I have no particular desire to 'set light' again to this highly emotive and contentious subject, but having just had one on the bench, I feel that I've got to have one last stab at defending the little beast ...
It's only problem was that it was a bit iffy at playing CDs, due to a worn laser, which was literally 5 minutes work to replace, due to the simple and serviceman-friendly construction that is employed. It looked as though it had given stirling service over a number of years to its owner, judging by the amount of dust in it. There was no indication that the owner was in any way displeased with the way that the unit worked, or sounded.
Once it was fixed, I took the additional time to give it a subjective evaluation, just to see if I was wrong in my belief that these Waves *do* work well. You may recall that when I was arguing this with a group contributor a couple of weeks back, I contended that the sound was "stunning both in its overall quality and spatial definition", a statement that I was later castigated for, despite trying in as many ways as I knew how, to qualify it as being compared to similar sized portable and semi-portable items from other manufacturers, and not multi-thousand dollar 'reference' systems with $11,000 speakers on the end. So let me try again with regard to the word "stunning". I used it in a colloquial way rather than literally, to mean 'enough to take me by surprise'. I accept that 'American' English tends to be a bit more literal than 'British English', which may have led to my intended meaning being misconstrued.
So, what did I find this time? Well, despite the howls from the usual suspects to the contrary, I would still like to compare this to portable units, as it is a similar weight, has similarly spaced speakers of similar size, is overall of a similar size, has similar functionality, and runs from direct line power, as most general portables also do, and as most owners actually run them, as the cost of putting 8 D cells in them is prohibitive. The only thing it lacks is a carrying handle, to make the task of moving it from room to room, just that little bit easier.
I played a variety of CDs in it, from Pavarotti to The Scissor Sisters, and sorry folks, but I am going to stick to my guns on this one.
Compared to similar units - that's not stacking systems, not reference systems, not single or multi-piece bookshelf systems, not the best mini hifi that Electrical Barn Inc can offer - I still believe that the Wave Radio delivers superb sound. It might not give you the best (perceived) sound quality per buck, but by the same token, I don't believe that the claims made by Bose for this item, are too far out of line, allowing for marketing hype, that we discussed at length, last time.
The sound that it delivered on all of the material that I tried on it, was crisp, full bodied, well-defined spatially - within the obvious constraints of speakers separated by only a few inches, but remember that we're still not comparing to anything *other* than similarly sized units - and most certainly didn't lack in bass, given that the drivers are only 3" or whatever. In fact, when I wound the wick up, the bass shook the bench, and I could quite clearly 'feel' the bass punching me in the chest. The amount of air that the speakers were shifting, was enough to blow out a candle. Now I know that I am not an audiophile, but 35 years of repairing hifi has left me with an ear that's not too bad, and even with the volume elevated to a level that would be ridiculous in most listening situations, those same little speakers gave a very creditable performance in terms of perceived distortion. I would have said that the unit would withstand 'party' use without any problem.
So where am I now on it all ? Just about exactly where I was before, I think, and that is that I still feel that the Wave Radio delivers basically what it claims, and could hold its own against bigger better systems in
*some* instances. I have no more or less interest in it as a product, or in Bose as a company, than I did before. I still don't think that for me, Bose products are particularly good value for money, but then neither is a Ferrari, or an Armani suit, unless you've got sufficient money that it doesn't matter to you. I don't believe now, any more than I did before, that Bose as a company, set out to lie to and deceive the public.Understand that this is all a personal opinion, including my feelings about the sound of the Wave Radio, and does not address any of their other products. Despite what some on here might believe, we all have a right to our opinions, defended or not.
OK then, get your Doc Martens on, and start kicking ... d;~}
Arfa