My case is unique. Back then in 2001 i immidiately demounted the drivers and got them stored decades untill this year i put them in a MDF 6.5l box. New box give the driver a complete new sound. Midrange is so open thanks to the absence of plastic grill. They can go quite low to 60Hz - 50Hz for sure. Imaging become so precise. They can reveal some bad mixed recording since the mid frequency sounds like an open window.

Big orchestral sound is too much demand for any 4.5" to reproduce. Listening with new box i became aware of bad mixed CD sounds awfull. Though small in size (H 8.21", B 5.11, D9.84") they need to be at least 4.9 feet apart otherwise the stereo separation issues and mid frequency sounds too strong.

These now trusty and yellowed old speakers were my first "good" computer speakers, bought as they faced up slightly. They have played almost everyday since then attached to a Jukebox type thing. Sound is comfortable, well rounded and balanced though there is some slight plastic box sound. Good for listening to any music, they rarely harmonic and the clarity is good without being too bright, nice mids in particular with good bass, not heavy but good tight bass for the size. One of those purchases that has stood the test of time despite the canary appearance now.
I have much nicer setups now with various types of speakers and amps ranging in age from Leak and Plinus to Canton and Tripath but these still aound "good" after many many years. Well made little drivers too and no foam means no rot.

I have been using these Bose 100-speakers for maybe over 10 years.
I am actually pritty satisfied with these. I use them as computerspeakers.

I do not remember how much I paid for such a pair (I thought 200-250 Bucks).

Sound: The bass is lacking, but normal for such rather small speakers.
The mids and highs are very well presented, nothing excentuated or harsh-sounding.
There is nothing special about the mids and highs. They deliver what they should be doing.
The soundstage however is simply spectacular! Impeccable! I cannot describe how good the soundstage is. I really enjoy them.

On the other hand if you place these speakers too close to each other, the soundstage will be less good. If you want the best results/soundeffects, just place them a little further from each other (approx. 70cm). By high-quality recordings there is not only a very good stereo-separation but also a good image or depth.
These are also very detailed.

These speakers are connected to a Lepai Stereo Class Amp.
For my best taste I equalized the bass a bit down. The bass sounded a little bloated at normal position. I also equaliized the treble up in order to get more high frequencies.

So all in all, these do a spectacular job for me, I understand not everyone is satisfied about this product. If you are looking for bass-heavy speakers, just look elsewhere.

So, are they whorth the price? For me yes, defenitly they are.

NONE!!!!!!!

EVERYTHING!!!!!!!

I used to own this speakers, i had the 201 and 301 also. I thought i got the high-end speakers because i got BOSE until i saw a Boston acoustics A40 in a thrift store selling for $10, i bought it out of curiosity. When i hooked it up i was amazed to hear details that i never heard from my BOSE speakers, that's when i started to auditon speakers before buying them or at least do a research.

I'm surprised to see some reviewers here that claim they own klipsch, paradigm, B&W, infinity, polk, jbl, Boston acoustics and yet they give good rating to BOSE speakers. I don't know how they can even compare BOSE to the speakers I've mentioned above, either they are tone deaf or they are lying about having owned the speakers above, even the $30 RCA speakers produces more details than BOSE!

Similar Products Used:

paradigm monitor 3, B&W DM110, JBL 4312, Klipsch HTIB

I have found 0

Quality, Sound, Support, Price, I can go on for days on the weaknesses.

To all that are thinking that Bose are the best, or even think that they make a good system or speaker. Please believe me when I say the lifestyle system is garbage. The speakers are very inadequate. I was suckered by name brand and hip. If I did my research I would of discovered that bose makes junk and doesn't back up there product. I have spent 100s trying to get this system to sound good. I have hired experts to see if I was doing somthing wrong. I have it set up correct since day 1. Its just that Bose makes a bad product. Bose is a low end quality product. That has a purpose in the low end market and should sell for $100 for the entire system. If anyone disagrees e-mail me and I will sell my system for a fraction of what I paid for it. I would actually give them 0 stars. But 1 was as low as they will go

Similar Products Used:

Boston, Denon, RCA

Smooth effortless midrange. Small enough to mount for rear surrounds.

Not quite as full range as, say, Paradigm's or Mirage's little ones.

Wow! Some people really like to slam Bose. I bought three Bose 100s from ebay for about 40 bucks a piece. There's no beating these little speakers for the price, friends. I use mine for surround and center and they work fine. I'll have to spend quite a bit more when I upgrade. The 100s don't produce much bass or upper treble, but they get the mids right. They blend right in with other speakers(I'm using Boston towers for the mains). Don't hesitate to purchase these because some self-labled Bose-bashers curse them. These are smooth sounding, limited-use speakers. Just because Bose brags about its mediocre table radios doesn't meen the company makes no quality products. I consider the 100s to be a triumph in minimalist audio, both in pricing and physical dimension.

Similar Products Used:

JBL, Epicure, Boston Acoustics

Excellent midrange performance, decent high end for a full-range driver - perfect for center channel and surround duty in a small/medium sized room. Great mounting brackets that swivel.

Might be slightly bright in mid-upper treble to some, small speaker with little low end (use a powered sub, duh).

It always amuses me the people who write negative reviews for the Bose products just because they hate Bose. Pathetic, really, and I'd bet most of them don't even own the products they slam. I've been designing and building loudspeaker systems aka "DIY" for the last 25 years. I use CAD and other equipment to help design and tune the enclosures, and I've developed dozens of systems and subwoofers for home theater and auto over the years. Bose speakers are fine. No they aren't the best you can buy, but they also are not the worst thing out there equivalent to "clock radio" quality, either. I purchased the 100's in white and a matching V100 (same speaker but a bronze color) for surrounds and center. These speakers are perfect for small/medium room Dolby Digital/DTS duty where you are using the receivers bass management to cross them over at a reasonable frequency. No, you won't get huge bass out of these, but the mids and highs are really quite decent and smooth for a full range driver. Used with a powered sub for bass and all other speakers set to "small" with a xover of 100Hz or so, you couldn't ask for more convenient, clearer, better sound for your mid-fi home theater application. The center is especially noteworthy, as dialogue and effects are clear and articulate, even at high volumes. There is something to be said about the smoothness of a high performance, full-range driver without the complications of (often badly designed) crossover networks to muddle the sound. They might even be slightly bright in the mid-upper treble range, but I somewhat like that since I run all tone controls flat anyways. I've also found these speakers integrate just fine with most left/right combinations, including top name brands as well as my own DIY creations. No, i probably wouldn't recommend these for primary left/right duty if you like music, but for home theater they work terrific for center/surrounds. The included mounting brackets that came with my white 100's were also very convenient for wall mounting near the ceiling, angling the speakers down toward the listening/viewing area. Bose haters, get a life. ;)

Similar Products Used:

You name it, I've tried it. Used to be in the industry and have been a DIY Loudspeaker designer/builder for 25 years.

great sound

This product has to be the best speaker bose makes, which aint saying a lot. I replaced bose 301's with these little guys and they sounded 10 times better. More treble more base more overall sound. These are great little speakers that can be used anywhere.

Similar Products Used:

bose 301

easy placement, clear sound

not enough bass (i guess that's what a sub's for)

first off, I set up a system for my mom's room...since she doesnt like really BIG sound & speakers..I used Bose 301 IV for her fronts & model 100 for her surrounds powered by a Yamaha 495 amp. with an ordinary subwoofer that's around 135 bucks...cheap huh? :)

Well, u wont beleive it..it sounds good.. the 301's do their job very well, the model 100's complement them perfectly...it's a cheap set-up that u'll really be pleased about ...highly recommended.

Sounds are crystal clear, dialogues sound very sharp & u can really pin-point the location of every single detail. I used polks & B&W's for my other set-ups...(my room & the guest room's) ...but I cannot say that Bose doesnt sound just as good...IN FACT, I CAN SAY THEY ALL SOUND GOOD.

I GIVE THE MODEL 100 "5" , the 301 "5"

Similar Products Used:

polk rt series, Bose 301 IV, B&W 302 & 603

The fact that they were at a friends house and not mine.

Go to any stereo shop,retail chain, or anywhere speakers are sold and notice where the Bose products are in relation to other brands of speakers. They will NEVER be in the same room! Now why is that? Because the Bose reps mandate it that way. They do not want the consumer to a/b thier products with other brands for obvious reasons. If that store wants to sell Bose,which is a money-maker for them,then they must be kept away from other speakers. See for yourselves,then buy some honest equipment.