I bought a pair of 301's 6 years ago - and was initially quite happy with the vast improvement on the previous cheapie hi-fi we had owned (I bought a Harmon Kardon amp to drive them & Harmon Kardon CD).
However - it boils down to the fact that these things only reproduce a limited band of sound. - if you don't want to hear lows and tape/production/equipment hiss then these are good speakers - but for serious listening you turn the second pair of speakers on your stereo on (I've alternated between Mordaunt short, B&W and Yamaha NS40's (please don't comment on the Yamaha - I KNOW - alright?)

So for seriuos discriminating listening they suck, but for listeng to that old hiss dominated video Tape audio at decent volume - the limited top end turns into an asset.

Three stars for the McDonald's of speakers - useful for the lack of character - although you know it isn't good for you all the time!!!

Note: 8" woofers on REAL speakers like Kef and Vandersteen hit MUCH lower than BOse with a FRACTION of the BOOM distortion. For the 301's price: I'd prefer REAL speakers with tweeters that hit a CLEAN 20khz. A GOOD 8" can hit clean below 50hz.
All Bose does is change the cabinet with the same drivers for the past 25 years. Paper.
Bose gets a GENEROUS two stars. They would get 3 or 4 if they were priced thier realistic value: about $175 a pair.

I am utterly disappointed at the way people unnecessarily talk against BOSE. Agreed that bose does not make the best sounding speakers in the market but definitely make the most compact speakers which can give out more quantity of sound than any other speaker in its size. Ex: BOSE 301 which according to me are definitely not overpriced. They can handle 150 watts of sound which no other speaker in its size or price can. They dont sond distorted either. They give reasonably good bass, i would say as low as 40 htz and crisp highs. i own these speakers and am very happy with the way they perform. Secially at higher volumes they sond really loud, louder than any other bookshelf speaker i have ever heard. To sum up: compact size, good deep and smooth bass, crisp highs, spacious sound, not expensive. Anybody who has a reveiver in the $400 price range should consider buying these. I would give them a five star overall.

I tested these along with my series 4 301's.
series 4 67hz to 18khz
series iii 70-17khz

used a test cd. the series4 picked up bass down to 55hz in my room but not very loud till it gets into the uper 60's.....good response for a 8" woofer...note no 8" woofer is a subwoofer.

I think those "crisp highs" are the batteries in your hearing aid wearing out. It's time to put some fresh ones in.

This review is in response to AJAY GUJRAL from Moscow. I had a pair of 301's as the primary speakers in my home theather setup. I would also be using these for music, so I figured that the 301's would be a good choice. WRONG! I had them for a week and sent them back, fast. You said that the lows went to 40hz. It is funny to me that Bose does not list the frequency responses anywhere in the manual or any where else. They are too ashamed. Where did you get crisp high's coming out of the 301's? There are NO highs. I had to put my ear on the damn tweeter, just to hear it. Not expensive? You've got to be kidding me. Bose is the most overpriced junk on the market. They take 20.00 speakers and put a 300.00 price tag on them. No distortion? Again, you are wrong. I decided to listen to some music, so I popped in a cd and got ready to be blown away with the Direct/reflecting magic. I have never heard so much damn distortion in my life. I only had it about 1/3 of the way up on a piece of junk Pioneer receiver. The Direct/reflecting, is just a marketing tool to make everyone who buys it feel warm and fuzzy. After I sent those back, I purchased a pair of Infinity RS-3's for 215.00 at Netmarket. The Infinity's will blow your 301's away with the greatest of ease. Unlike Bose, they have a 6.5 poly driver (not cheap paper crap like Bose) and a 1 inch silk dome tweeter. As soon as I turned them on, I knew I was in love. Bose says they elimanate the "sweet spot". If any speaker does, it is the Infinity's. I can close my eyes and not be able to tell where the sound is coming from. Oh, by the way, the frequency range on my speakers is 40hz to 20khz. They will more than handle the Bose on every level, including bass. My speakers are smaller and alot heavier, which is an added bonus. The Infinity's are great for movies as well as music. The real kicker is that I paid alot less than the Bose. Better Sound Through Research. HAHAHAHA!!! Bose has some great research going on, with their spring-clip connectors and their paper cones. Everyone is not out to bash Bose. They are hear to prevent newcomers to hi-fi, from making the same mistakes others have made and regreted. Only newbies to hi-fi would make the mistake of actually purchasing Bose. I know, I was there, but only for a week. Infinity is not the best, by any means. Try others, like Paradigm, Polk Audio, NHT, etc. These companies have speakers that sound one hell of alot better than any Bose for less money. If I cannot change your mind by now, than by all means, go out right now and buy the Bose 301's. You will show everyone your lack of sense. Do yourself a favor, pass on any Bose product.
P.S. Notice that all of the Bose lovers on this page cannot spell correctly. NO SENSE!!!

Well, I feel the need to inform some people of the results of my test of the bose 301's. We compared these speakers to a pair of bookshelf speakers I built using a vifa tweeter and seas woofer (they cost approx. $140 to build and about 3 hours of time, they were also my first project and I am not a woodworker). The amplifier was an NAD 310 integrated amplifier, and the sound source was my computer using a high-end midi card.
My friend and I took a pair of his 301's and decided to run some test on frequency reponse, power handling, transient response and harmonic distortion. Our findings were as follows:

Frequency responce: I started with running a test wave through the 301's, starting at 22KHz and all the way down to 18Hz. The first pair of speakers didn't live through this. The output was set to 75 db, (well below damaging levels). The tweeters voice coils melted the second we started, proving that the "protection curcuits" didn't take this kind of test into account. We decided to start at a lower frequency (16.5 KHz), and found that there was little discernable output at this level. We really managed to get a measured response at 16103 Hz. The response had 3 major dips, at about 10 KHz, 3 KHz and 190 Hz. There was an easily discernable bump in response at 95-80 Hz. This accounts for the boominess in its bass response. But it lost any response completely at about 65 Hz.

Power Handling: They obviously couldn't handle any real power. The amp we used was rated for 20 watts, and the voice coils melted on the tweeters on the first test.

Transient response: What transient response? There was none to speak of. The 8" driver and the 2.5" tweeters couldn't possibly have detail at all even if it tried. This was by far the most dissapointing test.

Harmonic distortion: It was horrible, the highest I have measured. I wont go into it, just rest assured that it was easy to tell between my speakers which cost less than half and the 301's.

Conclusion: Don't buy the 301's. There is no way they can compare to the REAL sound you can find out of a traditional 2-way monitor for about $50 less. They are oversized, cannot handle power and in no way can they possibly compare to the best value at their price range, the B&W DM302 which is available for $250 at many good audio stores. The 301's rate no stars, but unfortunately there is no option to do so. Please do take my suggestion and buy the B&W DM302's instead.

None

Limited highs and distorted bass

I have since replaced my Bose 301 Series III with the wonderful Monitor Audio Silver 3's. When I first bought the Bose speakers, I thought I had one of the best speakers in the market. The Bose 301 Series III and even the Series IV are nothing compared to the Monitor Audio Silver 3's and other "legitimate" speakers like the B&W 602, Mission 7 Series or the KEF Q15's. Even the build cannot be compared at all. The speakers just didn't sound detailed enough. I give these speakers one star.

Paid 100.00 for the pair.

None

Just got a pair of 301's and in my bed room they sound awsome. I admit that the bass could be better, but I love the highs, and mid range. I've found that speaker placment can make a big difference with the 301's. best sound for me is about one foot from any wall. I'm happy with my 301's I got mine from a friend for $100. for the pair. I've worked on the road with bands,and done work in recording studios, and I find the sound of the 301's to be clean.I'm Glad I didn't read these reviews before I got them cause I would have been mis lead. But what sounds good to me might not to you.

Economical

Not enough bass

I have had a set of 301's for 3 years
and use them in a home theater setup.
They aren't the best I have ever
heard, but they are fine for my
purposes. I wish they had more bass
to them. For their low cost, I would
recommend them, but their design is
starting to show its age.

Similar Products Used:

JBL