I think BOSE are ok.
My landlord left a BOSE alarm clock/radio + a BOSE lifestyle sound system in the house for me, when I rented it. The clock radio sounds truly amazing for something so small. The lifestyle sound system is bass and treble rich, and sounds good *enough* for something that takes up such a small amount of space.
Everybody and their dog seems to want to rag BOSE for something. "Buy Other Sound Equipment" is the most common jibe that I get, but it seems to come from people who don't have anything better to do. When I really push the point with some people at work, it turns out that they've never, ever heard a BOSE system.
I went on to buy the Quietcomfort 2 headphones for regular plane journeys, and they were worth every cent, and then some.
I *totally* understand that there is much better sound out there for the money, but I think BOSE represents two things
1) Brand premium/Style. It's well marketed stuff. People perceive it to be high end. Right or wrong, BOSE do marketing and styling well.
2) Unique offerings. I can't recall seeing much else configured the same way - a sub with tiny little speakers and an elegant single control unit, etc.
Here's a site desperate to point out how bad BOSE is:
intellexual net � m k i v
I try to relate it to cars.....
You could argue that car a is much better than car b. But - they are still both cars. One costs more than the other, but each will have a perceived market position and will offer different things. Neither makes the other bad, just for different tastes. Both allow you to drive.
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