The speakers stand alone, mightily, but they also work well with a center channel speaker (the Bose VCS-10) to recreate a true cinema experience. Stereo targeting tweeters, a rear-firing tweeter, spatial dispersion lens and an 8" woofer fill a room with sound without filling it with cabinetry.

Automatic protection circuitry prevents drivers from being overdriven and provides increased reliability.

For its class, the 301 Direct/Reflecting system sounds much bigger than its price suggests.

In either the capacity of front or rear/surround speakers, the model 301 works beautifully to enhance the listening experience whether as a home theater system for DVD's or just straight out stereo or CD playback. As further testament to the quality of these speakers, if you're seriously interested in purchasing the Model 301 Series V speakers; I've been using the Series III speakers for almost eleven years now and they work just as brilliantly today as they did when I first took them out of the box and this includes several moves since I'm in the military.

Although these speakers have now been replaced with the Bose Acoustimass 10 Series III Home Theater Speaker System on my primary system, they are now featured as the primary speakers in a second system and are providing crisp and clear high quality sound, made that much better by the direct/reflecting feature which serves beautifully in enhancing the listening experience.

I highly recommend the Bose 301 Series V Loudspeakers to any and all who're looking for high quality sound at an affordable price. As a note of caution, these speakers are not magnetically shielded so I would also recommend either the wall/ceiling mounts or the floor stands that Bose specifically manufactures for these incredible speakers, both at highly affordable prices. {ssintrepid}


Good value for money   October 15, 2004
 23 out of 26 found this review helpful

Bose bashing has become a cult. The primary motivation I believe is this. If you put down some popular product as worthless you are implying you are better than the rest, have a sophisticated ear and somehow superior to the grass grazing herd. Quite similar behavior is exhibited in other areas. For example, photo equipment snobbery preferring Leica, Zeiss to Canon, Nikon etc. The fact is they are all excellent equipment with little practical differences, although subjective preferences could matter and go either way. However, the 'elite' brand sells for an order of magnitude more. Now, how do you justify that to customers? Create a cult following via snobbish magazines or obscure internet forums. There may be other specific motivations against Bose - you figure that out.

I am no way implying that the Bose speakers are the best that money can buy. If you do have a sensitive ear you will distinguish clearly between the Bose, JBL, Infinity variety versus $100,000+ Kharma or Genesis. But then, they are designed for a completely different market. And if you have spent even $5,000+ on a pair of bookshelf speakers with seemingly same specifications as a sub $1,000 pair you better hear the difference! Within the same price range however, the nuances of difference are quite subjective and nearly not as categorical as some of the reviewers seem to suggest.

For a proper review, one must compare products in the same price range and for the same intended usage.

Specific to Bose 301 V, I find that they have nice crisp midrange and treble. The bass although clear, is somewhat weak and will benefit from a separate powered subwoofer in spite of the marketing hype. The non-directional claim ("stereo everywhere") is not quite true but clearly, there is a difference in this department compared to the competition. Compared to bookshelf speakers in the similar price range, I find that these speakers give excellent value for money. My intended use for these was bedroom stereo. I own a separate line of more expensive speakers for our home theater. Before purchasing, I have heard offerings from Klipsch, JBL, Infinity and Polk and decided that the Bose gave the most satisfying sound overall, but then that is just me. Check it out for your own ear!



Bose- A testament to the advertising industry.   February 3, 2004
 21 out of 44 found this review helpful

Bose is a fascinating case study of what the power of advertising can do for a product that is cheaply made and outperformed by nearly all of its competition. Based on audio theories from the 1960's and parts of lower quality than what can be bought at Radio Shack, Bose has built an incredible empire out of poorly designed products.

Consumers should do their research before shelling out money for Bose speakers. A google search will bring you to epinions or audioreview websites where you can find review after review from buyers of Bose products.

The commonly accepted wisdom in audio circles is that Bose makes low audio quality products and sells them at very high prices. In other words those Polk, JBL, Wharfedale or Infinity mid-fi products you can find at Amazon are usually higher quality at much better price points.

Compare the sound if you ever get a chance. Make sure you DO NOT depend on volume, in other words volume is a bad indicater of quality. Listen for the high and low notes and to the clarity of the music. Tough to do in a showroom at Circuit City or Best Buy, but even there the differences will show up. Bose attempts to prevent consumers from doing this by segregating their products away from the competition.

After this you might look at online audio magazines (do a google search), Audioreview (one word) and Audiogon. You'll find whole NEW world of audio products such as PSB, Paradigm, Vandersteen, Quad, Sonus Faber, ACI and many more who's products will put you on a much higher level of audio than you'd ever imagine. Usually these speakers are SEVERAL times more electronically sophisticated than Bose at the same price! Good luck and happy hunting!


The Bose emperor has no (audio) clothes.   February 4, 2004
 18 out of 64 found this review helpful

It's amazing that consumers who wouldn't be caught dead driving a substandard car such as a Yugo or AMC Gremlin would devote themselves to the audio equivalent called the Bose 301 (or any Bose product for that matter). This can only be attributed to the lack of consumer knowledge and a strong advertising campaign by Bose.

In the audio industry it's a well acknowledged fact that Bose isn't an industry leader in either technology nor audio quality. In fact you will never see Bose products advertised or reviewed in Stereophile (not since the early '70s), The Absolute Sound nor any other serious audio/video publication. Why? Bose is a known sub-standard product.

But, year after year, unknowing consumers flock to the product blissfully unaware that they can buy better quality for the same money elsewhere. After making their purchase they stoutly defend Bose while at the same time knowing very little about audio. Few know what a crossover is or I would bet, understand the deficiencies the Bose drivers have (if they know what a driver is).

I am after all a former Bose 201, 301 and 901 owner. Good riddance to bad rubbish.


An Outstanding Bookshelf Speaker at Any Price   June 3, 2006
 16 out of 17 found this review helpful

The reviewer below identifying himself as "An Electronics Fan" obviously has a deep bias against Bose. His multiple reviews about Bose products--here and elsewhere--are transparently motivated by some animus against Bose. Was he fired by Bose? Did a member of the Bose family reject his romantic advances? Did a Bose executive accidentally run over his cat? Did he drop a Bose speaker on his foot and hurt his toe? The true motivation for this guy's negative reviews would be fun to know. In the meantime, what we do know is that he has no credibility, and his reviews (two here, others elsewhere for other Bose products; he's made maligning Bose his life's work, apparently)) should disregarded.

I bought a set of black 301's several years ago to go with my Onkyo receiver. We have it hooked up to a television and DVD player for movies. These speakers are in constant use both for the DVD and for music of all types. The room in which they are placed is huge, with an 18 foot-high flat ceiling. The speakers saturate the room with exquisite sound day after day. The speakers work fine for spoken audio for DVD's; we can hear dialogue perfectly; I feel no particular need for a surround-sound system. Several times my young daughters have turned on the 100 watt amp with the volume turned all the way up or close thereto. I feared a ruptured speaker cone, but the 301's are very forgiving, no damage has been done. The cats sleep on the speakers; they clean right up and still look new after five years. These speakers keep on giving total satisfaction, and I quite simply love them.

About three years ago I decided to go all out in another room and bought the highest quality stereo stuff on the market, or at least what I determined to be best after a lot of research. This included a set of the gold-series tower speakers from Monitor Audio. (The speaker cones are metallic, with some amount of gold, and gold connections, etc., etc.) These Monitor Audios have to be the best looking speakers ever made (real wood veneer cabinetry, with the gold cones and the black covers, etc.). These speakers cost well over a thousand dollars each. Well, I must confess, as awesome as the Monitor Audios sound, I can't really say they sound any better than the Bose 301's!!! They can maybe handle more power, but I assure you the Bose 301's will play loud enough to bring the cops to your doorstep in five minutes or less.

So, when I recently set up my third stereo in a bedroom, I looked forward to buying a third type of speakers. I ran around and listened to what I could find on display. Well, after much contemplation, I went for a second set of the Bose 301's!!! They just couldn't be beat, and I would have gladly spent more if I had found something I liked better. But I'm not going to spend more just so I can say I spent a lot...there has to be increased performance. And, in my opinion, the 301's couldn't be out-performed by any other bookshelf speaker of any price range.

My first set of 301's were black. This time I went for the cherry. Folks, these are absolutely beautiful speakers: almost as cool looking as my Monitor Audios. The black cover and the black housing fixture in the back really accentuate the cherry colored wood. No, it is not real wood, but it looks very nice. These things are simply gorgeous. The kind of "mod" or futuristic shape which Bose has designed really stands out in this lighter-colored version. And, yes, they sound just as good as my original pair. I listen to soft music (jazz, typically, or ambient) in the morning and these speakers deliver all the nuances at very low volume; I listen to hard rock at high volume on other occasions, and the 301's don't scare away or distort at all: these things would tear the house apart before they'd lose sound quality.

So, yes, I recommend these highly. They'd still be the speaker of choice for me at three or four times the price.