That´s a blanket statement if I ever heard one, unfair and unrealistic.
Today the best and most modern Industry is in China, the machinery and production capacity is available, of course they will built to your spec and price. Capitalism 101.
If you have a good design, machinery, components, and above all a good Quality control system (YOUR responsibility), product will be well made, no matter where.
Those who "Farm" production anywhere are typically investors with no clue and who only care about cost and sales; but if somebody who KNOWS his trade, such as Bose, Sony, Apple, anybody advanced, carries his designs to China and controls manufacturing and output, results will be excellent.
The backbone industrial capacity is already there.
I never liked Bose, not the 901 and even not their best one, the 301. And the measurments explain perfectly why. It's response is very ragged and dispertion is not that even
If you want a broad dispertion, there are way better designs than Bose. They mostly are multiway and use a wide dispertion horn for the tweeter and a woofer with a very flat cone that is as small as possible. An other way of doing it is like the Kii Audio Three BXT or the Dolby Atmos systems, a lot of drivers in all directions and a lot of advanced processing. And that is something for specialists, not something that can be easely done by diy people (altough nothnig is impossible in general, see the story of Dutch & Dutch, the brand that started as a diy guy who tried things).
If you still want a fullrange driver doing it, it will be limited anyway (just basic physics) but a flat cone driver like the Mark Audio 11MS is best at this, and only in a box that has as littel flat front as possible.
If you want a broad dispertion, there are way better designs than Bose. They mostly are multiway and use a wide dispertion horn for the tweeter and a woofer with a very flat cone that is as small as possible. An other way of doing it is like the Kii Audio Three BXT or the Dolby Atmos systems, a lot of drivers in all directions and a lot of advanced processing. And that is something for specialists, not something that can be easely done by diy people (altough nothnig is impossible in general, see the story of Dutch & Dutch, the brand that started as a diy guy who tried things).
If you still want a fullrange driver doing it, it will be limited anyway (just basic physics) but a flat cone driver like the Mark Audio 11MS is best at this, and only in a box that has as littel flat front as possible.
The only product from Bose I was ever interested in is the 901. OK, for a while I glanced at their NC headphones but that has stoped. But I will perhaps one day build myself a pair of modern "901"s - in concrete - just for fun. They are stylish. But for my endgame system, I have other things in mind.
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JMF, please...
Bose products have used cheap Samhwa capacitors, and they could easily afford best Japanese, they charge top dollar.
In farming out, the first stage is close supervision, components purchased by say Bose, and accounted for, with QC staff from Bose.
The last stage is when Bose says ship so many pieces to where they decide, all the purchase is done by the supplier.
By this time the supplier has had a long relationship with the customer, and supervision is either too expensive, or not needed.
Again the price paid to the supplier, and his willingness to supply what quality is the main determinator of what will be shipped.
In the case of Bose, it seems they are they are doing some cost cutting now.
The use of mediocre components, and less than best quality drivers point to this trend.
That is why I said that now the products are not as good as they were earlier.
Dr. Bose has passed away, I have no idea who runs the company now. And the new management's perception of quality may be different from the old days.
The Chinese have the best production equipment now, and the largest capacities, but the customer must be prepared to pay a fair price, which sadly does not happen at times.
Bose products have used cheap Samhwa capacitors, and they could easily afford best Japanese, they charge top dollar.
In farming out, the first stage is close supervision, components purchased by say Bose, and accounted for, with QC staff from Bose.
The last stage is when Bose says ship so many pieces to where they decide, all the purchase is done by the supplier.
By this time the supplier has had a long relationship with the customer, and supervision is either too expensive, or not needed.
Again the price paid to the supplier, and his willingness to supply what quality is the main determinator of what will be shipped.
In the case of Bose, it seems they are they are doing some cost cutting now.
The use of mediocre components, and less than best quality drivers point to this trend.
That is why I said that now the products are not as good as they were earlier.
Dr. Bose has passed away, I have no idea who runs the company now. And the new management's perception of quality may be different from the old days.
The Chinese have the best production equipment now, and the largest capacities, but the customer must be prepared to pay a fair price, which sadly does not happen at times.
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I know people who get things from China, and they say the Chinese are very honest, they send what you agreed to buy...no cheating on that part, so much of the blame for mediocre goods is because of cost cutting by bean counters at what are the trading companies now, whether the brand owners or the store owners.
So blaming the Chinese is not correct, the trend to try and squeeze the item made, in order to maximize profit, is to blame also.
In other words, they all sit down, and decide where and how money can be saved. This means seller, and buyer's representative, all decide what is to be done.
And we all get to see the results.
So blaming the Chinese is not correct, the trend to try and squeeze the item made, in order to maximize profit, is to blame also.
In other words, they all sit down, and decide where and how money can be saved. This means seller, and buyer's representative, all decide what is to be done.
And we all get to see the results.
It's true china can deliver very high quality stuff, most of the high end, or at least the parts used are made in china these days. Your computer, your phone and your tv is also made there and is hi tech. But you get what you pay for and if you pay peanuts, you get the trash.
It was part of the Bose professional line of PA products, along with the 801, the 303 sub and that crazy bass canon. These powered speakers were called Acoustimass. A name used for other products after. I have never seen anyone else use that speaker, and can't find any documentation. I've even asked people at Bose about them, but never gotten any info. Too bad, it really was a decent speaker and the first powered speaker that I ever used.
I have heard and used Bose commercial products, like ceiling speakers. In a well designed install, they were rather good.
Exactly. We used to call them "Nose boxes".
Bose's pitch to dealers at trade shows was "more $$$ profit per square foot of your display rooom than any other brand". Had nothiing to do with sound or good engineering.
As a speaker company, they don't get any bigger or richer. Bose does not have a successor to the 901. Why not? They could make some of the best speakers in the world if they wanted to. Like a $20,000, $30,000, $100,000 commercial speaker. But that is not their business model.
https://www.forbes.com/companies/bose/?sh=6473d7b61c46
https://www.forbes.com/companies/bose/?sh=6473d7b61c46
They're going to go where the profit margins are. And who's going to spend a hundred grand on speakers that have "Bose" on the grills? 😉
jeff
Of course, the end user could still be charged big money for trash that costs the manufacturer peanuts.
Pano, maybe it was a trial model, or did not sell in large volumes, and as you said, it was intended for professional installation.
Acoustimass series we don't see much here, we have good local brands, and in a speech dominant setting such as an auditorium, the difference is small in comparison to the price difference.
Don't you wish now you had kept them?
Maybe you could not, real life intervened....
Acoustimass series we don't see much here, we have good local brands, and in a speech dominant setting such as an auditorium, the difference is small in comparison to the price difference.
Don't you wish now you had kept them?
Maybe you could not, real life intervened....