A Pricey Bose System But Is It Worth The Incredible Sound...?

Years ago my father had bought the Bose Wave radio before it had a cd component. My dad is a huge fan of Bose products, especially after he bought the Bose Quiet Comfort 2 Headphones. With the initial Wave unit the sound was good but we could never appreciate how good it could be because you could only listen to the radio through it. Recently he got a notice in the mail that said Bose would buy back their old models and give you a $150 credit towards a new unit. My father jumped at it, as he regretted getting the non cd model years ago, and purchased this model.

In The Box
In opening the box you get the manual on how to run the unit, a simple step by step setup sheet, the unit itself, one remote control, and the power cord. Now we got this unit that I'm reviewing but we also bought a three disc changer which this unit rests on top of. This extra changer isn't included in the original purchase and does cost extra. So if you're lazy about changing cds then maybe you should also check out the add on disc changer.

Setup
Setup is extremely easy. The unit has rubber feet so you don't have to worry about it scratching anything you rest it upon. you simply plug the power cord in the back of the unit and then plug it into the wall. Pick up the remote and you will see the buttons to set the time, takes just a moment and it's done. Now if the regular unit is all you got, then that is all you have to do and you are ready to play cds. If you did opt to get the changer then you will notice the changer comes with an update cd. You insert the cd into the main unit without connecting it to the changer, let it update, then hook them up together and you are ready to go. Not very much different than the initial setup but you have to make sure you put the update cd in without the changer attached, otherwise it won't work.

The Sound
Bose boasts that it has wave guide technology. Now what that simulates is most closely related to pipe organs. The low notes from a pipe organ can just about resonate within your body. The reason for that is because the sound runs through a long tube, amplifying the sound as it travels to the end. Bose figured out a way to transfer that to their system. In this model they have 26 inch tubing wrapped and coiled around inside the unit which the sound travels through and produces a very rich deep sound for lower notes and a very crisp clear sound for higher notes. I have to say. The research and effort that they put into this wave technology has paid off and then some. I'm not superbly strict for sound with stereos. So long as there is no static I usually am satisfied and will listen to anything. I had never actually heard how something is SUPPOSED to sound until I heard it on this unit. Hearing the clarity and the crispness of the music really made me open my eyes and say wow this is how music should be sounding. And the part that surprises me the most is how small the unit is. To have such sound come out of this beats our stereo system we have in our living room that has three and a half foot speakers.

The Unit Options
On the tiny remote that is included you have 26 buttons that let you access all of the functions the unit has to offer, and you better not lose it because there are no buttons on the actual unit for you to control anything. But I'll talk about that problem in a minute. The remote has an on off switch and a Sleep button at the top. This is handy for those of us who like listening to music while falling asleep, that way we don't have to worry about wasting electricity all night long. The mute and volume buttons are also there right around where you can choose which input you would like the unit to have. You have FM/AM, CD, and AUX. The Aux option is for an external hookup for an MP3 player, television, dvd player or something like that. You have six options for pre set stations for the radio and you have seek and tune buttons for it as well if you want to scan through the radio quickly. The Seek and Tune buttons also double as Track and MP3 buttons when you have the other inputs turned on. Play, pause, stop, eject are clearly all there. Although I never understood why someone would put an Eject button on a remote. You obviously have to go up to the unit to change the disc so why have the eject button on the remote? Well in most cases the unit itself has the eject button on it but this one is different however as the unit doesn't have any buttons on it, you need the control to eject the cds. The alarm is a nice feature as you can set it and turn it on or off very easily. You can choose to get up to music or that drone alarm sound that most of us dread. The Play Mode button allows you to select shuffle or repeat mode when listening to a cd and turn talk radio enhancement on or off when listening to the radio.

Possible Accessory Options
If you really want to get all of the bells and whistles, here are the other compatible options you can get for this system:
Wave Music Multi CD Changer - $249.00
Wave Connect Kit For iPod - $129.00
Wave Premium Backlit Remote - $39.98
Wave Under Cabinet / Wall Mounting Bracket - $49.98
Wave Large Remote Control - $9.99
Wave Normal Size Remote Control - $9.99
Monster Audio / Video Power Surge Protector - $39.95

The Down Sides
The unit comes with a remote control which is very compact. The cd changer, if you choose to buy it, also comes with a remote. Now these are great and handy to have around but they are tiny. The remotes are literally credit card sized. Now some people may prefer these to big bulky ones but for those who have a hard time reading small print or are apt to losing smaller things such as this then this won't be a great feature for you. I am not very partial to small remotes only because in my parents house it would have more of a tendency to be lost. But if you are more like me, if i were to purchase this for my own place I wouldn't worry nearly as much about losing it, and clearly wouldn't have a problem with reading the small print on the remote.

Another aspect I am not too fond of with the unit is that there are not actual buttons on the unit. Everything is controlled by the remote. Now depending on where you place the unit in your house, it may be easier to some to go to the unit and turn it on rather than searching for the remote. Well unfortunately you can't do that with this, you need the remote to do anything with the unit. This just feels a little restricting to me and I would prefer it have at least some buttons on the actual unit.

Specifications
Price: $499.00
Price With CD Changer: $749.00
4.2"H x 14.6"W x 8.6"D
8.7lbs
Color choices are Graphite Grey and Platinum White

The unit does come with a 30 day in home guarantee. If you're not satisfied or don't feel that the unit is producing the sound quality you expected then you may return it within the 30 day period for a full refund. The back of the unit contains ports for an external FM antenna if you receive poor reception, a Bose Link to hook up the cd changer unit, an Aux In port for an external hookup to an MP3 player or another music source, and a head phone jack for personalized listening.

Overall
There is no getting around the fact that this unit is extremely pricey. Even with the $150 trade in we got the unit and changer were still $600. It all comes down to your finances and your personal music needs. If you want the most superb quality with a unit then by all means purchase it. If you want good quality and are willing to sacrifice a little of it for a lower price then this isn't your unit. I'd recommend it to audiophiles and the truly devout music listener, but for casual users this may be a bit too pricey for your tastes.

Absolutely try out the Bose Quiet Comfort 2 Headphones if you are truly a music lover. These headphones go great with this unit and will give you a personalized sound quality you will virtually not find anywhere else.

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