BOSE 201-V Stereo Loudspeakers (Pair) - Cherry | List Price: $218.80
Discount Price: $218.00
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Brand: Bose
Binding: Electronics
Features: - Each 201 speaker includes a long excursion 6-1/2 woofer and a highly sensitive 2 Stereo Targeting tweeter
- Proprietary Stereo Everywhere technology combines direct and reflected sound to deluge the room with beautiful sound
- Unique port geometry for clean bass
- Compact size and horizontal for flexible placement options
- Perfect as front or rear home theater speakers, along with a BOSE VCS-10 center channel & BOSE 161 surrounds ? or a second pair of 201s
BOSE - Buy Other Stereo Equipement [Posted on 2004-01-31]
Bose has made a name for itself through agressive advertising at the expense of quality audio technology. Simply put, there are dozens of audio loudspeakers on the market that outperform Bose at a fraction of the price. This has been a well known fact in the audio industry and among audio buffs for at least twenty five years. Unfortunately the mass of consumers isn't aware of the quality problems with Bose as compared to other speakers on the market. A few years ago Consumer Reports gave an honest appraisal of Bose speakers- ranking them very low. Bose sued and lost. Now all reputable audio magazines such as Stereophile or Absolute Sound stay far away from Bose products. If you are really interested in sound performance and you'd like to stay on amazon.com try JBL, Polk, Wharfedale or Cambridge Audio. While not cutting edge audio, they'll deliver a MUCH BETTER sound performance than Bose could ever aspire to.
The most trusted name in sound? [Posted on 2005-10-07]
About a year ago I inherited a pair of 15-something year old Bose 301's from a relative, and initially I was pretty excited; I knew Bose was a very reputable company, and as far as my mass-media educated self was concerned, they were 'the best'. I got a year or two of good use from them when I decided to upgrade and get a new pair of speakers. Having had good experience with Bose via my series 2 301's I went and ordered these new series 5 201's - I didn't want to shell out the extra 100 bucks for the larger model. I recieved them rather promptly and quickly hooked them up for a test drive. I was rather impressed - they sounded better than my old 301's (which were worth $370 back in their day).
After about a week, I began reading reviews online and generally educating myself as far as $150+ speakers were concerned. I didn't like what I saw; people rated Bose very lowly and I couldn't understand it, they sounded alright to me. So, rather than just shrugging it all off simply as more anti-Bose sentiment, I decided to look into it more. After about another week's worth of shopping around, I ordered a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 8.2 bookshelf speakers for just under 200 bucks. Wharfedale is a highly respected and scarcely advertised English loudspeaker manufacturer that I had never heard of before. When those came I was eager to put them to the test, and see what everyone was talking about.
One word - wow!
Suddenly I got what everyone was talking about! These speakers i paid less for were better, a lot better. They put out 10 times the bass, crisp clean and clear through the whole range. The highs were high and the lows were low, the way it should be. I could tell the difference between a violin and a viola and I noticed for the first time that some dude was playing the maraccas in a song I must have heard a million times over again on my old Bose's.
The bottom line: If you've compared speakers and are happy with Bose's very warm, albiet very restricted sound, then by all means knock yourself out!
But, If you prefer a flexible, dynamic, accurate speaker that isn't afraid to be played really loud, look elsewhere. Check out manufacturers such as Klipsch, Cambridge Soundworks, Wharfedale, JBL, and Polk to name a few. All have similar speaker lines compared to Bose both in size and price range, and they sound a heck of a lot better.
I can't tell you that Bose sucks - because they don't. But I can urge you to listen before you buy, take everything you read with a grain of salt, and highly recommend the Wharfedale Diamond 8.2's.
Nice bookshelf speakers [Posted on 2005-10-26]
I was just reading the reviews people are giving on 201 speakers but after listing to many good speakers in the same price range I found that either others are giving too much bass or too much treble. This speaker is giving a balanced out put of both bass and treble. Off course there are much better speakers than this but the price is also high. I do not recommend to use this as a part of home theater surround speakers (compared to Bose cube speakers) but can be used an additional front speakers to get better sound while playing songs. So in all, these are very good speakers for stereo sound. If possible look for open-items in the shop, they will be cheaper but performance will be same or buy online to save tax. If you get it for $150 or less then they worth money.
Excellent [Posted on 2007-10-24]
The Bose 201's sound wonderful in my large living room space. I listen to classical, opera, jazz and rock. The also provide very nice audio for television. They are compact, classy and have a great sound. I think they are just great.
Unbelievable sound [Posted on 2008-09-08]
I'm shocked at the negative reviews. All thes Bose bashers will make you end up wasting your money on sub-standard products which may do well on some esoteric audiophile test but fail miserably in your living room. I did. After loosing $300, I have learned to believe my ears and bought Bose 201-V as a two front speakers after hearing them out at a local store - even though I was told otherwise by many on AVS forums. This one is not only beautiful to look at but sounds better than anything I had listened to in my 43 years on ths planet.
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