Do Bose make good stadium speakers or something cause... (1 Viewer)

[Ryan Peddle]

I curious at whether Bose makes good stadium speakers or not.
At almost every major/professional stadium or sports auditorium I have been to the speakers they have are Bose. I know all the tripe about Bose HT systems...oh what crap they are. But why do so many stadiums (such as the Air Canada Center in Toronto) use Bose speakers???
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Oops, I dropped my eardrums.
Could you pick them up for me?

 

[John Chow]

I'm pretty sure they're US

 

[Ryan Peddle]

Nope...their headquarters is in the States but I don't know where they are manufactured.
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Oops, I dropped my eardrums.
Could you pick them up for me?

 

[MikeH1]

It's marketing. Something that Bose excels at. Too bad - I would much rather listen to some big bad JBL's in a large enviroment than those Bose. However, at least good sound in a stadium isn't that important.

 

[Ryan Peddle]

The sound isn't all that bad. I know when I went to the ACC to see the WWF that you could hear the music crystal clear (better then the skydome, but that's a different envir.) and the smaller speaker in the hallways and fan areas of the ACC or not shabby either. Maybe they actually do make a good speaker.
Actually here is a link to the speakers that are in the lobby area of the Air Canada Center. http://www.bose.com/products/on_stage/402silvr.html
They are the left and right speaker.
Next time you go to your local pro stadium or sports arena, check what speakers they are using.
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Oops, I dropped my eardrums.
Could you pick them up for me?
[Edited last by Ryan Peddle on August 12, 2001 at 07:41 PM]

 

[Brian Kleinke]

I've been to lots of places that use Bose. But keep in mind that the people who buy things for companies tend to buy what ever has the best name/image. And in the public's eyes Bose != BAD

 

[Henry C]

I know they spent $1.5M on Bose speakers for Staples Center here in LA. The sounds are OK, but the acoustics for the arena aren't that good. I haven't been to a concert yet, just Laker games, so I don't know how if it really sounds good or like crap

 

[Graeme Shiomi]

One possibility is that Bose might give a significant discount off it's Pro Speakers for high-profile areas (like Pro Sports Arena's etc.). It's good advertising, IMHO. When I was at the ACC for a Leaf's game early this year one of my co-workers (it was a work-related event) was staring at the speakers in the arena "ooing" over the Bose name.
It started a discussion over Bose and speakers in general (since a couple other people in attendance were aware of Bose's deficiencies in the home speaker department) which probably wasn't Bose's intentions. But it shows that among the millions of people that are in those stadiums at one time or another, a lot are probably leaving with the impression that "If the ACC (or other stadium/arena) uses Bose, they must be good".
On the other hand, I'm not exactly a expert on Stadium speakers. Maybe Bose makes good Stadium speakers. The ones in the ACC are horn-loaded and nothing like their home speakers.
Graeme
P.S. On checking out Ryan's link, I navigated to the "Business Solutions" area where they tout some "Sucess Stories" which includes Madison Square Gardens and General Motor's Place. If you read about them, it shows that they way Bose works is the Stadium goes to them to do their setup, then Bose takes over and supplies the speakers and does the install.
[Edited last by Graeme Shiomi on August 12, 2001 at 10:49 PM]

 

[Keith Mickunas]

I've also noticed that a lot of cars, and I mean a lot, come with Bose from the factory. I heard the auto industry has had a significant affect on Bose's bottom line. The impression I've gotten from reading reviews and other discussions about Bose is that their little cubes suck, but the rest of their stuff isn't that bad. I haven't done any comparative listening but I haven't been unhappy with the quality of the OEM Bose sound systems that I've had in my cars.

 

[Saurav]

I remember reading something about a Bose installation in a stadium... I think it might have been something for the recent Olympics in Australia. They talked about all the studies and research that was done at the stadium to come up with the sound system, and they ran a poll among the visitors to the place, who all felt that the sound was much clearer than what the stadium had before, or something like that.
Bear in mind, Bose speakers are excellently engineered. They're just built to satisfy a different set of requirements, and size/shape/aesthetics are important requirements for those speakers. That makes them less suitable for an application where sound quality is of the highest importance (which is the situation with most of us here, I would believe). However, that doesn't make them poorly engineered speakers. Similarly, if Bose decided to do a stadium P/A system installation where voice clarity was more important than a 20-20kHz flat frequency response, I bet they could come up with a design that would satisfy those criteria.
It's always amusing to see posts which don't contain much substance beyond "Everyone says Bose are bad, so they must be bad".

 

[Chu Gai]

that was a thoughtful reply Saurav

 

[Philip Hamm]

I haven't been unhappy with the quality of the OEM Bose sound systems that I've had in my cars.

When I got my A4 the Bose "upgrade" was $600. $600 for different (not better) speakers and a total POS midbass subwoofer. A complete and total waste of money. The head unit is the SAME!!! I swear it sounded worse than the stock speakers.
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Philip Hamm
AIM: PhilBiker

 

[Graeme Shiomi]

Saurav said:

I remember reading something about a Bose installation in a stadium... I think it might have been something for the recent Olympics in Australia. They talked about all the studies and research that was done at the stadium to come up with the sound system, and they ran a poll among the visitors to the place, who all felt that the sound was much clearer than what the stadium had before, or something like that.

You can read something similar on Bose's website under Business Solutions and Sucess Stories. It seems that a lot of what stadiums like about Bose is not just the speaker itself, but the time Bose spends on assessing the needs of the Stadium and selecting the appropriate speakers, placement etc.
I hope my post didn't indicate that I felt the Bose speakers in the ACC to be crappy. I felt them to be quite good, as far as Stadiums go. I was just indicating another possible reason why Bose would be so popular with Stadiums (since I'm sure there are other large Pro installers who would do the same thing - JBL comes to mind).
Graeme

 

[John Garcia]

I was in Michigan and went to a theater that was THX certified, and using JBL HLS series speakers. It was the WORST sound I have EVER heard at a theater.
Bose does a good job of making enclosures that maximize the performance of the simplest of drivers.
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[Saurav]

that was a thoughtful reply Saurav

Thank you.
JBL also has a reputation for good stadium sound, though I'm sure there are plenty of examples of bad installations. I was at the Oakland Arena this weekend for the Eric Clapton concert, and I noticed the P/A speakers on the outside were JBL, so I'm assuming the main rig would be JBL too. I though the sound ws pretty good - I was way up near the top and very far away from the stage, so I was expecting everything to be all muddied up and incoherent. I was pleasantly surprised at the sound - good bass and treble, cymbals decaying nicely and everything, and every little riff and nuance audible. And then, of course, there was Clapton. If a human ever deserved to be called "God"... (BTW, this is not intended to piss off the religious among us).

 

[JerryHatchett]

I haven't been to a concert yet, just Laker games, so I don't know how if it really sounds good or like crap.
You're not likely to ever hear the house system at a concert. Any semi-major act will bring their own sound reinforcement or have it contracted by a SR company.

 

[Bhagi Katbamna]

I have heard many installations(permanenet and temporary) of Bose professional speakers and they have actually sounded very good. Our Temple/Haveli in Bartlett, IL has Bose speakers installed and it sounds very good. I don't think the company offers good value for money for the home market, however.

 

[Ryan Peddle]

I was in Michigan and went to a theater that was THX certified, and using JBL HLS series speakers. It was the WORST sound I have EVER heard at a theater.

Bose does a good job of making enclosures that maximize the performance of the simplest of drivers.

I'm not sure if you have the correct speaker series from JBL but the HLS series is a hometheater speaker. If they were used in a theater, one they are THX cert. And two, they'd need about ten speakers for every channel with a load of power to each. JBL HLS just are not made for theater applications, only home theater.

 

[MarkS]

re: Aren't Bose made in Canada?

Nope, Framingham, Mass.

(When I visit my company's headquarters, I have to drive past the building and never miss the opportunity to flip them the bird).

-mbs