Customer Reviews

Bose Wave Radio II - Platinum White

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Bose Wave Radio II is easy to use, has top-of-the-line speakers and has a high-quality build. I use mine as a TV stereo speaker. The auxiliary input works for that function and what I like is that it doesn't take up a lot of space next to the TV. Indeed, incredible sound for the size of the speakers. So why only four stars, not five? Because the Bose, for all the money it costs, is not a top radio performer. It has only average AM reception with its internal ferrite antenna and worse its FM relies on the power cord for what is truly a lame "antenna." So as a speaker, the Bose is great but as a radio it is well below par. For hooking up to your TV, the Bose is outstanding. But as a bedside radio? No way. You would be better off buying a 120-dollar Sangean WR-2, a 100-dollar Boston Acoustics Horizon Solo, or a 100-dollar Tivoli Songbook for your bedside. But if you're integrating the Bose into your TV home entertainment system and you don't mind spending the money and you're not fastidious about your FM reception, then you will enjoy the Bose.

I highly recommend the Bose Wave Radio II after having one for a month, here are the pros and cons:

PROS:

* Excellent sound quality and volume. Plays the full sound spectrum well - from deep bass notes to high octave soprano. Can turn the volume up to "very loud" before sound distortion is audible, so it's easy to listen to the radio from one room while working in another or while cleaning the house.

* Small space requirements. Easily fits on top of a bedside cabinet along with the bedside lamp. Remote control is right-sized too, only slightly larger than a credit card.

* Good features. The alarm clock works well and the input jack comes in handy if you want to listen to a CD or XM satellite radio through a portable external player.

* Ease of use. Very intuitive and easy-to-use design on the remote control and the radio, was able to use everything without referencing the product manual.

* Esthetics and envy. This radio looks great, people ask about it when they see it.

* Resale value. You won't find a used Bose Wave radio for cheap on eBay or the Amazon marketplace, Bose radios tend to hold their resale value well over time.

* Made in America. You may feel more patriotic after buying it.


CONS:

* Cost. Definitely more expensive than other radios, but considering the quality and resale value, it's probably a good value overall. If you have a rewards credit card, the radio might be obtained (for "free") by using accumulated credit card points -- many credit card points catalogs (i.e., Diners Club Rewards catalog) have the Wave Radio.


Overall, an excellent product and highly recommended. Keep up the good work Bose!

First of all, I want to clarify that any reference here to "bass" is not a reference to rumbling, booming low ends of sound, but to the sound made by instruments such as bass drums, bass guitar, classic bass, etc. It's the sound, not the vibration. This system does it, and does it amazingly. It sounds like the deepest tone- from outside and from a distance, and it's from such a small unit. It's confusing to go right up to the system and notice that it isn't vibrating in the least, nor shaking the platform it is set on. Bose also created a system that lowers the octave for lower tones, and that doesn't just include bass sound, but bass percussion, so that these sounds are more easily noticeable from quieter volumes. As for clarity, well, status-quo for Bose. My mom owns the larger Wave system, and the clarity is amazing, and this system follows suit completely. To illustrate, I placed my Wave Radio on a TV stand I wasn't using and played an acoustic song- guitar and singing only, and it was as if the singer was knelt right there singing! You can hear every breath taken, from the beginning of the note sang to the end of it.
What enabled Bose to create such full, melodic bass in such a small unit was the patented waveguides. This principal is similar to a port system- bass production through the movement of air, which means there may be a lot of dead space or "standing wave." This may account for the number of people who've gone unimpressed with this system. To the untrained ear it may seem like only average sound, and it certainly can be if you're concentrating on listening to it up close only. I once owned a 540W ported system, so I knew that all I had to do with this one is shove (not literally) it into a corner, and listen to it from an adjacent vantage point, as close to the wall as possible. When this is done, the intended sound will come to life for you! Like I said, it isn't boomy, but completely melodic, and indistinct in its direction, which means it "fills the room with sound," as has been claimed.
I used to be obsessed with boomy bass being a pop listener, but I've also evolved into an audiophile, and so far, this system is all that Bose claims for it to be. One error for them, though, may be in relying on people to become educated on superior acoustics and adopt a taste for practical sound, rather than popular sound. I don't care, though. I'm smart enough to know that this system is far ahead of its time...

Excellent radio and reception in this mostly rural area. The sound is the best. The radio is pricey but well worth it.

Many of these reviews (especially on the Graphite color one) are from either people that have no idea what they are talking about, or in a couple of cases are from the "I Hate Bose" fanatics that for some odd reason just can not stand the way Bose sells their product and for top dollar. This comes from the "price protection" they force on resellers, which is why this Radio is going to cost you $350 period, no matter where you go. That is where most of the "I hate Bose" manure comes from, not from the actual sound or quality of the product.

I have the older model, I bought the original Bose Wave Radio about 12 years ago.
It has the controls on top and also the small remote. I have in 12 years never had a single problem with any part of this radio.
At least not a problem that wasn't easily solvable, such as these radios are extremely sensitive to power fluctuations, if your power pops for even a split second these radios start blinking and you have to reset which is not good if you use it as an alarm clock. This small problem was solved by hooking it up our Battery Backup power supply for our PC, which BTW we have 2 of them and have everything in the room hooked to them, both PCs, TV, Bose Radio, everything in the room almost is hooked to them. Problem solved.

Several are complaining about "poor reception" yet none of them have their radios hooked up to a good External FM Antenna, WELL DUH!.
There is not a single radio or tuner on the market that gives really good radio reception without a very good External FM Antenna, none, nil, nada, ZIP.
Bose using the power cord as the antenna is about as good as it gets if used properly but is no where even close to as good as a nice FM antenna and is not supposed to be which is why they have a very good FM Antenna Connector on the back and why they tell you to connect a good FM antenna to it on page 13 of the manual. DOH! Problem solved.

The remote works great, I have the same remote I got with it 12 years ago even has the very same battery in it which is amazing although now since I said that Iam sure the battery is going to finally die after 12 years. I just tested it with the 12 year old battery and it works at a measured 16' away.

I have an old Discman CD player hooked to mine, occasionally hook my Iphone to it, have hooked to it our 24" Samsung HDTV we have downstairs in our dining room that we watch when eating dinner. The 24" Samsung has horrible sound from it, I mean you can set the sound to like 25% and then turn it up to 50% and there is hardly any difference. With the Bose Radio hooked up to it, it sounds fantastic and also gives us a nice radio and clock right there while we are eating dinner.

As for the sound itself, will this replace your 100+ Watts per channel 7.1 surround sound $3000 sound system? Ummm NO!
It isn't supposed to, it is a Radio Alarm Clock! but as Radio Alarm Clocks go it is a damn good one and I have never heard another one from any manufacturer that sounds better, or even as good especially for its size.

Considering the use we have gotten out of ours, Alarm Clock, CD player speakers, Great simi portable speakers for Iphone, excellent speakers for our small TV that we obviously are not going to hook up to a full sound system etc. Plus the fact that after 12 years of continuous use it is just as good today as it was 12 years ago, still looks brand new, sounds brand new and if we wanted could sell it on Ebay for damn near what I paid for it 12 years ago. I dare you name another Radio Alarm Clock that you could do that with.
To me was well worth the money I spent on it many years ago.

Also one thing to think about as far as Bose sound quality.
In high end cars like most Mercedes, Porsche's, Lamborghini, Bugatti's, Ferrari's etc all have Bose speakers in them.
They pick Bose for a reason, it is because they sound damn good and play at a specific frequency response that sounds the best to "Most People".

It is true that many so called "audiophiles" do not like Bose "Systems", this is because most of these types like to "fiddle" with various frequency responses, the ability to mix and match their equipment, to play with settings, etc. You cant do that with the lower end Bose equipment.
Classical and jazz music listeners probably prefer the Bose equalization more than most because it focuses on precision on the higher end of the listening spectrum.
They make outstanding High End speakers also, their 901's are great, even audiophiles that otherwise are riding the I Hate Bose bandwagon right off the cliff pretty much shut up when they listen to properly set up 901's.

All in all this is an excellent very well made, will last a lifetime if cared for, Radio Alarm Clock.

Can you get something that sounds "almost" as good for cheaper? Yes. I have read that Cambridge Soundworks i745 sounds "almost" as good to "most" people, some even think it sounds as good and you can get them for about $100 cheaper.
I have also read many complaints about those units screwing up rather often, I NEVER hear that about Bose, sure you hear ding a lings that don't know to hook up an antenna that it gets poor reception, you hear a complaint that the new one doesn't have controls on top, it cost too much etc. BUT you virtually never hear that the Bose Wave Radio just stopped working or that they have any real mechanical problems with the unit.

That BTW is why it sells for $350 and is why Bose sells it the way they do with price protection, it is made in the USA with high cost labor, using high cost parts.
Ones like the Cambridge are made in China and you get exactly what you pay for.

I'll start by saying that I have found reception to worse than the $20 clock radio it replaced. For it's small footprint, the sound is nicer than one would expect to come out of a small radio. However, in no way is it as nice as a small set of decent bookshelf speakers. It just can't produce the accurate highs that come from a seperate tweeter, nor can it produce low end frequencies with any real presence (I am NOT referring to boomy bass here). Overall, the sound is a bit tinny. It would make a great clock radio if they improved the reception, and it was 1/4 the price. That'll never happen, though, because too many people have fallen for the gimmicky Bose sound.

This is a solid performer. Great sound, great fidelity, great speakers.

My mornings are all the better because of this one mainstay -- my Bose -- no matter how rotten my morning mood may be, my Bose mellows out my morning long before I am able to mellow out myself.

I have no complaints about the reception -- it sure beats fiddling with an antenna -- or in the case of the system (NON Bose) that I have in my bedroom -- fiddling with the electric cord, or, of all things, a loong skinny wire -- to get better reception.

My Bose is a happy little self-contained unit that just keeps going and going and going......

I have owned this for a couple months already. The sound is incredible for the size. It reaches highs and surprising lows. There's not too much kick but its a trade off for a lower end. I use it to wake me up in the morning and as my laptop speaker. The aux input could have a little more gain as its never below volume 40, even when im sitting less than a foot away from it. The bass is incredible from a single standing unit like this. Once its in a corner, its loaded well. Thats when you can get the most low end out of it. The mids are a little neutral/recessed and the highs are a teeny bit lacking but there when they need to be. It can throw a soundstage although small, its detailed. A great track to test its soundstage and low end is "Return of the Jedi"-Williams: Return of the Jedi: Finale-Charles Gerhardt/National Philharmonic.

This little radio is perfect for portability as well. Its only 8 lbs and easy to hold and pack when it needs to go around the house and out of it. The display is very bright and has an auto dimming feature which is awesome! I love the no buttons design as there is much less to go wrong with the unit. The remote is easy to use and hold. The am/fm reception is great! the only problems i have is the interference from my ipod touch when its on.

I listen to various types of classical music, hiphop, pop, R&B, Contemporary Christian.

If you're looking for a very round package, this is it!

I bought this model in the platinum white to sit on my Corian countertop (matches perfectly). The sound is exceptional for both FM and AM...at least in this location. Switching from talk radio (AM) to our local classical station (FM) is accomplished with a single touch of a button. Sound remains excellent even at high volume. (To be honest to other reviewers, the AM can have static--depends entirely upon location. Since I don't plan to move this radio, I'm pleased with the sound.)

One feature I appreciate is the battery that keeps station settings and clock operational should the power go off. We live in the mountains and are subject to frequent outages during the stormy winter months.

I also have this model in graphite--a gift from my mother. I use it in my art studio, again, with equally good AM and FM reception, and I liked the Bose so much, I decided to get the white one as well.

Pricey, of course, but worth every penny.

I had the original wave radio, and loved it. It finally died after more than 20 yrs, so I decided to buy the new one. The sound is the same, there is absolutly no difference. But for some stupid reason, they removed the control buttons from the unit and you can only control the thing with a remote. Annoying. The buttons are smaller, harder to see, and as near as I can tell, they reversed the order of the buttons on the remote compared to the order on the original. I'm guessing just to say they did something different.

Anyway, great sound, but annoying to operate. One more remote to lose.....

KP