I have come across MANY systems in the $499 price range that offer more features, and just overwhelm the sound of the Bose. Francis- you should shop around more. There is a HUGE difference. The lowest quality Kef beats the BEST Bose any day. Kef has some of the best engineered precision drivers, where as Bose has paper whizzer cones.
$500? That is stupid. If I can blow $500 on something for the bedroom, that would cover a nice mini system.
Bose wins every time some yuppie with more money than intelligence and tastes decides how "tres chic" it is.
I guess that would make Bose cd a "Chateaux blaster"

Good sound for a system to use in your bedroom.

Price

OK, so there we have the nuts who reckon its good for the rubbish dump and those who reckon its an acoustic marvel - well I reckon its neither!

I was impressed with the sound from such a small system. I use it as a receiver only in the bedroom. I dunno but I really don't expect esoteric performance from this machine. The lack of bass / treble control for me is fine as it keeps things simple - a no fuss system that wakes me up very well in the mornings thank you!!!

Fair enough its an expensive toy, but where can you find a bedside radio thats got half decent sound and functionality? trust me I had a good look - I dont want a midi/mini system in the bedroom - won't look the part on my bedside table.

The point is I am happy with it and thats what matters - to me it does what I use it for very well, but is exepensive.

Small, good for the one-room apartment I now live in. Remote too small for arthritic hands to operate, no distinction on buttons unless you are into counting in the dark.

No bass and treble controls. For me, a classical music listener who prefers chamber music, I am about blasted out by the heavy bass of symphonic music and even announcers' voices. (Is this a generational thing? Who designs these things?) My neighbors complain about too much vibrating bass -- with chamber music no less! I SENT THE UNIT BACK TO BOSE TO HAVE their technicians alter the bass permanently. That cost $45 plus $15 postage BUT THERE's NO DIFFERENCE.

I hate feeling like a chump and that's how I feel everytime I look at it.

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My 30 year old KLH is still better -- although the clock radio, on/off control, alarm and snooze are all broken. But the treble/bass controls work fine, and I just leave it running.

Powerful sound to fill a room.

Would like to have some control of the bass/treble.

My comments on this product are followed by some overall comments. Please read both. Thanks.

WaveRadio:
This unit packs a mean punch when it comes to sound.
It's important to remember, as with many audio products, that placement is crucial.
I found that sitting the unit on my kitchen counter against the longer wall that forms part of the rest of the living area, allowed the sound and quality of the sound to distribute evenly and fully throughout the area.
I also own a LifeStyle 50 that is located at one end of the open living space in my house. I find the LifeStyle 50's sound is contained within the end of the room, as it should be, however, careful placement of the WaveRadio means that I do not have to turn on the LifeStyle 50 as the WaveRadio fills the area just prefectly.
(The area of my open plan living space is approx. 75 feet long by 20 feet wide. And my WaveRadio fills that easily).
Don't make the mistake of listening to one in the store and thinking that it will sound exactly the same in your home. You need to realise, as I'm sure you do, that you need to give it a try in the room you are wanting to use it in. And give it a sensible try, without allowing your jugdement to be clouded by the price or negative comments you may have heard or read.
I know there are cheaper units on the market - but for sheer pleasure of listening to music - I'm very happy with my WaveRadio.
The WaveRadio gives me clear, quality sound that opens up in the large room to allow me to listen to the music no matter where I'm sitting.

Overall comments on BOSE products:
I've been a BOSE lover for many years. But please do not confuse my pleasure in owning this unit with my loyalty to BOSE products! I simply like the sound BOSE products produce.
I think many people get too carried away with the idea that it's cool to bash BOSE - get over it.
I admit the price for BOSE products can seem a little over the top and perhaps BOSE could be a little more reasonable, but before you go off - remember that you are paying for BOSE's investment in research. An important point that many people forget when they are looking at products. You don't begrudge BMW or AUDI or VOLVO for their higher priced cars - but then I'm sure you'd rather be driving one of those cars when it comes to the level of safety their expensive research has provided. Follows that BOSE has spent money on their research to try to come up with a product - pay for it and use it if you want that sort of sound.

I do currently own other audio systems - not just BOSE - but I feel that each has its place and I use each for a specific purpose. The WaveRadio is great for general listening; the LifeStyle 50 brings movies and the like to life, as well as producing great music; and I have three other systems for other purposes. (A JVC, a Sherwood and a mixed system).

Listen to BOSE and let your ears do the thinking.

Thank you.

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none

Size

Sound quality/price

I'm not really into the shelf system scene, but I must say that I have heard dozens of systems at or below the price of this product ($499) that provided considerably better sound. Even the pricey Model88CD ($399) plays louder and has better bass. For $500, I would expect wood enclosures and separate tweeters/midwoofers. The sound quality is comparable to a $200 shelf system squeezed into a clock radio's cabinet size. At this price you could get a cheap receiver and cd-player teamed up with decent bookshelf speakers from a specialty store, which would provide much louder, clearer, more authoritative, more accurate, more satisfying sound. Do yourself a favor and listen to some other products in the price range before you buy this.

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Model 88CD by Henry Kloss, Various shelf systems.

Small, Big sound

Its doesnt replace my HT setup

First of all, no, it doesnt replace my denon 2800 receiver and BA 965 speakers. This is the first product I have ever bought from bose. It does exactly what it is supposed to do. I own the wave radio and hook up a port cd or minidisc.
Secondly, how can someone say they have heard better in the price range(josh). Where did you hear it? As far as I know its only available through mail order. If anybody seriously decides to purchase a product from these reviews(all of them), you are making a huge mistake. If I hook up my denon to a pair of fischer speakers does the receiver suck. Form your own opinion, like I did, and judge for yourself this is a cool little radio. It also impresses the chicks, so maybe some of you bose bashers may try one out and get laid. Well, maybe rub one out.

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Kloss 88

I couldnt help joining in after reading the various diverse opinions expressed on this forum.I have had the distinct pleasure of owning many Bose products over the years.I also own high end speakers like Definitive speakers and a Sunfire subwoofer.I will without hesitation state that the Bose Wave Radio is very nay highly expensive but delivers on its promise of an unobtrusive, chic, elegant, yet extremely pleasant and satisfying ( to the ears ) sonic experience.
I havent yet seen or heard a clock radio of similar size that even comes close to the audio quality and tonality of the BOSE.
This is a true 5 STARS product in my humble opinion.

compact, and easy on the eye, with good sound.

WAY OVERPRICED. No tone controls. Should do more for the price. control over sound quality

As a consumer, if you take no other reviews to heart, take this one. Everything you are about to read comes from someone who once worked for Bose as one of their, "Demo Specialists". That's their nauseatingly, elitist euphymism (sp?) for a stereo salesman.

If Bose didn't rip off the electronics buying public with their mind-numblingly inflated retail prices, I'd say they offered solid products for a reasonable price. However, in reality, they offer only mediocre product performance at near audiophile prices. And the Wave Radio/CD player is a perfect example of this.

For its size, this little radio produces an astounding amount of sound. Its bass is impressive, though rather boomy at times. However, the mids and the highs seem to blend together into one element. Thus, the clarity that should be offered by a $500.00 radio simply isn't there. It sounds good. But it doesn't sound like a $500.00 radio. I heard a Sony of the same size, for $150.00 that sounded superior to the Bose simply by virtue of its tone controls, which are glaringly absent on this unit.

The Bose company line has always been that their patented integrated signal processing eqs the sound far more effectively than any manual controls ever could. If that were always true, then this radio would never sound boomy. When I worked for the company, whenever someone returned one of these because they didn't care for its sound, that was their complaint. However, to Bose's credit, not many are ever returned. People do love their status symbols, even if the only status it secures you is being dumb enough to pay $500.00 for a clock radio. I received mine as an office prize, so I, thankfully, do not fall into that category.

Think about it! For $500.00 you could buy a 100 watt per channel digital surround receiver! A fairly decent one at that.

My problem with Bose is not their products. Many of them are nice items. Not as nice as THEY would have you believe, but they work...well enough. My gripe is their insane pricing. Surround systems that cost a few hundred to build, sell for thousands more at retail. If they are going to charge audiophile prices, and posture their products as world class, then they should deliver audiophile quality.

The big selling point with their stuff is that it is small, and easy to use. Most of their customer base is the status seeker who knows NOTHING about audio. If they did, they'd realize that for the same amount of money, or less, that they spend on a BOSE system, they could put together a vastly superior sounding system with just abit of patience and research.

Bose preys upon "idiots". Those who are intimidated by electronics. Which is a lot of the population. They say, "you can have this. It's easy to use. You just press play. No need to worry about things like the value for your dollar spent."

They are great at creating the illusion of quality, which they use to justify, among other things, charging $500.00 for a radio that is 90% hollow, plastic box! Yep! that radio is mostly full of air. A whole lot of premium, customized, specialty, deluxe, qulaity, prestige, gourmet, AIR. Mostly the company's hot air, that you can get right outsiude your window for free. But, if you'd rather pay $500.00 for it....

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Many bose products. Denon.

Size,sound,hookups

AM stations dont come in well which is a real kickback for such a costly unit!

The Bose Radio may be pricey, but Ive got rid of my sub-woofer cd player,equalizer and reciever and speakers which were all top of the line and costed well over a $1000 together, minus all the wires behind the TV and grounding problems that occur with such messes and the extra room it takes up,now I have the bose to replace all that,the bose reproduces sound that is unsurpassed, better that my old system and many others ive heard, One thing to note is the Bose is a radio but of very very hi quality and sound the best with jazz music,classical etc! hard rock is ok when not played too loud! positioning this unit is very crucial to the sound as is what kind of pedestal you have it on, I love it I can unplug in seconds bring it in other rooms, garage, friends, put in in my suitcase and I have the best sound everywhere I go! quite amazing I think its pricey but worth it considering what your getting! all these people who say how bad this unit is probally expected it to sound like a $2500 full stereo system cranked up while playing a bunch of this new loud garbage that currently plagues the youth of today! and Led-Zeppelin is one of my favorites so theres my 2 cents worth!

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other mini systems!

Great sound quality, better than most full-size shelf systems for musical accuracy, clarity, spaciousness.
Beautiful, distinctive styling.
Utter simplicity of operation - requires no 'learning'- it is intuitive.
Battery backup will wake you even if the power is still off!

It is quite costly, especially compared to other stereos it's size, but once the buyers remorse wears off, it brings a smile daily. It really compares favorably price-wise with stereo systems of equal sound quality, not size.

I have owned the Bose Wave Radio/CD for about a year, and now I am wondering what I listened to in my bedroom, office and bathroom before I had it. I guess I just turned up the system in the living room louder, because my old clock radio was just plain annoying, it sounded so bad. I listen to mostly classical and jazz on it, and mostly on the nightstand by my bed. It is so much more refreshing to wake to a CD or some great classical station, than an annoying buzzer. The Bose radio will come on very softly, and ramp up slowly to the level you set it.

There is only one cord, the AC plug, and it is so small and weighs so little that I take it frequently to the kitchen when I am cooking, or onto the deck if I am entertaining.

Truly, this system must be experienced at home, with your favorite music, before it can be appreciated. I was a skeptic at first, because of all the media hype and it's significant cost, but so far it has exceeded my expectations, and is a genuine pleasure to listen to. One of a select few products that makes my life more enjoyable, rather than just filling it with clutter and frustration!

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Denon HiFi desktop system, Aiwa full-size shelf system, Sony AM/FM CD clock radio