Bose Bad Rap!

[Wattie]

Not the title of a new song....but relates to the comments on here, mainly negative re the Bose system.

I'm no audiophile but I have to say that I think the sound is excellent once you get tired of listening to the exhaust. It's as good as any system I've had in ANY other car....only thing that let it down was my backing vocals!!!

If you are an audiophile, the pursuit of tonal perfection must be a nightmare....and expensive!!!

Cheers Wattie

Just back from my tour of Britain and dropped the car of with Dickie. Performed brilliantly. Had half a dozen people comment on "what a beautiful car" including 2 today that asked to see the engine and then rev it.....seemed rude not to oblige!!!

The ONLY car I've ever had a similar reaction to is the Atom.

 

[ENZ525]

I agree Wattie, very pleased with the sound of the Bose in my QP, sounds excellent

 

[dem maser]

What make is in the 3200?? Not the best.....

 

[Wattie]

Amstrad by the sounds of it!!!

Cheers Wattie

 

[TridentTested]

Yup, I think the Bose in the QP is pretty decent - and it pains me to admit that because I do frequent some hifi forums and there Bose's name is dirt.

 

[dem maser]

Amstrad by the sounds of it!!!

Cheers Wattie

No no its worse than that!!
Got alpine now.....

 

[Wattie]

Yup, I think the Bose in the QP is pretty decent - and it pains me to admit that because I do frequent some hifi forums and there Bose's name is dirt.

Let me guess, you park your car on four pointed spikes each night, one under each tyre

Cheers Wattie

 

[rotorheadcase]

The 3200 is a Becker head and is actually not bad if you change out the poor quality speakers (paper cone MB Quart from memory) and spend a bit of effort with sound deadening and crossover settings. Ive just replaced all of mine with Focal speakers and a small 2 channel JVC amp to drive the front speakers. I couldn't quite get OEM installation as the speakers are a little deep so I had to add the Focal mounting ring on the door with some MDF spacers underneath. I also had to mount the tweeters in a different position on the upper door panel as they are considerably larger than the tiny stock ones next to the door handle.

Absolute night and day in terms of sound quality and sound imaging. The only thing missing from the Becker head unit is decent equalization controls.

Neil

 

[Andyk]

Bose is great...My wife had one in her X5 a number of years back...Great tone and sound quality....

 

[saywellhq]

BOSE quality is fine - I think they get a bad rep as their equipment does fail. I have had several set's of £200 plus headphones and a IPod docking thing and after about 6 months things started to go fuzzy and the sound would be effected.

I do know that on some forums BOSE stands for Buy Other Sound Equipment.

When I was looking for my latest music gadget I came across B&W and their Zeppelin Air and it blows the socks off the Wireless Bose system. They also do (or did) the upgraded stereo in the newer Jags (XKR, XK etc.)

 

[Wattie]

The jag B&W system isn't without it's faults too.

I've read numerous article where there's a reported (and known) buzzzzzz problem in many cars.

Cheers Wattie

Maybe BOSE Stands for

" Best On Sports Exhaust"

 

[MAF260]

The only positive thing I can say about any BOSE in-car system I've listened to is that's it's a marginal improvement over standard basic equipment. The price premium is ridiculous and in no way related to the minor difference in sound quality. The equipment is hampered by manufacturers' speaker placement and sizes, and is built to a (low) budget. A static vehicle is a difficult place to deliver decent sound quality; a moving vehicle makes it almost impossible.
I've recently ripped all of the standard fit BOSE system out of my Alfa GT and replaced it with an aftermarket head unit, speakers, crossovers, amplifier and subwoofer. The difference is astounding and the cost was less than it would be to tick the BOSE box on any options list.

B ugger-all difference O ver S tandard E quipment ??

 

[conaero]

Well, I have mixed opinions, but I know that MAF, having the same Alfa GT with BOSE system, does not agree:

GranTurismo BOSE, pants, pants, pants, gutless and what shocked me, no base
Alfa GT BOSE, makes may ears bleed, bloody powerful and about as much base as I can handle, a truly brilliant system.

Now, as I pointed out, MAF has the Alfa GT with BOSE, and he is a bit more premium about his audio than me and had described it to me as dreadful...and again, others on here has said their Maserati GranT BOSE unit is great, which leads me to think, that my sub is blown or part blown on my Maserati GT...and vice versa with MAF and his Alfa GT.

Just a thought.

 

[MAF260]

Well, I have mixed opinions, but I know that MAF, having the same Alfa GT with BOSE system, does not agree:

GranTurismo BOSE, pants, pants, pants, gutless and what shocked me, no base
Alfa GT BOSE, makes may ears bleed, bloody powerful and about as much base as I can handle, a truly brilliant system.

Now, as I pointed out, MAF has the Alfa GT with BOSE, and he is a bit more premium about his audio than me and had described it to me as dreadful...and again, others on here has said their Maserati GranT BOSE unit is great, which leads me to think, that my sub is blown or part blown on my Maserati GT...and vice versa with MAF and his Alfa GT.

Just a thought.

Matt - we'll have to get together with the Alfas at some point and you can listen to the same track in yours with the BOSE and then mine with the aftermarket stuff. I guarantee you'll have a different view afterwards!

 

[allandwf]

Bose in the ML, sounds great, especially with the sub under the passanger seat. Becker also replaced, in my 3200, but with a Sony.

 

[conaero]

Matt - we'll have to get together with the Alfas at some point and you can listen to the same track in yours with the BOSE and then mine with the aftermarket stuff. I guarantee you'll have a different view afterwards!

Yes, fair enough I expect it will be better, but I still more than happy with the BOSE in my Alfa but not in my GTS.

 

[w5pwr]

I had a Bose system in my 997 Turbo and it was very good, the Bose system in the GT S is quite good when the car is stationary, but as soon as you move off for some reason it seems to loose it's punch certainly as far as the bass is concerned......

I would be interested to hear a car without the BoSE upgrade, it must be really pants.......

 

[drellis]

speakers are the most important part, the 3200 has rubbish speakers, my audi s4 has bose upgrade but still not as good as my saab with harman karnon (or something like that ) upgrade. The problem with the bose in my audi is the overall sound, yes its loud and has loads of base from subwoofers but just doesnt sound great to my ear, its just not lifelike

 

[conaero]

speakers are the most important part, the 3200 has rubbish speakers, my audi s4 has bose upgrade but still not as good as my saab with harman karnon (or something like that ) upgrade. The problem with the bose in my audi is the overall sound, yes its loud and has loads of base from subwoofers but just doesnt sound great to my ear, its just not lifelike

Sorry, disagree with that (soz ) I changed the speakers in the GS, not much difference, changed the drive unit (head) and it came alive. For sure the its a 'Chicken and Egg' thing.......you cant have one without the other but the head unit needs power to be effective.

 

[dem maser]

i replaced my becker for an alpine and it did improve things...i now have a becker that awaits a new home or ill add when selling