BOSE WAVE RADIO

[cobra44]

I have been looking for a BOSE Wave Radio for about 6 months now. I have been trying to buy one on E Bay, but most go for between 150.00 to 300.00, with most with no return.
At auctions they usually go for around the 250.00 range. A new one is 350.00 to 500.00 depending which model you get.
Last night at an auction, I person that I have known for years handed my the keys to his van, and told me that there was a Bose radio in the van if I wanted to take it home and try it.
I asked how much and he said 150.00, but we can talk about it after i check it out.
I got home last night and checked it out. This thing is like new. It is one of the newer models. Plugged it in and it sounded great. The remote works, battery backup, everything is great. Picks up stations my older radio would not.
How did I do? Anyone own one of these? Comments?

 

[Marksman]

Bose Radio............

I purchased one from my parent's estate, IIRC the auctioneer had valued it at $150.00. So I think you did fine especially since the radio is in such great shape. I have mine in my reloading room and it provides me with lots of entertainment. Hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine.

 

[The Big D]

You got a great deal. Bought one for my Mom a few years ago and paid circa $300.00 for it...brand new. Just checked the Bose site; WOW, did prices go up!

For others in the market, check the Bose factory stores. Bought my Cinemate audio system there quite inexpensively...and new.

FTR, love Bose products. Even one of my cars has a factory OEM Bose system.

Be safe.

 

[cobra44]

Thank you for the replies. I guess that I did pretty good.
I really like the sound of this unit.

 

[Stevens]

I have one in my workshop shed it has been playing 24-7 except for hurricanes and other power outages for about 15 years now, and sounds great. The shed is a metal building so some stations don't come in as strong as they would in a house but most are fine. It has an Aux. in jack so I can hook my Ipod to it also.
Steve W.

 

[jkc]

That's an excellent price! I'm not a sophisticated audiophile, but have been very happy with the "smaller than a breadbox" package that replaced a conventional system of about six times the Wave Radio's physical volume...

 

[mtheo]

It is worth the money at full retail. A sound rivaling supposedly high end component systems with the simplicity of a bread box. I bought my wife one some 5 years ago for Christmas. I'm still reaping the benefits....

 

[Capt Steve]

First of all I own two. One in our living room which provides the audio for our DVD player/HD TV as well as our music and the other one is in the travel trailer (also outputting the audio for the DVD player). They are nothing short of amazing. I paid $500 for my first one about fifteen years ago and have no regrets. Our second one was a graduation present for my wife when she got her masters from my folks. When it comes to quality sound you cannot go wrong with anything from Bose. Nice to see there are some deals out there. For many years there was no way to buy one for anything less than the Bose price ($500 with the CD player). If you don't have a home theatre system try running the audio from your TV/DVD player out through the Bose...you will be amazed. (o;

 

[UGlide]

It is worth the money at full retail. A sound rivaling supposedly high end component systems with the simplicity of a bread box. I bought my wife one some 5 years ago for Christmas. I'm still reaping the benefits....

+1

I paid $500 full retail and it is worth every penny.

 

[Jellybean]

Has anyone ever opened one up? I'm wondering if there is anything different about them other then the sound expansion chambers.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

I really like Bose products. For discounts on their radios try contacting a Bose retail outlet. There's one in Sevierville, TN that I always visit when on holiday in Gatlinburg. They usually have 20% discounts and free shipping on new model "reconditioned" units.

On a side note.... wonder what the future is for AM FM CD players? All my music is on computer and plays wireless (controlled by iPad) on my home stereo systems. All my radio listening is via Internet.

 

[sar4937]

It's very nice the way the volume ramps up when the clock radio goes off.

 

[rcnixon]

Has anyone ever opened one up? I'm wondering if there is anything different about them other then the sound expansion chambers.

I don't have to open one up to know how it works. The speaker design is based on the (now expired) patents of A. Stewart Hegemann, the man who designed the Harmon-Kardon Citation amplifier. Instead of insulation inside the acoustic suspension cabinet, there are a series of tuned pipes that resonate at different points along the lower end of the bass frequency band. The pipes are like soda bottles with different amounts of water in them. When you blow across the tops of them, the different bottles whistle at different pitches. The "whistling" reenforces the speaker's sound at that pitch. The pipes are tuned to be close enough together that they work smoothly across that part of the audio spectrum. It adds power to the bass and lower mid-range and the speaker itself is good enough for the upper midrange and the treble range. I worked for Stew about forty years ago building the model 1, 1A and 2 speakers and helping with the experimental sub-woofers. Kumar Bose didn't invent the "Wave Radio", he just miniaturized the tuned pipes and made them out of die-cast plastic. I still have a pair of Model 1A's and they sound as good today as the day I built them in 1971.

Russ

 

[gregintenn]

Very interesting, Russ. I paid 5 bills for mine, and don't feel ripped off. I've yet to find a better sounding system at any size or price.

 

[Jellybean]

Russ, thank you for your very informative post.

 

[DCWilson]

The Bose Wave Radio is a good product with an even better marketing strategy that keeps its price higher than I suspect it needs to be. Demand and interest keep resale prices up. You got yours at a good price.

I bought one for my parents a few years ago when they went into assisted living. (My father was a symphony musician and audiophile who knew quality when he heard it; the Bose unit was the only piece of small sound equipment he would tolerate in their compact living quarters). After their deaths the radio came back to me, and it is now on top of my rolltop desk, where it gets regular use. I use it primarily as a CD player because I am in a reception shadow, but a few stations can be pulled off the air. The wretched programming does not deserve the quality of sound production that it gets from that unit.

Russ, I too thank you for the tutorial. I had a dim understanding of the processes that lead to high sound quality from small speakers, but your description makes it so much clearer.

 

[Grommet]

I have owned the Bose Acoustic Wave for a number of years. It is the larger unit and the sound is fantastic. I have my TV hooked up to it and the sound is like being in a theater. My brother has the smaller one that your interested in and by now you bought it. You'll have no regrets for $150. My larger unit cost me $1,000 and I still have no regrets.

 

[Old 44 Guy]

Think I paid $200 back in 1993. Just a plain Jane Bose but it still sounds fine. A buddy in Reno had it sitting on his shelf still in the box. Listed for $350 then.