Hardly success, more sound...one man's opinion...
While you are certainly entitled to that opinion (just like the rest of us on this forum), I can speak from some experience. I spent 5 years selling audio systems, and prior to my employment, I too thought that Bose was the epitome of excellence in audio. But the more I sold, the more I learned. And the more I learned, the more I discovered all of the shortcuts that Bose took and the incredibly large profit margins they maintained. Now I have no problem with a company making money, as that's obviously what they're in business for in the capitalist society that we live in. However, I frequently look at Bose as the Microsoft of the audio world in a couple respects: they've convinced the world, through shrewd business strategies and intense marking, that their respective products are at the head of their respective industries and worth the incredible premium that you pay for them. However, the core of their respective product designs are often flawed. I won't go into specifics about the issues I have with their construction, unless someone has a particular interest in hearing it. I've discussed Bose on these forums before...well, before MacCentral wiped all of our accounts out.
Now something that you (and those before and following you in these threads) have missed is quite simple: sound is subjective. 100% completely subjective. What I always used to tell people that shopped with me when they asked about Bose was simple: "They're not for everyone, but you need to close your eyes and listen to them. Your ears will tell you whether or not they're for you." Truth be told, I could almost always build a comparable, better sounding system for as much or less, given the opportunity. Having said that, this is the problem that I have with Bose: they're incredibly bright speakers with frequently little to no bass response. They have excellent high-frequency response for sure, but for me listening to that over-emphasis on treble for an extended period of time is fatiguing. Having said this, I will say that I have never listened to the 901's, which supposedly have excellent sound, but I have spent a lot of time with the 301's, 501's and most of the Lifestyle and Acoustimass systems, and they seem to grate on my ears after a while. There is a benefit of being a bright speaker, however, and that is they do tend to sound excellent on music without a lot of bass, such as jazz or classical. I would guess from your screen name, "worldjazz," that you might listen to quite a bit of jazz, which could, in part, explain your attraction to Bose. Just a thought, but I could be wrong on that.
In regards to your comment about Consumer Reports, I would have only one thing to say. Consumer Reports, as a magazine, sacrifices depth for quanitity. If I'm after a review on an Audio product, Consumer Reports will be the last place I will look. I'll pick up a copy of Stereophile, The Absolute Sound, or even Sound and Vision (for a more normal consumer prospective). If I'm interested in buing a car, I'll pick up Motor Trend or Car & Driver. If I'm interested in buying a microwave, then maybe I'll pick up Consumer Reports. And, once again, Audio is subjective, so if they have high consumer ratings from people who already own Bose products, that's not really surprising; they wouldn't have bought it if they didn't like the sound of it.
To sum up (and I've written a lot more than I originally intended to), don't let marketing hype determine your audio purchases: go listen to the same source material piped over the same wiring by the same amplifier in a blind listening test whenever possible, and your ears will tell you what to decide. My 2 cents...
-Mike
