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Bose Wave: Review

Posted to Lifestyle/ Mini Systems 2009-04-05

If you're looking for big sound in a small package, you may need look no further than the Bose Wave. Widely advertised to the general public, this handsome little product features a CD player, AM/FM tuner, and alarm clock and delivers a lot of sound for its small size. Bose has plenty of experience in making speakers of all sizes, and they've done a good job with the ones in this unit.

The speakers employ a folded design, using Bose's patented waveguide technology. This helps to produce full-bodied sound, especially in the lower range. The unit features a convenient front-loading CD player and all of the controls are on the remote - there are no buttons on the device itself. Bose touts this as a feature - some people might find it annoying to be standing right next to the device and have to locate the remote to adjust the volume. There is one auxiliary input on the back of the unit and a connector for an optional CD changer unit.

Rating:

4.2 out of 5

Quality

This would be 5 (red me) stars except that some (more than a few) users report problems with the CD soon after receiving the unit. The problems either have to do with the unit being very picky about the CDs it will play, or the unit not taking a CD at all, or worse, not ejecting it. Overall the build quality of the unit is excellent, but it does seem that Bose has some quality problems with the CD mechanism they need to work out.

Performance

The Bose Wave does indeed produce a room filling sound, which is impressive given its small size (the unit measures 4.2-"H x 14.6-"W x 8.6-"D. The adjective most often used by users to describe the sound is "realistic-". But it's not for everyone - if you listen to loud rock, R&B or hip-hop, you'll probably be disappointed with the sound output of this unit. It is room-filling in the sense that you can hear the sound from anywhere in the room, but its not loud compared to a high-end system with a powerful amplifier and separate drivers for bass, midrange and highs.

Summary

Overall, this is a very nice product, if it's within your budget. In fact, it is probably a bit overpriced when compared to the competition (check out similar products from Cambridge and Klipsch). But if you're a Bose fan and can justify the expense, it will provide a good listening experience. Bose customer support is excellent, so if you do experience any problems with the unit you won't be left out to dry. Since there are no buttons on the system, most people recommend purchasing a second remote to keep near the device and to be able to use if the first remote fails.

Pros

Patented waveguide technology produces realistic sound
CD player
AM/FM tuner
Small size

Cons

All controls on the remote - no buttons on the unit