BOSE 301-V Stereo Loudspeakers

Product Description

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Bose 301 Series V Direct/Reflecting bookshelf stereo speakers bring clear, spacious sound to your music and movies. These versatile bookshelf speakers are small enough to fit comfortably on a shelf or in an entertainment center, yet use advanced Bose technologies to convey much of the power of a live performance.
Bring clear, spacious sound to your music and movies with the Bose 301 Series V
In a live performance, music reaches your ears, and your emotions, through a blend of direct and reflected sound. Direct/Reflecting speaker technology recreates this combination to deliver spacious sound similar to what you'd experience in a concert hall or theater.
Unlike conventional speakers that focus stereo effects in a prominent sweet spot, Bose 301 stereo speakers provide "Stereo Everywhere" speaker performance. Proprietary technologies built into Bose's best bookshelf speakers make it possible for you and your friends and family to enjoy balanced stereo sound almost anywhere in the room.
Can also be used as main, secondary or surround home theater speakers Spacious Sound for Movies and More
The Bose 301 bookshelf speakers can also be used as main, secondary or surround home theater speakers. Simply connect Bose 301 speakers to your surround sound receiver and experience exhilarating audio with your home theater components.
If you own a Lifestyle system, Bose 301 bookshelf stereo speakers can help you extend its benefits to another room in your home. Simply connect these stereo speakers and an SA-3 amplifier to your Lifestyle system and enjoy music in one room while family members watch a movie in another--at the same time, from the same system.
Stereo Everywhere in a Compact Bookshelf Design
Bose's Direct/Reflecting speaker technology blends reflected and direct sound to re-create much of a live concert's natural spaciousness. The flared slot port design is engineered to reduce air turbulence. The woofer and port geometry complement each other so you can enjoy cleaner and deeper performance in the lower frequencies, particularly at high volumes. Bose Stereo Targeting tweeters use precisely angled, 2" proprietary drivers to deliver balanced stereo sound, so you can experience lifelike spaciousness throughout the listening area.
Stereo Everywhere speaker performance produces balanced stereo sound over a wide area. The result of proprietary Bose technologies, these speakers let you enjoy balanced sound throughout the listening area, unlike conventional speakers that radiate sound mostly in a single direction. And the compact bookshelf design blends into your décor. Use these speakers for music, or movie sound--they can be used as main, secondary, or surround home theater speakers.



This review is from: BOSE 301-V Stereo Loudspeakers (Pair) - Black (Electronics)
Summary: A pleasant sounding speaker for back ground listening but over priced and out classed by the competition. Tonality is distorted to produce pleasant sound rather than accurate sound. Bass is loose and wumpy sounding. The 301's can shake the room but only over a limited range of bass frequencies. Direct-reflecting design hurts imaging. The combination of bad imaging, unrealistic tonality and loose bass make them a poor choice for home theater. Fit and finish are only OK for the price.

Background: My roommate has a pair of 301s set up in our living room. I have a more expensive "audiophile" type system set up in the side room. Often I think it's hard to get good product reviews off the internet. You either have the people who *hate* the company (pick one) and are out to trash the name or you have people who bought the product and are defending their choice. You rarely have someone who has spent considerable time with the product (not just 15 minute store demo) yet doesn't care if the product reviews well or poorly. As I had nothing to do with the purchase of these speakers I don't care if they are good or bad. I have put effort into proper setup since I do listen to them frequently.

Basically, they are not *bad* but you can do better for the same money. I don't expect these to match the various, more expensive speakers in my side room system while my roommate had these in the living room (Meadowlark Kestrel, Vandersteen Model 3, Magnepan MMG, NHT 2.5i, Pioneer HPM 100). However, I have heard similar priced models that I like better (PSB, Paradigm, NHT, Boston Acoustics, B&W). Many high end manufactures extend their lines and expertise into the Bose price range.


The sound:
Imaging: These really do not image well. As Bose says, these are sound everywhere speakers. That means you have a dispersed sound rather than tight imaging. An orchestra sounds wide and tall... so does a single guitar or the drop of a penny in a movie. This allows the speakers to sounds very big but, unlike some of the alternatives, you will never be able to tell the piccolo player is sitting just to the left of the first flute. This is not really a disadvantage if you aren't the type who sits in the sweet spot to listen for a while. But it can be a problem if you want to use these for home theater without a center channel. On the other hand, this is a reasonable trait if you turn on the music while walking around the house they will be fine.

Tonality: They don't have a very clean tone. Bose has tuned this speaker to make everything sound pleasant if not really true to the recording. Again, if you just want something nice to listen to in the background they will serve this function well. These speakers are excessively warm. They boost the mid bass and roll off the highs. Music will never become fatiguing but you traded realism for that tonality.

Bass: Several compromises were made here. Admittedly, the Bose can make the room shake with a moderately powerful receiver. This was great for college parties and OK for movies but it has limits. First, they have very limited bass range. These speakers do not go deep and they can not present all bass evenly. They favor certain notes over others (one-note bass). They excel at turning Watts into mid-bass but they just can't go really deep. I would guess they are done just under 50 htz. This is not shameful given the size of the speaker and /or price but people are often surprised when they learn how much bass is still left untouched whey they hear better speakers. Additionally, the 301's lack controlled bass. A tight thunderclap sounds like a suggestion of thunder. One of the true marks of a good bass speaker is the ability to *stop* producing bass in a heartbeat. That's what makes thunder clap and a kick drum kick (tight Bang! versus a loose wump like that car stereo next you at the light). The 301's wind up their bass then wind it down when they are done. The price competitive speakers from the companies above are far more nimble with the ability to start and stop quickly. Think of bullet train vs sports car. The bullet train Bose may be fast but it takes a long time get going (generate the desired frequency and amplitude) and a long time to stop. The entry level products from the like of NHT, PSB, Paradigms are like sports cars. Their top speed may not be as fast as the train but they can accelerate, turn and brake quickly (dynamics and transients). Which is better? Well if you just want to shake the room at one frequency go for the Bose. If you want to have tight, crisp bass, get something else.

Home Theater: Due to the warm forgiving sound of these speakers I found them OK for music. Two channel home theater is a different story. Without the center channel it's important to have good imaging. That imaging keeps the sounds on the screen rather than all over the room. The 301's poor imagining comes back to haunt. A single voice or clink of keys becomes the size of a full orchestra smeared across the room rather than staying in the TV where they belong. In addition to the poor imaging, the poor bass is also an issue. The loose wumpy bass does little justice to explosions and mechanical sounds. The "pleasant" tonality strips believability from every day sounds.

Overall I can see people saying they like the speakers because they sounds pleasant. They really work well as relatively low cost background speakers. The problem is they can't deliver anything more when asked. I accept that if they were $150 a pair but given the good choices for the $300+ asking price... well Bose is lucky most consumers don't bother to cross shop or that fewer stores sell the other bands I mentioned.

If you are seriously considering these speakers check out Audioreview dot com. They have good reviews of similar priced products. It's OK to buy them, just cross shop first.