Onkyo apes Bose with latest iPod-friendly CD player

We tried to resist, honest, but it's just impossible to turn a blind eye to the similarities here. Onkyo's CBX-Z10 and CBX-Z20 iPod-friendly CD players do manage to include ten-watts of amplification, video output, a headphone jack, the firm's Acoustic Drive speaker technology, a CD player, and an obligatory iPod dock, but what's not listed in the specs that you still get (for better or worse) is the eerie resemblance to Bose's Wave Radio. Furthermore, the Z10 looks to come dressed in white while the Z20 dons a black motif, and aside from "improved audio quality" from the latter, they each look to be identical. Priced at ¥43,000 ($361) and ¥50,000 ($420), respectively, these two units are even priced like a Bose, but at least Onkyo bothers to tell you the frequency range of the drivers within.

[Via Impress]

[Nestor C. @ Aug 10th 2007 10:11PM]

They may look alike, but a Bose will never be an Onkyo, not that they're trying (sound-wise).

[BananaBoat @ Aug 10th 2007 10:58PM]

And Onkyo will never have Bose's sales, or it's reputation with the general public. Go figure. I for one stopped buying Bose products when my 150 dollar Tri-Ports fell apart after a month. Beyerdynamic headphones kick Bose's face in =P

[billy bob thorton @ Aug 10th 2007 11:17PM]

so nice to read intelligent comments in here, especially regarding sound. I do my best to spread the gospel about Onkyo, but every 13 year old boy in the world seems to think nothing could be better than bose. must be the informercials.

[pupkick @ Aug 10th 2007 11:42PM]

No highs, no lows, must be a Bose.

Blech. Makes Monster Cable look like balanced price purchases.

[Michael @ Aug 11th 2007 1:34AM]

I'll take that over paper-cone Bose crap anyday.

http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html

My Sennheiser HD-595s murder my friend's QC2s. Oh, and we used to own a Bose 5.1 system, so I'm fully qualified to bash them.

[Russell @ Aug 11th 2007 3:36AM]

Exactly, Bose BLOWS... particularly for the price.... Paradigm and Sennheiser and Creek are great examples of companies with similarly priced equipment that destroys bose...

[Burgandy @ Aug 12th 2007 9:14AM]

The graphs/info in this article is flawed.-people need to know this.

If it picks out one class of speakers from the company, show me one that bashes the bookshelf speakers. and dont forget the Lifestyle models, outdoor speakers and their lines of professional audio

[Michael @ Aug 12th 2007 2:27PM]

We also used to own a pair of Bose bookshelves, which have since been given to grandma as surrounds. They weren't good enough even for her to use as the front two channels.

[tekdroid @ Aug 11th 2007 7:08AM]

Bonkyo?

[matt @ Aug 11th 2007 12:58PM]

they are both junk

[G @ Aug 11th 2007 5:20PM]

I thought Bose owned the market on ugly, plastic crap. I fail.