Omar Bose...

Viridian, You post in totally inappropriate. Have some respect.

Tabl10s, I did not direct my response at you.

Your post regarding the passing of Dr. Bose is appreciated.

'At least I can take the time to spell the man's name correctly;"

Congratulations! Maybe someday you will take the time to learn about respect for the dead.

Richard Cranium (Michael Fremer) continues with the brainwashing that only over priced audiophile approved speakers are to be considered. When in reality audiophiles are being hosed by 90% of the manufacturers of those speakers. These manufacturers continue with the same old speaker designs decade after decade and when an engineer comes up with an innovative design it scares the manufacturers and reviewers into starting rumors in an effort to protect their over priced crap.

Take a look at the Venture Grand Ultimate speakers reviewed by TAS. Priced at $90,000 you would expect this speaker to have unique drivers and in fact it does. The tweeter is called a wide range dynamic tweeter. In reality it is a cone tweeter. Cone tweeters have been used by Bose for decades.

One of the most important characteristics for speakers is a seamless presentation of drivers. No speaker is more seamless than the Bose 901 utilizing the same drivers throughout with no crossover.

You say the Bose 901 does not image like audiophile speakers? The Bose 901's imaging is equal to any electrostatic or bipolar speaker. The advantage the 901 has is its wide dynamic range and more than reasonable price.

Bose has been successful NOT because of marketing, but because people like the sound of their speakers and they are made to work with your room instead of against it like most speakers.

Let's face it, we have all been brainwashed. I include myself in that statement. I was also a Bose basher for many years because I was an avid magazine reader and I was sure I knew what I was talking about because I was learning from the experts. Finally I decided to perform an experiment. I purchased a pair of Bose speakers to find out what these speaker are REALLY about.

I can tell you the magazine reviewers we have held in high regard are fonies in fear of losing their advertising dollars and the free equipment they sell at a later date and pocket the money. This is what determines whether a product is good or bad in the magazines we read.

Let's face it. We have all been duped and many of us continue to be duped. It's time to wise up and start thinking for yourself.

Paulsax, Too bad high end audio manufacturers don't know how to market their products. They continue to advertise in the same old magazines with declining subscriptions. Not only are the subscriptions declining, but they have also disappeared from the magazine racks as well. You forgot to mention price. Bose has managed to keep their products affordable, unlike high end audio manufacturers. The Bose 901 is their most expensive product with a retail price of $1400 including speakers, stands and dedicated equalizer. I recall my brother stopping by to hear my Dunlavy speakers with Audio Research electronics. He liked the sound, but he was not willing to take out a second mortgage to buy a high end stereo system.

But what this really boils down to is taste or is it? There are many high end companies and either you like their products or you don't. Nobody likes all high end products. Some are warmer sounding and others are cooler sounding. Some have better bass and others are more open. So, what is it about Bose? It's more than just the sound. It's like some entity has created a hatred for Bose by starting rumors. An entity that feels threatened by a company that can actually produce their product at a reasonable price and sell it for a profit. Maybe it is even deeper than that. Maybe it is national/ethnic or maybe it is religious. This is something we may never know, but from what I have seen this is much deeper than just a matter of taste in an audio product. Why else would Michael Fremer take it upon himself to bash a successful man at the time of his death and make an all out effort to degrade a successful company. Does Michael represent a specific group of people? Who knows?

Paulsax, What companies do think offer good value in audio?
How about a Dalby record weight for $4000 or Bybee speaker bullets for $4000. You can buy the little Wilson Duette speaker for $12,500. Is this a good value? Do you think the Audio Note 2 way speaker for $55,000 is a good value? I could give examples like this all day. So, please tell me what a good value in audio really is because I don't know.