Bose 161 Bookshelf Speakers

Bose 161 Bookshelf Speakers 

DESCRIPTION

These speakers offer outstanding performance in a design that blends into your decor. Engineered to produce sound over a large area, they bring you spacious stereo almost anywhere in the room; with a fullness youd expect from larger speakers. speaker system surround speakers,Articulated Array design

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 37  
[Apr 26, 2024]
chaples19


Strength:

As you play around with it more, you notice that you can also place it vertically with the curved side facing down and the Bose logo on top.- mechanic mobile service

Weakness:

none . . .

OVERALL
RATING
5
[Feb 06, 2023]
cecelia


Strength:

I'm just trying to explain in numbers why this receiver sounds so freakin' good. While it's true that numbers explain a lot, they never tell the whole story. While far from being the most powerful, or lowest distortion, or widest frequency response, Gainesville Mobile Mechanic

Weakness:

None . .

Purchased:
New  
OVERALL
RATING
5
[Oct 11, 2024]
Breana


Weakness:

none so far

Purchased:
New  
OVERALL
RATING
5
[Oct 27, 2022]
togolese273


Strength:

These are absolutely great bookshelf speakers, and for the money I haven't seen anything that can touch them. I use a fairly strong power amp to power them and they respond nicely. They tend to rattle and get muddy at higher power( >70watts) Grand Junction mobile truck engine repair

Weakness:

None . .

Purchased:
New  
OVERALL
RATING
5
[Sep 13, 2022]
Madmardigannn


Strength:

As you play around with it more, you notice that you can also place it vertically with the curved side facing down and the Bose logo on top. commercial truck suspension repair

Weakness:

none . .

Purchased:
New  
OVERALL
RATING
5
[Feb 04, 2011]
clothears60
Audio Enthusiast

Bose 161 Bookshelf Speaker System Review

bose161 bl lg Bose 161 Bookshelf Speaker System ReviewIv’e decided to review the bose 161 bookshelf speaker system.
Well that’s not exactly true, i decided to buy bookshelf speakers for myself!

So after doing a ton of research i decided on the Bose 161 speaker system . And i will now atempt to share with you what i think of these Bose speakers.

With these sleek Bose bookshelf speakers you will Enjoy rich, full sound from music or movies. Whether placed on a desk or bookshelf or mounted on a wall for use as surround speakers, these speakers are designed to deliver balanced, spacious sound with minimal or moderate amplifier power (10 to 100 watts per channel). Automatic protection circuitry keeps the speaker drivers from being overdriven, heightening the speakers’ reliability without interfering with your listening.

If you’ll be using them in a home-theater capacity, keep in mind that they’re designed to blend seamlessly with the Bose VCS-10 center-channel speaker and any Direct/Reflecting Bose speaker system.


Features

Unlike conventional speakers, which radiate sound in a single direction, these speakers use Articulated Array driver positioning and Stereo Everywhere technology to deliver balanced sound throughout your listening area. Further, Bose’s two 2.5-inch proprietary Twiddler drivers per speaker move more air from their small enclosures than similarly sized conventional drivers, creating a sound you’d expect from much larger speakers.

The purchase includes six small pea sized rubber feet for the speakers. so it may be set horizontally on the table, bookshelf or whatever you wish. As you play around with it more, you notice that you can also place it vertically with the curved side facing down and the Bose logo on top.

Dimensions

Each speaker

4.17?H x 11?W x 5?D ( 10.6 cm x 28 cm x 12.7 cm )

3.25 lbs (1.5 kg)
Pair in carton

6?H x 24.5?W x 7.75?D ( 15.24 cm x 62.23 cm x 19.69 cm )

7.5 lbs (3.4 kg)
hese are advertised as multiple use speakers as well as surround channel speakers and they work well there too…

for the size and performance, the Bose 161 stereo pair was worth my 150 dollars.

Strengths:
highly versatile, tough material, thicker/layered grille cloth.

So if you want quality for the correct price, just go for it, but if you expect any better sound and high fidelity technology for a cheaper price believe me, you wont find it. Just try the Bose 161 and you’ll find high fidelity sounds in the mid-high frequencies, no more.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[May 23, 2010]
Jim
Audio Enthusiast

I really love music. I like bluegrass, the blues, celtic, hard rock and folk. I think these speakers are great at reproducing sound accurately. I'm a really picky guy and I am very happy with them.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Mar 02, 2009]
hamp316
Audio Enthusiast

I put these speakers with my KLH sub, and they are unbelieveable. They give a sharp and crisp sound. I recommend that if any one buys these speakers, make sure you have a good subwoofer.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Feb 09, 2009]
audioguy12010
AudioPhile

I got these recently. I hooked them up to my LCD TV and they sound great. I haven't mounted them on my wall yet, just have not gotten around to it yet. They sound great, but are distorted at high volumes. I like how I can turn them either vertically or horizontally for my own listening enjoyment. I have many other Bose products, but these were one of the cheapest-priced and smallest Bose products I've ever owned. I love Bose!!!!!!

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jul 05, 2007]
Ken
AudioPhile

Strength:

highly versatile, tough material, thicker/layered grille clothe.

Weakness:

Heavy for its size, surface may not be as resilient as expected, naturally weak bass and treble.

having these speakers for a good 4 months, i've used them in many situations and have put them through somewhat of a stress test. The first thing you realize about these speakers are that they're very attractive. But they have dedicated right/left pairs which in my opinion is a negative thing. at first touch, its smooth and made of somewhat thin plastic material(ABS to be exact). The entire speaker is very sleek and contoured. there are no very rough edges and has a very new, modern look/feel. the Bose logo on each speaker is the right size and is aligned to the center, right next to the unique looking port. The port looks similar to the one on the Bose 201. The speaker grille, it seems is permanent. I've tried to remove it but it was very difficult and i didn't want to break it. Inspecting the Grille material, its either very thick or is double layered for higher wear/tear resistance.

Using a high powered LED flashlight, i saw two small 2.5 inch drivers of paper cone and foam surrounds each sitting on a plastic structure the length and width of the grille size.

The purchase includes six small pea sized rubber feet for the speakers. three for each. so it may be set horizontally on the table, bookshelf or whatever you wish.
as you play around with it more, you notice that you can also place it vertically with the curved side facing down and the Bose logo on top. It may also be inverted with the curve on top, bose logo on bottom but it is very unstable.

I use these speakers as my portable pair powered by the Sonic Impact T amp. mounted on an L shaped base, it has a base and a vertical wall. The speakers are positioned, facing one notch away from center. -this is with the stock wall mounts.

If you know, the T-Amp is cheap but the sound is serious quality for 30 dollars. and with Mods, it'll even sound better. but the main thing i power it with is a Pioneer SX-535 22 WPC vintage stereo receiver. with bass boost and treble turned nearing 70%, the 161's sound best there. I'm most surprised every time i listen to FM radio. It comes through well and the sound stage is fairly wide and i could just keep turning my head left and right all day. Running with the T-Amp, Bass is minimal. It's just enough to satisfy me. hitting somewhere around 60-80hz and then it cuts off rapidly. -this is during battery powered operation.

with the Pioneer receiver, the bass is very full. the treble is sweet and soft. never yet have i experienced brightness with this speaker.

i listen to many concert recordings... Hillsong United if you recognize, their cd's are mainly concert recordings, not many are studio produced. The audience are loud and clear on the Bose 161's, it seems that what needs to be heard most, is heard most, loud and clear. what i like most about this speaker is its spaciousness. As Bose produces, "Concert like Performance", it sets you in the music, you're not listening to music, you're in the music.

its unbelievable to me as im sure it will be for you, that these little 161's has more depth than my Polk Rti4's. Im sure the Rti4's are wonderful speakers, but with my room set-up and all that i've tried, i cannot attain its highest sound. the Rti4's seem more layed back than the Bose's.

These are advertised as multiple use speakers as well as surround channel speakers and they work well there too...

for the size and performance, the Bose 161 stereo pair was worth my 150 dollars.

Customer Service

reply's in fair time frame

Similar Products Used:

Polk Audio Rti4
Sonic Impact T-Amp
Pioneer SX-535
Onkyo TX-SR304s

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
Showing 1-10 of 37  

(C) Copyright 1996-2018. All Rights Reserved.

audioreview.com and the ConsumerReview Network are business units of Invenda Corporation

Other Web Sites in the ConsumerReview Network:

mtbr.com | roadbikereview.com | carreview.com | photographyreview.com | audioreview.com