Have read a lot about this supposedly incredible sounding radio. As with mostBOSE stuff it turns out to be a lot of mass market hype. The best way to describe this would truly be a "boom box". Terrible.

i CONSIDER MYSELF AN ABOVE AVERAGE AUDIO TYPE. MY MAIN SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY VALUED AT >$10,000. YES, BOSE DOES GET ALOT OF NEGITIVE PRESS IN ALOT OF RESPECTS. HOWEVER, OVER THE YEARS, DR. BOSE HAS DONE MANY THINGS RIGHT. I WONDER HOW MANY OF THE REVIEWS REGARDING THIS PRODUCTS WERE BY"KIDS", THAT IS YOUNG PEOPLE WHO CARE ONLY ABOUT NOISE AND LOUD SOUND..AS A FORMER PHYSICS MAJOR WITH A PHD AND A RESEARCH SCIENTIST, I KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NOISE AND SOUND. OTHER WEB SITES SUCH AS ETOWN.COM, OFFER HIGH OPIONS OF THIS UNIT, DONE BY PEOPLE WHO ARE KNOWLEDGABLE..
THE UNIT IS NOT GOING TO TAKE THE PLACE OF HIGH END AUIDO COMPONETS. IT WILL GIVE YOU OUTSTANDING SOUND AND FLEXABILTY HOWEVER. THE COMMENT BELOW THAT STATES A CHEAP CD PLAYER IS INTERESTING..DR. BOSE HAS A REPUTATION FOR FIRING MORE THAN SEVERAL COMPANIES BECAUSE THEY DID NOT LIVE UP TO HIS RIGOUROUS STANDARDS..THAT COMMENT AS WELL AS SOME OF THE OTHERS REFLECT WHAT SO MANY OF THE REVIEWS HERE ON THIS EXCELLENT SITE DO, A MISINTURPATION OF WHAT GOOD IS. OFTEN TIME TIME BY YOUNG PEOPLE THAT CAN NOT EXPRESS WHAT IT IS THEY WANT TO SAY..A PITY, AS MOST OF THESE REVIEWS ARE INSITFUL AND HELP FULL. PLEASE, IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING THIS UNIT, YOU MUST HAVE SOME DESCRIANY INCOME, THAT WOULD TELL ME THAT YOU ARE NOT A TEENAGER. LOOK AT THE WAVERADIO..IT IS JUST ABOUT THEY BEST THERE IS FOR THIS TYPE OF PRODUCT. HOWEVER, IF YOU WANT SHAKE THE WALLS, HIGHLY DISTORTED MUSIC..DON'T BOTHER..GO DOWN TO YOUR LOCAL MASS MERCHANT AND SPEND A $100..ENJOY

One of many over-priced, over-hyped, over-rated, and under-achieving product. I was in Lawerance, KS at a place called Kiev's (a high-end dealer) and low and behold this product was on the shelf with other similar products (JVC's executives, JBL Harmony, Denon, Pioneer Elite, etc...) of the table/clock/executive CD player persuasion (personally I think that they are all over-priced, but I guess there is a market for it). I asked a salesperson, "What in the H*LL is this doing in your store?" and he replied "So many people keep asking if these sound as good as Bose (mostly women he added later) so we brought one in for people to compare". They had it setup quite well, even allowing it to be moved for the best sound comparison since these other products had nothing to fear. This product had the worst build quality of the bunch (just a plastic housing, not a nice metal or wood veneer), sound quality (noticed the mid-range hump, artificial bass), and cost more than all but one of the other system. Though this sounds better than the GPX clock radio I wake-up to, it doesn't sound that much better (and anyway I plugged in a set of computer speakers and this "elcheapo combo" sounded much better than the Bose but not as good as some of the other setups). My advice is to go to the JVC (size, beauty, and sound) executive systems but if you want one that has the speaker permanently attached instead of the flexibility of speaker placement for better sound I suggest to get the similar Cambridge product (at least they only take you for $200) which sounds better also. I think a good table radio and computer speakers are better way to go if you want better sound for a much lower price. Don't give into the hype, name (a lot of which does not denote quality), and the "one-package" option for the $500 that is asked of this product. Get yourself a good clock radio, good portible CD player, and computer speakers (for about $3.99 at Radio Shack you can buy "stick'ems" mounts) for a lower price, compact, higher performance, and more versatile system. For the kitchen get the GE spacemakers as they won't even take any counter space (yes you do sacrifice some sound quality, but then you can add computer speakers to beat it and still same a lot more money). Think before you buy and don't get taken by this or the people in the "white" vans. The only people who should buy this product are dealers with similar products to be used as a comparison. Even Aiwa makes a better sounding system at a fraction of the cost (check your Best Buy). Though this beats my clock radio (if you can't beat GPX, then you know you did really bad) one on one, I can easily buy computer speakers for reinforcement that easily beats this POS.

Man, that last guy empasizes *crappy Bose Wave radio CD* with a lot of *asterisks* The Bose full range junk *is not* coherent- about as clear as mud, but boomier with no highs at all.
$500 is an *obscene* price to pay, like paying $50.00 for a can of soda.
I have a *$39* clock radio with *most* of the features Bose has and *similar* sound. I have heard a $399 mini system that *blows* Bose away!
I *Never* considered the Bose, because it's incredibly asinine to pay for a *name* like that.
The sound *is not* superior to anything except the *worst* boomboxes. But in boomboxes that cost over $200, you get a tweeter *and* a woofer, unlike Bose.
This *concludes* my summation of a product that is an absolute *waste* of money, and sounds superior to say, two soup cans connected by a string.
*One* star

I felt that I had to cut through the "Bose bashing" which seems to be one of the favorite (and IMO, childish) pastimes of audiophiles.
I actually own one of these things- I often have to spend time away from home, and the concept of a all-in-one music system made me try a Bose Wave Radio CD.

Sure the unit has a definite downward tonal balance- the full-range drivers seemed to be geared toward giving the listener the impression of "size" which is actually impressive relative to the size of the radio. The crossover-less drivers *are* coherent, which makes the unit listenable for hours at a time, something I cannot say about more "accurate" multi-way minispeakers. (It will make one note the flaws at the crossover points in multi-way speakers.) Sure it doesn't match a high-end system- that was not the objective. It was geared toward the masses who wanted satisfying (but not necessarily accurate) sound and convenience.

I did find the tuner section of the radio more musically involving than the CD section. The CD section itself was dynamic but slightly cold sounding relative to the tuner. But since the system had a downward tonal balance, that did not hurt the overall sound as it may have had multi-way speakers with a flatter FR been utilized.

Disappointments?? Yes, in fact. No provision for external speakers and surprisingly, no provision for headphones. The unit has inputs for peripheral sources, but if one does not care for the speakers in the unit, there is no alternative.

Other comments- Its role as a clock radio and table radio is exemplary. The slow "ramp-up" alarm volume feature and auto-dimming of the display are excellent features, as well as a dual alarm. Those who don't like hitting the ceiling when the alarm clock goes off will love this "ramp-up" feature. The AM section was maybe the most surprising part of this unit- its AGC and receiver dynamic range make this a **great** radio for DX'ing distant AM stations- it's in the league of the GE Super Radio here.

As a pure audiophile component, it may disappoint a lot of people, but it is *not* unpleasant to listen to for the long term and it *does* impress those who are not so discriminating toward sound quality, and IMO, as an overall product, I really cannot complain. (This is also an ideal component for apartments where it would otherwise be easy to "bother the neighbors" with a more conventional audio system.) I give this product four speakers, but it's a "weak" four speakers because of it's highish price and lack of alternative output facilities.

I second that emotion!

We've owned the Bose Wave for about 6 months. People who bash this unit don't what it's for. It's a clock-radio, not a primary stereo system. Excellent sound for what it is.

To the last reviewer, we know what the product is for. Who on earth spends $500 for a Clock Radio? You must be crazy. Good sound - yes, great no. It's worth $100 dollars. But based on price this unit deserves 1 star.

My point has been proven:"Roxie" uses the Bose as a clock radio, not a main stereo.
You see, us "Bose bashers" do so because only an IDIOT would pay $500 for a CLOCK RADIO.
Bose morons who can't tell what a clock radio should cost, pay $500!
"Wave technology" is the BIGGEST LIE since tobacco companies saying their products aren't harmful. The "ACOUSTIC WAVE GUIDE" is not even possible. Audio wavelengths would require a waveguide the size of your room/house. what Bose did was just physically legthen the chamber to act like a port. Klipsch patented this in the 40's with his folded horn. Nothing new here. Just a smaller application.
But zero's who buy this stuff think it's magic that such an expensive, plastic peice of junk can make such loud noises.
I don't care WHAT you call it, it does VERY LITTLE and it's worth maybe $49.99, or 1/10 it's retail. For such LIES, Marketing, and B.S., [Not Bose Sound...] it gets a whole star--until they make a 1/10 star rating available.

I use the Bose Wave Radio/CD as my bedroom system. It delivers pretty good, mellifluous sound with pretty solid bass. I simply cannot understand why there are so many Bose haters out there. I am currently using the YBA Integré DT amp with Naim's CD 3.5 and KEF's Reference Model 2 speakers as my primary system. True, the Bose might not outperform it, but we are not talking about a full-fledged component set!
How on earth could one compare it to systems that are priced way above it? Anyway, I personally feel that it makes a wonderful bedroom system. It is one of the most chic and best-sounding all-in-one systems I have ever came across.