I'm submitting this review to counter the poor review given by "A disturbed citizen." Either disturbed continued to buy every Bose product even after he decided they were crap or he's rating something that he doesn't really own. I'd advise him to stop posting falsified, biased reviews and to break out that dictionary he talked about and learn how to spell retarded and addict.

Thanks
Daniel

+Not many speakers of equal quality in this price range.
+Clear, lifelike sound.
+Good imaging.
+high power handling for the size.

-A little turbulance from the bass ports at loud, low frequency outputs, but it's barely noticeable. You have to be right by the speaker listening specifically for it and it has to be REALLY loud and REALLY deep.
-Heavy dependency on placement.

Overall these are great speakers. There are a lot of reviews complaining about the lack of bass coming from these speakers, they couldn't be more wrong. Sure they only have a 6 1/2 inch woofer, but that's pretty good for a bookshelf speaker, especially since it's a long excursion woofer so it does better than most woofers of the same size. Just take the cover off when you're playing something loud and watch that thing rock back and fourth, you're probably in for a surprise. Most people have come to expect excessive bass, that's not what these speakers give you. They make good, powerful, deep, but, natural sounding bass. To all those people out there that say these speakers don't have enough bass try listening to something with a little more natural sounding bass like "Rhyme & Reason" by Dave Matthews or "Cocaine" by Eric Clapton. They also do good with rap, they give lots of bass for that too, but not overkill. If you're not satisfied with the bass, you probably like your low notes way too much. There are also at least a couple reviews complaining about the poor imaging due to the stereo targeting tweeters, if you had a decent understanding of speakers you would understand that they not only give a wider soundstage but they also give great stereo imaging. . . . Here's the concept of how they work. The tweeters are angled in at about 45 degrees. So, even if you're sitting directly in front of the right speaker, or even to the right of the right speaker, you'll hear sound equally as well from both speakers. You're closer to the right speaker, but the tweeter on that speaker isn't angled toward you, and you're further away from the left speaker, but the tweeter on the left speaker is angled more toward you so you get a more balanced sound. If you don't get good imaging, you probably need to work on your placement of these speakers. The dependency of placement is a weakness, but you just need to play around with them for a while, it's not that hard.

To sum it up, these are great, clear, lifelike sounding speakers that can bring out the clarity and intimacy of an acoustic guitar, the life and energy of an electric guitar, and the deep, powerful but NATURAL lows of a bass guitar. if you like clear, accurate, natural sound these are for you, if you like excessive bass or treble these aren't for you. I almost forgot, these things get damn loud too!

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2-way JVC bookshelf speakers, they're pretty good but nothing compared to the 201s.

value for money...

positioning..mids

I am just a starter..and these were my first speakers but i spend much time in stores listening several similar speakers..readin reviews..and found these appropriate for me..I am happy..satisfied..use it with Sony recvr DE445 as front speakrs..Its good enough for my Apt living room around 400 Sq ft...feels room with sound..Sound is very clear..Lows and even i am satisfied with Bass too..not quite happy with mids thats OK..I am not into very loud listening..In my opinion key to good speakers is sound reproduction very low volume..if u can listen everything go for it..

Dont listen to the posts by those who spends thousands and thousands on speakers..be sure what u want..whats your listening habits..where u will be using those..I think this Speakers are the best for low budget audio enthu..I think its even good as Main speakers too..

Key to these speakers are positioning..stritcly follow the guidelines in manual and u wont have complaints..u can see remarkable difference in Bass if u play with different speaker positions.

I am happy with Bose..I will give 4 *..My next center speaker will also be from Bose..Good Luck..

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None

INEXPENSIVE

BOUGHT THE PAIR TO REPLACE THE PAIR DCM KX 6'S THEY SOUNDED ALOT BETTER AND COSTED A LITTLE LESS. THE DCM'S DID PLAY A BIT LOUDER BUT WERE NOT NEARLY AS CLEAR AND I USE THEM ONLY AS A REAR CHANNEL ANYWAYS

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DCM KX 6

Great midrange, esp. vocals, very warm sound, fairly good accuracy

bass(see summary), angled tweeter make for small sweet spot

I use the 201's with a high powered Advent sub taking care of the stuff below 100Hz so I havn't had the bass problems that other reviewers have had. The highs sound pretty good but can easily be unbalanced if the speakers (of listerner) are positioned wrong. Overall, great speakers for the price if you have a sub. I really like Bose's sound.

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Yamaha, Infinity

size,style,and sound

none except price

i,m sure glad i,m not a so-called "audiophile".if i was a wouldn,t have the presence of mind to try something for my self.anyway i needed to replace my satellite speakers and these would just fit my stands so i went to best buy and bought 2 pairs-with the plan to try them,hate them,&bring back asap-after reading these reviews.instead i.m stunned at how great they sound for my application-mainly stereo use in a double wide trailer livingroom.though somewhat costly (for non-audiophiles) you should try this in small areas.and about the paper cones-with a 5 year warranty-who cares.sounds like a boom-box?speaker connections won,t accept various wire sizes ? not made well ?sure glad i,m not an audiophile-it must be tough!

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being 40, many in my time

YES. BOSE lies. They lie in their advertisements, and probably on the phone. Maybe you just talked to a Bose telephone answering human who does not have a clue. The speaker systems may be assembled at Bose (so they can put "Made in USA and their own serial number), but parts are coming from Mexico and Asia. I can't prove my case, but it makes sense that Bose would not invest in a factory capable of making drivers in order to make so poor drivers. Obviously Bose gets a deal on the parts and then see what rthey can do with them. If they had blown money in an driver factory, it would have been because they have a speaker project in mind and they require very very specific characteristics for the electronics and drivers... Do you thing that the AM-5, an innovation back in 1985, had been studied carefully from a technical stand point? Sure they control the quality of what they receive through a patented (ah! another legal trick) process. But it's to check the consistency of what they receive in terms of "how it looks and if it actually works", not in terms of specific characteristics...they don't have time for that and they don't need it for their design). Anyway. If they produce their own drivers and if they make sure that all drivers are matched closely in terms of specs, well, Bose is even dumber and define=itely not a serious speaker manufacturer who takes good care of his customers. Period.

I have worked in professional sound for years and I feel that this forum's swing is a little too wide. Bose is NOT the greatest speaker on the market, nor is it the worst. What is it? It is a good speaker for the home owner who is looking for a reasonably priced, good sounding set of speakers. Yes, there are much better systems out there, but there are a lot worse. Now, we can get into the technical aspects of Bose but it is really not worth it. If you want to get really technical, buy something that is really technical. Otherwise, to all those who have Bose, sit back and enjoy them and don't worry about all the details. Everyone else, go bother someone else.

They're better than the Acoustimass

Sound quality, construction, etc

First I'd like to address a prior reviewer's comments about the users of this site not being audio experts. Sir, you are right, most of us aren't, but many have been enthusiasts for some time, and some, like myself, sell this equipment daily and have a great deal of experience with it. So let me say that I do not own this speaker, but have been using/selling it for about a year and a half or so, and here are my conclusions: This speaker is an overpriced overmarketed piece of junk. And with all apologies to those who feel otherwise, paper cones and foam surround in a driver will not hold up as long as poly or other materials. And you CAN hear the distortion produced by a cone bending. But in the end, this speaker is extremely bright and has little to no bass response. And to a prior reviewer's comments about not using a good receiver, I've listened to them with everything from Sony to Onkyo to harman/kardon (the latter two being among the more respected names in receivers) and nothing can make these speakers sound better. Bose's philosophy shouldn't be "Better sound through research." It should be "Higher sales through endless marketing." I will repeat this credo until the day I die: All highs, no lows, it must be Bose.

good sound for bookshelfs, i use them along with my floor speakers-A&B mode with a JVX-888 120watt/channel
receiver and the sound is very acceptable

lets be honest, did you really think you were going to get the bass reponse from these speakers that you
would normally get from larger speakers

I have no axe to grind with Bose- I have used these speakers as bookself speakers along with my
floor speakers(A & B mode) for 2 years, and I recently upgraded my receiver with a JVC 888 -120 watts/channel (adequate power) replacing a 20 year old pioneer receiver and the difference in the sound was dramatic.
I have this hooked up to my computer and play cd's and mpg's and the sound is good enough for me.
The highs and mids that the 201's produce, create a nice ambiance along with my floor speakers.
I recently installed digital cable and now enjoy great dbs sound through my system .