Bose 201 IV Speakers - Craigslist $60 - MSRP $218

Bose 201 IV Speakers - Craigslist $60 - MSRP $218

Average Guy HiFi Rating - 35.5/50 = 71%

Demo - Daft Punk

Album - Random Memories

Song - Doin’ it Right

Amazon link:

https://www.amazon.com/Random-Access-...

This was the first CD I have purchased in about 20 years. After listening to it the past couple days, almost on a loop, I can why it makes just about every list of must own audiophile CDs.

This is a must own, if you want to truly test your system’s capabilities!

Bose 201 Series IV

Type: 2 way bass reflex
Frequency Response: N/A
Recommended Amplifier: 10 - 120 Watts
Impedance: 8 ohms
Sensitivity: N/A
Mid/Woofer: 6.5"
Tweeter: 2” cone
Dimensions (inches): 15 1/8" W x 9.5" H x 6 3/5" D
Weight: 9 lbs. Each

MSRP - $218

Where I Purchased - Partial trade

Listed Price - N/A

Price Paid - $60 (partial trade)

Condition (not included in score) - 90%

The cabinets are in good shape but they do have some wear.

Quality - 6.5

For the MSRP, 6.5 might be a little low when it comes to quality but that’s where they stand in my rating system.

I was very surprised when I went to pick them up, at how light they were. Other areas that these speakers lacked quality was the spring terminals and the untreated paper cones.

But with all that said, these weren’t all that expensive to begin with, so take the probe into consideration.

Sound - 7.5

Actually sounds pretty good but definitely lacking some dynamics that I’m used to. The bass was pretty thin and not authoritative, when compared to the mighty 600M’s but it was still better than I was expecting.

The high frequencies were also lacking but when I messed around with the positioning, the soundstage was quite impressive.

Definitely $60 well spent but not up to par with what I’ve been testing lately.

MSRP Rating - 8.0

Pretty good sounding speakers with decent quality. Pretty good score here but there were definitely better sounding speakers available for a tad over $200. Klipsch, Aperion, JBL etc. all come to mind.

Nice speakers for the money but there were better options, when it comes to sound.

Aesthetics - 7.0

To be totally honest, I’m not a fan of the looks of this generation Bose speakers. They seem clunky/odd looking to me.

The newer model 201’s and 301’s are much better looking. This is to be expected, considering they were made from 1996 - 2002. My style was terrible during those years also:/

Price Paid Value - 7.0

Technically, this was a trade but I traded for $60 worth of gear so that’s what I’m running with.

You might be thinking that 7.0 is a low score since I got such a good deal but truth be told, I’ve seen many 201’s and 301’s sell for less so not the best deal ever.

But for $60, they sound pretty darn good.

Average Guy HiFi Rating - 35.5/50 = 71%

Final Thoughts -

I am by no means a Bose hater, in fact, I’ve found myself defending the brand a few times as the constant hate is tiresome.

The fact remains in this hobby, you should be the ultimate judge on what sounds good to you. If you have these speakers and you are enjoying them, that’s all that really matters.

These are reasonably priced speakers, made by a well known brand. I can see why they sold so many pairs but you had better options when it comes to sound, when these were launched.

Equipment Used -

CD Player - Oppo BDP-93
Preamp - Emotiva XDA-2
Amplifiers - Emotiva UPA-1 Qty. 2
Surge Protection- Panamax M5100-PM

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