Bose 601 Main / Stereo Speaker

I have been a long time hater of Bose and its products, Bose uses old technology and crappy quality drivers, yet sells their products and manipulates the minds of innocent consumers by sleek and well-planned advertising. Recently I went to ABT, and I saw some new Bose speakers in the model line! These included the Bose 601s which have a retail of $600, and the 701s which go as high as $1,000 a pair. Well, later, I decided to go into a Bose store and listen to these speakers in a private listening room. Here's what I found:

Price:
The Bose 601 Series IV weren't as bad as previous Bose speakers that I tried out, they sound better. Well, if you hear these out, you'll easily be able to say, "These sound good." Listen to a pair of another $600 pair of speakers like some from B&W, Paradigm, Magnepan, M&K, etc... etc... And you'll quickly conclude that these speakers are terrible, and yet what was Bose thinking? These are average speakers, and for most average listeners, these will sound decent, but for this price, you can do SIGNIFICANTLY better.

Durability:
Bose makes their drivers out of paper, so if you drive them with too much power or a low quality receiver/amp, then you'll blow the speakers or something like that. However, if you drive them off a decent quality amp with a generous amount of volume, you shouldn't have any problems with these. However, speakers from JBL, M&K, Paradigm, and other brands can handle much more than Bose.

Looks and Styling:
These new speakers look pretty good I must admit. You can also buy the Bose 601 Series IV with a cherry finish. I really must aplaud Bose for their new styling on these speakers, they really took me by surprise! However, looks aren't everything, sound is the most important aspect in a speaker...

Sound:
When I heard these speakers, I really heard the improvement in sound quality compared to other Bose speakers. The Bose 601 Series IV sounded weaker than the 701s, however they still sounded "good" according to many listeners. However, if you plug, let's just say JBL S312 speakers into the same receiver and play them in the same room, the difference in sound quality will be significant. For $600, you can get a lot of GREAT speakers which really steal the spotlight away from the Bose 601 Series IV speakers. The Bose 601 Series IV are powered by a 2.5" tweeter (Called stereo tweeters by Bose) which are completely obsolete now, they provide decent high notes. However, if you play these really loud, you can get migraines from these highs. The Bose 601 Series IV have a 6.5" woofer in the front, and one in the rear for their direct reflecting technology. The bass offered by these speakers is OK, but once you compare these to Magnepans, M&Ks, B&Ws, or other such brands, you'll be laughing so hard at Bose! The sound quality on these Bose 601 Series IV speakers is an improvement, but still a joke compared to other $600 speakers, or even some cheaper speakers such as the JBL ND310 speakers.

Bass:
These speakers can actually create bass. However, JBL for example offers dual 10" woofers plus a dedicated midrange in speakers that cost nearly 50% less than the Bose 601 Series IV! The JBL S312s which can be purchased around the same price as the Bose 601 Series IV have a 12" woofer plus a midrange... The Bose 601 Series IV can create bass, but nothing compared to other speakers.

The Verdict:
You get so much more with other speakers. Sure the Bose 601 Series IV sound better than Bose speakers from the past, but they are still haunted by Boseinosis, extremely high prices which aren't at all competitive compared to other brands. Once again, I must tell you that you can do signicfantly with just about any other brand whether the speakers ccost $300, $400, $500, or $600. Nice try Bose, but you really have to either make truly good speakers or you gotta set the prices right!