Bose Wave System IV

[jayne lee wilson]

If you really want to do the research.....

http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/news/browsemodern.asp?at=214&atg=26

Just click on each for all the details....

more choices (perhaps more practical...)...

https://www.whathifi.com/products/all-in-one-systems/stereo-systems

...award winners....

https://www.whathifi.com/awards/2016/systems

1 Decide on a budget
2 Think carefully (future-proofing) about what features you need (CD, Streaming/Download Replay, FM/DAB/Internet Radio etc),
3 Measure Up
4 Read around as much as you can bear, seek out dealers, try to get a home demo wherever possible
5 Don't ignore visual appeal - you're gonna have to live with it and look at it every day

Always trust your instincts about sound - don't get too hung up on hifi stuff like detail, dynamics etc. Which system speaks to you, sounds musical, makes you feel good when the music's playing?
I've lived for many years now with a Tivoli Audio combo in the bedroom - the original Model CD and two Model One FM/Amps wired as stereo. Not a "big" sound, but lovely sweet, warm and musical - its got rhythm too. Great for string quartets!
Very stylish and the modular possibilities are endless....

https://tivoliaudio.co.uk/shop

[Jonathan]

I've got a Mark 2 Bose system which I have had for years. Unlike many of you, I actually find it very good for classical CDs - it's not the volume which is the stand out feature, it's the clarity. Playing the same CD on a different system shows how good it is at this. I'm hoping to upgrade it at some point when I have the money.

[Beresford]

...award winners....

https://www.whathifi.com/awards/2016/systems

1 Decide on a budget
2 Think carefully (future-proofing) about what features you need (CD, Streaming/Download Replay, FM/DAB/Internet Radio etc),
3 Measure Up
4 Read around as much as you can bear, seek out dealers, try to get a home demo wherever possible
5 Don't ignore visual appeal - you're gonna have to live with it and look at it every day

Always trust your instincts about sound - don't get too hung up on hifi stuff like detail, dynamics etc. Which system speaks to you, sounds musical, makes you feel good when the music's playing?
I've lived for many years now with a Tivoli Audio combo in the bedroom - the original Model CD and two Model One FM/Amps wired as stereo. Not a "big" sound, but lovely sweet, warm and musical - its got rhythm too. Great for string quartets!

I agree with Jayne (as usual), especially about a Tivoli in the bedroom.
I bought a Revo single box FM/DAB radio (supersignal) in January, as the sound and controls were slightly better than the similar model from Ruark - you can try both in some John Lewis stores. They both have bluetooth, and play well from an iPad.
Probably the sound would be better from the Denon micro system in the whathifi winners, but it looks clunkier. The Denon is available, with a separate bluetooth adapter, for less than £200 from Peter Tyson - a proper hifi dealer. And he sells it with a few different speaker options.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I was mightily impressed by a Bose demonstration at the York McArthur Glen outlet. Later, I bought the Acoustimass 5 speaker system, but was very disappointed. I just couldn't get the sound set up to obtain a decent sound. It was rather harsh and tiring on the ears. Eventually I replaced the jewel speakers with a pair of NAD bookshelf loudspeakers, but carried on using the Bose subwoofer. That was considerably better, but not a patch on my Final Solution - a pair of (second-hand) B & W Nautilus Technology floor standing speakers.

[MrGongGong]

That was considerably better, but not a patch on my Final Solution - a pair of (second-hand) B & W Nautilus Technology floor standing speakers.

Tightwad
You will be telling us about the Steinway next

[Hornspieler]

I've got a Mark 2 Bose system which I have had for years. Unlike many of you, I actually find it very good for classical CDs - it's not the volume which is the stand out feature, it's the clarity. Playing the same CD on a different system shows how good it is at this. I'm hoping to upgrade it at some point when I have the money.

I spent 23 years sitting in the middle of an orchestra. Upper strings to my right and lower strings to my left.
You can't get better stereo reception than that!

Then I joined the BBC Network Production Centre in Bristol as Manager of the BBC Training Orchestra. On occasions, I was asked to "take care" of recordings for subsequent Radio Transmissions:
The Bournemouth Symphony and Sinfonietta orchestras, the laughingly renamed Academy of the BBC , and, on one occasion, The Stanshaw Brass Band.

Two BBC SpendorBC speakers then, spaced about 6 feet apart. High quality stereo sound.

Since leaving for other pastures; with the knowledge and experience I had gained, I set about recording my huge collection of 78rpm 10 and 12 inch records.

All mono, of course, but some real classical gems - Solomon (Brahms 2nd Piano concerto) Dennis Brain (his Strauss 1 under Alceo Galiero and the Philharmonia) Beecham's "Ein Heldenleben with the RPO and Oscar Lampe's fantastic duet with Dennis Brain in the final bars."

And all my ex brother-in-law's huge collection of Jazz and swing - from the very earliest (they called it "Jas" and all of the swing era --up to the onset of so-called Progressive Jazz. My interest in that soon departed at the advent of the likes of Dexter Gordon and Miles Davis (couldn't play more than four bars solo , before running out of ideas)

So I have a huge collection of CDs mono as well as stereo and I am happy to listen to them on my Bose, which is sited diagonally in one corner of my lounge.

My only interest is Quality of Sound, which fills the room with sound which the Bose system gives me.

Why trip over those ugly speaker cabinets, which need dusting, polishing and taking up space?

Rant over:

But please - Listen before you buy (and check with the missus if she's tired of tripping over those ugly cabinets ..... and having to dust and polish them once a week.)

Have a nice day!

HS

[Old Grumpy]

But please - Listen before you buy (and check with the missus if she's tired of tripping over those ugly cabinets ..... and having to dust and polish them once a week.)

Sound advice, HS - but as I alluded to in a post above, Bose will not sell you the Wave system through a store, only by direct order. Admittedly you can try it for 30 days, but if you have to send it back - what a faff!

Have a nice day!

HS

I will - and you too.

OG

[Hornspieler]

QUALITY

This is a discussion about the quality of one's experience when listening to different means of reproduction.

What am I seeking when I listen to a recording of a musical work?
1. The quality of the work itself.
2. The quality of the conductor's interpretation.
3. The quality of the performers' playing or singing.
4. The quality of the sound that I am hearing.

I don't need stereo in my lounge - having to position myself equally from two loudspeakers in a sort of equilateral triangle
I want to bathe my ears and those of my companions in a sea of beautiful sound.

My Bose does that for me - from DVD, Video Cassette or the old-fashioned, Audio Cassettes.

BTW I still have my Quality Turntable and can transfer those old 78s to my audio system

HS

[MrGongGong]

QUALITY

This is a discussion about the quality of one's experience when listening to different means of reproduction.

What am I seeking when I listen to a recording of a musical work?
1. The quality of the work itself.
2. The quality of the conductor's interpretation.
3. The quality of the performers' playing or singing.
4. The quality of the sound that I am hearing.

I don't need stereo in my lounge - having to position myself equally from two loudspeakers in a sort of equilateral triangle
I want to bathe my ears and those of my companions in a sea of beautiful sound.

My Bose does that for me - from DVD, Video Cassette or the old-fashioned, Audio Cassettes.

BTW I still have my Quality Turntable and can transfer those old 78s to my audio system

HS

But you haven't said anything about quality apart from how you like the Bose system ?
How do you get to "bathe" when the sound is only coming from a single point source ?

[Hornspieler]

But you haven't said anything about quality apart from how you like the Bose system ?
How do you get to "bathe" when the sound is only coming from a single point source ?

The Bose system has three speakers pointing out to the left and three pointing out to the right at an angle of aproximately 90 degrees to each side. So the usual arrangement is the same as any stereo output.

The output quality of those six speakers is far superior to any TV (or other inexpensive domestic) Amplifier System.

"You gets what you pays for".

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

You will be telling us about the Steinway next

Since you mention it, I'm currently trying to find a piano tuner in South Devon.

[Old Grumpy]

The Bose system has three speakers pointing out to the left and three pointing out to the right at an angle of aproximately 90 degrees to each side. So the usual arrangement is the same as any stereo output.

The output quality of those six speakers is far superior to any TV (or other inexpensive domestic) Amplifier System.

"You gets what you pays for".

From your description I suspect we are talking about different Bose systems, HS - the Bose Wave Sound Touch music system IV is the one I am asking about. This is not available in retail outlets and is apparently not allowed out by Bose to be reviewed by independent organisations either.

OG

[Hornspieler]

Thanks for your clarification, OG.

I shall say no more on this thread,

HS

[Richard Barrett]

Some people (including me) would say that "quality of sound" would include hearing something as close as possible to what the mixing engineers heard when making the recording, generally (when it's stereo) listening to it from two (multi-speaker) units 2-3 metres apart. Any other way of listening might bathe the room in beautiful sound etc. but it isn't going to enable you to hear anything like what the engineers intended you to hear. Which is of course very far from what you hear sitting in an orchestra, where - in HS's case - the percussionist(s) bare going to sound not only from behind you but also considerably more strongly than what the audience is supposed to hear or what the composer wished them to hear. Separation, imaging, precision, a sense of the acoustic where the recording was made - all these are gone with the kind of setup peddled by Bose, who I believe have registered the word "lifestyle" in connection with domestic sound systems. That says it all really.

[Richard Barrett]

the Bose Wave Sound Touch music system IV is the one I am asking about.

Six hundred quid??????? Daylight robbery.