Bose exemplifies the triumph of marketing over quality.
Lots of people are simply unwilling to research complicated purchases. We are not them.
IMO, a decent in-wall speaker would far outperform the Bose cubes and be even more invisible. So, we have to attribute Bose success to not only form factor, but also to inability or unwillingness to cut drywall and fish wires. I'm betting that MOST Bose systems have speaker wire hanging down the wall, or that they are on stands (either of which totally defeats their aesthetic value).
It's a physics problem. The cubes don't have sufficient volume to produce frequencies below a certain point (150Hz? 200Hz?) without using esoteric drivers and extremely high power, both of which would be expensive (if possible at all). So, the crossover network shifts those easily localized frequencies to the woofer box, which is also underpowered and incapable of playing lower frequencies.
And - let's be honest here - most women don't care nearly as much about electronics as men do. They might know they want better sound than just the TV, but don't enjoy the research and don't want to un-feng their shui.
I think people who buy Bose speakers are the same ones that pay BB to "install" their home theatre (i.e. $200+ to attach the cables between the TV and the receiver).
Frankly, if the form factor is THAT big a deal, I think consumers would be much better served by one of the Yamaha sound projectors.
Ditto Michael on the Gallos.
