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Audiophiles don't even discuss Bose.

Regular old audio enthusiasts despise them though, for the simple fact their performance is well below their price point. The basic small cube speaker that most of their recent systems are built around is literally about $4 in cheap parts, including a single type of fill range driver with no high end, and its only real claim to quality is that it is probably better than the speakers in your TV.

Most people who despise Bose would probably admit that if their stuff were priced at about 25% of what they charge, it would be a fair deal. They have packaged their systems in ways that are attractive and unobtrusive and therefore appealing to those who don't want the audio stuff on display. Their performance shortcomings are, as noted, no necessarily objectionable to the mass market.

What they have then done is what so many people accuse Apple of, spent incredible amounts of money on marketing these low end products as being the top of the market. They also play the retail game very well, establishing very strict rules about displaying their systems, and not allowing them to be demonstrated side by side with competitors. Additionally, in the live demos with presenters, they often back up their components with absurdly high end components to wring the last bit of performance out of them, stuff that no one purchasing their equipment is likely to ever even consider purchasing.

The comments you refer to above are in fact both true. You can see in the graphs at this link http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html that the crossover point between their "subwoofer" (a bass module that doesn't actually reach even reach anywhere near the bottom of the audible range) and the satellite drivers leaves a gap in coverage. The sat speakers also roll off in the low teens, below where even most middle aged people's hearing has begun to attenuate.

So there are no highs, no lows, and there is also a big hole in their midrange as well.

I like good sound, and I have decent surround setups for both of my TVs and my computer. However, I'm not a huge stickler. I can't tell the difference between say a 128kb MP3 and the original lossless WAV file.

Dont expect some $1000 Bose system in your ear and youll be just fine

I don't expect a $1000 Bose system, because I expect some semblance of quality.

Okay, Im too lazy to open an account here. dont care if they call me a coward. Wanted to reply to the Bose thread quickly.

Just search rec.audio.opinions, rec.audio.high-end and tons of other sites to realize that Bose is about mediocre quality and great marketing. I cant believe people at slashdot would fall for Bose. Check out http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html for a criticism of Bose Acoustimass systems.
Wave Radio ? Check out this head to head comparison on geek.com :
http://www.geek.com/hwswrev/conel/tabrads/

People dont criticize Bose just for the high price. Bose loses on sound quality, thats why so much criticism. Bose is about psychoacoustics, not accurate reproduction of sound.

Also, take a look at this:

http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html

Anyone who has heard some $300 b&w's next to a $1,500 Bose system would realise Bose Truly Sucks. I wouldn't trust them with anything....

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Dave

Not a friend of mine, just a good link I'd found before that actually detailed what's wrong Bose. I agree that right-click disabling is the most annoying thing ever (and useless -- View->Source in IE gets you the frameset source, which tells you the frame page, where you can again View->Source and get the source). I'll paste the contents of the page as an AC below this thread, so you can read them.

What about my RF bose remote? Neither of the products (or any other remote AFAIK) support bose systems. I think the pronto mentioned rf functionality, but that is only with it's own base unit (for emulating rf with ir products). Does anyone know of a remote that is compatible with bose systems?

The products don't support Bose with good reason. These remotes are meant for relatively high-end or better mid-level systems, which Bose isn't.