Bose Wave Music System - Plantinum White

Rating:
Summary: Bose Got It Right!
Review: After trying this Bose system a couple of years ago, I sent it back because I could not get decent reception from it or other radios I tried in a lower level of the house, so I didn't have the best impression of the unit. After seeing this new, updated model which was just released on September 1, I thought I would give it another shot.

Was I glad I did!!!

While I read mixed reviews on the old model, and people recommending other models, this had the best styling plus a remote. Other recommended models seemed to have depression era styling.

First, the display is excellent. What I like about the new display is that it shows you all the information. This one shows the time AND the station at the same time.

This model now plays CD-R/CD-RW's and MP3 discs. If you make an MP3 CD with the songs in seperate folders, you can play selected folder(s), if you want. The lower level of the display shows the song title and the artist. There are also several play/shuffle/repeat modes from which to choose.

After using different radios, which gave me spotty reception, this Bose gives me perfect reception on almost every station tuned in. That was a big plus, for me.This model also has deeper bass, while the overall sound seemed much crisper than any of my other radios.

It is also an alarm clock and has a sleep timer. Plus, there are jacks for headphones, an external antenna, and auxilary input. The display also auto adjusts, or, you can pick any brightness/dimness you desire for either environment.

What I really like is the room filling sound it delivers with the Wave technology. It's almost like being directly in front of the unit all the time. It is really amazing.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect Product.
Review: I am always wondering how bose comes up with such an amazing product so different from others yet excellent in every issues. I tried my CD collections on this machine and found it did perfectly, especially the bass, I like the balanced the bass: not to much, not too slight. the bass from this machine is deep and tight, the highs and mids are always balanced. It seems that all the musical instruments are in this small box playing for you! sometimes you can even judge the locations of the cello, the singer's breath.

When you adjust the volume to the higher volume, no problem, the sound will not be distorted.

And the radio reception has the talk show mode, makes it so perfect, unlike the boston receptor radio which the human voices muffed because the bass.

I strongly recommend you buy, even though it is expensive, but sometimes you should be a little nicer to yourself and enjoy a little luxurious stuff.

Rating:
Summary: Your ears will be very pleased.
Review: I bought one Bose Wave Music System to compare it with my Henry Kloss 88cd and Cambridge Soundworks radios. It is better, period. I bought the Bose for use at work at Eagle Laundry, Horn Lake, MS where I have a Cambridge Soundworks radio playing all day. When I did the first comparison at home I could no longer enjoy the Henry Kloss at my bedside so I had to order another Bose for work. I could not part with the new Bose. Yes it's that good. The clarity and definition of voices and music is open and undestorted. It's as if the radio itself dissappears and presents only the wonderful sound of the music. Great features like auto dimming display which is fully adjustable continue to entertain even when the unit is off. No battery needed 48 hour memory in event of power failure saves money. Those 9v duracells are getting pricy. I was afraid I would not like to use only the remote for snooze control, but it has not been a problem. The ramp up wake-up alarm volume is also pleasing. This is a very refined, high quality, compact (it was smaller than I expected) multifuntion radio/cd/mp3 player. Very intelligent. The radio reception was fine with some adjusting of the power cord to get the stongest FM signal. My old radio required an external antenna. AM reception was great. My biggest problem was that one Bose Wave System was not enough. Also, Bose is a top drawer, first rate company. Just look at www.bose.com and you can see for yourself. Forget about the price for once and treat yourself to something special.

Rating:
Summary: What a nice contraption for music!
Review: I decided I wanted to listen to radio stations, so I got this radio right here. For only $500, this great sounding radio is... well, great. It picks up radio stations on both AM and FM bands. It's not an XM satellite, though. I know because the stations change whenever I take it to a different area. This thing is so cool and expensive that it should have its own insurance policy. For 500 bucks I expected it to do my laundry too. But then I realized it's not a laundry unit -- it's a RADIO. And what a fine radio it is.

So, the next time you wanna listen to the radio, buy a Bose. It's the most glorious way to spend $499. I don't know why it doesn't qualify for Amazon's free shipping, since it's over $25. But it sure is a nice radio.

Rating:
Summary: Makes music clearer and better.
Review: I GREATLY recommend this product. When ever I listen to a song, the quality of this music system makes me feel the mood of the song. If you listen to a love song, it makes you realize how loved you are. All because of the quality of this box. It lets me feel and hear things that are impossible to hear on other music systems.

Rating:
Summary: Five Stars from a Bose Basher
Review: Yes, you read that right. But before I get to the review, a confession:

As a life-long audiophile, I have long felt that Bose represented the pinnacle of overpriced hype and underwhelming sound quality. The true genius of Amar Bose, in my opinion, is that he has created a distinctive "Bose sound" that appeals greatly to mass market consumers who don't know any better. Spend some time listening to truly good audio systems, and you'll quickly realize that Bose is a high-priced, superbly marketed joke. And unfortunately, I have to live with Bose mediocrity on a daily basis in the form of a Bose audio system "upgrade" in my Acura MDX. (Which I was forced to take as part of the touring package.) It cranks out 'okay' sound at best, and is no where near as good as "stock" audio systems in some of my previously owned vehicles. The most positive thing I can say is that my Acura Bose system sounds better than the Bose system in my friend's Mercedes.

By now you should be getting the idea that I'm the last person in the world inclined to give a Bose product a compliment, no less a five star review. What happened? Well, I was looking for a compact, one piece music system for my home office. And in the world of audio, I realize there is no such thing as a free lunch--designing such a system requires that sound quality be compromised to various degrees along the way. So I certainly wasn't expecting this unit to sound anything like the $10K Sonus Faber speakers in my main rig. What I wanted was good quality sound that, muscially speaking, got the important things right, with no obvious "wrongs."

With these parameters, I quickly realized that there are not many systems out there worth considering. The Cambridge Soundworks 740 soon became my top contender, but I wasn't really happy with it. Yes, it's got bass to spare, but it's bass that I find to be somewhat out of balance with the overall sound, and there's simply no way to tame it. And so, begrudgingly, I decided to give Bose's "New Wave Music System" a listen--after all, I could return it if I didnt like the sound, which I fully expected to be doing. And yet, nearly a month after it arrived in my home, I'm here to sing its praises.

Simply put, the New Wave Music System sounds better than I ever imagined possible with a unit of this size. It's extremely musical and just sounds "right," (whether it be rock, hip-hop, jazz or classical) with many sonic strengths and no obvious flaws. It will easily fill an average-sized room with music, and there's no sense of strain as you push it to higher volumes. For many if not most consumers, the New Wave may be as much "music system" as you'll ever need. One of the downsides to the audiophile pursuit is that you increasing tend to listen analytically, rather than for enjoyment. With the New Wave system, I've rediscovered the pleasure of just popping in a CD and letting it play. I"ve also found both the AM and FM receivers to be quite good, as well.

I really like the sleek, compact design, though I suspect I'll be cursing the "no buttons" approach the first time I (inevitably) lose the remote. And, being always suspicious of Bose's motives, I suspect this design may have been driven by bean counters who saw a way to reduce manufacturing costs by eliminating all on-case controls.

Is it overpriced? Well, if you're the type of person for whom "good enough" is usually good enough, you may want to look elsewhere. But for a product that I truly enjoy using on a daily basis, this was well worth the price. And compared to the insanity of high-end audio, where a 1 meter interconnect can run 3,000 bucks, $500 is downright reasonable.

Overall, I give the New Wave a "Bravo, Bose!" and I'd encourage any audiophiles looking for a small second system to give this a listen. You can always return it within 30 days, but I'd plan on it being a keeper.