I generally didn't like the sound of Bose systems even before knowing about their shortcomings. Despite the allure of their retail stores and great marketing, I decided to let my ears be the final judge, and thankfully, Bose was never on the list.
However, I did have a pair (and still do) of Bose Roomate II speakers that I picked up in 1990. They lacked crisp highs, and the lows were abysmal, but they sounded better than any 'boom box' I've heard up to that point.
Each bass reflex enclosure comes with one full range driver. The amp sits in one of the enclosures and all you need is a source. For me it was my Walkman, or a portable CD player. I kept the speakers on each end of my desk in college and was fine with the sound they produced.
After college, I lent them to a friend who used them for 4 years or so and he enjoyed them as well. So much so that he ended up buying a home cube system.
Awhile back, I plugged the Roomates in just for old times sake, and the cheap 2.1 Logitech setup with my PC easily bested the Bose speakers. Still, I cant get rid of them for nostalgic reasons, and even tried using them as the 'height' channel in my current setup (didn't work out). I believe you can see the left speaker sitting on my entertainment center in the gallery.
While I don't care for the Bose sound, some of thier smaller products aren't half bad...just pricey.
