Sales: Bose vs JBL

[jcrobso]

And still people can't compare apples to apples. I am waiting for someone to compare a bose system to a vertec array! I guess you will need to convince a whole lot of peolpe that they purchased the wrong gear......

Allan.

At the radio station we have a pair of Bo$e 801-II
The remote people needed another PA system, I bought 4 JBL SRX115(1-15" and 1 horn), they are the bottom end of the current JBL PA line. But they are still way, way better than the Bo$e. After the JBLs arrived I did Bo$e vs JBL shoot out in the station. Well JBL won BIG TIME.
Even the lowly JRX115 can out perform Bo$e, just imagine what a Vertec could do! John

[Uncle Paul]

Ain't it sad the the hottest thread on the LANSING HERITAGE forum is all about Bose

[jblsound]

Ain't it sad the the hottest thread on the LANSING HERITAGE forum is all about Bose

Hottest thread? Not even close!

[Ken Pachkowsky]

Ain't it sad the the hottest thread on the LANSING HERITAGE forum is all about Bose

Point taken......now thats funny

Ken

[Tom Brennan]

Bose is coming out with a version of the 901's 5" driver with a field coil and mounted in an "open baffle" for the single-driver and SET fans.

[Allanvh5150]

Ain't it sad the the hottest thread on the LANSING HERITAGE forum is all about Bose

Indeed it is. Why Bose I wonder.....there are plenty of other speaker manufacturers out there....

Allan.

[Harvey Gerst]

Indeed it is. Why Bose I wonder.....there are plenty of other speaker manufacturers out there....

Allan.

I think it's because Bose is almost the antithesis of JBL; it's designed more for people who want background music.

[Akira]

Gee, I'm almost sorry I started this thread...just wanted to compare sales figures as I was surprised that Bose is making that much money.

I think it's because Bose is almost the antithesis of JBL; it's designed more for people who want background music.

Absolutely true. I think we are just annoying ourselves. But, I did enjoy the 901 stories.

Ain't it sad the the hottest thread on the LANSING HERITAGE forum is all about Bose

Yup time to retire this thread.

[1audiohack]

Look on the bright side, if you were going to market eye glasses that removed the color from your vision, all you need is the Bose customer list and your market research is done!

[jcrobso]

Look on the bright side, if you were going to market eye glasses that removed the color from your vision, all you need is the Bose customer list and your market research is done!

John

[DavidF]

I think it's because Bose is almost the antithesis of JBL; it's designed more for people who want background music.

Like my folks, Harvey. They loved their Bose table radio. I have to admit as a product it fit them perfectly. I suspect that there are millions like them. Odd thing about the table radio was how to market it in terms of value. Until you actually hear one it seems way overpriced to pay $300 or so for a dinky table radio.

[Tom Brennan]

Until you actually hear one it seems way overpriced to pay $300 or so for a dinky table radio.

Unless it's a Tivoli which is Bose for "audiophiles".

Another company that's Bose for audiophiles is Magnepan. Rube Goldburg contraptions made of refrigerator magnets and fibreboard; single ended with attendant distortion and a shrill high frequency resonance that passes as detail. Can also be seen as a Klipsch Heresy for the "high end" crowd.

I'd much rather listen to Bose than a Maggie; I never heard a Bose that made my teeth ache. Hell, there are many so-called "audiophile" speakers that cost more and sound worse than Bose, I don't know why Bose is so often the one called on the carpet for giving poor value.

[scott fitlin]

ROTFLMFAO!

Look on the bright side, if you were going to market eye glasses that removed the color from your vision, all you need is the Bose customer list and your market research is done!

[JBL 4645]

I read a report that says Bose has annual sales of 4.5 billion....wow.
Also of interest is the company apparently spends more on marketing than all other speaker manufacturers combined.
Just curious, any idea how JBL sales compare?

I think someone at BOSE has been fiddling with those figures don’t you mean BOSE £431 pounds? JBL £4.5 billion!

Hi Akira, long time no chat.

I remember when the Bose 901's hit the scene in the mid 70's. They definately caused a buzz. A few guys I knew in Winnipeg bought them and flew them from the ceiling. I must admit they were impressive at the time. Were they high fidelity....no, but they sure could take high volume without blowing up.

Bose is a good example of marketing done well. Its a shame that Harman has not been able to recapture the consumer market to the degree JBL enjoyed in the 60's and 70's.

Ken

Maybe they’ve got no more pride in the company or its heritage.

[JBL 4645]

You'd like to hear from someone who owned Bose 901s, eh? Okay, I'm up for this!

I bought a pair of Bose 901 IIIs around 1974-76 or so, don't recall exactly. Prior to purchasing them, my only "stereos" had been a Sears plastic portable "record player" with little detachable speakers and, somewhat later, my first system consisting of a used Fisher tube integrated amp, a Garrard turntable and a pair of new B&O Beovox S60s, actually a quite nice little pair of speakers. I bought them at Audio Associates, a now-defunct chain of audio stores in the Washington, D.C. area.

As a hi-fi rube, I had gotten sucked in by two things. The first was an ad campaign Bose had at that time featuring the slogan, "Bring Home a Legend" accompanied by a photograph of a smug-looking guy who looked like he was in the know and a pair of Bose 901 speakers. I thought bringing home a legend would be pretty cool. The other factor that made me vulnerable was Audio Associates' one-year trade-up policy. This clever bit of marketing allowed you to return any item you had purchased within one year for full credit towards any new item as long as it was 50% more expensive than the cost of the trade-in. So, back went the B&Os and home came the Bose 901 IIIs.

I am sure I auditioned them somewhat carefully in the store, but after I got them home, I was less than thrilled about owning this particular "legend". They actually lasted less time in my listening room than anything else I have ever purchased. Why?

I was listening to a lot of operas and orchestral music at the time and the spaciousness of the 901's sound was pretty seductive as I recall. However, I will never forget when I put on a song recital--Schubert Lieder with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, probably Die Schone Mullerin, with Gerald Moore accompanying. What? WHAT?? What was I hearing? There was Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau's voice as big as the entire rear wall of my listening room. It sounded like he was inside this huge resonant barrel. I had never before heard anything so bloated and unrealistic in my life! Once I got it into my head that the aspect of the Bose's that made orchestral music so seductive and spacious--that spraying of sound all over the rear wall of the listening room--meant that EVERYTHING was going to be similarly sprayed. The speaker's sonic perspective completely overwhelmed the performer's. In the case of an intimate single voice, a solo instrumentalist or any other small-scale source fuggedaboudit. No, no, NO, this would NOT DO.

So back to Audio Associates I went with my "Legends" from Bose. I bought a pair of Klipsch Cornwalls, my first pair of monster-sized, hi-eff speakers, and never looked back.

That is the experience of one owner of Bose 901 speakers--their top of the line at the time.

Any others of you out there have another take on these speakers?

Enjoy your music,

George Roland

Wow I mean BLOW ME BOSE!

I think JBL has few marketing aims as well since they where the first to put cinema speakers behind the screen. Blow me BOSE! Just kidding.




I recall seeing what must be 900 series in Hi-Fi store, many moons ago, wasn’t at the least bit interested in them. However thou at the far end of the room was some nice looking JBL Ti towers, ouch the price burnt my eyes.