[sts9fan]

I work on the same road as Bose HQ.  I see the Lexus with the active suspension all the time.  I also have a good friend who works for them and says no one will buy it because it is too $$$. 

He also has one of the new portable sound docks which is actually pretty nice.  Now I am sure he did not pay for it but at a party in the park it is real good. 

What is amazing is that this site is now so mainstream that we're getting apologists for Bose.

Tell it like I see it.  Would I ever buy a bose product? No.

I love my Meridian F80, but it's way more than $350...

I am sure you do.  How much did you pay for it? 

[Russell Dawkins]

The polk sells for $499 MSRP ($399 on Amazon) while the bose sells for $299 MSRP ($209 on Amazon)...I'm pretty sure thats a big price difference, about double.

The Harmon Kardon is again more expensive. It is $349 MSRP ($274 on Amazon).

-West

You said "under $400" in your original post in this thread. $399 qualifies. The fact that the Bose has a $349 msrp and a $200 street price confirms what has been said about Bose margins.

The Harmon Kardon was a sales failure due to its physical design (it looks weird and is awkward to use), and thus sells for $200 in Future Shop in Canada (in Canadian dollars!), but from the sound and build quality perspective it truly is in a different realm. In fact, for anyone in the market who wants something that will play astonishingly loud and clean, I'd say check it out.

[whubbard]

Alright...so here is the question: Would you say the $399 Polk is a better value than the $209 Bose. Does it do everything that much better it deserves twice the cost!

-West

[Russell Dawkins]

I would say the Polk is worth the extra.

Sound that actually pleases rather than offends is worth something to me in dollars, considering the number of hours I will be exposed to it and how much music means to me.

Considering the difference amounts to 50¢ per day for a year - yes, it's worth every penny of the difference, and that's not including the satisfaction gained by not supporting a business model for which I have contempt.