Boston Acoustic's new - and ugly - speaker series (1 Viewer)

[LanceJ]

:frowning:

As a fan and owner of BA products* going back to the 80s, for me it's bad enough they are now selling a "value" series (something I figured would happen when they were sold to one of those investment groups) but to add insult to injury they are reeeealy unattractive, to me anyway. I saw them at Circuit City earlier this week.

Horizon MCS

That sub looked like an upside-down office trashcan. And the blah grey finish on all the speakers looks military-ish, but not in a cool way.

They also sell separate speakers (floorstanders, centers, etc).

None of them were hooked up yet so can't offer an opinion on the sound, but to be perfectly frank, I think these are so homely I don't care how good they sound.


* in my mind BA was one of those quirky companies that put the money into the parts that really made a difference in the sound, but to keep the price down sacrificed things (for most models) like real wood veneers, costly new technologies that offered little performance improvement, that type of thing. Advent was another of these now-rare manufacturers. Here's one of their speakers that IMO helped put them on the map & are still highly sought after in the vintage market, the A100

 

[Danny Tse]

I totally agree, Lance.

Boston's new speakers, along with its new logo, indicated the company has truly gone down the tube.

 

[PaulDA]

I'm just glad I managed to snag my VR-Ms before they abandoned them. I must say I'm not impressed with the successors (the E series) and while I don't anticipate changing speakers anytime soon (I've had them for three years and I always plan at least ten years from speakers), if this is the direction Boston Acoustics is taking, I'll be shopping among other brands next time around.

 

[LanceJ]

I realize the speaker biz ain't what it used to be but they could at least make them not LOOK like your spending less. Plus with lumber products being so much cheaper...over there.....what's with the use of a material based on a substance now priced at over $85 a barrel?! Yep when they changed the logo they've had I think since the company's inception in 1980, that doesn't always mean a company is going in a new-n-improved direction.

I have yet to read a review of those E-series speakers, not a good sign IMO. And those huge 6ft towers at the top of the E-series, while cool looking, I think are going to put off a lot of people because they will probably seriously stick out visually-speaking in most rooms. And despite their use of six heavily-built 5" low frequency drivers, I bet for most rock/pop music (let alone an adventure movie soundtrack) a sub will be mandatory, an irritating thing for speakers costing IIRC about $5,000 per pair.

 

[PaulDA]

I read a review of the E-series somewhere (don't remember where). It was positive. However, the company's product lines seem to be moving (mostly) towards the "lifestyle" end of the spectrum and, as such, appears to be putting form ahead of function. This does not inspire me with confidence. But from a business standpoint, since they are now part of a large conglomerate, profits are the most important thing so they are going where they think profits will be best. So be it. I'll happily listen to my VR-Ms for the next ten years. Maybe they'll have something I like by that time. If not, it's not like there aren't enough speaker manufacturers out there (hell, I auditioned 40 different pairs of speakers before settling on the ones I bought).

 

[Tony Genovese]

As part of D&M holdings, it appears that Boston is now more a lower end/lifestyle brand with Snell carrying on the upper end range (still Made in the USA, by the way).

 

[PaulDA]

I auditioned a pair of Snells when I was last speaker shopping and, if I could have afforded them, I would have a Snell 5.1 setup. Well, as long as they continue in their current vein, I'll be looking at them as a potential upgrade down the line. Still, it is sad to see Boston Acoustics take the turn it has.

 

[Danny Tse]

The problem is that BA now has nothing that would interest someone audio-oriented. Good way to gut a once-proud audiophile brand, D&M!!