Keepin' it real fake, part XVI: Greenhouse's Bose-like GH-SPA-430 dock
By Marc Perton 
posted January 25th 2006 9:00AM
posted January 25th 2006 9:00AM
[Via Akihabara News]
posted January 25th 2006 9:00AM
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No matter what anyone says all they have to do is listen & compare. Go and play the same thing in different speakers and listen for what you like. Most likely the speaker system that is selling for $150 wont even compare to the $300 speaker... yet if the $150 speaker works for you then get it!
Heck if you think that the Bose SoundDock is actually worth $150 not $300 then according to that logic other speaker companies like JBL, Altec Lansing, Logitech and Klipsch which don’t even have the same sound quality they also marked up their prices! But heck everyone does, after all a company has to make profits otherwise they go bankrupt...
Let me use this analogy. If you were to build a car from its individual parts it would be cheaper than getting it new from the dealership... For some people out there this is fine yet by saving the money you’ll probably have a car that won’t meet all your expectations. For most out there they want to get a car they know works and works great and be happy that they have a car that does exactly what they want and will last. Don't forget that Bose is renound for their customer support.
But I don’t really care if someone likes this product or that product & I'm not advocating Bose specifically. All I am saying is by saying something like this “sucks” or “its crap” doesn’t sound like a real answer. State what speaker you like better & why.
If you haven't heard anything better admit that. If you haven’t even heard this nor had the ability to compare... what are you waiting for? It may be fun dissing something you haven't heard but go to an Apple store to compare all the different ones out there and make up your mind as to which one sounds better.... Bring your own iPod so that you can control the demo. If you want to only hear Bose stuff go to a Bose store and hear if they really suck or not.
My point is I like people to have personal reasons to like/dislike things. A great example would be the whole Microsoft/Linux thing. Many people diss Microsoft simply because everyone else does & tout the superiority of Linux even though they never used Linux before! If you haven’t make a Knoppix DVD/CD and see for your self!
Hope you enjoyed my Rant
Phoenix!
It'd probably sound better than the Bose equivalent. Wouldn't be hard.
I HATE BOSE, I HATE BOSE... whhhhaaaaa, whhhhhaaaaa.
Guaranteed this knock-off sounds like shit.
Black? How much?
I'll just add that there are a few products out there now with this form factor. Bose's was just the natural progression of inMotion's dock/speaker system.
"It'd probably sound better than the Bose equivalent. Wouldn't be hard."
I own one of the bose stations and I think the sound from it is amazing, pretty pricey at £250 uk but still good. I find the bose stuff is pretty good quality though of course it cant compare to bang and olufsen.
If you think that the bose one is poor what would you recommend?
If you want excellent sound buy separate speakers. If you must have a dock, I bet the Klipsch is one of the best of them.
If you want excellent sound buy separate speakers. If you must have a dock, I bet the Klipsch is one of the best of them.
I wish someone would make one of these iPod speaker systems with built in FM tuner. the iHome IH5 sounds like crap!
Actually it looks more like a ripoff of the Beosound 1 (which came along before the SoundDock).
http://www.bang-olufsen.com/web2/systems/i_ms/beosound1/beosound1_600_6.jpg
>If you think that the bose one is poor what would you recommend?
Anything else. Check out the Bose FAQ, here's a copy:
http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=50009562&f=67909965&m=207098011
"I own one of the bose stations and I think the sound from it is amazing, pretty pricey at £250 uk but still good."
Good to see the Bose lackeys trolling the boards.
>If you think that the bose one is poor what would you recommend?
I will give you a hint. ANYTHING!...or for a more specific product there is one unit made my Mission (a UK company I believe?)...an honest to goodness QUALITY audio equipment maker..that here in the states costs exactly $50 more. The speakers are real speakers and can actually be separated for real stereo sound.
Bose is about marketing...and absolutely nothing else. They do not have good sound compared to anything put out by any true audiophile company....and they charge as much or more than all these other companies.
I think the Bose sounddock is pretty good for the price and compared to the competition, but Bose in general is more about marketing than making good products these days. People *think* they sound good, but they do not know what they are missing. The Bose acoustimass home theater cubes are mostly incpapable of accurately playing midrange frequencies. There is a huge hole where male voices are. You would not know this because Bose does not publish the frequecny response numbers. They also use paper cones and foam surrounds (meaning they, by default, will start to decay in about 5 years).
The best system out there is probably the Monitor Audio system. It is pricey though. You could also look at the Klipsch unit.
It isn't that Bose is crap, it's just a $150 speaker sold for $300. You don't get your monies worth. Bose makes decent stuff and sells it for twice what anyone else would sell it for. They get it through marketing. I remember being in Philly for Xmas 2004 and they had giant ads for the sounddock all over the subway and on billboards downtown. Not to mention the ubiquitous magazine ads.
My favorite Bose story though is when I was in Target on day with my wife. There was a Bose display for their fake surround 2.1 thing. It was in the linen sections! Anyway this baby boomer couple walked up, looked at this display, and proceeded to discuss how $500 for this system was a good deal...because it was Bose. They were clearly clueless about Audio, but damn does that Bose Marketing work. People love Bose for no legitimate reason. I say more power to Bose for talking money from suckers. I wish I could make products and sell them to people a t a 2X mark up. That would be sweet!
down with Bose! lol. while i'm sure they have some good products, the Bose in my S-class really doesn't do the job well enough.
no wonder in the new S, Mercedes have switched to harmon/kardon. YEAH!
I HATE BOSE, I HATE BOSE... whhhhaaaaa, whhhhhaaaaa.
THEY DON'T PUBLISH THE FREQUENCY RESPONSE NUMBERS... whhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaa.
THEY USE PAPER CONES AND FOAM SURROUNDS... WWWWWHHHHHAAAAAAAA
I don't think Bose is too worried about .01% of the world (audiophiles) not buying their products. Just a hunch.
I am not a Bose fan, and would consider myself an audiophile (B&W speakers, Thorens Turntable, SACD, NAD electronics). But lets face it, an iPod is not hifi anyway unless you go lossless. The Soundock is a great, compact design that coordinates well with an iPod. Yes, overpricesd, but sounds good for what it is intended to do. If I wanted to use seperate speakers, I would also use a better source.
Those look more like Beosound 1000 from Bang & Olufsen. They look nice though. I would get one if I ever owned an iPod
Any time I see anything regarding iPod and speakers, you know you're buying it because of style. Come on folks, it's a battery operated audio player with a 3.5mm headphone jack.
While $5 unpowered computer speakers undoubtedly sound like a$$, a $300 thing from Bose will sound better and your average Joe schmoe agree, considering all they do is listen to AM/FM easy-listening "rock" and think Michael Bolton is king .
Olibgatory Office Space quote: "There was nothing wrong with it... until I was about 12 years old and that no-talent ass clown became famous and started winning Grammys."
After I gave my AudioLab/BW setup to the son for college and moved into a one bedroom apartment, I bought a B+O BeoSound 3 (or whatever) which this thing looks exactly like. It's a drag when people cannot actually design their own products!