iggystar

First, I did a search on BOSE and was able to get a general vibe about their product. But, I specifically want to get your viewpoint on the wave radio/CD player.

A friend of mine spent her last bit of savings on this, $500!!!! Ok, I like electronics, but couldn't believe it. She went on and on about how when you hear the sound it will be a life changing event, I would have to get one for myself. I'm thinking $500 for a single CD player, it would have to be an earth shattering event for me to put down that much.

From what I've read the general consensus is that other products can be found with the same quality for less, that BOSE is more marketing hype. I need your opinions and suggetions on other products. I'm not skilled at putting together electronics, so if there is anything comparable that is compact, let me know.

Thanks!

Brian Shannon

I don't know what kind of a response you expect.

Shop around and LISTEN to some products. I can tell you what I like but I CANNOT tell you what you like!

Trust your ears, forget the hype!

movielib

I've heard that this is better. Still pretty pricey. They have this one too. I haven't heard any of them myself.

iggystar

While this makes sense there are so many products out there it's helpful to have a bit of direction, then I can listen for myself and choose from there.

Thanks movielib, you've given me some direction.

aphex944

My father has one, and it's rather unimpressive. I would think most bookshelf systems would sound better, honestly. The Wave radio sounds extremely flat, no soundstage(no "huge" sound), and is pretty uninspiring to listen to. Onkyo makes some great mini systems, check those out.

I would definitely skip over all Bose products. They're regarded as crap in the hi-fi audio world, especially for the outrageous price.

drmoze

You *can* get a decent HTiB system (such as Onkyo) for the same price. And it will sound a lot better. Just a comparison point. I know where I'd spend *my* $$$$..........

westerbergrules

My mom got one of these for Christmas to replace an aging Sharp boombox a couple of years ago. The $130 Sharp wouldn't play as loud, but had a fuller sound, no contest. My dad (who had shelled out $500 on the advice of Paul Harvey) was quite pissed. Stay clear of the Bose!!!

Blade

I have the wave radio. It just looks right in the kitchen, and I'm happy with it for that reason. The Cambridge stuff just looks ugly.

The sound is decent. Yes a boom box would sound just as good and probably better, but it's also going to be considerably larger, and certainly not look the same.

I think it's way over priced (I think we paid $250 for it), but I've never seen anything I'd really want to replace it with (other than piping in music from my main system and that would be a pain) given where we use it.

Unless aesthetics are a concern, I wouldn't recommend this unit. Even then I'd shop around to make sure you couldn't find something that fit in better.

Corky Roxbury

Bose is regarding as one of the worse companies in the audiohile world, just check out avsforum and then you will see the hatred spewed around Bose, I have seen and heard the waveradio and it is garbage sound wise, I guess it looks ok, Bose is for the rich J6p of the world, people buy it thinking they now have a great sound system,

AXP 103

I thought about buying it, but was just turned off by the price tag. The Cambridge Soudworks linked above was released in the last year to replace a discontinued model. It's not priced much better, but the price is better. I would say that my general impression was that their sound was similar.

In case you can't tell, many folks who post in here cannot comment on Bose rationally. I think that is too bad.

I think the comment about a HTB as an alternative is bonkers, who sticks a HTB in their kitchen or workplace? Even the bedroom may be iffy for some households. The wave radio is not supposed to be a HT alternative, but a cozy piece of electronics that is supposed to give a quality sound.

I settled on a Sony Dream Machine for 1/5th the price. It does not produce the sound that the Bose does, but it suits my needs. I think you can find something similar at your local mall.

drmoze

UI was pointing out how overpriced the "cozy piece of electronics"(!) is by noting that you can by a very good-quality full-blown HTIB for the same price. (With a lot more power, more and better-sounding speakers, and a real sub.)

As for 'cozy,' for the gameroom I picked up a Yamaha desktop mini receiver/single CD player with an 8" 120W powered sub, all for $300, and I'm sure it blows the Bose away in sound quality, plus it too is 'cozy'! (Whatever that means...)

AXP 103

I still think the comparison is silly. A brand new Harley Davidson is priced higher than some trucks, but to base that on whether or not it is a good buy is dumb. While they do the same thing (Transport the driver from one point to another), they are used for different things. If someone is looking at a radio, the implication is that he or she is not interested in a home theater.

Cozy suggests small, snug, inconspicuous, discreet, and/or intimate.

OldDude

Has anybody here actually heard the Cambridge Soundworks one, either the new model 740 or the now discontinued model 88? They have both received much better reviews than the Bose, but I can't find anyone who carries them locally to actually hear.
(I know I don't want the Bose.)

I've been thinking about one, but I am a little reluctant to just order from the factory. This would fit better in my bedroom than a mini-stereo and modest size speakers, but I might prefer the minisystem.

AXP 103

I have heard both of them, and thought they sound similar. I would describe it to being similar to any other desk radio, but with more bass.

I believe their website lists the location of their stores.

OldDude

Thanks. That sounds like an underwhelming endorsement. I guess I better look at mini-systems.

They have stores in Mass., Maine, New Hampshire, and California, nothing near me, I get their catalog as I have bought speakers from them (and been quite satisfied.)

movielib

Me too. I got most of mine when Best Buy carried them.

drmoze

Which is why I added another comparison to a 'cozy' ('small' 'snug' 'discreet' and/or 'intimate') alternative. (OK, so you have to put the roughly 12" subwoofer cube somewhere!) But the rest of my set-up is 'cozy,'and it cost quite a bit less and has better sound (incl. bass, which is Bose' main marketing shill).

BTW, I *am* impressed that you knew to use 'discreet' instead of 'discrete'! (no, seriously.) So few people on the internet seem to know the difference.

RayChuang

At the price Bose wants for the Wave Radio CD, I could get a really decent Aiwa "boombox" unit with seperable speakers and still have US$200 or more in my pocket.

The Wave Radio CD is way overpriced for what it does.

Oraphus

I dont know... i dont like bose HT or Music systems due to quality and being far over priced. But when i heard the Bose wave radio at a friends house i was impressed.... it has a pretty damn good sound for a small clock radio. Yes.. it might not sound any better or even sound worse then a mini system.. but for what it is, it does a good job. I still feel $500 is WAY too much to pay for clock radio with a cd and no mp3 support, but i do like it and would consider buying it for a $100.

OldDude

OK, I bought the Cambridge Soundworks 740 CD Radio, and it came. Overall, I like it. It is a good fit in bedroom, has nice alarm features, and sounds very good for a "clock radio." Compared to Bose, it is only $399 (save a $100) and the CD plays MP3.

Soundwise, "amazing for its size" is more true than an unqualified "amazing." The sound is not quite as good as a modest system I have in my computer room - that system for reference is two Cambridge Model 6 speakers (8" woofers), an older JVC stereo receiver, 50 w per channel, and a CD carousel. The larger speakers obviously sound better, but that system occupies more than seven times the volume. The CD Radio has inferior bass compared to that (duh) and with built-in speakers, there is less stereo separation. FM reception on moderately weak signals is better. Still very good for a clock radio. It may only be worth the money, vs. a mini system, if the space saving is important to you.

Don't know if that helps anybody.

CheapBastid

My highish-end yamaha clock radio is crapping out and I need a replacement.

I'm looking for something around $150...

tek2k

no highs, no lows, it's bose!

Shroud

Just checked out the Bose webpage and it said that the original Bose Wave Radio was called by Popular Science "A sonic marvel". Wow, that sounds great except that this was quoted back in 12/93 (almost 11 years ago) and secondly I would judge Popular Science's opinion in hi-fi the same way I would with Radio Shack. Just because your knowledgable about electronics doesn't make you knowledgable about Hi-Fi. (Remember those Awful Optimus and RCA systems Radio Shack sells)
Its all a bunch of marketing fluff with no real numbers to prove what they are saying is true. Everything said from Bose is opinonated with no knowledgable third party testing standards to compare with other equipment for equal or less price.

OldDude

Check out the Cambridge Soundworks I mentioned above. They reduced price recently, but not quite to your price point. As I mentioned, it sounds really good for its size, but not as good as a mini with bigger speakers. It has the clock radio type features though, two alarms, radio or alarm noise (or CD) to wake you up, easy to set.

CheapBastid

Yeah, I'm digging the specs on it, but I really only want to spend $100 and I'll go to $150 if I have to. $200 is too much. The cheapest I can find the 88CD is about $170~ shipped on e-bay.