stumil

see this ink for a critical but well written article from the guys at Stereophile Magazine:

http://www.analogplanet.com/content/...r-bose-dead-83

FullThrottle64

Go to a Bose store and see if they'll let you listen to your own reference material to check response in various frequency ranges. Then ask for a spec sheet that shows performance specs.

Why won't they play ball? Because there are gaps in every Bose system's response big enough to drive a truck through. They use cheap drivers that create serious response peaks, then use demo material that accentuates the flat ranges and avoids the peaks and drop-out areas. You can do the math on their sub/sat systems and see that there will be a HUGE gap in the low-mid region where the sub can't go high enough and the sats can't go low enough; the subs will get "loud", but are doing so by putting out harmonics, due to the fact that the subs don't actually have a response low enough to reproduce the fundamentals of low bass.

I could go on, but......no Bose for me.

golftime

Great article. Bose has always been and continues to be junk, whether for home or car. I can remember when Chevy first put Bose in the Corvette and failed to include tone or bass controls, arguing that Bose had already designed the proper sound into the system. It was a marketing disaster. Instead of dropping this joke of an audio company, GM expanded the line into other makes and models, and soon other manufacturers joined GM. I had Bose in a Cadillac a number of years ago and it was unlistenable. I currently have it in an Acura MDX and it is barely listenable. Fortunately I never turn it on in the 911. For the life of me I never understood why car companies were so infatuated with such junk.

yemenmocha

I sometimes wondered if it also had to do with placement of speakers because they needed to be adequate for hearing the music while in a convertible, and the coupe is just stuck with those same speaker locations too.

sixgun95

I think it sounds fine, then again I have been flying helicopters for 30 yrs with that said my X5's premium sound system sounds way better.

FullThrottle64

Marketing. Actual performance is irrelevant when you are serving a tremendous commoditized market - name recognition will generate more sales than better sound.

Keep in mind that most current-day buyers think that an iPod with earbuds playing a 128K MP3 is "good sound"......

Chimcu

There's a sound system in the car? I thought that was the exhaust notes

Fahrer

I purchased my car "off the lot" at a dealer and it came with the Bose system. I would not have ordered a car with an upgraded stereo as the 911 is not the ideal environment for a good sound system. Having said that, the Bose system is fine.

rotesAuto

yeah, it's good enough for me for the two or three days per week I actually drive the thing......
if it's so bad why not get a better stereo for your nice Porsche?????

MessyMarvin

It is average at best, but fine for my listening in the car. It is a total rip off as an option, but I bought my car CPO and it was already there. All Sound Systems in cars have ridiculous mark-ups along with most options.

I agree overall Bose is CRAP and is the most over-rated Audio manufacturer, even more so for Home Theater. They make stuff for less than half the price twice as good. Cubes in general are not good for Home Theater, you should only use them if space is an issue.

Quadcammer

I'm actually quite pleased with the bose system in my mercedes. Is it audiophile quality or capable of 150spl, of course not, but it sounds pretty good to me.

TommyV44

I like the Bose as well!

Tom

rodsky

Bose is fine in a car. It's good enough for me..

chris.hanle

I am not a bose hater, I think it is fine. I am not a hi fi guy, just a drive guy.

hurricanesteve

Not great, not terrible. I'm too lazy and cheap these days to replace the whole thing with aftermarket (which I've done in several cars prior). The biggest problem the coupe version has, in my opinion, is the boom-iness in a narrow frequency range from the subwoofer. Some songs (across genres) manage to have a bass guitar or drum that absolutely drowns out the rest of the song (and occasionally rattle my teeth) because of the peakiness of that sub. I stuffed the heck out of it with as much polyfil as I could fit into it and it helped greatly, but it's still very evident on certain songs. It cannot be tuned out with any of the available tone controls. But, hey, who the heck decided that two 6 1/2" paper cones in a plastic box could accurately cover the bass/subbass frequency spectrum? not smart.