Warm, pleasant sound for both music and HT; Sleek styling; Relatively compact

Reproduces some types of music better than others

Like several of the previous posters, I've tried to understand how the opinions expressed here can vary so widely. With all due respect to the Bose bashers, I think you're letting your perceptions of Bose's marketing and construction methods prejudice your opinion on the way the speakers actually sound. Anyway, here are the facts as I see them:

- The posters who commented on the "warmth" of the 301's sound hit the nail on the head. When I listened to them in the showrooms, their sound was simply the most appealing of the bunch. Brands that I compared them to included Yamaha, JBL, KLH, Sony, Infinity, Boston Acoustic, and Acoustic Research. Although these might not be "audiophile" brands, they're certainly speakers in the same price range. And contrary to what others have stated, the Bose speakers were in the same listening room and hooked into the same system as the competitors in every store I visited (The Good Guys, Best Buy, Circuit City, and Fry's). But don't take my word for it, listen for yourself and decide if they're right for you. Bring some of your own CD's along for the test.

- Regarding Bose's "cheap" construction. I concede they use spring clips where most other brands in this class use five-way posts. But the 301's *are* meant for smaller rooms such as apartments, where the speaker wire length will be relatively short. I've had no problem using 18 ga. Monster Cable with the clips. And while the woofer and tweeter cones themselves are paper, the material around the cones (the portion which flexes during vibration) is polyvinyl. Just what is going to make the paper cone itself succumb to "speaker rot"? The speakers I'm familiar with which would deteriorate over time had a paper *perimeter* which weakened with age.

- I agree with the person who said some types of music sound better than others with these speakers (although that's probably true with virtually all speakers to some degree). The type of music I favor generally falls into the pop or folk rock categories (10,000 Maniacs, Sixpence None The Richer, etc.). This type of music, where the vocals are emphasized, sounds absolutely sweet and crystal clear on these speakers. When I pop in a Bush CD, the sound is a bit fuzzy. I'd have to listen to the same CD with other speakers to know how much is the fault of the speakers, and how much is the fault of Bush.

- Regarding the alleged "thumpiness" of the bass: I've only experienced this when listening at extreme off angles (such as being behind the speaker). The bass output on these speakers is actually quite good (just ask Consumer Reports ;) ). With just a slight nudge from the equalizer, Godzilla's footfalls rattle the walls of my apartment with no need for a subwoofer. When I was listening to these speakers in the stores, it was my opinion that they outperformed many of the competitors' floor models.

- I've currently got the 301's as the main speakers in my home theater system, with Klipsch SS-1's as the surround speakers. I use the phantom mode (no center channel), because try as I might I've been unable to find a center speaker in the $300-$400 dollar range that sounds as good as the combined effect of the two 301's together.

Size, appearance, 5 year warranty

inconsistent sounds across different types of music, price.

For what I paid, I wish I could say I love these speakers but they have rpoved to be a mixed bag. Classical, Jazz, and any "clean" sounding music sounds really nice on these, but hard rock with a "grungier" feel falls a little short. They also perform well for home theatre. I like these speakers a lot, but do not LOVE them. For the price range they're in,they deliver nice sound, but are not the best. Of course it all depends on who's listening to them. Go to a store, bring yuor own music, and decide for yourself.

Nice looking

Distortion at higher volume levels

I agree with most of the other people that the 301's are over priced. Bose speakers in general are over priced and over rated. I do however think that for their size they sound pretty good.

Similar Products Used:

None

Just an observation...If you "audition" these speakers at Circuit City, Best Buy, Sears, etc, they are "impressive" because they are designed with the purpose of outperforming other mass-market speakers in mind. Accurate sound reproduction and true quality does not have to be the primary consideration. When designing these speakers, some degree of sound coloration would be acceptable if it highlights (and therefore overemphasizes) certain frequencies/music styles. That's why they sound so good in the store. Certain parts of the music "jump out" at you as sounding good, especially in comparison to cheaper models. These speakers sound very very nice if you are building a starter type system. A good reciever, a pair of 301s and a decent sub should blow away any shelf system for the audio enthusiast on a budget. Most people would be very happy with these. But if you care/have the money to listen to better speakers, the sonic mirage created by the 301s is no match for the true accuracy of a SOLID pair of bookshelf speakers. Consider waiting a year to buy rears and/or a center channel and doubling the amount you're willing to spend on fronts. A true audiophile would be ashamed of spring biding posts, paper cones, and unfinished cabinets. Try B&K, Paradigm, KEF, or others. You can get Monitor Audio Silver 4is from reliableaudiovideo.com for $650--they've got ceramic and metal cones, real binding posts, are even bi-wireable, made in England and come in gorgeous wood finishes. Closer to the 301s price range, try Infinity IL10s, Acoustic Research, Boston Acoustics, or Klipsch. The Infinities are very similar in price and are very strongly recommended. My System (As of a few weeks from now):

Onkyo TXDS787 Receiver
Boston Acoustics PV800 Subwoofer
Cheap Sony 5-disc changer
Monitor Audio Silver 4is
Monster 300 interconnect
Original monstercable from the Onk to the Monitors
Monster 400 sub cable

Just as many people would be ashamed of the 301s, a snobby audiophile with a $20K system would be ashamed of my mid-fi equipment. Then again, unless he's recent lotto winner, he's probably cut corners elsewhere in life--eg. lives in a box or drives a yugo. I'm the guy who shops at goodwill every once in a while so he can afford the Silver 4is. :)

Happy listening

Josh

Bass.......Price......Size

Hmm.......When too loud..it SOMETIMES distorts out

These speakers are GREAT for the price, they're not good enough for a MAIN system, i have them in my bedroom. With an onkyo receiver, and a Polk sub., they give lots of bass, for the size..you can hear them from outside!Turn up "Still D.R.E" and the walls start to shake...people in my basement start yelling at me , and from outside they can hear me- they complain.Yea, they do distort out a little bit..but they're NOT as bad as they say they are! People use them for main systems- thats a little tooo far....but all that bass for a 8" woofer! Thats ALOT. and 150w , from that!

These things are well-underrated!
TRY them!!

All these people go on here, give them a bad rap , and have never even bought them before!!! Its pathetic!
And they do it why???
Because they have nothing else better to do!!

OH well...try them!!!!

Similar Products Used:

polk,bose,sony

none

direct reflecting technology? what a bunch of b.s.

if you want filet mignon you don't go to McDonald..this is why Bose speakers aren't found in ANY audiophile quality stores.Instead there found in Best Buy or Circuit City or the Sony shops. The reason they sell well is the same reason McDonalds sells so many hamburgers..marketing..Bose speakers are made with 20yr old technology with the cheapest materials available( paper cones). If you buy Bose speakers obviously sound quality was last on your priority list.

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ProAc response 1, Vandersteen 2Ce, NHT 2.5

good solid sound for price.
Bose warranty and quality.

none for whatit is used for

I bought this pair of speakers directly from Bose for my bedroom receiver. They provide plenty of quality sound for my needs. I would highly recommend these speakers for anyone who wants a solid set of stereo speakers for a bedroom or apartment.

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aiwa, polk, fisher.

Nice sound, Cheap price, Small size

Require extra room for direct reflecting sound, my be placed in proper location

I Personally love these speakers, people are bashing Bose, but for the money you can not really go wrong. Go to you local retailer and hear them and then decide if they are good for you or not, they really produce stereo everywhere all over the room, it sounds the same no matter where in the room you are.

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Jbl

Natural sounding in the environment and use intended

Being a bookshelf speaker (compromises must be made), Placement

Now wait a second . . . these are bookshelf speakers! These are NOT meant to be left and right fronts of someone's home theater.

I tested Bose against the "bookshelf" Polks and Infinities and I felt the Bose had a good bit more bass than the other two and leaned less toward the highs side (I mean sounded more natural, even if it wasn't linear perfection). The other two seemed to do better in vocal ranges, however. But at this price compromise is inevitable.

I bought these to put in my home/office and connect to an "old" Technics receiver (circa 1986) I hadn't used in a long while. The sound is completely natural when driven at levels these speaker were meant to take. I listen to jazz and classical, mainly. I do listen to rock, and when not overdriven, these speakers performed damned well.

Look, these speakers are not perfect. They are a compromise on many fronts to produce a speaker to fit the price point at which they are sold. But, you know, so is every other speaker sold at this price. Maybe you can find a better speaker for the money, but at this price it will be bundled with compromises also. You have to find the one that suits your taste in music. Audition and experiment with CD's that represent your musical tastes. And, do not think for $300 you're going to get audiophile quality, linearity, soundstaging, etc. Figure out what is most important to you and listen for it in your speaker auditions.

Again, this is a bookshelf speaker. So, if the cones of other manufacturers are made of plastic, vinyl, metal, etc. the same compromises will still be evident. They'll just be projected at you by different materials.

At this price, buy what sounds best to you and don't expect perfection. No speaker manufacturer gives perfection for $300.

Similar Products Used:

Infinity, Polk

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Just about everything

Well I thought I would give these speakers a listen. The Klipsch RB-5 totally destroyed these Bose speaker. And yes the RB-5's are book shelf speakers. But they sound like towers. Boston Acoustics, and Poke had decent bookshelf speakers but the Bose 301 wasn't even close. For the price tag they stick on these babys you would expect some quality. No amount of time spent placing or reconfiguring the speakers made any noticable differance. I did A/B comparisions for both music and HT and the Bose doesn't cut it for either, matched against speakers even below its bloated price range.

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch RB5, RF3 , Inffinity, Pock, Boston Acoustics