| My friend was looking for bookshelf speakers. | | | | brought out a lot of detail in the music. |
| He didn't have a big budget but wanted a | | | | |
| well-known brand that he could flaunt. On my | | | | The speakers were a trifle big for the |
| advice, he settled finally for Bose 301 | | | | bookshelf, so we had the option of mounting |
| Speakers. Here's why: | | | | them on the walls of the room. In the end, we |
| | | | decided to place them at ear level, on |
| I knew that Bose has been around for many | | | | elevated stands, on the floor, and a bit away |
| decades and is well-known for its "anywhere | | | | from the walls, to allow the sound to |
| stereo" effect. | | | | 'bounce'. We got a 150W subwoofer to go with |
| | | | the Bose 301, and the impact was fantastic. |
| What is "anywhere stereo" anyway? This simply | | | | As my friend loves to watch DVDs, and listen |
| means that the speakers will deliver the same | | | | to jazz and Hip Hop, when he's not savoring |
| sound, no matter where they are placed in the | | | | Mozart or Beethoven, this was a good decision |
| room. | | | | he made. |
| | | | |
| Actually, the company itself was founded on | | | | We found the bass punchy, although the bass |
| the "Anywhere Stereo" premise. The founder, | | | | tends to become a little unresponsive at very |
| Amar Bose, then a student of MIT, bought a | | | | low frequency. The stereo imaging reasonably |
| pair of speakers, about fifty years ago. He | | | | good, although people had warned us there |
| wasn't satisfied with the sound, because | | | | wouldn't be any, given Bose's "anywhere |
| they, in his opinion lacked | | | | stereo" premise. |
| 'psychoacoustics'. | | | | |
| | | | If there's one genuine complaint I have about |
| Bose used his technical know-how, to devise | | | | these speakers it's this: there's too much |
| his own set of speakers, and that gave rise | | | | treble. |
| to his company, Bose Corporation's motto of | | | | |
| "Better Sound Thorough Research". In keeping | | | | The price at less than $400 was well within |
| with this principle, the company is said to | | | | my friend's budget. But that wasn't the only |
| spend over $100 million, every year, on | | | | reason we bought these speakers. Nor the fact |
| research. | | | | that my friend was getting a world-class |
| | | | brand for the price. I seriously considered |
| The speakers don't look good in a | | | | the performance of the speakers. If you enjoy |
| conventional way, but conventional is boring! | | | | good music, you will appreciate that what |
| Some may even say they don't look esthetic. | | | | matters is your enjoyment of the music, |
| But there are many who don't agree, as what | | | | finally. If you close your eyes, and don't |
| is esthetic to one needn't be so, in somebody | | | | like what you hear, don't spend your money! |
| else's opinion. | | | | |
| | | | I almost forget to tell you something that |
| I found that the speakers had 8-inch woofers, | | | | will enhance your listening pleasure. Use an |
| and though I was not very impressed with the | | | | amplifier delivering at least 200 watts of |
| paper cones used in the speakers, I must | | | | power on each channel. |
| admit they had an impressive sound, and | | | | |