Three short sentenses and then my review...1. I love music.
2. I love my music.
3. We should all let eachother love their music.

While I can understand the average audiophile (I'm not a -phile, I just love music) being generally disgusted with the lack of auditory palate among the masses, I think that many audiophiles suffer from a similar lack of sofistication when it comes to their topics.

I own a pair of 301's. I paid $230 for them at Circuit City some three years ago. I'll admit that before that, I had only owned 'boomboxes' or the like... so my first impression of the 301's was colored. However, I've had three very influencial years since then. My ears have grown.

I rarely hear much in the way of qualifications on these posts, but I'll point out that I majored in music in collage. I worked as a sound engineer in the theater. I have perfect pitch and play piano, guitar, clarinet a a bit of percussion. I know what these instruments 'sound like'. But more importantly I know what I like.

And this is the whole of the issue... I don't know that there is such a thing as 'perfectly reproduced sound'. Those of you who know acustical physics understand that no conical piece of paper can duplicate the resonance of a french horn.

Long ago I gave up the persuit of the perfect recording. Now I persue the recordings I enjoy. I enjoy my 301's. When I listen very critically, I do notice the lack of upper harmonics (particularly when the instruments being played have important harmonics... like the clarinet).

But you know what? I turn on the bass assist on my pioneer amp and when necessary tweek the treble a bit... and thoroughly enjoy the result. I cannot fathom spending $20,000 on an amp (even a whole system). If for no other reason than this... there's no such thing as a $20,000 performance of music.

If the source is only worth $20.00 ... what do you expect to accomplish with better equipment? I find that I need equipment to compensate for the poor source. But that sort of equipment (eq's et al.) is generally vilified in these forums.

Stereo systems are like instruments, you don't need a strat to enjoy playing the violin. You need expertise and taste. The rest is a waste.

Ok, so this was as much an editorial as a review... but the point is that I have a ligitimate ear... and my ligitimate ear (knowing the minor shortcomings) appriciates my 301's. Will I upgrade... maybe... but does it mean that the speakers are horrible? no way.

Remember 90% of the systems on the market (and in people's homes) are 'horrible'. I think you guys need to all learn to appriciate the incredible gift music is and get off your critical bandwagon every once in a while. ENJOY MUSIC!

I heard a pair of 301's at a party recently, it was the first time I'd heard Bose domestic speakers. In Australia, Bose dominates the PA and weatherproof market, but domestic speakers (for real audio) tend to be dominated by companies like B&W, Krix and Duntech. All very yummy speakers (especially Krix who won the contract to fit out all of the major cinema's in Australia. I must say I was somewhat dissapointed with what I heard, the speakers did not seem to be manufactured very well, they looked and felt very flimsy, which we all know affects sound quality (especially bass). So for the record, Bose seem to know speakers when it comes to PA but not the home. You could easily do better. Disapointing.

I used these things last year and ended up having to ram them tight into the corners to get any bass out of them. Not to bad with the high end though but way overpriced. Bose should try putting the money into traditional design instead of 'innovation'. Only cost me £25 though so I can't really complain.

Buzz, out of college, I too was limited on funds, so I mailordered a VIfa kit and built a set of speakers FAR superior to Bose 301's for the paltry sum of $189. You have fine gear, no doubt. But were I to put a thouroughbred (B&W) against old paint [Bose] then Bose still equates to one star.
I commented on the typo, because I see that a great number of people who OBVIOUSLY do not own real gear, and CANNOT express thier skewed point of view seem to like Bose.
There is no possible comparision between Bose and your setup, I could hear the difference in a blind a/b with any material in seconds.
The Bose 301, and old 601 were the closest to conventional, and ergo best sounding Bose has to offer. They are still easily beaten in thier price bracket, so other than making sound, they still rate low on the quality scale.
Speakers right off the top of my head for $225-$300 that kill the 301's:
Vifa kit
Boston Acoustics
Klipsch
Paradigm
Mirage
Snell
NHT
Infinity
JBL
Energy
Polk
and so on. All use real drivers, all cost the same or less than Bose with it's paper whizzer [twiddler] cones. All are more coherent, and clean than Bose.

I think the 301 series III are excellent speakers. I mounted them on 40 inch high stands that I built out of steel. They seem very clean and spacious in their sound quality.They fill my 20 by 18 ft. room easily. They are matched up with Cambridge sound works powered and slave subwoofers.Excellent power and authority.

I almost laughed outloud at David Dinkins' review of these Bose 301ii speakers. So let me make this simple; lets use your analogy, shall we---on cars; since the average person spends about $2,000-$4,000 on operating costs for a car (gas, oil changes, etc.) we all should be driving $4,000 cars, shall we not? Why a $4,000 automobile can do all the basic things a $60,000 car can do: brake, steer and accelerate. What gives? There will always be a market for the honda's and nissans of the world, but there will always be the existence of a BMW, an Audi, and so forth. Applying your way of thinking is simply dumb.Enjoy your Bose's they all suck. High end rules!

Equipment Used:NAD 314 Intergrated
NAD 524 CD player
AudioQuest TOPAZ Interconnect
10 gauge speaker cable (from home depot)

In a fairly small room, bedroom 10x14 with cathedral cape ceiling, this setup with Bose 301's can put Paradigms, Energys, and other hi-end bookshelves to shame. If you've ever heard a pair of these, you will know exactly what I mean when I say the high frequencies are unbelievably crisp and clear. The bass transmission design in the speaker can greatly enhance the lower end frequencies (even when levels are flat), which is very difficult to do in a small room (without the hassle and poor quality of a subwoofer). I have the speakers hung on the wall 20" from the ceiling, and have yet to hear a better sounding pair of bookshelves for under 600-700 range in a room this small.

Definetely recommend for bedroom listeners, or any other room where accoustics are poor.

Bose is decent but overpriced. On the used market, they are probably 3 (stereo/star) value. However, Bose sound is overmarketed and is not worth buying new.

I bought my Bose 301's based on what my friends were buying to replace my existing Yamaha speakers. A friend of mine came over and said the phrase I'll never forget "no highs, no lows, must be Bose". Admittedly I've found speakers in specialty shops that are better but none that are in the price range. Also I like the design, which is great for wall mounting. Over the past couple of years, I have compared them to the various Circuit City speakers and I haven't found any brand that makes me think I got ripped off. Admittedly I do have a powered subwoofer but I never intended the Bose to drive the bass in my system to begin with. With the strong midrange I ended up mounting one behind my TV as a center channel speaker too.
From these responses I've read, I equate these reviews to Linux users bashing Microsoft in their thinking they are true computer geeks. Strange analogies aside, for the listener who is ready for more than Optimus or Jensen Bose is a safe bet.

Though it has been a while when I heard this speaker (see my review under 301s) if you can get to Radio Shack try to buy the closeout on the Pro-LX8 (2-way 8" woofer/Lineaum Dipole Tweeter) or the Pro-LX10 (3-way tower with 2 7" bass drivers, one sealed and one ported, and a Lineaum Dipole Tweeter). The 301 is limited in frequency range reproduction, very boomy, harsh treble, and muddled midrange and costs about $299-319/pair and use paper drivers and spring clip connectors. The Optimus speakers mentioned are boomy at high volumes, great treble (Lineaum Tweeters), clearer mids, and cost originally $199/ea for the Pro-LX8 (now some stores $59-69/piece) and $299/ea for the Pro-LX10 (now some stores $99/each since they are on close out) both of which use Polypropelyne Woofers (never age rot and moisture proof) and use gold-plated binding posts. For those of you who never heard either of these speakers try not to listen to them at RS (almost always improperly set up) because they place them too close to the wall (the back of these need to be a 1'-1.5'+ from all walls similar to the Bose 301s and 501s) and can be auditioned at your home (you have up to 30 days to return them as RS policy plus they have 5 year warranties). Like the 301s they need a sub support to hit the super lows but they simply outperform the 301s vastly (really do listen) though they are somewhat larger and most best of all cheaper to boot.