The answer is obvious to most folk on here, but for some there might be that silent question of what does Bose really sound like? Is it any better or worse than the typical HiFi speaker? Can I use it to getaway from big speakers that needs stands?
Well, I was privileged to get my hands on a pair of Bose cubes for rear duty in my HT room. These cubes are so deco friendly, tiny in footprint, they came with OE wall brackets to make the installation much easier. Aesthetic wise I would give them a few brownie points.
The build quality is a bit disappointing if one is used to the MDF/Wood cabinets. It?s made of plastic and the drivers are paper based vs Kevlar in Bower and Wilkins with a Metal tweeter. They are also very light in comparison to the B&W 686 speakers. The 686 are nearly 5Kg each whilst the tiny BOSE cubes are a Kg each, a Flora margarine tub weight. The BOSE cubes employ the same size smallish drivers. It?s two of them in the enclosure and are 64mm in size, 6.4cm ....quite small. This brings with it a few compromises.
1. The drivers are too big to play high frequencies accurately
2. The drivers are also too small to play midrange accurately, and cannot play much of mid-bassIf you remember the saying ?if it has no highs or lows, it?s a BOSE?.... I bet it stems from this. These work well with the Bose Acoustimass system. Has to be mated to the sub that comes with the satellites for a better synergy vs. being used with an AVR as a stand alone speaker.
So, how do these sound. For surround speakers, they faired quite well as there is not a ton of info that goes to those channels. I think if you have space confinement and you picked these up for close to nothing then use them. Especially if you got them for free. If you are a HiFi nut head, these will not work for you. I used the Bose as rears for 3 months and they were so so, not bad but not good. When you only have these you don?t really think you miss much as that?s what connected. Only when you connect a full range speaker then you realize that you have been missing a LOT of info. Once I connected the 686 speakers, my surround system became more pressurized, more fuller.....it sounded complete, I had that ?grin? by myself. The 686 or any ?normal HiFi speaker? for that matter has two things that the Bose doesn?t have.
1. A tweeter small enough or designed specifically for high frequencies
2. B&W 686 has a 130mm woofer for midrange and can also play mid-bass. Typically per above mentioned, a standard book shelf would have the same configuration allowing for midrange and mid Bass
It?s very difficult to get the correct figures for BOSE cubes. I relied on Audyssey which tends to overstate the speaker capabilities. BOSE cubes were crossed over at 250Hz, I didn?t change it. Left it per Audyssey. The B&W 686s were crossed-over at 40Hz, but since we have detailed specs on the speakers, I know they roll off from ~60Hz, so I amend Audyssey to 80Hz crossover.
Herewith a few pictures to give you a sense of size differences between the two. Keep in mind that the 686 is the smallest within the series.
In closing, if someone gives you Bose or you get it at a right low price, why not use?Buying it new doesn?t make financial sense and gives the worst ratio (price/performance).
For a complete thoroughbred HT experience, BOSE falls short and doesn?t live up to expectations. For transparency, I?m in no way punting a 686, it?s just happens to be a rear speaker that I have at my disposal. So I maintain my view that any ?normal? HiFi speaker will be better performing than BOSE cubes.
Until Next Time
Enjoy the Music [emoji6]
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Well, I was privileged to get my hands on a pair of Bose cubes for rear duty in my HT room. These cubes are so deco friendly, tiny in footprint, they came with OE wall brackets to make the installation much easier. Aesthetic wise I would give them a few brownie points.
The build quality is a bit disappointing if one is used to the MDF/Wood cabinets. It?s made of plastic and the drivers are paper based vs Kevlar in Bower and Wilkins with a Metal tweeter. They are also very light in comparison to the B&W 686 speakers. The 686 are nearly 5Kg each whilst the tiny BOSE cubes are a Kg each, a Flora margarine tub weight. The BOSE cubes employ the same size smallish drivers. It?s two of them in the enclosure and are 64mm in size, 6.4cm ....quite small. This brings with it a few compromises.
1. The drivers are too big to play high frequencies accurately
2. The drivers are also too small to play midrange accurately, and cannot play much of mid-bassIf you remember the saying ?if it has no highs or lows, it?s a BOSE?.... I bet it stems from this. These work well with the Bose Acoustimass system. Has to be mated to the sub that comes with the satellites for a better synergy vs. being used with an AVR as a stand alone speaker.
So, how do these sound. For surround speakers, they faired quite well as there is not a ton of info that goes to those channels. I think if you have space confinement and you picked these up for close to nothing then use them. Especially if you got them for free. If you are a HiFi nut head, these will not work for you. I used the Bose as rears for 3 months and they were so so, not bad but not good. When you only have these you don?t really think you miss much as that?s what connected. Only when you connect a full range speaker then you realize that you have been missing a LOT of info. Once I connected the 686 speakers, my surround system became more pressurized, more fuller.....it sounded complete, I had that ?grin? by myself. The 686 or any ?normal HiFi speaker? for that matter has two things that the Bose doesn?t have.
1. A tweeter small enough or designed specifically for high frequencies
2. B&W 686 has a 130mm woofer for midrange and can also play mid-bass. Typically per above mentioned, a standard book shelf would have the same configuration allowing for midrange and mid Bass
It?s very difficult to get the correct figures for BOSE cubes. I relied on Audyssey which tends to overstate the speaker capabilities. BOSE cubes were crossed over at 250Hz, I didn?t change it. Left it per Audyssey. The B&W 686s were crossed-over at 40Hz, but since we have detailed specs on the speakers, I know they roll off from ~60Hz, so I amend Audyssey to 80Hz crossover.
Herewith a few pictures to give you a sense of size differences between the two. Keep in mind that the 686 is the smallest within the series.
In closing, if someone gives you Bose or you get it at a right low price, why not use?Buying it new doesn?t make financial sense and gives the worst ratio (price/performance).
For a complete thoroughbred HT experience, BOSE falls short and doesn?t live up to expectations. For transparency, I?m in no way punting a 686, it?s just happens to be a rear speaker that I have at my disposal. So I maintain my view that any ?normal? HiFi speaker will be better performing than BOSE cubes.
Until Next Time
Enjoy the Music [emoji6]
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
