Thursday, July 22, 2004
Aural Luxury When the Bose Acoustic Wave radio first came out 7-8 years ago, I'd immediately latched onto the free 30 day trial test offer. What was there to lose (except the cost of return UPS charges and a VERY SLOW crediting of my charge card process by Bose, Inc...nice cashflow ploy on their part)? The radio was delivered and set up as soon as I had done a couple of reps on the weight machine. The sucker weighed in at 15-20 pounds and felt heavier because it was such a compact size. Something this heavy and small just had to sound fantastic! Plugged it in. Inhaled. Tapped the power button. And...and...and a well-rounded sound of hiss and crackles came out. Seems like the Acoustic Wave arrived at my house but not the sound. Eventually, over a weekend of experimenting, I was able to get the radio signal to come in during a part of Saturday afternoon and on Sunday evening. After 30 days, I parted with the radio, unwilling to fork out $300 for an inconsistent signal receiving, albeit a great sounding inconsistent signal receiving, radio. After a few years, Bose added a cd player to their Wave. 
Same 30 days trial. Same results (their improved signal reception model still needed improvement, at least to deal with my home's quirks). Great sound from the cd player..but $499 for a radio-cd player with a radio that hap-hazardly received a signal? The old Sony cd-clock-radio would just have to do, with its tinny sound and its self-appointed critic's ear which refused to play certain cds.
Then Cambridge Soundworks came along with their model# 740B. $299. Scraping together some birthday money scattered about, I ordered one of the black models on a Saturday and plugged it in on Tuesday night.
FM reception was almost dazzling (not clear all of the time). Cd sound was deep, rich, and thumping. Setting the stereo stylings to "Wide" notched up the sound to another level. The 740B delivered on all that the brochures promised and at 60% of the Bose Wave price. I find myself head-pillowed up in bed these days, listening and reading. Sure, I'm still lying around but the tv time has been reduced dramatically. Just one q. Why is AM reception always, always, always better in your car? Is there anything available to hook up the home AM antenna to quiet the hiss, pops, & crackles? My life of leisure would be complete.
Same 30 days trial. Same results (their improved signal reception model still needed improvement, at least to deal with my home's quirks). Great sound from the cd player..but $499 for a radio-cd player with a radio that hap-hazardly received a signal? The old Sony cd-clock-radio would just have to do, with its tinny sound and its self-appointed critic's ear which refused to play certain cds.
Then Cambridge Soundworks came along with their model# 740B. $299. Scraping together some birthday money scattered about, I ordered one of the black models on a Saturday and plugged it in on Tuesday night.
FM reception was almost dazzling (not clear all of the time). Cd sound was deep, rich, and thumping. Setting the stereo stylings to "Wide" notched up the sound to another level. The 740B delivered on all that the brochures promised and at 60% of the Bose Wave price. I find myself head-pillowed up in bed these days, listening and reading. Sure, I'm still lying around but the tv time has been reduced dramatically. Just one q. Why is AM reception always, always, always better in your car? Is there anything available to hook up the home AM antenna to quiet the hiss, pops, & crackles? My life of leisure would be complete.
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