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(More customer reviews)The reviewer below identifying himself as "An Electronics Fan" obviously has a deep bias against Bose. His multiple reviews about Bose products--here and elsewhere--are transparently motivated by some animus against Bose. Was he fired by Bose? Did a member of the Bose family reject his romantic advances? Did a Bose executive accidentally run over his cat? Did he drop a Bose speaker on his foot and hurt his toe? The true motivation for this guy's negative reviews would be fun to know. In the meantime, what we do know is that he has no credibility, and his reviews (two here, others elsewhere for other Bose products; he's made maligning Bose his life's work, apparently)) should disregarded.
I bought a set of black 301's several years ago to go with my Onkyo receiver. We have it hooked up to a television and DVD player for movies. These speakers are in constant use both for the DVD and for music of all types. The room in which they are placed is huge, with an 18 foot-high flat ceiling. The speakers saturate the room with exquisite sound day after day. The speakers work fine for spoken audio for DVD's; we can hear dialogue perfectly; I feel no particular need for a surround-sound system. Several times my young daughters have turned on the 100 watt amp with the volume turned all the way up or close thereto. I feared a ruptured speaker cone, but the 301's are very forgiving, no damage has been done. The cats sleep on the speakers; they clean right up and still look new after five years. These speakers keep on giving total satisfaction, and I quite simply love them.
About three years ago I decided to go all out in another room and bought the highest quality stereo stuff on the market, or at least what I determined to be best after a lot of research. This included a set of the gold-series tower speakers from Monitor Audio. (The speaker cones are metallic, with some amount of gold, and gold connections, etc., etc.) These Monitor Audios have to be the best looking speakers ever made (real wood veneer cabinetry, with the gold cones and the black covers, etc.). These speakers cost well over a thousand dollars each. Well, I must confess, as awesome as the Monitor Audios sound, I can't really say they sound any better than the Bose 301's!!! They can maybe handle more power, but I assure you the Bose 301's will play loud enough to bring the cops to your doorstep in five minutes or less.
So, when I recently set up my third stereo in a bedroom, I looked forward to buying a third type of speakers. I ran around and listened to what I could find on display. Well, after much contemplation, I went for a second set of the Bose 301's!!! They just couldn't be beat, and I would have gladly spent more if I had found something I liked better. But I'm not going to spend more just so I can say I spent a lot...there has to be increased performance. And, in my opinion, the 301's couldn't be out-performed by any other bookshelf speaker of any price range.
My first set of 301's were black. This time I went for the cherry. Folks, these are absolutely beautiful speakers: almost as cool looking as my Monitor Audios. The black cover and the black housing fixture in the back really accentuate the cherry colored wood. No, it is not real wood, but it looks very nice. These things are simply gorgeous. The kind of "mod" or futuristic shape which Bose has designed really stands out in this lighter-colored version. And, yes, they sound just as good as my original pair. I listen to soft music (jazz, typically, or ambient) in the morning and these speakers deliver all the nuances at very low volume; I listen to hard rock at high volume on other occasions, and the 301's don't scare away or distort at all: these things would tear the house apart before they'd lose sound quality.
So, yes, I recommend these highly. They'd still be the speaker of choice for me at three or four times the price.
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BOSE 301-V Stereo Loudspeakers (Pair) - CherryThe 301-V series speakers employ the renowned Bose magic, in the form of Direct/Reflecting speaker technology. These versatile bookshelf speakers bring a lifelike spaciousness to movies and music. The combination of direct and reflective sound mimic a live performance, whether it's cinema or concert.
The speakers stand alone, mightily, but they also work well with a center channel speaker (the Bose VCS-10) to recreate a true cinema experience. Stereo targeting tweeters, a rear-firing tweeter, spatial dispersion lens and an 8" woofer fill a room with sound without filling it with cabinetry.
Automatic protection circuitry prevents drivers from being overdriven and provides increased reliability.
For its class, the 301 Direct/Reflecting system sounds much bigger than its price suggests.
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