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You won't find too many Bose fans around here, but plenty of help hopefully. You didn't mention size though (or price). If it's to be mounted on the wall, does that mean they want them, to be as small as possible, unobtrusive, or none of the above? If it's "disappear" I'd try HARD to NOT get anything cube-like (which all are suck IMO) but instead suggest in-wall, or some nearly flush mounted speakers, which sound much better. In the past in-wall was for restaurants or stores, but over time some really quality designs have come around.
A few links to get you started...
InWall Speakers
Audio Advisor In Wall speakers
The only thing I'm sure of is that he won't be cutting holes in the walls to mount speakers ( I'll definitely be looking into it for myself though, thanks!). I just wanted to use the Bose 301's as a reference for the general size of speaker/price range. From what I understand there are better alternatives for a similar/better price.
ETA: How about these Bowers & Wilkins speakers. So far I've seen the 685, 610, CDM1 SE. They all look about the right size for his purposes. Any good? I'm way out of the loop here, I'll definitely hear any suggestions.
Most of the B&W has been a difficult load for too many amplifiers with the result being less than average sound quality for what you pay IMO. If your friend's system has a pre amp output or can be configured to run outputs directly from the source player(s), consider these powered speakers; http://stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/1207ae/
You might also check the Stereophile Recommended Components listing for speakers in your price range. Or do some cruising here; http://stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/index.html
Have you looked at any of the Paradigm or PSB speakers?
Paradigm's "Mini" Monitor's or PSB's "Alpha B1 or CLR1" Monitor line would be in the same price range and size while being of better quality than the Bose and shouldn't be that hard to find locally.
I really appreciate Robert Reina's series of reviews of inexpensive speakers. I bought some Infinity speakers based in part on his recommendation, and they have given me loads of love in return. Check out his reviews for a wealth of information and guidance!
Since your friend wants speakers close to (or hanging from) the walls, you might want to look for something with either no port or a port in the front, rather than a port in the rear. Stereophile's reviews have recommended "monitor" (i.e. smallish) speakers by Polk in the latter category and NHT in the former.
The PSB Image B25 is in closeout right now for $319/pair delivered at Saturday Audio Exchange. About as well as you can do for that price, undoubtedly.
http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/1204psb/
Right on, thanks everybody, keep em coming! Man I've got a lot of research to do.
Do you think these small speakers will be good enough to listen to opera in a room 15x25 while doing dishes? The wire's going running about 30' from the receiver its going to be running off.
This is a really nice line of speakers, IMO. I have some EVO 10's- these are the 2nd gen.
http://www.wildwestelectronics.net/wharfedale-evo2-10-bookshelf.html
Good luck!
Having purchased a rather cheap set of DynAudio speakers lately, the DM2/7 entry level boxes, I have to recommend any speaker from the entry level of the DynAudio brand. There are small boxes with a 5,5" woofer (DM2/6), 6,5" woofer (DM2/7), 8" woofer (DM2/8) and 10" woofer (DM2/10), all with a superb sound for the money, fairly small in size (especially the DM2/6), can be wall mounted with the rear port plugged, and a nice and easy load for most amps. Just my 25 cent...
Too bad the DynAudio DM2/6 is three times his price point.
I picked up a used pair of Bose speakers once and used them for TV viewing. They worked out quite well. Ended up giving them to somebody because his speakers in his garage were a joke. I replaced them with a pair of Energy bookshelf speakers. But no joke, those older Bose speakers were not bad speakers. Bose sort of gets a bad rep because they won't release any viable data on their stuff. Basically, they are good at taking a cheap loudspeaker and getting the most out of it through cabinet design, which are generally designed to include wall hanging. A lot of people buy Bose because of the name and it's association with MIT. Which, we all know I have an opinion about if you can ever find my very first virgin post on these forums.
Are you talking about the Audio Classics that specializes in MacIntosh gear? If so I'd be very surprised to hear of them carrying Bose speakers. If you know what you want Audiogon or Craig's List may be worth looking into.
Bose for the most part get's a bad rap from audiophiles who associate them with far overpriced mid-fi. The thing to keep in mind is that they are often paired with terrible amplification and cheap cables - especially on display at stores.
With a nice complementary amplifier and quality cables they can sound very nice and musical. Just keep in mind that they never sound "hi-fi" at all. They tend to sound "pretty". And for a cocktail music environment that's probably actually just what the doctor ordered.
Find a dealer who doesn't mind if you return them and set them up. If you like them - they are right. Bose are easy to drive, easy to place, and sound nice. Just remember they are not "hi-fi" the the traditional sense, imaging, timbre, detail, etc., but if you like them buy them. They tend to be very pretty sounding in the musical sense, tone, finesse, coherence - and don't overload rooms in the upper bass range.
Bose is a great marketing company that makes mediocre (at best) speakers. First of all, I believe that most would agree that they start their design from a flawed premise. They've always said that 7/8 of the sound we hear is reflected, as apposed to direct sound. This is why most of the drivers in a 901 face in odd directions. Ask anyone from Bose where this number comes from and they can't tell you. This is creating false space as apposed to recreating the space that is actually captured on the recording. Then you have their active equalizer that is there to compensate electronically by forcing drivers past their physical limits to get a "big" sound out of a small box. This MUST create distortion. This is only one of the products, the others are equally flawed.
Then you look at their tendency to sue people for the most goofy reasons. They sued CEDIA (Consumer Electronics Design and Installation Association), a trade association of which they are a member for the use of the word "Lifestyle" with respect to audio. Years ago they sued Thiel because they used that same model number. Which is just stupid because the whole idea copyrights is to avoid confusion in the market place. Who in the world is going to confuse Bose and Thiel? Especially when the speakers looked completely different and were designed from a completely different technical point of view?
The following is from Wikipedia, "In 1981 Bose unsuccessfully sued the magazine Consumer Reports for libel. Consumer Reports reported in a review that the sound from the system that they reviewed "tended to wander about the room." The District Court found that Consumer Reports "had published the false statement with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of its truth or falsity" when it changed what the original reviewer wrote about the speakers in his pre-publication draft. The Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's ruling on liability, and the United States Supreme Court affirmed in a 6-3 vote in the case Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union of United States, Inc., finding that the statement was made without actual malice, and therefore there was no liability for libel." I can't believe that they sued someone for a bad review!
Then you look at their draconian approaches in retail such as insisting that their products MUST NOT be set up where they can be actively demoed against other brands and their Secret Police tactics of demanding that managers fire sales people that say anything remotely negative about their brand ON THE SPOT or risk being cut off as a dealer.
Oops!
Here's a thought.
Caveat: I haven't spent nearly the time with decent speakers that most folks here have, and no time with the high end, so my judgment is bargain versus bargain (plus 53 year old ears recently punched into submission by my daughter's noise/hardcore band.)
Still, for $37 shipped I like 'em.
Scott A.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-20005175-47.html?tag=mncol;title#comments
A pair of Dayton B652 bookshelf speakers matched with a Dayton SUB-120 HT Series subwoofer one might have a nice full range system for under $200 delivered.
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-652
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-635
I know this is a very old post but I came across it and I just have to chime in, I have very sensitive ears and can hear different quality of sounds at a very subtle differences, anyways I'm not sticking up for Bose, but I do have a pair of Bose 301 Series III and I have to say, they put out high quality sound even in todays standards. I do want to eventually get a more updated hi-fi system but for now they do well.
Old thread, to be sure.
The Dynaudio suggestion was spot on, and now that the Emit M10 is out there, it becomes a no brainer when one has to consider price + space/size + sound quality.
Port bungs allow some flexibility in placement.
Honestly, a set of older Bose 301 might be perfect for the OP's purposes. I had a series III dumped on me by parents who got them free from an uncle. First time I heard them, I was blown away by the *instantly enjoyable* sound. I ebay'd them for higher-end gear but never heard anything like them. They're especially perfect for non-critical background music, which is 99% of the typical person's listening (I find that people pay attention for the first minute, then focus on what they're actually doing). An opera singer friend may or may not care about audio gear, and it's nice that Bose is a recognized brand (always a plus when making a recommendation to a non-audiophile). Plus Bose has great resale value if the friend outgrows them. That's my two pragmatic cents' worth...