Attention music gurus: CDplayer/Sound System

Quarterstaff

Quarterstaff

Joined
Dec 14, 2000
Messages
226
Here's something shocking. One of my friends, John, is looking to purchase a very nice CD player/radio. Since he's retired, he has really gotten into classical stuff. However, the most technological advance device in his apartment is a 20 year old turn table. He wants something that is contained within a single unit, compact for his apartment, and great clarity. So far he's leaning towards a bose inhome unit but is the price worth it? Thanks a bunch. Q.
 
I have the Bose Acoustic wave(the big one). It is very pricey, but I love it. It gives great sound and is very unobtrusive. The sound controls are automatic (bass and treble), I guess Dr. Bose knows best how to set those up for his radio. I have had the radio since 1994 its great. ALl the options cost $150 a pop. (The power bag, the pedestal etc.)

I got it with the bag and a 6 hour battery and car cord. I picked up the pedestal at a tag sale for $1!

It may not be the absolute best out there, but it definately is on of the better ones without looking riduclous.


Paul
 
For legal purposes, I must state that these are only my opinions (Bose has a great legal staff).

MY opinion is that there's a hundred ways to get better sound for the same money than buying one of those Bose Acoustimass systems. They're really cute and take up almost no space but there's sooooo much better sound available from other manufacturers. If it really needs to be tiny, look at one of the Denon mini systems. The better ones are pretty passable.

your friend really wants goof hifi, but wants to keep it small and simple, have him find a Linn dealer and look at one of their little Classiks (they spell it wrong) and a small pair of bookshelf speakers from a reputable speaker company (B&W, Linn, Paradigm etc.). A Linn based system Will cost him a bit more than the Bose but will be so much more enjoyable to listen to.

Another great alternative in a compact system would be Rotel's new Euro Series. The whole stack is only about 7" tall x 17" wide and would get your friend into some really well made seperate components (seperates give you much more flexability over time if an upgrade comes to mind than the closed arcitechture of an all in one system).
With the Rotel stack you would get an integrated amplifier with a solid 50 watts per channel, an AM/FM tuner and a really great sounding CD player all for about $1350.00. Add in a nice pair of Bookshelf speakers like B&W DM303s or DM601s ($300.00 - $450.00 per pair respectively)and you still come in under 2K and have a system that sounds like real music. Whether he listens to Beethoven or Bing Crosby, a system like this will be much more fulfilling to listen to. About the only thing it won't do is shake the walls if your buddy wants to play rap loudly. With seperates though, he could always add more bass by adding a subwoofer later.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should say that I am in the hifi business and my company does represent some of the above mentioned manufacturers (although only a couple; B&W and Rotel). However I'm not in a position to sell you anything an we only deal with retail stores and custom installation companies. I'm just trying to lend nearly 20 years of experience in thie hifi biz.

Again (to keep the lawsuit happy Bose lawyers happy) I'm only offering my opinion here.

jmx
 
jmx, you are spot on with the recommendations, insight, and I couldn't agree more with the general tone of your post.

In my case I have more room to work with but, the recommendations are basically the same. Go to a good high end store and demo some good equipment and you will appreciate the wisdom of jmx's words. I thought I had some good audio gear. Then I went to a really good high end store and listended to some MagnaPlaners (sp?) (electrostatics) and some B&W's. Playing my CD's, I heard things in the music that I had never heard before. The crispness of a drum stick hitting a snare drum (not just the resulting tone but, the drumstick's initial impact on the drum skin). The pluck of a guitar string, the clarity of a flute solo, and on and on ...

The system will only be as strong as the weakest component so, don't scrimp on the amp to get better speakers or vice versa. Doubt me? Goto a friends house with a good stereo system and swap out one component and listen to the difference.

A lot of people want a high power amp for LOUD music. That misses the point unless you are into deafness and want to shake the foundation of your apartment complex. Good CD's, especially a lot of classical CD's, are very hard on amps. A lot of "headroom" or extra clean power (wattage) will allow the sound to come through without distortion at reasonable listening (volume) levels.
 
If he wants something in a single unit and stupid easy to use, Bose would be hard to beat.

You can get better quality and sound if you built a component type system, but it would cost more, take up more space, and would be harder to use.

I suppose Bose is the lazy man's high end audio...
 
I have listened to many different brands of audio and haven't heard anything that compares to the Bose units in a bookshelf size system.
There is definitely a Bose Wave system in my future.

Paul
 
Originally posted by im2smrt4u
If he wants something in a single unit and stupid easy to use, Bose would be hard to beat.

You can get better quality and sound if you built a component type system, but it would cost more, take up more space, and would be harder to use.

I suppose Bose is the lazy man's high end audio...
Click to expand...

Exactly. No thinking, and good quality. Of course the price was a bit tough.

I like Bose stuff for that purpose. I also like their home theater stuff. Everything all in one. Everything can be hid, out of sight. (love the radio remote). Its simple (for an idiot like me)

If you're someone who has super discriminating ear and wants to do comparison etc skip Bose. But if you want a no brainer, I have never had anyone say, "Hey that sounds crappy."



Paul
 
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/

like blade forums but for home audio and video equipment.

bose is NOT GOOD. there is a saying amongst audio enthusiasts, No Highs, No Lows, Bose. harping on their inability to reproduce high and low end notes.

You can get a better system for equivalent money going with a brand of speaker like Axiom. If you just want a radio get bose, if you want a home theater that will make your DVDs seem like your in the theater and make your CDs feel like live music, get a real system please.

If you want a very cheap and excellent way to get GREAT sound, get some Etymotic Headphones. They make the best canal phones in the world, and you can get their low end model which is probably better sound that you have ever heard for like $139 US.
 
I've got one of those little JVC bookshelf systems in my shop. Just a CD player/receiver and two speakers in beautiful wood cabinets. That's all I really need for a small room. It sounds great and wasn't too crazy expensive.

The Bose CD boombox is outrageous. A buddy had one and used to bring it on the jobsite all the time. We were in a huge banquet hall one day doing the finish work and he decided to crank it up. At halfway the thing was literally shaking the entire hall. Absolutely amazing! :eek: :D
 
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