What's the status of Bose home audio?

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bluegrassphile

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I've been away from high end home audio for 35-40 years and have a lot of catching up to do. When I was heavily into home audio in the '70s Bose was a highly regarded line of speakers. Especially the 901s. The various versions of the 901, 601, 501, and 301 were very popular. By about 1980 I was out of the high end home audio hobby and when I came back for a short while in the mid '90s Bose seemed to have lost a lot of credibility with audiophiles, especially with the numerous versions of the "cubes" and Bose' take on the "subwoofer". What happened to Bose? If you mention their name on a high end audio forum these days people reach up and pinch their nose like a skunk had walked into the room. Their car audio line has been fairly successful but their home audio line seems to have declined considerably. Particularly with serious audiophiles. I personally would not consider them for any home audio application. Just not my sound. But, the 901 in particular was highly regarded by many audiophiles in the '60s and '70s. What happened?
 
Capitalism happened along with developing the right advertising to draw in a certain group of people who want simple and don't care about compromising sound.

Due to the above, although some of the gear/speakers is OK for what it is, it is over priced.

The 901s are still desired by a certain crowd. I recently flipped a pair of series IV with chrome stands and EQ for a decent profit.

For the same money, you can buy a way better product is about the bottom line.
 
What's an "audiophile" is subjective, however, it's questionable, at least debateable, whether Bose was ever audiophile. There's no question the 901 was wildly popular. I just don't ever remember them in an audio mag with an actual review, could be though. Bose was always with receivers, never did I see them driven by McIntosh, Conrad Johnson and the like.

If, Bose ever had audiophile cred, it went south when they decided to go Lifestyle. And, if that didn't do it, having Paul Harvey pitch your product on his radio show would certainly do it. Bose took their target audience from hippy teens to ma & pa.

Until recently Bose was the undisputed champion in noise canceling headphones, which, if I'm not mistaken, they invented that technology.

It should also not be disputed, no matter our view on Bose they did a great job of marketing their name. Even today, despite everything, many still see Bose as a quality product.

I have to admit as a teen I would have loved to have a set of 901's. Until I saw the Mach One's at Radio Shack. You know in the beginning, bigger is always better and I really lusted for those big 15's :)
 
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