Great bass for there size. Room filling sound

needs close attention to placement for best sound

I have the series IV. They are great. I use them in my gym area,they really rock to get you pumped to work out. I'm not sure if the series 4 are that much better than previous series. If not the people giving these speakers bad reviews should get their hearing examined. I would recommend these.

none

Sound, looks, price, build quality. That's all.

I got the 301s along with a pair of 901s and an Acoustimass setup from my father when he bought a hifi setup many years ago. As I attest in another review, the 901s were a fun speaker for teenagers with a sound that perfectly suited my tastes at the time -- loud and not much else. I don't like them now, but I did at one time. The 301s I never liked. The 301s are the worst speaker I have ever heard. What struck me was the absolutely dead sound. No life, no dynamics, no range. Just a dead, flat sound. Overall, I was struck by how weak this speaker felt -- it even failed to fully express the signature Bose sound. Not to say that this sound is particularly desirable to myself, but many people seem to like it. What can I say? The speakers are ugly and cheap sounding. They are overpriced for what they are but a cheap way to tell your friends you own a Bose. Assuming they are impressed by something like that. Incidently and in all seriousness, I have been very happy using the Acoustimass in the application I believe it was MADE for. PC speaker.

Similar Products Used:

Acoustimass, 901s.

Loud

Muddy bass Muddy mids & highs Paper cones and tweeters Tweeter is responsible for both mids and highs

With nothing to compare them to, my Bose 301 were great speakers. Loud, with plenty of bass. But, once I was able to compare them to other speakers, I quickly learned what many have already found out. Bose are not worth the money. For the same price you can find better sounding speakers. I'm not bashing Bose, but I quickly learning that just because a speaker is "loud" does not mean that it is good. I replaced my Bose with Axiom speakers which opened my ears again to music. It seemed that there was a wall between my Bose and my ear, but with the Axioms I could hear things that I never heard on the 301s. But in the end it's your money and comes down to what sounds the best to you. Just do yourself a favor and listen to some other speakers before buying them.

When set up right, the sound extends a broad spectrum, and is full, rich and crystal clear. Direct/reflecting makes the music airy feeling.

Poorly constructed for what you pay for. Bose is now a big megacorp and with that comes the sterile, cheesy, machine-made feel of their products. Cheap veneer, skinny wiring, paper woofers, lots of profit per unit. They have to be set up a certain way or they just don’t sound very good.

There is a lot of dissing of Bose 301s here. Allow me to retort. I’ve had a set of series IIIs for 10 years and I think they’re great sounding speakers. But you can make them sound pretty bad if you don’t set them up properly. Despite what their marketing says, they are not bookshelf speakers. Mine came with an owner’s manual that clearly states they need to be set up in a corner, but not against the wall – about a foot out from the back wall, and about two feet from the sides. This allows the direct/reflecting technology to work which creates an airy feeling and the sound of music coming from everywhere. It really does work it set up right. So, second, spend an extra $50, get some speaker stands and set them up properly. Third, by nature this direct/reflecting design requires a lot of power. You’re filling up an entire room, not just firing a driver at your face. My amp (Sony STR-DE515) puts out 120 watts per channel and I wish for more. Fourth, if you want a lot of bass you need either a subwoofer or at least an amp with a loudness button. You’d be surprised at what a loudness button can do. My system sounds great. The sound extends a broad spectrum, and is full, rich and crystal clear. My friends tend toward honesty and they agree the system sounds great. If they ask where the subwoofer is, I point to the loudness button. I can make the 301s sound bad quite easily by jamming them back into the corners; the entire sound is flat, the bass rumbles, muted highs, very two-dimensional sounding. Worse yet, I could stand them on their ends so the tweeters fire into the sky. I’ve heard them set up like that as well, and they truly sound awful. I wouldn’t spend a dime for speakers that sounded like that. Reading the “bad” reviews here makes me wonder if any of these guys bothered to RTFM and take a moment to understand how the technology works. I do have some criticisms of the 301s. I think they’re poorly constructed for what you pay for. Bose is now a big megacorp and with that comes the sterile, cheesy, machine-made feel of their products. Cheap veneer, skinny wiring, paper woofers, lots of profit per unit. They have to be set up a certain way or they just don’t sound very good, as mentioned above. However, I haven’t heard any speakers in the same price range that even come close to my system.

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Klipsch, Paradigm, B&W.

Thay look nice, lots of sound for 300 bux a pair (and much less on eBay)

For the price you can get better sound.

I have owned 4 of Bose 301's for nearly 10 years now and for 300 bux a pair they more than served there purpose. You will get lots of sound out of them.. Not real good highs or lows and not crystal clear sound but lots of sound.. With all the competitivly priced speaker choices out there, I would not go and buy these speakers today. Take your time and shop around, you will hear the difference. I am about to upgrade to a pair of Paradigm Monitor 9 towers, but to compair them to my Bose 301 bookshelf speakers is just not fair. And, this rating is in no way based on this comparison! As with most of the Bose products out there today, for the money you can get somthing MUCH better, but if your stuck on the Bose name (Like so many are) then buy them.

great sound out of a little package

well....I removed the woofer and examined the cabinet and crossover network and I can truely say.....how the hell do these things sound so good?....cheap cabinet...cheap crossover...cheap speaker components....amazing

I bought these little jewels at a pawnshop because they were miss marked...should have been 40 each not a pair...anyway..I needed another set of speakers like a hole in the head but I just cannot pass up a good deal..hooked them up and I was pleasantly suprised by their sound....not bad at all for such a small little speaker..perfect for my rear s...I use klipsch heresy's and polk audio monitor 10b's...I love the old stuff....I know some people here hate the bose line of speakers but I remember hearing 901's a long time ago at a friends and I was impressed....these 301's sound fine to my ears...

Similar Products Used:

I had radioshack speakers that reminded me of the bose construction....they were made in China I think...

none/well, you at least get sound from them

none

I purchased these in 1983 when I knew nothing about stereo equipment.Naturally, in my ignorance I fell for the Bose hype at the age of 19.Truly terrible speakers with horrific cheap paper drivers.I still remember then unfortunately to this day.Good speakers for someone who cares only about sound emanating from the box.I heard a pair of 301's about 5-6 years ago and was amazed as to how terrible these still are.I feel sorry for anyone who has owned these or still owns them ! Many other lower end speakers are available that sound better !

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm,Klipsch

Uh.......

Yak......

I used to live next door to the GoodGuys -- a electronics chain store in California. it carries better products than BestBuy and CircuitCity. After I bought my humble (you know the cost of living in SF !!!) Home Theater system last year (with PSB Image 2B as front MSRP$399) I decided to audition some of the Bose speakers in my neighbor--the GoodGuys just out of curiosity, since back in 1992, when I was in college I heard lots of nasty reviews about Bose on the Internet newsgroups (there wasn't even World Wide Web then!). The system is ~$12,000 HT system which looks VERY SHARP indeed! The sound was impressive initially -- very open and detailed, but after a while, the treble starts to hurt my ears, there is NO stage/image, bass is low but muddy. I know my PSB Image 2B is by no means best speaker around, but they beat the Bose heads down. Last month I upgraded them to PSB Stratus Mini (MSRP$1100) and they beat 2B hands down .... ok, back to Bose. One thing is sure that is for the SAME AMOUNT OF $$ you can buy much better sound than Bose, e.g. B&W, NHT, or PSB ... For over $1,000 you better NOT even think of Bose for you can get wayyyyyyyy better speakers. You don't have to take my word for it. Find a local HiFi store in your area and try yourself. These local stores usually will let you take the speakers home for audition, so you can put them side by side with your Bose and ........ Good luck!

Similar Products Used:

PSB, JBL, auditioned ProAc(Oh I wish I can afford them!)

"stereo everywhere". extremely clear, even at high volume

Not the best out on the market, but not the worst by far. When playing without a subwoofer, they get a little muddy at higher volume when used without a sub.

These speakers were left in the apartment after we evicted a deadbeat tenant.They sound excellent when used as they are intended. They should be configured as small speakers because they are not intended for large speaker applications. A subwoofer MUST be used with these to take advantage of their best features.

Similar Products Used:

Advent, Polk, JBL

Great bass for size, crystal clear highs, size.

None to speak of yet....this after over five years of listening.

NO I DON'T WORK FOR BOSE. As for reviewers whining about a CLEAN 20KHz: let me know when YOU can hear anything above say, 14.5KHz. Now that that's settled, these speakers rock. I have owned this set since 1994 and have used them as my main fronts ever since I bought them on both a Technics SA-GX910(Pro-Logic), Technics SA-DX930(AC-3, DTS), and a Sony STR-DE535(Pro-Logic) in many different environments and they will hurt your ears with the volume turned halfway up and still reproduce clean highs, good mid, and accurate bass at that volume. Now they sit proudly in my entertainment room next to the big screen as the mains for my home theater. I mean to tell you that I have yet to find speakers that best these as far as sound quality is concerned. I guarantee you these people that have these and have given bad reviews either don't know how to set these up or are completely deaf. After five and a half years they still sound every bit as good as they did when new...and I punish the hell out of them with dvd's, cd's, and broadband cable. I wouldn't hesitate to purchase another pair if faced with that decision.

Similar Products Used:

Infinity, Klipsch, Boston, JBL, Cerwin Vega, Technics. NOTE: Model year is '94, doesn't go below '95 above.