad.
Paradigm, PSB: Good.

Paradigm Titans are only US$220 a pair if I remember, and far superior to anything Bose makes. Atoms (steps down to a 5.25 woofer from a 6.5 on the Titans) are only US$190 a pair. That'll leave you almost enough money for a CC-140 center channel, which is US$140 I think.

 

[Viperoni]

If you're building a HT system, I would HIGHLY suggest getting matching speakers.
In fact, I'm selling all of my current speakers + the ones I'm building to build new matching ones.
Why?
I was watching Titanic (GF wanted to, I wanted to watch Gladiator *sigh*), so anyways, near the end of the movie, theres a strong flute solo that comes in.
My center speaker is a cheaper Sherwood while my mains are nice Telefunken 120 monitors.
When that flute hit, the combination of the nice Telefunken timbre and the rough Sherwood sound literally shook my sinus.
I've never felt anything like that before; had a light headache for the rest of the evening.
Moral of the story: Get matching speakers; or don't be surprised when your HT sounds crappy.

 

[Viperoni]

Oh yeah, and my bud that used to work @ future shop said this used to go aroudn the audio salespeople:

No highs, no lows, gotta be bose.

 

[Thorn]

Some telling info about why Bose spks suck. Please not the GAP in frequency response between 202 and 280Hz... inexcusable. But the main reason people diss on Bose is because they're cheaply made, and WAY overpriced for what you get. Their name (and ad campaigns) sell their product, not their quality.

Please note, the prices given are for whole sets of speakers (the full 5.1). Pairs are substantially less, within your range in most accounts. Listen to many different brands and types and find what you like... preferrably in your own home. Many Hifi shops will allow you to try a set before you actually purchase them, do this if you can (because your room's acoustics are going to be very different than a showroom's). BTW, if you like bass make sure to pick up full range speakers (~30Hz-20KHz) or get a sub. Most bookshelf spks are woefully inadequate in the bass dept. If you have any questions let me know.

 

[konichiwa]

Thorn

Sorry, but I have no idea what anything on that page means. Could you explain it in layperson terms to me? :Q

 

[kami]

Skoorb... NO. PLEASE...no BOSE!

You're a canadian... damnit skoorb, I told you this in your last thread about this... buy Paradigm! :|

PM me if you have any questions... I have tirelessly researched speakers and I own Paradigms (in your price range).

 

[SirFshAlot]

I made the mistake of getting the Acoustimass system several years ago.
I paid ~$800 then for three satellites and the bass box.

They aren't too bad for movies, but I don't like the sound of music through them.

 

[Superdoopercooper]

Hey... I took an acoustics class taught by Dr. Bose (yes... same guy)... and it was GREAT!!! Learned a lot... it was a lot of fun, and we got a Bose plant/factory tour.

THat being said... I don't much prefer the Bose sound. THe quality is VERY good (I saw some of the speaks for the base cubes being made...), but the sound has to fit your tastes. ANd, depending on the room you have, ANY speaker, Bose or otherwise, could have frequency response problems. I would suggest experimenting with a few different pairs if possible. You can buy Bose from Circuit city or whereever, and try them... if you dont' like them.. take 'em back.

I think Bose are a bit pricey for what you get... but then again, that place is a huge R&D shop for other acoustic/electric motor projects... so they have to support themselves somehow.

I would suggest what some of the others ahve... look at Paradigm, MONITOR AUDIO(great speakers... they have some new bookshelves that should be in yer price range), Energy, Definitive (if they have bookshelves... can't rmemeber). I personally would stay away from Klipsch... but that is becuase i don't like the HORN tweeter sound.

Best to you in finding speaks. Try before you buy... and it is important to try at YOUR home... becuase stores' rooms are set up optimally, or there are other crap in the room that will make the speaks sound different than in your room.

*EDIT* -- I will say that Bose has one of the biggest "bass machines" (as I call it), called the Wave Cannon. Very cool looking and impressive. IT houses a 12" subwoofer... and it has a 4:1 (maybe 3:1... that was 5 years ago) ratio (front:back) waveguide that is a total of 10 or 12 feet long. When they played that thing in the Ice Cream shop on MIT's campus, you could hear it a good distance away.

 

[Thorn]

Note the GAP between 202Hz and 280Hz... this is where most low male voices are. In other words, you won't hear this range at all. Nothing, nada, zilch. Don't get me wrong, Bose has good mid-range, but that's all. Thus the saying... "No highs, no lows, it must be Bose". Add that to the fact that they're very cheaply made, and WAY overpriced and there's really no good reason to buy Bose. They have good advertising, that's why they're successful... I'd like to see how much they pay Paul Harvey and Rush Limbaugh /yr. :Q

 

[ElFenix]

bose doesn't accuratly reproduce sound is whats wrong with them. that and they use low quality components for the high prices those POS's command. you used to be able to mail order a DIY bose speaker kit, came with the crappy paper drivers (which dry-rot very easily) and the little plastic cubes for like $25 each. oh, and then they put two 6.5" woofers in a box and call it a "subwoofer," when those speakers hardly put out bass at all. the xover is like 200Hz or something incredibly high like that, you can tell exactly where the sound is coming from.

definitly match your surrounds with your primaries, you don't want your sound to change as the source moves from speaker to speaker.

 

[Superdoopercooper]

About BOSE quality... I think they have different manufacturing sites for different models. THe higher end stuff is made in US... lower end made outta the country. So, I think there may be varying levels of quality.

I'm not a manufacturing engineer, so I don't know much about quality control or stuff like that... but what I did see being made seemed relatively high quality. However, I don't have anohter audio company that i've been to to compare it to.

 

[ElFenix]

they might have very tight tolerances on their manufacturing line but when you pick crappy components to begin with you're still gonna end up with crap. just like when building a computer you might have the most mad skizzillz on the planet for building and setup but if you start with a matsonic/via motherboard and a cyrix 3 you're still gonna have crap.

 

[BDawg]

I'd like to echo the sentiment for Paradigm. They really make some great speakers. Also, check out NHT, and my favorite, Klipsch.

Klipsch speakers have some of the most accurate sound, but some people find them too bright.

 

[JohnnyKnoxville]

Hmmm I like the Bose 501s i'm using

But then again i'm just *borrowing* them,500$ retail seems a lil high

Prolly find them cheaper somewhere on the internet

Edit:BTW it says assembled in Canada on the sticker

 

[Viperoni]

A sub should be at least a 10incher for enough low end extension (I mean down to 20hz, not 50hz like the bose bandpass dual 6.5's)

Tweeters make a big difference in the overall sound....
I find horns good sounding, as well as textile domes, so it's obvious to see why I used Vifa Horn textile tweeters in my DIY speakers

 

[BeHeMOTH]

I have the BOSE 301's and they are nice but I moved them to the rear and bought better main speakers AR's S50's alittle bit more than the 301 and about 75% better. The Bose 301's are great just only worth about 75 each to me now after hearing bigger and better. but if you plan on only spending 350 for fronts they will work just fine.

 

[StageLeft]

Thanks all!

kami Sorry, that thread didn't get much attention so I forgot about it !

thorn Paradigm could be the ticket then...I will definitely check them all out. I'm thinking the titans may be a bit weaker than the tops of my receiver, but then I'll never have it outputing at max anyway...I guess I'll check them out in a store and check out also the next ones up (phantoms it looks like).

I'm psyched; last time I had a decent HT was a few years ago at university and I ditched it because it was a hassel to move around. I don't move so much now though!