Bose Wave Music System

I bought a system III about 3 years ago because of the Bose name. Even though I considered it expensive I thought it would be a good reliable unit.

Well, It worked well for about 6 months or so and then the remote failed - wouldn't turn it on or allow you to change between radio, CD etc. So I ordered a second remote. That worked for about a year or so and then it too failed in part. So we have 2 remotes which only partly work One is used to turn the unit on and switch between functions. The other is used to adjust the volume. I have not yet ordered a 3rd remote - what's the point?

A second issue is the CD player which failed about 6 months ago. It may be something simple but considering what I paid for this unit I am disappointed. I have other CD players which are much older and they still work.

The third issue is the radio reception. We live out of town so I never expected reception to be marvellous but AM and FM both suffer from poor quality. The receiver we were using prior to this gave better performance.

The Bose wave music system is the best music system I have bought.The Bose has a CD player FM radio.Digital Radio.Bluetooth.and you can listen to music from Spotify.The Bose has a different speaker system giving better bass and treble.You have to listen to the sound to appreciate the quality. It is well worth the price.

My first complaint is that many times when listening to a CD, the vocals are drowned out by the bass. Even with the bass lowered on the Wave IV, the vocals still get washed out.
Secondly, my inexpensive AM/FM radio has no problem picking up a near by AM station. Unfortunately, the Wave IV has difficulty: the static is overwhelming which makes listening to one particular AM station impossible.
Finally, my other 2 Bose Wave radios (non-CD) had buttons on top of the radio which made it easy to 'feel' in the dark when changing stations, lowering the volume or setting "Sleep" time. The remote buttons are tiny which means that I have to turn on the light and put on my glasses to make any adjustments...not good !
If you listen to classical music or hard rock, the sound of the Wave IV is sensational, however.

I had my eye on a Bose Wave Sound-touch for more than two years, doing research, checking out reviews etc. After two years I finally purchased my Wave Sound-touch and I am NOT disappointed. Great little unit that plays my CDs, has WiFi, Bluetooth and AM, FM and Digital radio stations. What a buy. I have several other Bose speaker units but this is my first integrated system, and I am over the moon. Regarding some of the BAD reviews on this website I would suggest they read the manual and use the unit as it is supposed to. NO PROBLEMS, NO ISSUES, GREAT SYSTEM. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

Bought Bose due to the name but have found the bluetooth to be incredibly touchy to connect. Great when it works but can take 10 minutes of connecting and reconnecting to get it to work. Very disappointed. I run Sonos through my work and this works much better via the wifi network. Sorry Bose this is an epic fail.

I love BOSE. Have done for years. Combine BOSE with WIFI and the relationship ends. Poor slow grindingly slow updates, bad connectivity, only understood by the owner, not user friendly, 26 buttons on the remote! I want to play music! Made a mess out of it. Hopefully will improve. Sad to write this :-(
Get a grip
People

The radio, Bose Wave Music System III, is a delight. I love it. But without a remote it is useless.
When the remote failed in June 2018, following instructions in the manual, I range and ordered (and paid for) a new one.
This was on the 20th June 2018. So far, nearly six weeks later, and after multiple phone calls and emails, they have sent me two duds, which were for the wrong model.
It is often hard to get through on the phone and, while individual staff members do their best, after sales service is poor. You never speak to the same person twice and have to keep voluminous notes about order numbers, serial numbers, product numbers, names of staff, and reference numbers for calls.
This is stressful and unproductive and I still do not have a remote.

I bought this to replace my previous stereo (Tivoli Model 2). I was sold by the fact that it tunes to digital stations, has a CD player, and bluetooth. And I'd heard the sound was good quality.
It does sound pretty good to me, the bass is great, but the treble seems a little sharp or tinny, and there's not a full enough sound in between. (But then I'm used to the Model 2 sound which I think is very round and mellow compared to most other stereo's.) It does have plenty of volume for its size, ample for use in a medium sized unit or small house.
I find all digital controls annoying and this one is no exception. And I've realised it has too much programming functionality for me to ever bother with. Though I do bluetooth Spotify occasionally.
I chose the white model, which the shop people said people hardly ever wanted. I'm so glad I did, it looks great, especially sitting on top of white shelves, very 60's.
Overall I'm pretty happy with it. (But I wish my Model 2 still worked, I'll leave that for another review..)

Bought a Bose Wave Music system in end October 2017 during Black Friday sale. At first I could not get used to the heavy bass sound. Hooked my TV to the Bose so the sound comes thru Bose. It sounded better than the TV speakers but it also took me a while to get used to the heavy bass sounds.
If I had bought the product at full price, I would probably be upset but at a discount, I suppose it was justified.
I use it every single day and have thus adjusted to the heavy bass sound.

I bought a Bose Wave Music System III in early 2014, and it has been in constant use (in my bedroom) since. I love it - it is easy to program AM, FM (and, I daresay, digital-I don't have digital reception where I live) radio stations, reception is excellent for FM and okay with AM (except when there is either human or naturally generated electrical activity nearby). I don't use the CD player much, but it works just fine when I do. Sound quality is terrific for such little speakers (I'm not a hi fi purist though), alarm (buzzer or radio) is easy to set, and I find the unit user-friendly and attractively styled. I bought a black unit - although the white unit looks attractive, every white plastic appliance I've ever owned has yellowed after a while - very annoying when a koala has paid a premium price! I also like the good battery back up for settings, and the way the display automatically dims when lights are turned out. I'll likely upgrade to the latest SoundTouch IV system; I'd like to be able to connect via bluetooth to speakers in other rooms. Overall, Bose make great sound systems (my car is fitted standard with one, and it's excellent) - well worth the extra money.

Saved up and bought the Bose Wave Music System IV and amso disappointed. In the Bose store it sounded fantastic but at home it is terrible.. not happy at all. Am returning it to store. My little Radio that I put through the TV sounds 100% better, what have I done?

I have owned my Bose Wave Music system for about a year now.
I have wanted one for some years and finally treated myself.
Love the sound either through the radio or through blue tooth. I don't tend to use the CD player however it is available if needed. I have also used it to connect my tv and enhance the sound while watching tv.
Neat little remote.
I will probably relocate the unit to my bedroom and use there when I install my surround sound system in my living area.
It is expensive however I'm expecting to get many many years from the unit.
Have no regrets with the unit.

I like most BOSE products, but in my opinion this one is somewhat overrated. It seems to have good sound quality at first - by listening closer you find that the bass boost is extremely high and tends to cover the middle and higher tones.

Inside the unit, the build quality is very good, but the used technology is aged - namely an old coil transformer, very few settings or an energy eating green fluorescent display that is not very good readable because it has no dot matrix.

Call me funny but for the bass overhead I opened the unit and put a sock inside the bass reflex tube (to shorten its length and dampening it). Now it sounds much more balanced, especially on low volume (morning alarm clock).

The 2 included timers are simple, you cannot select weekdays. And the snooze goes up to 60 minutes, then it turns off, no matter what.

I guess BOSE should update this radio, as the more recent versions seem more or less identical.

I have had the Bose Wave 1 as a bed-side clock radio for years, which has been great (but doesn't have a head phone jack), and so recently purchased the latest Wave 4 (which does have a head-phone jack) when my wife's clock radio stopped working (OK, she bought it so that she could have my Wave 1 to then give me the new Wave 4 so that I could listen to the radio at night using headphones). The Wave 1 has good control buttons on top which makes easy use in the middle of the night, but this Wave 4 has a pathetic little remote where all of the buttons are exactly the same size. So, to adjust the volume, you have to grab the remote (usually by rummaging through other things you have beside your bed to find it) and feel the remote to make sure you have the top of the remote facing up to then be able to count three small buttons down on the left hand side to turn the volume up, or yo count four buttons down to turn the volume down. If you miss count, then you change the radio station. Good luck getting back to where you were without turning on the light and squinting at the tiny remote. This is backwards evolution! The Wave 1 had easy to locate buttons with a logical layout and different size buttons, with the most frequently used volume buttons offset so that they were readily relocatable. I would not have purchased this radio had I known that it no longer has buttons on top of the unit. Sounds great, but the pathetic remote would have been a deal beaker for me had I seen the product first.

How do you replace 13 speakers and Dual Subwoofers,you buy Bose SoundTouch absolutely best $999.00 I have ever spent. The performance and quality of sound surpasses home system by miles. My Home System is all DENON so quality is there;but left unused due to Bose,can be heard crystal clear from Kitchen(where installed) to upstairs in front bedroom. Home entertainment systems are great for when family gathered to watch movie,but my BOSE is on 24/7. The only thing to replace it will be next years Model .

No EQ, sounds terrible. Reduced the base, not happy at all. Don't waste your money on this system, if you are used to top class sound quality. Very disappointed indeed. When I purchased the system, I used it for a day. Packed it in the garage, where it stayed for a year. Tried it again, have decided to give it away.

Just taken delivery of the Soundwave 4 and set it up to play a range of my music. Although the sound was clear that was about it. I expected to be immersed in the music given the price and hype of the unit. Whether is was heavy metal or classics, the sound just didn't cut the mustard and the volume was limited... I wanted to go louder but no. Bose either need to tone down the hype but even more..lower their prices to match the performance....grossly over priced products. I already had a sound dock which did impress me but my latest expensive addition falls way off the pace.

Bose say the system is calibrated to provide the most faithful reproduction of the source sounds and this is OK for all the media I am using including digital radio and TV. For deep bass or treble you should purchase systems designed for the purpose and steer clear of Bose.

Thank you Bose, your after sale's service is excellent.
I love my replacement product and how well you handled my inquiry .I guess your reputation speaks for itself.
I will always be a fan. Well done Donald. You were understanding and handled every thing so professionally. Also a big thank you to Richard in WA.
Thank you,
Suzanne

I have been a faithful user of Bose products, but am bitterly disappointed with this system. No adjustments for bass or treble, something that could easily have been added. A huge disappointment in the sound ( despite trying it in different locations. Bought it online direct from Bose, if it had been a store I would have taken it back.
Avoid at all costs