What I hate more than Bose... (1 Viewer)

[Eujin]

...are the people who buy their products without thought, research or consideration. Before you flame me, here's

the story so far:

I have a colleague who knows that I'm really "into the whole home theater thing" and came to me for advice about a week ago. She had seen a 32-inch Panasonic Tau at Best Buy running a HD loop and was just blown out of the water. Then she saw the new 16:9 Toshiba 34HF81 direct-view set and loved it even more. She wanted to stick to tube sets and BB had given her some 18-month no payments deal and she wanted to know what I thought of the TV. I told her that for the money ($2500) she couldn't really go wrong on a 16:9 direct-view HD-ready TV. Well, as it turned out, BB were backordered (55 orders in line--great for 16:9 sets!) through December and she ended up getting the Panasonic, which cost about $800 less anyway.

Here's where the trouble began. Her husband suggested that since they were "saving" money on that set, they should also get a surround sound set-up. Yup, can you say impulse buy? To make things worse, they bought the Bose 3-2-1 system for $1000!!! She told me all this the next day at work and I told her to take the Bose stuff back. It was still in the box at the time, as they were waiting until the TV was delivered before setting up.

I calmly explained to her that her thousand dollar Bose "system" was NOT a surround sound system: it come with TWO speakers, a sub and an integrated DVD player/receiver. I mean, hello? how can you claim that the product will deliver DD5.1 or DTS when you only have speakers for 2 channels?!? And yet, there it is on the product spec sheet. Sure, the player/receiver will decode DD5.1 and DTS soundtracks, but what's the point? And all this for $1000?!? This is blatant deception of uninformed consumers on the part of the Bose Corporation! Yeah, I'm sure that player/receiver will put out some quasi-surround via DSP processing, but the end result is still not going to be anything near what Dolby, DTS or the sound engineers intended.

Anyways, I knew my friend would be intimidated by anything other than HTIB, so I recommended a bunch of Sony's Dream Systems to her. I'd previously done so with other friends who really wanted an all-in-one solution and they loved what they went with. Anyways, the top of the line Dream System features very nicely integrated low-profile speakers and boasts a 5-disc DVD/SACD changer for around $750 street. Even from direct from Sony, the set is $999. I'd also recommened the DAV-S500 which can be had at BB for around $500 to $600 for a quick and easy return and exchange.

Here's the kicker: my friend told me today that she and her husband had decided to keep the Bose 3-2-1. Why? Because they just didn't want the "whole big home theater rig." Now, I can respect not wanting your living room to be dominated by tons of equipment. But paying $1000 for stuff that shouldn't cost more than say $300???!!! I mean, they could just get one of the Sonys and just hook up 2 speakers if that's the way they want to go!

Sorry for the long, ranty post. I just don't understand when people throw money away at bloated companies--EVEN AFTER THEY GET THE FACTS. Anyone else gone through the same thing? I'd hate to think I'm the only person who's good advice has fallen on very deaf ears. Sigh. They could have given ME the $1000 and I'd get them something for half of that, that would kick the 3-2-1's ass.

 

[Art_Courville]

Maybe we could open a new forum for the weekly "I hate Bose" messages. I don't know what's going on in this forum, but at least in others people wait until someone asks a question before launching the "I hate Bose" mantra.

 

[Jerome Grate]

Hey, I wouldn't sweat it. You did what you thought was best. Besides it tough from you point of view to suggest to another man's wife what the best system to get. This guy may very well be insecured about his knowledge and no matter what you say and we know it'll be the best advice, the guy will tell his wife differently. You get the pat on the back from us but that's all we can give him. Stoning has been outlawed a long time ago which is what this guy deserves.

 

[Rich Allen]

Some people just have their pre-conceived notions and when they ask, they are only looking for validation, not any real information. And they keep asking until they hear what they want to hear. And it doesn't matter who they get it from, at least to them. How many times have you heard, "They say....". Ask them who "They" is and what are their qualifications. You get the deer in the headlights look for a second, and then, they get beligerent because they feel threatened, like they really don't know what they are talking about. Of course they don't, but...

 

[Eujin]

Thanks for the replies guys. I don't think the problem is as much her husband feeling insecure, as it is the fact that they are both severely under-experienced when it comes to good stuff. I mean, they were going from an old 21-inch TV with only one RF input and a boombox for a sound system. With that kind of background, any Bose product playing loud, distorted sound that makes your hair stand is going to sound "good". Problem is, it's not $1000-good. That's the only point I was trying to help them arrive at. And without having spent time with a system that decodes AND delivers 5.1 sound, they literally have no idea what they're missing. Oh well.

 

[MikeH1]

Everyone thinks they know audio and thinks because Bose advertises, it must be good. (I'll rephrase this: good for the money). Most of here know that just isn't the case. Joe 6 pak thinks otherwise.
I get some really funny looks when I explain to friends that its not great for what you pay. I should know-I was a proud Bose owner in my prepubescent audio days. It took a pair of bookshelf Mission 702s to start changing my mind on this whole Bose thing.
The bottom line is this: Most have a problem with admitting that someone else's gear sounds better than theirs, especially after spending the kind of money that Bose asks for. "I paid more so mine MUST sound better".
The only people that take that next step in audio are the ones that can keep an open mind, no matter what the cost was. Until then, theres no convincing. THEY have to convince themselves that the sound is inferior. Most people won't because that means they were taken for a ride AND wrong. Who would admit to both?
Any former Bose owner on this forum will...

 

[BryanZ]

As they still have a chance to take it back, why not demo the two systems (yours and the Bose) at your place? Let them hear the difference.

 

[KeithH]

Eujin, I can understand your frustration, but some people are just set in their ways. When you recommended the Sony DAV-S500 and DAV-C700 Dream Systems, did you mention SACD as a key selling point? Your friends overpaid for Bose and still can't do better than CD. The sad thing about this situation is that your friends may never hear what $1000 could have bought them, so they may go on thinking they got the best thing since sliced bread in the Bose system. In as nice a way as you can, you ought to keep on them while they can return the Bose system.

 

[NathanP]

Oh God,

Not another victim of the Bose 3.2.1 system..

When confronted with HT newbies about this another other systems like this, I gently tell them:

"Bigger is better"

Nathan

 

[Dennis Reno]

Bose appears to be slipping in their one strong area - marketing. Out of curiousity I went to Bose.com to check out the 3-2-1=0 system. They include a hyperlink for their Acoustimass brick that is nearly word-for-word identical to the description given directly below the link! Wow, thanks! What they fail to do is give you any useful information such as specifications for the product! In fact, I couldn't find technical specs for ANY of their products.

Digging a little deeper I stumbled on this. According to their FAQ:

Digital 5.1 decoding provides improved realism from 5.1- encoded DVDs, DSS or HDTV, giving a surround sound experience with most of the acoustic benefits of a full five-speaker system.

Hmmm, what exactly does "with most of the acoustic benefits of a full five-speaker system" mean??? Anyone, anyone? Bueller???

I guess all that matters is that they are happy with it...

 

[bryan_chow]

I mean, they were going from an old 21-inch TV with only one RF input and a boombox for a sound system. With that kind of background, any Bose product playing loud, distorted sound that makes your hair stand is going to sound "good".

You know what's the WORST part of all this?? Because of what they were using before they're going to think that Bose is fantastic and tell everyone how great it is.

It's a sad fact but among the uninformed Bose is the Ferrari of audio.

Bryan

 

[Bernard L]

I know of people that KNOW bose has among the worst in audio (for the price) but still insists on it. Mainly because their systems are low profile and those speakers are really really tiny! There are some rich people who just can't stand to have large blocks standing on either sides of their room... these are the bose people!!! the rich people who care more about aesthetics than the sound quality their speakers produce. the people who go to antique stores and buy $50 candles and $90 candle holders and $150 hankerchiefs when they can find the exact same thing at walmart.

Then there are those people who just love to spend (some of which are also included in the category above). I work at the LCBO (ontario liquor store) and we have little decorative household stuff that nobody actually needs, wants, or uses... but then there are rich people who see something that 'looks' nice and go ahead to purchase that $40 napkin ring that they'll never use.

 

[Matt Heebner]

What I would do, in fact what I did was, let them live with it for a few months just to get into the whole Home Theater thing. They will be more comfortable with it after living with it.

After a few months, have them come over and check out your system with a reference DVD, and just blow them out of the water. I will bet that they walk away feeling like they've been cheated with their Blose system. They'll sit down with their HT, and they will hear how lacking it really is!!

A friend of mine spent money on a cheap HTB system, against my advice. I did this exact thing with him, and he sold his stuff like the next week and started doing some serious auditioning of good equipment...like I had told him to do originally.

Your friends might be only slightly interested in HT now...but that addiction will grow in time!

Matt

 

[John Sturge]

"Edited for personal reasons"

 

[Shad R]

My friends mom has a bose system...she says it doesn't sound as good as some of the stuff she could have gotten for the price, but she HATES having speakers around the room because their living room is awesome looking. I can't blame her. Black/white/brown whatever color boxes much bigger than the bose cubes would look horrible. Still though...

 

[andyg]

I recently had an co-worker ask me about a HDTV purchase. I suggested a Toshiba, but he went with a Samsung. I received a phone call from him a few hours after delivery of the set asking me what was wrong. Cable looked very bad and DVD playback had motion artifacts durng fast moving scenes. He has since returned the Samsung and decided on the Toshiba after a demo in the store. I love people who ask me advice on an HT purchase, since I spent better than a year researching my HT setup before building. I just get upset when my advice is discarded and the person does a 180. Atleast he admitted his mistake.

---Andy Garabedian

 

[Hubert]

Bose do make very good car audio systems. Maybe they need to stick with that. My Acura CL 3.2 Bose audio system is spectacular. But their home speakers are brutal.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Hubert,
B.S! Bose Car Audio blows as bad as thier home audio.
I have a 2000 Corvette Coupe which has Bose (Corvette's
have been using bose since 1984) and the system is garbage
just like anything else I have ever heard from Bose.
Is it as garbage as the bare bones deco systems? no... But
is it as good as the aftermarket system I have installed in
my Dodge Stratus Daily Driver? (which was very LOW BUCK)
HELL NO...
BOSE- Better Audio Through Marketing™

 

[Adil M]

Sorry Hubert,

Brett is right. I have.. had a Bose system in my Accord SE and it blew. I replaced it w/ a 300 dollar sytem and sold the Bose system for 400. The new system is far far superior. I'm not willing to spend too much money on my car system until I get a better car. Did you hear the new BMW's have logic 7 incorporated into their HK systems... hmmm.

 

[Jon_B]

It can be tough when someone asks for your advice, claim they are going to take it, then go out and do something entirely different. I've had a couple people come up to me, ask 2000 questions, then go out and do what they wanted to do in the first place. Now I try to keep my responses/advice to a abreviated readers digest version.

Jon