I should claify, the Bose my Dad wants is a Bose wave radio type
thing, not something with full speakers (if Bose even makes those anymore)

Anyway, I am not very familiar with the M3's and am surprised to hear some recommending them over the M-22's. The M3's have more base? Actually, the M3's may be more desireable if the sound compromise is acceptable, as I assume one issue my parents may have with the M22's is that they are "too big"

I have been on these forums for 5 years and I think this may be the first time I have seen you guys actually recommend going with a smaller speaker!

I had a set of Bose 901's along with a 250 wpc Bose amp back in mid 70 to early 80. Then the price, with military discount was about $1500 for the pair, I think. At the time, I thought it was a great sounding system. I've not heard 901's in years, but I remember listening to the 301, 501 and the stuff they sell today for PC's and HT and it just sounds like c.r.a.p. But this leaves me wondering if the 901's back in the 70's were "different" that what they sell today?

I would like to see the research done on the 901's. I'm going to search for it and see what it says.

Ok, I read the article mentioned earlier in this thread. There was a lot of sound theory discussed there concerning the Bose 901 reflective sound, but nothing convincing that it was no good, to me at least. If a person was considering Bose, I think they would have to go the 901 route and have an adequate room to put it in. A lot of gripes on this system was room response concerning inadequate rooms.

Here's the last 2 paragraphs on that article:

"We don't wish to give the impression, though, that the 901 is a dull-sounding system. You can, of course, make it sound that way via the treble-cut settings on the equalizer, or you can make it sound hard and zippy at the top, but with the equalizer set for flattest response (according to Bose's curves, and our ears), the 901 has much of the brilliance of a typical horn system, but without the "horny" midrange coloration.

If we were to judge the 901 in terms of the best sound available, then, we would say that it produces a more realistic semblance of natural ambience than any other speaker system, but we would characterize it as unexceptional in all other respects. It is ideal for rock enthusiasts to whom sheer sonic impact is of paramount importance, and for classical listeners who want the next best thing to ambient stereo without the cost and the bother of rear-channel add-ons. However, we doubt that the 901 will appeal to perfectionists who have developed a taste for subtleties of detail and timbre."

My dad bought the bose radio a couple years ago and couldn't be happier with the size, simplicity and sound.

When I was visiting him he was eager to show it to me knowing what I had at home and having heard it. I must say... the wave radio was pretty good. For his use of back ground music in the kitchen it serves him well and much better than a receiver and speakers due to space and set up.

Also, the M3's are pretty big...you wouldn't be saving much space compared to the M22.

There's always Audiobytes. Sure, he'd need an external source, but they sure sound good!

The 901's are actually pretty decent speakers, but overpriced.

The Wave Radio sounds pretty nice for what it is, but again way overpriced.

I like the idea of using Audiobytes and a decent CD player hooked up to it. It would surely sound better than a Wave Radio.

I'm sorry, I disagree about the Wave Radio--it sounds horrible to me. Bloated bass coming from a plastic box.

Let me rephrase that, sounds better than most all-in-one radios(like clock radio etc) I have heard, not micro/mini cd radio systems.

If it were me, I'd just get him the bose radio. At least he'd be happy with it. Tell him how great it sounds instead. Consider his age.

Good point, I'd probably research other 'all in one' units just because I would hate to encourage Bose by giving it more money but in the end, making him happy is probably more important.

Some good points brought up here. If it were my father, I would present him with a couple of alternatives(mentioned already) as well as why they might be a better choice, and then leave the decision to him without trying to force my own ideas. As mentioned, he's 85, and it's more important he's happy about the speakers than you/I am.