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