soothing sound

I agree, u have to "find" that "perfect" position/location

Without being biased, these are good speakers. Certainly not the best (what do u expect for 300 bucks???). But in this price range..they sound superior to the others i've heard or come across.

The "strentgh" of the 301's is in the "warmth" & "soothing" sound they produce...not the ear-piercing, shrieking type. Yet they still sound realistic & clear.

But be sure to experiment with the placement until u get the best sound from these wonderful speakers. When placed "imporperly" (the brochure's instructions are not necessarily to be followed...u have to take the size & shape of ur room too) they sound bad...when placed perfectly they sound very, very good. BTW, THEY SOUND VERY GOOD WITH YAMAHA AMP/RECEIVERS :)

TRUST ME ON THAT! :)

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energy, mission, polk, cerwin vega, tannoy, B&O..heard wilson benesch, martin logans too

Great design....and solid overall performance

None that I could find...

Well I have heard enough of all the bashing on Bose....I am sure there is some truth to some of their points.....but in the end it comes down to personal listening and what your ears hear versus someone elses. It's that simple....sometimes the only difference I can hear or I should say SEE is on a scope that measures audio output !!! At that point who cares and who has the hearing capability to hear that slight difference of a spec. Let it rest....speakers are as personal as your under garmets. And noboy can convince you otherwise.....right !!!!! If Bose sound right for your application...go with them....I have and found them to deliver crisp sound with great imageing and overall performance....They work for me....obviously NOT for many of our other users...but that's OK....they can make other choices !!!!

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AR, Polk Audio

Clean Sound With Full tonal Quality, Durable Design and Sleek Styling, Reasonable Price.

Flat Sounding Mid-Range Unless Equilized Accordingly.

First of all I would like to point out that this review board was very helpful in my deicision for purchasing speakers. I enjoy reading all of the comments on this site and hope that my experience and comments can be of some help for others.

First of all, a brief breakdown of my speaker system: I chose the Bose name for all of my speakers (other than my powered sub) because of my size restrictions do to the recent remodeling of my livingroom. I am running the 701's as my front speakers (see my review for the Bose 701 Series), the 301's as my surround speakers, the VCS-10 as my center channel speaker (see my review for the Bose VCS-10) and a Yamaha YST-SW160 powered sub-woofer in the rear of the room. This combination has proven to be a superb system for both music and home theater. But this review is for the Bose 301 Series IV, so lets concentrate of this model for now.

As an audiophile I enjoy testing my components in a variety of situations, so I tested this model speaker in various locations with different power levels. Although I purchased this model for my surround speakers, I thought it necessary to test them as front (main) speakers as well. I did this by placing them on stands and driving them with 100 watts per channel RMS. I found the results to be somewhat pleasing although a little inadequate for main speakers in a large livingroom. The bass frequencies were quite impressive for such a small unit and offered adequate depth for a smaller room (maybe something about 10 ft. x 12 ft.), but it did not seem to carry enough for my large livingroom. The midrange was a bit unclear and muddy, but some equalization on my part cleared up this low point and made the mid sounds quite satisfactory. The highs are a strong point of this model. Superb driver placement sends crisp and clear highs bouncing around the room in a way that fill the total listening environment no matter where you are sitting! These speakers did not show any signs of distortion until driven to ear drum shattering volume, and even then they did not complain as harshly as many other speakers I have tested.

Since I purchased this model for my surround speakers, I can only say that I am overwhelmed with the clarity and sound from such a small enclosure! As rear speakers, this model fills the back of my livingroom with depth and clarity that I have not experienced until now! Driven at 100 watts per channel RMS and placed at the far left and right corners of the room (mounted about 7 ft. off the ground, turned in and tilted down slightly) I find the overall sound very impressive during DVD home theater viewing and while playing CD's in genres ranging in Rock, Techno, Pop, Jazz and Orchestral arrangements.

I think Bose is driven to provide high quality sound from small enclosures. I would not claim that they are the best ever made, but for a middle aged man who takes his music and sound VERY seriously, they are just the ticket. If you are going to spend big bucks on a speaker system, then I would encourage you to pay close attention to speaker placement (as most Bose models use driver placement to bounce sound off from walls) as well as being sure to drive the speakers with clean and adequate power. This particular model did not sound very stable when powered at much under 75 watts. I also feel that they are best suited as surround speakers rather than front (main) speakers, unless used in a smaller listening environment. If you are looking for classic and modern looks, durable and small design, as well as overall impressive depth and crisp highs, then look no further than the Bose 301 Series IV speakers. They will not only impress yourself, but your family and friends as well, for years to come. If high quality surround speakers are your goal, then the Bose 301 Series IV would be a very wise investment.

Your Friend,

~ MARTY ~
M.P. Productions

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Too Many To Mention

OLD technology. I amazes me how good they might be able to makes these IF they stopped with the gimics and re-directed some $$$$ on putting good drivers in their speakers, rather than deceptive advertising. I think the only other organization that focuses more $$$$ towards propaganda is the North Korean Govt.

A pair of Paradigm titans are the answer to not buying these. Muddy bass, choked mid-range, and restricted High-freq. due to OLD paper tweeters that are incapable of producing the full spectrum. That is what is bad about them.

I mock them for this reason: All the people who buy them and walk
away thinking they have a world-class product. Then they come here and see loads
of 1 star reviews and rather than accepting the horrible reality, they decide
its a better idea to try and justify the bose myth. One of the most popular "arguments" is that I should extensively audition or even have to live at length with these abominations in order to furnish an objective review. My answer is: do you have to test drive a yugo to know its a piece of crap? Or do you even have to date a fat girl to know she looks nauseating naked? probably not! And thats the bottom line,
put stupid people in their place.

Low Cost! High performance for your hard earned $$$!!! Bose 5 year warranty!

Don't pay attention to these people, if you want to give the 301's a try, I recomend them to anyone on a budget. Of course they don't give the sound of a $1000 set of speakers. Why you may have to pay $1000 for that!! Imagine? Better products cost more! Some of these people posting haven't realized that yet I guess!

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Bose 601 series 3's, Advent Legacy 2's, PolkRT600i

Price, warranty, sound quality

None

I purchased the Bose 301's to compliment my Sony STR-DE945 receiver and Sony DVP-S330 DVD player. More specifically, I wanted something that would "kick-butt" for my first home theatre. And that they did!

I hope that beginners like me, seeking advice/opinions about choosing CD audio speakers, as well as DVD home theatre speakers, will find this review helpful.

The 301's produce full, rich sound during music playback, and handle all the bass my (110W per channel) receiver can throw at them, without detectable distortion. In my opinion, they are a very good value. Bose themselves urge you to compare them to any other bookshelf speaker on the market.

When I play a movie, my guests very often comment that it sounds like they are in a theatre. This is no doubt also due to the fact that I purchased the Bose VCS-10 Centre Channel, and the Model 100 rears. Added to my 35" (KV35S42) Sony Trinitron TV and Yamaha YST-SW90 subwoofer, this system rocks! But the 301's are the driving force behind the sound.

Sure, audiophiles don't much care for the Bose Direct/Reflecting® speaker technology, but for those of us simpler folk who don't want to just sit in one "sweet spot" to listen to music, or to watch movies, it is easy to see why Bose has become one of the world leaders in reproducing sound.

Originally, I had in mind the Bose 201's, but when I compared the two in the store, the 301's were noticeably nicer sounding.

No "buyers remorse" for me at all, even after owning the 301's for almost a year. I give them the highest audioreview.com rating based on my admittedly inexperienced, yet happy-to-be-an-owner, honest opinion.

Similar Products Used:

Bose Model 100 rears and Yamaha YST-SW90 sub

Wide sound dispersal

Dated tweeter design; subtly 'spitty' hi-frequency sound

I bought these because no-one else manufactures a speaker that spreads the sound around the room like Bose. I used to have a pair of Mirages, decent sound, but you had to sit in the 'sweet spot' to listen to them. I like to walk around the room, wash dishes etc. when I listen, the Bose do a much better job of allowing me to do that. The old-school, paper-coned tweeters tend to exaggerate the sound of some percussion (example: the tambourine on some Beatles discs), but by and large the sound balance is as neutral as most other $300/pr. speakers; The 'Bose bashers' are a little off-base in their criticism. Interesting that a 1970's design should be competitive in 2001.

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n/a

Paper Woofers, spring clip connections for wire, oversized tweeters.

Cool removeable speaker grills, rubber feet included as to not mar book shelf.

I have had the Bose 301 speakers for a few years now and I am happy with them. They were over-priced, but what is not over-priced these days? The sound is average at best, but I am using them in my garage with an old JVC reciever and first generation Sony Cd player. The bass is very Boomy at mid to high levels of volume. The trebble has to be turned down so as not to sound shrill. I have upgraded my audio equipment in the past year and bought what I belive to be better equipment, but I could not sell the 301s for a good price. I see that many people on this site like to slam Bose products. I would guess that is either because they have nothing better to do, or Bose products are really that bad. I will let you be the jugde on that one. I think there are better speakers for the price of the 301s, but I bought them thinking I was getting a great speaker. At the time I bought them, I was very happy with them. Now that I am more Knowledgeable about what makes a speaker sound good, I would never buy a set of 301s again.

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Polk, Boston, Nht

none really

Poor bass response, spring clips, weak highs

I recently sold my Bose 301 speakers when I upgraded for HT. Not a bad bookself speaker if you ask me. The bass is poor and should not be due to the fact that it uses an 8" woofer. The midrange is neutral. The highs were harsh at times. I feel that with the current offerings from other speaker manufactures that the price is far from competitive. If you buy into hype, like direct reflecting technology and don't mind getting overcharged for a product that has remained the same since it was introduced many years ago, this speaker might be the right one for you. The bottom line is that these speakers are not as bad as many people claim, but nowhere near as great as bose wants you to believe. I enjoyed using these speakers for awhile, until I could buy something better. If I knew then what I know now, I might not have bought the 30ls, but someone out right now is using them and hopefully enjoying them so all is not lost..

it sound very very detailed. sharp bass

the price

i dont no y u people hate the bose 301. i mean if u never heard them dont say any. if u hate this speaker email me or sell me your bose. there style is kind of cool. now people dont be so racist against bose . your mad because u think your box of sound is the ace of sound.haha.i maybe 16 but i out smart every 1 in speakers. now i need the bose center speaker.by sniper x

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