How can this speaker and the B&W DM302 exist on the same planet? I wouldn't pay $10 for a speaker as crappy as the BOSE 201. Please, if you're looking to buy a speaker in this price range, check out the B&W DM302. I can't stand the thought of one more pair of BOSE 201's entering this world.
Here's my beef: The BOSE only produces noise in about two frequency ranges. There is one frequency lump at about 400 Hz, and another at about 1500 Hz. I'm guessing these are the cabinet resonant points. Unfortunately this noise bears no relation to what's being played through the speakers. There is no bass, and treble above 5000 Hz is non existant.

With the B&W you get a full range treble, a neutral midrange, and remarkable bass for the price range. I'd easily pay $700 for the B&W's (retail $250). I wouldn't even use the BOSE for a clock radio speaker. If you buy the BOSE 201 you are getting seriously ripped off.

I wish I could give less than one star.

Interesting series of, um, "reviews" here. I'm a full time musician (trumpet) who bought an older pair of 201's about 7 years ago at a close-out price of $129pr. Intended use for "secondary" system in practice studio. Main listening is jazz & classical (primarily orchestral). Shortly afterwards I bought an RCA cd/receiver "combo" (45 watts per channel). You know what? The damned things sounded great with it. Very warm and clear in all ranges. The big problem with the RCA was no effective grounding for the turntable.
So when I upgraded my "main" living room system, the RCA was a trade-in. Moved the older Pioneer receiver & cd player upstairs. Doesn't sound as good now- I'm sorry I dumped the RCA...
The point of course being that "mating" a speaker to an amp/receiver is certainly a factor. And a very inexact "science."
I basically agree with the more sober comments here- they are certainly NOT "audiophile" speakers. But with the right amp/receiver, they can certainly sound nice. (Of course, this day and age- "loud" seems to be a much more operative desire).
I won't "bet with a purchase" here, I sure ain't rich. But I wonder if the 201's mated with the Harmon Kardon HK3250 receiver wouldn't make a very pleasing sounding "budget" system for the classical listener. I'll give 'em a three...

I have been an audiophile for 12 years. Six of those years I spent living with my brother who owned the Bose 201s. Those were six painful years for my ears. Unless you plan on using the 201s as means of waking your younger brother up with the blaring sounds of ween, do not even consider buying these speakers. He bought these speakers when I was only 12 years old and even then my Kef c10s blew their ass out of the water. Their sound reproduction can only be described as muddy, cardboardy, and lifeless. To describe these speakers as anything other than low quality would be blasphemy.

A suggestion to SUPERSONIC: Please get you ears checked. I bought 201's when I was in high school. They were very cheap, and they sounded cheap. No bass whatsoever. The mids had a nasal quality that reminded me of the car speakers that came with my car. Unfortunately I couldn't returm them since I bought them "as Is". Even more unfortunatly, they were not broken or defective, the bad sound was normal for this speaker. As soon as I made enough money I bought a much better system (NHT Super Zero's and a NHT subwoofer later).

Just look at posts by "Denver" and "Supersonic". Both are typical BOSE fans. Poor vocabulary, vulgarity, bad taste, no intelligent thought. OK:Here are the simplified reasons BOSE is 1 Star:-Will not reproduce any type of realistic sound.
--Limited to 40hz to 16.5khz with a very jagged (poor) coverage of that
-Doppler distortion
--Sends sound in all directions like a flourescent light illuminates. It has a soft, dull, incoherent mass of sound
-Does not have quality drivers. BOSE makes it's own cheap drivers that by design CANNOT compare to equal prices drivers by VIFA, SEAS, or even NHT.
--It's response is classified as mid bass thump, with sizzling upper midrange.
---(Sizzling meaning harsh, strident, grainy
I could go on, but the average BOSE fan can't hear the problems, and buy it anyway. They also couldn't understand some of the simple terms I've used in my description. Funny, I don't run into too many BOSE fans in a library or bookstore.
Dr. Amar Bose is a brilliant marketing strategist, he knows how to separate total imbecils from thier income.

I purchased a pair of 201's some 10 years ago while in college. At the time...I LOVED them....when the time came to upgrade to surround...i got a VS100 center for about 75 bucks new mail order. ( i paid around $200 for my original pair of 201's in '86) I also got a pair of 2.2's for about $100 when a local chain went out of business. I use them for my front now..and moved the original 201's to the rear. For $375 i have a five speaker set that, while certainly not as accurate as many speakers , do have a a "popular" and pleasing sound..at least to me. I think they have a pretty decent midrange quality. The highs are lacking..but then again...I can't hear much above 16khz anyway. As far as the lows go, I added a 220ufd cap to the + inputs to roll off the bass(really helped out the mids) and use a powered sub up to about 90hz, so they really dont need great extension. I do wish that I had the money to upgrade. I would like a a set of five NHT super ones but until someone is willing to sell them to me for 375 bucks Ill stick to my bose. I honestly know their limitations and am willing to live with them. The timbre matching between the five speakers is outstanding for DPL listening.For someone on a budget ( and I have 2 kids under 4!!) I think they make a great start. No they are not "audiophile". In my experience, I've found most self-proclaimed audiophiles to be elitist snobs who look down their noses at every-day folk just wanting to enjoy some music and still have money left over to feed their families.
If you HAVE the money for megabuck speakers that are super accurate...GREAT!! For those of us who dont...well we can only hope to be as lucky as you are.
Lighten up..and listen to the music.
btw....I am an audio-visual professional and semi-professional muscian with over 15 years experience...
I welcome all replies.

I don't want to slam anyones opinion. I have measured these speakers. I have listened to them. I have thrown them in the trash. This model has a frequency response that looks like a roller coaster. There is no output below 100 Hz. There is no output above 10 kHz. There is a gap greater than 10 dB between 750 and 2000 Hz. The flimsy paper cone tweeter is raspy and prone to distortion at moderate levels. The woofer is nearly useless, though it has relatively low distortion at port resonance. Why not, when it can't reach below 100 Hz. Go ahead and listen to Paul Harvey. You can be rich like Supersonic and own Bose speakers. Don't forget the amazing Boze Wave Radio! Please compare these with other before you buy. I am not being childish when I tell you that these things are junk.0 stars

I auditioned the Bose 201s in my bedroom with the similarly priced and sized Polk R2s. Since I had never heard Bose before, I expected a close competition. Wrong! The R2s kicked the 201s ASS all over the room. The bass was tighter and more defined, the midrange was unbelievably clearer, and the highs were more natural and lifelike. Then, just for reference, I hooked up an old, $60 pair of Radio Shack 5 1/4" 2-ways that I had laying around. Not the best, but I still prefered their sound over the Bose. Conclusion: if you have $250 to spend on a pair of bookshelf speakers, don't even consider Bose. Spend $80 at Radio Shack and use the rest to buy a hooker, I guarantee you'll have a better time.

If you own Bose, then hold your nose and test your ears as well.
For when you get your hearing back
you’ll know they’re not too swell.
You’ve got 12 bucks of paper cones
and a flismy cardboard box --
not enough to be bare bones,
much less to say “It rocks!”
No top, no bass, just muddy noise
and cabinet resonance too.
It’s clear now that the K-Mart boys
gave you a royal screw.
Why buy Paradigm or Energy, B&W or NHT
when you can shell out twice as much
for Taiwan quality?
But be indignant; tell yourself
you don’t really think it sucks.
(what else can you do after flushing 600 bucks?)
You know as much as all us snobs
who put your purchase down.
Cuz now you is an awdeohfyle
with direct reflecting sound!

Interesting. I posted a review of the 201's back on Jan 23rd that I thought was somewhat balanced, based on my experience. Hmmm, got "slammed" & my musicianship questioned shortly afterwards. (That's okay, like I said... I pay the mortgage as a professional trumpeter- and if anything is strongest, it's been my ear...). But I'm wondering if reading skills have gone down the drain here. Because no one seems to have actually "read" what I posted. Thought I was pretty clear about the circumstances in which I've used these speakers.
So I guess two things have occured:
1). Bose "quality" has gone waaayy downhill (certainly possible- the 7-year old 201's I have in my secondary system are definitely designed differently than what I've seen on the shelves now and if someone had posted "the ones you have were sort of okay, but whoever designed the newer version should be taken out and shot" I'd say "Thanks, Bose should now be avoided."
2). In the ten months I've had my computer & been "surfing the net" I've run across not so much rational, thoughtful discussion and debate (about any subject area) as much as "This sucks, that sucks, everybody & everything sucks." Oh well. I was hoping to find tips & suggestions about upgrading speakers (or the CD player). Not on this site.... Caveat Emptor...
And by the way, kids. I stand by my review...