I was given the 301's as a gift and had to return them 7 days later. Why buy the bose when you can get many other speakers that sound as bad for less money. I am not going to go into a lot of detail but these speakers left a lot to be desired. Things that I eventually found in the PSB 300i's for the same price. Check out my reveiw for the PSB's.
BOSE = LOW-FI

CAN HANDLE A HUGE LOAD

REFINEMENT - A LITTLE RAW

I have had my 301's since I started out in audio about 15 years back. Then I was exremely impressed. Today they are I guess aged in technology but still provide me with very reliable operation - I have recently had the surrounds replaced (it is 15 years old!) - other than that not one problem.

I think the guys who are bashing this set expect it to be in the esoteric sphere of speaker systems - well it aint and it isnt supposed to be. I got my pair for less than $100 at the time and they were reasonably priced back then.

The most important thing I have noticed with them though is placement in the room. They have to up on the walls and have decent reflecting walls along side to take full effect of the Bose direct reflecting "system". In this setup it works well.

Many happy years had with my 301's but I reckon I am moving onto some Infinity's and a Velodyne.

Sound/price ratio

Base response

This was my first purchase as a college grad in 1984. Remarkably, the price for these has remained unchanged (probably at the expense of quality of parts, I would guess). The key to these speakers is placement. With the rear facing speaker, they sound best when away from the wall, but within several feet of a wall laterally to bounce off of, expanding the soundfield. As a young man who did not have a lot to spend, I cannot say enough for this speaker. I rock n' rolled in those days, and put those puppies through their paces. Even blew a woofer on one, but was covered under warranty. It does not compare to the MB Quarts I use currently, but they are also 1/2 the price. Also, my 301s are OLD, and I don't know if they are comparable to todays version.

Very good bass (mid bass) Great sound, very efficient

none at this price,

A wonderful speaker in this price range. I enjoy rock and rap. I have one pair hooked up to one of my tvs and another in my office. Great sound quality at moderate volumes. I really love this speaker. Take a look at the 201s as well. Great value and worth every penny.

Similar Products Used:

Bose 201, JBL, Klipsch, Boston Acoustic, Yamaha

sweet treble (also unrefined), easy to listen to

bonky bass, don't go deep

As you can count objective reviews on the fingers of one hand here, I might as well give it a try.

I was given the Bose 301 Mk.Is by a friend of mine to go instead of the Sony's (which I blew). It was a major improvement but not yet good. They are easy to listen to but that's about it: they don't draw you into the music and they are not musical.

I still enjoyed owning them for the improvement they gave and by times give actually insight into the music. With a somewhat better amp than 'your-typically-every-day-bad-design-cheap-or-ancient-japanese-junk' they actually work which is more than I could ask for free stuff.

The other day I saw Boses 301 Mk.IIIs for sale for $90/pair second hand, which I think is too expensive. I can really imagine why people like them, but not why they don't listen to other speakers and let their heart decide.

See it as a major upgrade for midi- and minisystems. Buy it second hand.

Similar Products Used:

Ancient Sony's, misfit back-of-white-van, putting money apart for REAL speakers now

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

Bad, so bad.

Brent,
Bose is really the only company that I see a reason to actively focus my
hostility's. 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.

Everything imaginable!!! absolutely the best speakers ever made!!! The base is only paralled by MAYBE the Wilson Audio WATT/puppy. and the Treble! My god, dynaudio wasted their time designing those silly esotar tweeters(not to mention B&Ws wacky nautilus tweeter design, but I'll get into that)!!! Who'd have thought that the best treble in the entire world could come out of a $2 paper wizzer cone?!

The only weakness I can think of is that thier not for free!!!!!!!!! I love them THAT much!!!

I wanted a very accurate 2-chan music only system for my gameroom in the basement. so I decided that B&W Nautilis 803s with a Rotel RCD-990 CD player, Bryston 14B-ST amp (500 watts x2, $5500), and Bryston PB-25 MC pre-amp($2900) would be the way to go. And they where great!!! the base was incredibly dynamic with the 500 watts per chan, and the treble and mid range where some of the best I'd ever heard. But then One day my girlfriend made me go into the nearby bose-outlet. I didn't want to go, being the snobby rich audiophile that I am, but I went just to appease her. The first (and only thing) I heard where the Bose 301s. I couldn't believe my ears. The 301s have the best treble I've ever heard. Way better than those $95 tweeters that the 803s use. Here I went and spent $5000 on a pair of speakers when all along I could have gotten a $300 pair of BOSE that put my 803s to shame!!! I felt SO stupid. The 803s claim freq. response of 36Hz-20kHz. If thats true, then the 301s must be capable of like, 25Hz-40kHz!!!!! At least!!! That stereo everywhere sure works too! I used to have to SIT DOWN in the same chair to get the best out of my 803s. But with 301s, I can just wander the room and really scrutinize my favorite recordings. I mean the most carefull listening is always done while moving seats, right??? The best speakers on earth! I sold my 803s the next day and used all the money left over( I got $3600 for some stupid jack*ss!!!) to buy the 301s for $300 and spent the remaining $$$$ on candy bars and yahoo stock. I kept all the expensive electronics, I mean, $10000 of electronics is just the begining of what bose deserves right?!
The moral of the story? Bose speakers are the best in the entire world. end of story. If you spend money on ANYTHING other than bose, your wasting it;)

Similar Products Used:

B&W Nautilus 803s. Bryston electronics. Revel Ultima Studio.

None

Poorly constructed, poor lows, smeared together highs, and a sickly midrange

I bought these things as rears for my my home system. I purchased them on a reputation built on a very clever advertising campaign. In the following years my ears have become very discerning. I wouldn't recommend a Bose product to anyone, for what they charge you can go out and shop high quality sound. The midrange lacks luster, it is uneventful at best. The midrange is very limited. The lows are terrible when run hard. That 8" sub is made of paper, very flimsy. They give up with little fight. The highs are one giant smear. There is zero clarity and the direct reflecting speaker is frustrating. I power it through a Denon AVR receiver, the problem is not my amp, these are just crappy speakers. If your looking for something comparable try Acoutic research, BIC Venturi, Aura, Vandersteen, etc.

Similar Products Used:

Many

sound quality is okay

materials and construction

It is probably true that this Bose model is over hyped and should be sold for less. I have opened the box myself using a screwdriver, and I have observed that the construction is somewhat low in quality. Bose used cheap materials like ordinary capacitors, pressed board, paper cone and screws. This model must be targeted for budget conscious individuals who love to show off well-known brands like Bose. However, I still feel it is a little expensive for what you get. It may not be the best sounding speaker on the market for the price range but the quality of the sound of this speaker is okay. It does not sound like crap as others might put it. Sound quality is very subjective, and sometimes you need an equalizer to get the output you required. It is just unfortunate that I have not found technical specs like frequency response or sensitivity rating for this speaker. I must emphasize, however, that you can actually buy a better quality speaker for the same price.