Pleasant sound for background listening

See review

These are a particularly poor speaker for the money. I auditioned a pair of these a Fry’s a few years back. I was aghast at what Bose was passing for a mid-level speaker. Even worse for the Bose, Fry’s had the Pinnacle Ref. Gold Towers sitting right next to them. Like many Bose speakers these are pleasant sounding at the expense of faithfully reproducing the sounds recorded on the CD. They make for decent background speakers and would work well for those who just want sound to blanket the room. That’s fine but for $800+ I expect a lot more. PSB, B&W, Vandersteen, Pinnacle and many other brands make some truly fine speakers in this price range. Why would you settle for “pleasant” but inaccurate Bose when you can get wonderful dynamics and powerful, tight bass from other manufactures? Even the fit and finish is sub-par for an $800 speaker. http://www_dot_audioholics_dot_com/productreviews/loudspeakers/faceoff1.php

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Pinnacle Gold Ref, Meadowlark Kestrel, Maggie MMG, Vandersteen 1

Not one strength that I can think of. The damn things were falling apart in less than a year. At least I got half back when I sold them!

Terrible sound, like someone put a blanket on the tweeters and midrange. These sounded better to me when I was out of the listening room.

Wondered for a long time how come my system sounded less than great after sinking $600 into speakers. Well I got rid of these and got some NHT Superones and a sub to match for half the price. The NHT simply blew this garbage away in every respect, except the NHTs have paper drivers too.

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KEF Cresta 2, NHT Superones, Modified BIC DV62si ($110), JBL Towers each of these speakers is far superior the bose.

Looks, bass, highs, imaging

Placement sensitive, heavy, midrange less than ideal

I recently purchased a pair the Bose 701 Series II's. I like them very much. I have read many of the reviews posted on the net about the speakers and I have certainly found them interesting. First off, I must say that any review that simply calls the speakers garbage has to be discounted if not outright dismissed. While the speakers may not be suited to everybody's liking, they certainly possess attributes that should please many listeners. No speaker is perfect and neither is any individual's perception of sound. Technical measurements that may be appropriate for rating receivers/amplifiers and turntables and tonearms do not necessarily work for speakers. Human ears are not oscilloscpoes, they do not measure spound precisely. So, if you find a speaker pleasing to your ear, and if you enjoy the performance, that's it - the speakers are good for you. That said, when I first got the speakers I must confess that I heard probably all of the negative things that some reviewers have written about them. However, the problems were solved very quickly by some very simple solutions. First, Monster Cable speaker wire made an immediate difference. I also use Monster Cable gold connecters to attach the cable to the speakers. Next, placement is absolutely critical. Too close to the wall and the bass booms. Too far away from the wall and the speakers sound tinny and screechy. Placed just right, they sound beautiful, the bass tightens nicley and the highs and the mids are sharp and clear. In the right room, it doesn't take too much work to place them properly, start near the wall (the book suggests 10 inches out, I believe) take a listen and start moving the speakers out until the sound comes into your liking. Once properly placed, I have found that I do not need to use the bass controls on the speakers at all and I rarely need to adjust the controls on the reciever. If this type of work in setting up the speakers is too much for you then don't get these speakers - they are heavy. Some reviewers have complained about the use of paper speaker cones. I have speakers that are over 30 years old (and in one case, over 50 years old) that use paper cones and have never failed. They continue to produce beautiful sound. I find that the 701's imaging and sound stage qualities are excellent and their ability to fill the room (and house if need be) with clear, strong sound is outstanding. Hey, you are never going to please everybody. But, I think that if you are considering these speakers, approach them with an open mind and let your ears tell you whether you like them or not. Then, either way you will be happy. I think that at today's pricing level, the speakers are a steal.

Bass is great midrange good

Lack of High end sound

Very Good Speaker

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Definitive, Jamo, B&W, Krell

looks cool

sounds uncool

I bought these used at a garage sale. Not bad for $50 bucks. But in my opinion, if I had bought these new at full retail price, I'd be pissed. Thankfully I did'nt. These speakers suck. They sound tiny, boomy, with no midrange at all. The marketing is clever but that's about it.

Similar Products Used:

NHT, Definitive Technology

Overall sound quality.

Sensitive to speaker placement.

I am from Manila, Philippines. What I have is the 701 series 1. In my own opinion, I should say this is the best floorstand speaker at $400-800 range. Bass is tight not boomy, treble is very clear. Most of my friends told me that my sound system is very impressive, even my neighbors too. My set-up composed of a Sansui AU-D5, a 65 watt per channel RMS integrated amplifier. The only problem I encounter is that I cannot put the volume at very high because the amplifier trips, and acitvate its protector circuitry. This I found out due to impedance mismatch of which Bose 701 is a 6 ohms impendance while the amp is 8 ohms or more. But again, this speaker is very very good.

Similar Products Used:

Sansui AU-D5 Sony MDP-455GX Pioneer DV-553K

Bass and Clarity

minimal placement options in very open rooms.

Having read the reviews here, I'm not sure that most people have actually heard a Bose 701.1 in there own home. First of all they do sound much different than most speakers, because they are designed more like a musical insturment than like a "speaker" they have an amazing amount of bass so much so that on some songs I can just feel the bass in the air - very cool. As with most speakers placement is very important, with the side mounted midrange they really do need a side wall near by. Since they do not have a "powered" woofer they are never to boomy and the bass is never over done "like it is in most "powered" subs" if the music has a lot of bass you will hear lots of bass if it has a little bass you will hear a little base. As for the highs that is a matter of taste, I can listen to the 701.1's and just about any other bose product with the volume up to full blast without feeling ear strain! The highs are not overly bright "like almost all 'audiophile' speakers" which makes some people think they have weak highs. I have powered these speakers with 25, 80, and 100 watt amplifiers and they have sounded good with all of them (the 25 watt system is a 10 year old pioneer shelf system so it didn't get very loud) These speakers will literally "rattle the windows" when playing "Lowdown" as done by Jimmy Sommers They have a very "real" sound that no other speaker comes close to duplicating - my opinion. I tend to really like the "Bose" sound and I have yet to find an $800 speaker that sound as good as the 701.1 and anything costing less generally sounds like less. These speakers were a great design, and I was glad I got a pair before they ended production. For the record the 701.2 appears to have been discontinued already, but the 701.1 was sold for almost 10 years! others can say what they will, but not even Bose would make a speaker for 10 years if they were "crap" A very happy Bose owner!

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Bose 201, 301, center channel, and AM-10 Love them all!

Can Blast them without blowing them like my older infinitys.

None that i know of

At $500 these are not bad speakers at all.I only listen to music with these and they don't sound bad.with all the bad reviews i think these still sound pretty good.johnny

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Infinity 500 with power subs.NHT Kenwood vr6070 and onkyo

crisp clear highs, large sweet spot

bass can get a little muddy

This review is on the Bose 701 series II. It appears that most of the bad reviews are on the older 701s. I bought these speakers at Best Buy for about $400 as an open box item. I would not have paid full price for these. The overall sound is bright, the mid range sounds seem to get lost and there is plenty of bass. You can basically sit any where in the room and hear everything clearly. The built in powered subbs take a little tweaking to get the right level of bass. These are great speakers for a home theater set up, not so great for a music only set up.

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Polk RTi100, Klipsch RP-5, Klipsch RF-3

no

nothing but weaknesses

the speakers sucked