Bose delivers what the typical mass-market music listener desires, and that is mids, mid-bass, and more mids. They give the fans of popular music room filling mids and the chance to appreciate all the meaningful lyrics found on the pop charts [:(]. In the world of non-critical listening, it seems to me, many want to hear primarily vocals and mid-bass boom, and when that is heard easily and clearly they like it and say, "wow, aren't those Bose speakers something?" And, as a critical listener, you might be inclined to hold your nose and reply, "yes, they really are." [:)] This type speaker design fills the room with quantity, not quality, sounds. Perfect for shopping and I bet it would do well for your party background music as there is no "sweet spot," and can be done inexpensively. In comparison, I tried to design an ambient sound system in my veterinary clinic that would be high quality. In my waiting room I use PSB Alpha A/V's mounted up high like you see the Bose in a Gap. Unfortunately, you cannot hear music well [?] out of the PSB's when the volume is at an appropriately low level for a waiting room. (It sounds pretty good after hours, though.) As the goal is to provide some distraction with “background music” while waiting, I will probably change the waiting room speakers to something like a Bose. [:(] Yes, Bose is poo poo as far as critical listening goes, but it does what it does. This particular design is also beneficial for folks with certain types of hearing loss, so if you, out there, don’t take care of your ears, Bose might just be your label one day. Now, there's a thought! Take care, Charlie.
Horrific Confession and Question
While shopping for classical music in one of the mega retailers recently, I found myself quite carried away by whatever they were playing, finding the selection as well as the sound very pleasing. At the risk of never being allowed to post on this forum again, I am ashamed to admit that I discovered I was listening to BOSE mini speakers which were sticking out haphazardly from the ceiling. This leads me to wonder if background listening presents totally different challenges than focused, attentive listening. Against my audiophile background and judgement, I am wondering if I should install boomier "mid-fi" gear for multi room and entertaining guests when I renovate the house. Any thoughts?