Aside from Bose, speakers you would never buy? (1 Viewer)

Aside from Bose, is there a set of speakers, or a speaker company you would absolutely refuse to buy (from)? B&W, Totem, Swans, Axiom, Polk, Snell, SVS, Velodyne, A/R, Hsu, JBL, Klipsch, Paradigm, Audio Monitor, Boston, etc etc?

Please also indicate why not. This is NOT meant to bash someone elses speakers, but more of a personal experience.

James

Anything sold from International Stereo.

More specifically, anything with the name Dogg Digital on it.

Any speakers made in China. Buy American!

This could actually be a good thread if people are objective but I think it may be pretty darn risky as things like this tend to turn into a war . There are a lot of speaker I would never buy....not because they sound like crap or look like crap but because they do not apeal to me. I know they are excellent speakers.......just not for me. An example would be Klipsch....I know they are a great speaker company and high quality esp. in the RF line but they are just not the sound I like. Vienna Accoustics is another, they are gorgeous and sound great.......for classical music (to me) but I would never buy them because I think they lack a bit of punch for the music I prefer.....rock and jazz.
So that is my opinions, others would be interesting as it could help someone who may be looking for speakers. Some times negative opinions can be just as helpful as positive ones........as long as it is all objective of course .

why do you hate Bose?

there's not anything that I'd specifically "never" buy just because of its brand name. If it sounds good, I'll give it consideration. Of course, that qualification automatically eliminates some brands by default.

A simple search of these forums will give you an answer.

have you ever had BOSE speakers, JamesCB?

Anything with plastic cabinets. Anything that is more marketing than sound. Anything I can't try at home. Anything sold-pushed by salespeople I don't like.

I've heard Bose. Words to describe them..

Mushy (one big messed up effect, like dipoles left/right & back/side)
Thin (very tinny from the sats, no midrange)
Parpy (woofer struggles to fill the room, needs to go into distortion to reproduce "bass" and mid-bass
Terrible build quality. Plastic cabs, cheap drivers.
Not upgradeable.
Expensive- rip-off (lifestyle) prices compared to a £600 speaker set, £200 AV amp.

if bose was way cheaper i think there would be a lot of people that liked it. you know for like a shower system or for the bathroom.

No. But I have heard quite a few in my time. Each time I hear a Bose system I realize the company has absolutely no interest in sound quality or accurate sound reproduction. Their only interest is in profits (which is obvious considering the sub-standard manufacturing and materials they use).

All IMO, of course.

Are you guys sure they've all closed? I was over by the Brandsmart in Independence,MO a couple of days ago and they were open. It's no surprise they're going out of business, the only one that had even halfway friendly people in it was the one on 87th street. The people in Independence and Metro North's location certainly weren't, and never once did I ever get any of them to work a deal and give any kind of deal as far as price goes.

Maybe JamesCB hasn't owned Bose, but I have. They sucked raunchy butt nuggets. They were coupled with a Pro Logic 1 Yammie that wasn't much better. I've heard better speakers and newer Yammies since then that I have loved the sound of. My personal choice was Harman Kardon coupled with Paradigm speakers. The overall price/performance ratio was good, the salespeople were a pleasure to work with, and it just was a good experience. Why did I STAY with Paradigm through an upgrade? The store made it easy. I would have considered trying out the Axioms, Swans, Boston Acoustics, JBL's and Paradigms...but I got too good of a deal on the upgrade from the Paradigm salespeople. Why did I stay with Harman Kardon through the upgrade? Logic 7. And now I hear that a new Harman Kardon receiver is going to have Faroudja scaler/deinterlacer in it allowing for upscaling from one input to another, etc. I'm all over that.

Ok, I love the answers from Evan and Marty. The question is aside from Bose.

How about higher end, more reputable names like B&W, Totem, Swans, Axiom, Polk, Snell, SVS, Velodyne etc!

No generalizations either like "speakers with red cabinets". Again this is not to start a war, but to allow everyone to see what each others personal experience and style is and perhaps help us make more informed choices.

James

One of the super high powered 2 channel receivers from KLH.

I hear their $59 dvd player kicks butt though

KLH