
"Great Sound System" 2010-05-24By
Rec2010 (Pittsburgh)
I love my Bose. I bought it about 6 years ago. I have not had any problems with it. As a Recreation Therapist I use it daily for Music Therapty and my patients love it! Am thinking about purchasing another one for my home, since this one is used on my job. I often listen to talk shows and the voices are very clear, and my CD player is Great.
Try it, Your love it!
"A REAL Review of the Wave Radio" 2010-05-21By
S. Allen (Raleigh, NC USA)
Many of these reviews (especially on the Graphite color one) are from either people that have no idea what they are talking about, or in a couple of cases are from the "I Hate Bose" fanatics that for some odd reason just can not stand the way Bose sells their product and for top dollar. This comes from the "price protection" they force on resellers, which is why this Radio is going to cost you $350 period, no matter where you go. That is where most of the "I hate Bose" manure comes from, not from the actual sound or quality of the product.
I have the older model, I bought the original Bose Wave Radio about 12 years ago.
It has the controls on top and also the small remote. I have in 12 years never had a single problem with any part of this radio.
At least not a problem that wasn't easily solvable, such as these radios are extremely sensitive to power fluctuations, if your power pops for even a split second these radios start blinking and you have to reset which is not good if you use it as an alarm clock. This small problem was solved by hooking it up our Battery Backup power supply for our PC, which BTW we have 2 of them and have everything in the room hooked to them, both PCs, TV, Bose Radio, everything in the room almost is hooked to them. Problem solved.
Several are complaining about "poor reception" yet none of them have their radios hooked up to a good External FM Antenna, WELL DUH!.
There is not a single radio or tuner on the market that gives really good radio reception without a very good External FM Antenna, none, nil, nada, ZIP.
Bose using the power cord as the antenna is about as good as it gets if used properly but is no where even close to as good as a nice FM antenna and is not supposed to be which is why they have a very good FM Antenna Connector on the back and why they tell you to connect a good FM antenna to it on page 13 of the manual. DOH! Problem solved.
The remote works great, I have the same remote I got with it 12 years ago even has the very same battery in it which is amazing although now since I said that Iam sure the battery is going to finally die after 12 years. I just tested it with the 12 year old battery and it works at a measured 16' away.
I have an old Discman CD player hooked to mine, occasionally hook my Iphone to it, have hooked to it our 24" Samsung HDTV we have downstairs in our dining room that we watch when eating dinner. The 24" Samsung has horrible sound from it, I mean you can set the sound to like 25% and then turn it up to 50% and there is hardly any difference. With the Bose Radio hooked up to it, it sounds fantastic and also gives us a nice radio and clock right there while we are eating dinner.
As for the sound itself, will this replace your 100+ Watts per channel 7.1 surround sound $3000 sound system? Ummm NO!
It isn't supposed to, it is a Radio Alarm Clock! but as Radio Alarm Clocks go it is a damn good one and I have never heard another one from any manufacturer that sounds better, or even as good especially for its size.
Considering the use we have gotten out of ours, Alarm Clock, CD player speakers, Great simi portable speakers for Iphone, excellent speakers for our small TV that we obviously are not going to hook up to a full sound system etc. Plus the fact that after 12 years of continuous use it is just as good today as it was 12 years ago, still looks brand new, sounds brand new and if we wanted could sell it on Ebay for damn near what I paid for it 12 years ago. I dare you name another Radio Alarm Clock that you could do that with.
To me was well worth the money I spent on it many years ago.
Also one thing to think about as far as Bose sound quality.
In high end cars like most Mercedes, Porsche's, Lamborghini, Bugatti's, Ferrari's etc all have Bose speakers in them.
They pick Bose for a reason, it is because they sound damn good and play at a specific frequency response that sounds the best to "Most People".
It is true that many so called "audiophiles" do not like Bose "Systems", this is because most of these types like to "fiddle" with various frequency responses, the ability to mix and match their equipment, to play with settings, etc. You cant do that with the lower end Bose equipment.
Classical and jazz music listeners probably prefer the Bose equalization more than most because it focuses on precision on the higher end of the listening spectrum.
They make outstanding High End speakers also, their 901's are great, even audiophiles that otherwise are riding the I Hate Bose bandwagon right off the cliff pretty much shut up when they listen to properly set up 901's.
All in all this is an excellent very well made, will last a lifetime if cared for, Radio Alarm Clock.
Can you get something that sounds "almost" as good for cheaper? Yes. I have read that Cambridge Soundworks i745 sounds "almost" as good to "most" people, some even think it sounds as good and you can get them for about $100 cheaper.
I have also read many complaints about those units screwing up rather often, I NEVER hear that about Bose, sure you hear ding a lings that don't know to hook up an antenna that it gets poor reception, you hear a complaint that the new one doesn't have controls on top, it cost too much etc. BUT you virtually never hear that the Bose Wave Radio just stopped working or that they have any real mechanical problems with the unit.
That BTW is why it sells for $350 and is why Bose sells it the way they do with price protection, it is made in the USA with high cost labor, using high cost parts.
Ones like the Cambridge are made in China and you get exactly what you pay for.
"Incredible Sound from such a tiny and easy to use package." 2009-11-11By
Estima (New York City)
I have owned this for a couple months already. The sound is incredible for the size. It reaches highs and surprising lows. There's not too much kick but its a trade off for a lower end. I use it to wake me up in the morning and as my laptop speaker. The aux input could have a little more gain as its never below volume 40, even when im sitting less than a foot away from it. The bass is incredible from a single standing unit like this. Once its in a corner, its loaded well. Thats when you can get the most low end out of it. The mids are a little neutral/recessed and the highs are a teeny bit lacking but there when they need to be. It can throw a soundstage although small, its detailed. A great track to test its soundstage and low end is "Return of the Jedi"-Williams: Return of the Jedi: Finale-Charles Gerhardt/National Philharmonic.
This little radio is perfect for portability as well. Its only 8 lbs and easy to hold and pack when it needs to go around the house and out of it. The display is very bright and has an auto dimming feature which is awesome! I love the no buttons design as there is much less to go wrong with the unit. The remote is easy to use and hold. The am/fm reception is great! the only problems i have is the interference from my ipod touch when its on.
I listen to various types of classical music, hiphop, pop, R&B, Contemporary Christian.
If you're looking for a very round package, this is it!
"Pricey, But Exceptional sound and performance" 2009-01-12By
Ace (East Coast)
This is a solid performer. Great sound, great fidelity, great speakers.
My mornings are all the better because of this one mainstay -- my Bose -- no matter how rotten my morning mood may be, my Bose mellows out my morning long before I am able to mellow out myself.
I have no complaints about the reception -- it sure beats fiddling with an antenna -- or in the case of the system (NON Bose) that I have in my bedroom -- fiddling with the electric cord, or, of all things, a loong skinny wire -- to get better reception.
My Bose is a happy little self-contained unit that just keeps going and going and going......
"Bose Radio" 2008-03-27By
Richard A. Neider (Motley, MN USA)
Excellent radio and reception in this mostly rural area. The sound is the best. The radio is pricey but well worth it.
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