I own Bose 301's and have them working on a TV in my study (3rd priority system). As an adjunct to TV sound, they are OK. I would not be serious about having them on a real audio or home theater system. I tried Bose Acoustamas in my early days of home theater. Took them back immediately! They are overpriced junk as most of Bose products are.

Hey all! Ok, I have had these speakers for about 6 years. They are still as good as the day that I bought them. As I have seen on this website with other reviews of BOSE products, this review is not about a NEW product... As I've written above, I have had these awhile. The speakers sound great with the system that I have them hooked upto. I use the standard Audioquest flat white colored speakerwire. These sound better than the Radio Shack wires that I was using, I've had the Audioquest for about a year. People complain about BOSE having to much mid-range, but my experience with these speakers is completely the opposite, these speakers (301 Series III) have good range throughout the audio spectrum. I can hear and feel the rumbling of the lava as it is coming up Dante's Peak, and I can hear the soft but very audible sound of a vial of cologne being used in True Lies. I have had no problems with these speakers in the 6 years of owning them. In my system I use BOSE 141's for my rear speakers. (Yes, I'm only running Dolby Surround) I also use Audioquest Topaz interconnects; and YES, using Audioquest cables for the speakers & interconnects makes these speakers sound a hell of alot better! I love my 301's, and for the forseeable future, I don't see any reason buy something new... Atleast, not until I step upto a preamp/amp setup... These sound great for my DSS and CD's... nuff said..........

Hi all,I've been reading all of your reviews, plus what I could find on various sites :Bose, JBL, Yamaha, B&W, Dynaudio,...but I thought I had to go by 2 standards : first my ears, and secundo my wallet!
I agree that, stand-alone, these aren't the best speakers one can buy,( they can't compete with Dynaudio or B&W or Revox) but quality/price and the system I use kept in mind, they give me great satisfaction.
I use a Yamaha DSP-A3090 as an amplifier, a JBL center speaker, a B&W subwoofer and 4 B&W Solid surround speakers, together with the Bose 301 speakers which I purchased yesterday. The vendor honestly warned me that The Bose 301 speakers did require a sub to support them.
So basically, I'm satisfied with what I bought.

ps : one have to compare apples with apples.

I'm using a pair of Bose 301's that date back to the mid 70's. Original tweeters, but the woofers were replaced in the early 90's.
There are certainly many better speakers than these on the market. But I am in no position to complain about these 301's since they were basically given to me. And, in comparison to the crap speaks I had before, they sound much better. You want real crap, get a pair of Optimus or Jensen speakers.

Anyway. I have these 301's hooked to a Carver TFM-35x with a NAD 1300 preamp. Using AQ-Topaz interconnects.

These speakers need a subwoofer to augment their lacking low-end bass response. However, the higher bass response is good. Midrange quality is good, and the transition to the high end is pretty seamless.

Sound staging/imaging is lacking unless the speakers are probably setup. I would say the "Direct/Reflecting" stuff is pretty much a gimmick. The sweet spot of these speakers is very small, but when you're in it, the sound staging is adequate.

Finally, I must say that the 301's produce their best sound when driven moderately hard. They are inefficient, so turning them up to 33 watt peaks is common for me. At very high volumes the bass response degrades in relation to the high end, but there is no audible distortion even when driving them at the maximum power level of my amp (250W/channel RMS).

My opinion, in conclusion, is that the 301's are a decent speaker given their size, and can be used successfully in a wide range of installations (from rock bottom to midlevel).

When I arrived in the US recently, I was curious as to what America had to offer for stereo equipment. I knew Euro gear, much of it is the very best. I see glossy ads for Bose products everywhere, and I thought I should try this much touted brand.
I brought some 301's home, so I had something until my system arrived from Austria.
These speakers are so bad, I hope that no one who likes these considers themselves and audiophile.
In fact, I cannot think of any European made equipment that sounds nearly as bad.
I beg of Americans, please, shop around. I know that America makes infinately better products, and for less than I paid for the 301's. Wagner would roll in his grave if he ever heard how horrible "Die valkrie" sounds coming out of Bose.
One star, because almost everything is better.

AS I was reading through the Bose 301 III I noticed so much dowplay on the speaker. First they are not crap. This speaker sounds great for the size that it is. Of course it isn't going to have the ablity to go into the low 30 HZ range. Second the bass reponse is good but not great because it has a eight inch woofer. So other speakers that were comparied to the 301 III have ten or even twelve inch woofers. Yes the speakers will have better bass responce, they move more air. Bose doesn't speicalize in bass reponce. There logo is,"Bose Better sound through researsh. The other people that like to side with Audiophile, do they know what the hell there taking about. Do you people know how far to position your speakers from each other? Do you know how far fro the wall to position them. This all makes a difference. Buying Monster Cable will incress the sound of your speakers too. If one sits down puts in a cd of lite listening music with the bose 301 IV they sound pretty dam good. I an not being discriminationg I like all kinds of music, but playing, Rap, most dance music, and any music with a heavy thumping will get disorted or many even damage speakers such as the 301's.

If you are considering buying good sounding speakers, don't listen to theseother idiots, listen to the speakers yourself (what type of "audiophile"
buys a speaker without listening to them...stop complaining). Personally,
I love my 301 IIIs. I was able to get them at a Bose outlet at a closeout
of $200/pair. I personally love the soft, clean, spacious sound that that
the 301s offer and the 8" woofers deliver clean, solid bass.

People either love Bose or hate them; check 'em out for yourself!

I'm not going to insult anybody's intelligence by calling them an idiot, but i can say that these are easily the most annoying speakers i have ever heard. they sound awful. i'm not even going to go into it. my dad got a pair free, and i've never heard worse speakers. i'm sure there are a few people who like them, but to anyone who is looking to buy them, listen to them first, you most likely not buy them. i would give a 0 if i could... seriously.

I bought a pair of 301's around 1989 my only complaint with them was they are a pain in the butt to place. I recently replaced them with a pair of klipsch ksb.3.1's. the new bose line is pretty weak. I GAVE my 301's to my brother, about a week later they were back on my door step. he said he will use his old speakers because they have better bass. his old speakers are a pair of fisher 35 watt speakers bought from woolco before they went out of buisness circa 1982. I can't even give them away. at this point i would not own anything with the bose name on it for the same money you can get ALOT better pair of speakers. $300 for a alarm clock radio WHATS UP WITH THAT?

My last point on this pair is that they are a pretty good starter speaker and relatively affordable right out of high school and college. As you accumulate wealth (hopefully), you can use your disposable income that you'd never had to buy up.
Juan, chill. I was just kidding. I just do not know how to put that smiley face after what I wrote. In fact, I thought the increase in volume level is
inversely proportional to your satisfaction.

I am with you on the B&W. I have the Matrix 803s and HTM center, ASW3000 subwoofer. I wentr M&K Tripole for rears.

Anyway, I have to give this a 2 because what would there be left to give some of the really bad speakers you can get at Best Buy or Circuit City. Just think about it for a minute. Here is what I think the definition of the ratings is:

1 star- Flat out bad; anyone buying is making a serious mistake and will be back within a week for a trade
up.

2 starts- poor to fair. If you buy these, you will be anywhere from disatisfied
to a feeling of being cheated but willing to live with it because "how much do I listen to it anyway. These people, and we all know some, are the ones who proudly show off these to family and friends during holiday time. More than likely, one will be behind a chair and the other on a ledge BEHIND and out of sight completely because of a Christamas Tree. They also have been known to place that FTD Holiday Bouquet and vase they received from their bosses.

3 stars- fair to good- an ok speaker that satisfies people for the most part. Depending what music is playing, it will sound pretty good. They even would make good home theater speakers depending on the components they get.

4 stars-good to excellent- we are talking solid. Anyone will find these very enjoyable and usually quite pricey. A lot of A/V fanatics are real dissappointed that they cannot afford them right away but somehow get them home. They find themselves charging it on the Master Card or buying on the store credit for a 6 month same as cash, thus delaying the pain and hardship of having to tell your wife what you owe. These people probably stick with thes and when they replace buy pretty much the same thing.

5 stars-excellent to outright state of the art where it just doesn't get ANY BETTER-this is where everyone will like to be. Sometimes they even lie about it to impress others. These are the B&W Matrix and Nautilus and run very expensive. As the owner of the Matrix 803s, I honestly fell they are in this category!

There you have it. Just one man's opinion on ratings and what something like Bose REALLY deserves when compared to others. After all, they are the best sounding and best selling speaker at Best Buy.

Happy listening, Juan! Enjoy the family and friends during the Holidays!

Sincerely,

Buzz