In this Bose radio CD player review combo, we cover the first version of this music system. Indeed it acts like a more traditional high fidelity stereo component system. Very similar in terms of performance, build, feature set, and price.
Its performance, for its size, might shock even an audiophile. The small speakers make lots of firm but not muddy bass.
Bose did a great job at packaging this pretty decent stereo system into an all-in-one radio and CD player package. This Bose radio CD player sounds as good as the better boom boxes. Yet it takes much less space than those.
True. This all-in-one stereo radio CD player does not rattle teeth and vibrate your chest (much). But to the ears, it sounds like a discrete system with much bigger speakers.
This first model they built in a thick plastic case. And unlike separate hi-fi components, this radio has no buttons on the unit proper to wear out. It has the following key features:
This Bose radio CD player is a glorified clock radio. It’s also a CD boom box, and sensitive radio tuner, all in a single package. You can control all of this with the included remote. We got to play with one of these on vacation, and wow! In fact, we spent several days listening, poking, tapping, and just messing around with this cool system.
Available built-in music sources include…
This music system also has one Stereo 3.5 millimeter auxiliary line level input. So this enables playing from an iPod, Zune, Echo Dot, or most any other line level audio program source.
Remembers programmed settings and alarm times for up to 48 hours during loss of power. Such outages might occur in severe weather.
This remote works well, even across large rooms. Functions in this remote include…
CD Player functions include…
Virtually silent clock when the rest of the system is off. WE heard no hum from either the speakers or any transformers inside, even when just inches away. Put this sound system as close to your bed as you like, and yet it won’t keep you awake.
Selectable 12 or 24 hour time-of-day display modes.
Plays standard as well as MP3 CDs.
There’s also a 3.5mm audio output jack that accepts today’s stereo headphones and earbuds. Or, you can feed the signals here to larger amplifiers and speakers, for an even bigger sound.
This Bose tabletop stereo system has lots of rich and fairly full high fidelity sound. It sounds amazingly bit despite its notably small size.
The integrated amplifier well drives the speakers to room filling volumes. This thing plays quite loudly. It’s loud enough to completely engulf a ten foot by thirty foot room. Punchy enough in fact, for small dance parties.
Setup is simple, Simple, SIMPLE. And you need set nothing up if you just want to dig in, plug it in, and jam right away. All of the setup tasks you can put off until you’re ready. These include…
All of these task you can do with the easy-to-work remote.
Six AM and six FM radio presets. These let you tune to a so-assigned station without searching for it, with a single button press. Thus this works like the presets in a car radio.
75 ohm coaxial antenna connection. But without an external antenna, the radio uses the power cord as an FM aerial.
Features a Bose Link port that allows this radio to work as part of a multi component sound system.
Removable, and as such, replaceable power cord.
Automatic dimming and brightening of the big, easy-to-read electronic display.
Available in white and dark gray case colors.
If you buy one new and decide you do not like it within thirty days, you can return it. Then of course, you get your money back.
This unit is $249 per copy on Amazon Marketplace as of this writing (the cheapest we found). Plus, due to the lack of onboard controls, we believe this all-in-one system is rather pricey. But we would feel more eager about paying $149 for it. Then again though, $249 is likely not a terribly high price. Indeed many paid close to $500 for this product.
The sound system itself has no controls on its console. Instead, you must use the included remote to access these functions. So, do not lose the remote!
The remote is about the same size as a debit card. It is almost as thin as well. So, it can easily slide between couch cushions or behind mattresses. Easy to lose due to its thin form factor thus.
No bass, mid range, or treble controls either on the unit or remote. The only way we found to lower the bass, is to turn on the Talk Radio play mode. This reduces the low frequency output a lot. But it seems to not affect the tweeter range frequencies.
You cannot connect iPods without buying an iPod dock to 3.5mm TRS plug. This receiver does not support iPod charging thus.
There’s only one AUX input. But with today’s plethora of audio-producing devices, at least three AUX inputs would be nice.
Due to the close spacing of the left and right speakers, the stereo separation and imaging works only so well. Move just a few feet away. and you lose all perceptions of stereo sound. The stereo sound melts down into mono at less than ten feet away.
Can’t play a turntable through this unit without an external amp. So you need this to boost the very low cartridge output signals, up to AUX level.
No longer marketed by Bose, as of 2012.
Finally to wrap up, this Bose radio CD player has a gold reputation for its great sound quality. On the whole, we agree. It indeed does haves pushy bass, projecting mid range, and crisp treble. So the unit does qualify as the best sounding clock radio we’ve tested so far. Thus, it’s a decent little stereo system for an all-in-one unit.
Our worst gripe about it though, is the high price. All things considered though, we’d love owning this piece of small but serious audio equipment. Our product rating thus, is 93 out of 100.
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