Anyone have B&W Computer speakers for there Mac's?

ronin67 · Aug 7, 2011

I was just wondering if anyone has any experience with B&W speakers, especially the computer speakers, Model MM-1's? I have seen in a few places where Apple sells these speakers in several Apple stores? Currently I have Bose computer speakers hook-up to my iMac. I just always wanted a pair of B&W speakers. I have read quite a few reviews that said they were a very high quality and great sounding speaker system for your computer. Any input on these speakers would be deeply appreciated.

May God Bless!

Ed

robduckyworth · Aug 7, 2011

Personally, I prefer Bose to B&W though they are both respected brands.

Lifeisabeach · Aug 7, 2011

I thoroughly disagree on Bose being respectable. Audio enthusiasts/audiophiles have a lot of contempt for their poor build and sound quality, and generally are held in pretty much the same regard as Monster Cable… heavily marketed, overhyped, and way overpriced. They don't necessarily sound BAD, but they are not in the same league as B&W and you can certainly do better for the money.

JohnCL · Aug 7, 2011

Comparing B&W to Bose is like comparing Ferrari to Ford. There is no comparison between the two IMO. I have not personally auditioned the MM-1's that you speak of, but would love to someday. Bowers and Wilkins is a true audiophile brand found in some of the greatest audio stores. The Bose brand is a big box retailer favorite.

In the end it all comes to you and your ears and you really need to audition them both side by side in your environment for an accurate comparison. Although, at the end of said testing I see B&W in your future.

Good luck!

robduckyworth · Aug 7, 2011

lifeisabeach said:
I thoroughly disagree on Bose being respectable. Audio enthusiasts/audiophiles have a lot of contempt for their poor build and sound quality

I respect the brand name. i think speakers and audio gear in general are a preference thing. i love the sound of my Bose gear, and i have heard a lot of more advanced gear in my studies. I dont particularly like the sound of Dynaudio monitors coming through a Digidesign AD/DA. And they are some well regarded bits of kit.

comparing Bose speakers to that stupid Zeppelin thing that B&W make, Bose won outright (last time i listened, probably a year or so ago now.) But that again, is opinion.

As for poor build quality. I have owned countless pairs of headphones over the years, and Bose have made the only ones that can actually survive the battering i give headphones on a day to day basis. most pairs I use last around 4-6 months before something breaks. my Bose 'phones have been going strong for a year and a bit now. (And that's 100 miles a week, in a backpack on a motorbike.)

And even then, if we want to go all audiophile on it, you should be looking at treating your room for inconsistent frequencies and resonances, standing waves, etc, because this will colour the sound of your speakers dramatically anyway.

There we go, i think I defended my opinion well enough. maybe I overdid it slightly

dtravis7 · Aug 7, 2011

B&W are very accurate speakers. There is of course a LOT of opinion with what is and what is not accurate sound, but there are basic tests that can be done to establish basic accuracy. All the Audiophiles who perform such tests have not found most Bose speakers to be all that accurate. They do have a pleasing sound to many though.

B&W are very respected and accurate loudspeakers. If $$$ were not a issue for me, I would take B&W without even looking a 2nd time. There are other brands out there also which over the years have proven to be very good and accurate reproducers of live sounds. Most are not cheap $$$ wise, but some are not that expensive.

I do have a pair of Bose 301's here at the house. Back when I got them I did some live Vs Recorded tests comparing them to even some JBL Control Room Monitors and the Bose's have very veiled highs and not very accurate Bass in comparison to the JBL monitors and also a pair of very similar sized Advent's in fact.

I would say go to a good audio showroom and listen for yourself to your favorite music on both and make your own decision.

I have been an audiophile and Audio Technician since I was a kid. Some consider me an Audio Engineer in fact.

Lifeisabeach · Aug 7, 2011

Don't get me wrong… liking Bose products is one thing and there's nothing wrong with that, but industry-wide, Bose is not a respectable brand. Go to any AV forum and you'll be disemboweled for mentioning them in a positive light. Look in any audiophile magazine… Bose isn't ever reviewed. Call them biased, uninformed, elitist, or whatever one may choose, but when it comes right down to it… the brand simply isn't respected by most hard-core enthusiasts. I'm not strong enough of a music critic to counter the opinions of either side of the coin, but I do know they have made rather outlandish claims in the past about the sound of their mini-speaker system being comparable to conventional speakers.

patch5674 · Aug 7, 2011

Bose is a brand you buy if you want to boast BOSE-T maybe? no? HAH about your kit to anyone (because everyone has heard of Bose right?) at a party, If you actually want to sit and listen to your music and your movies in the best quality then B&W will blow them away, Some of the most respected audio brands are the ones that no one, unless they are interested in Home Cinema/HI-FI will have heard of.

chas_m · Aug 7, 2011

I have never liked B&W speakers. All my computer speakers have been in colour.

dtravis7 · Aug 8, 2011

chas_m said:
I have never liked B&W speakers. All my computer speakers have been in colour.

That is a good one Chas! I thought the same thing till I read the whole thread which surprised me as I know B&W speakers quite well!

Glad you posted that though since I did not!

Grin

chas_m · Aug 8, 2011

B&W belongs in old movies, by gum! You kids today with your retro kitsch ...

ronin67 · Aug 8, 2011

chas_m said:
I have never liked B&W speakers. All my computer speakers have been in colour.

Now that is funny sir!!!!

ronin67 · Aug 8, 2011

dtravis7 said:
B&W are very accurate speakers. There is of course a LOT of opinion with what is and what is not accurate sound, but there are basic tests that can be done to establish basic accuracy. All the Audiophiles who perform such tests have not found most Bose speakers to be all that accurate. They do have a pleasing sound to many though.

B&W are very respected and accurate loudspeakers. If $$$ were not a issue for me, I would take B&W without even looking a 2nd time. There are other brands out there also which over the years have proven to be very good and accurate reproducers of live sounds. Most are not cheap $$$ wise, but some are not that expensive.

I do have a pair of Bose 301's here at the house. Back when I got them I did some live Vs Recorded tests comparing them to even some JBL Control Room Monitors and the Bose's have very veiled highs and not very accurate Bass in comparison to the JBL monitors and also a pair of very similar sized Advent's in fact.

I would say go to a good audio showroom and listen for yourself to your favorite music on both and make your own decision.

I have been an audiophile and Audio Technician since I was a kid. Some consider me an Audio Engineer in fact.

Thanks for the experienced input. To be honest, I had a pair of Bose 601 in the 1980's and they sounded real good (always wanted 901s). However, in recent years, I would agree Bose sound and build quality has gone down. The Bose computer speakers I have now sound pretty good, but I as well, was more into crisp/sound clarity as compared to just being able to get real loud. I do foresee a pair of B&W speakers for my iMac in the near future.

To be quite honest, I really don't have a big home stereo anymore. All the music I listen too at home is on the computer and on my iPod when I go to gym and work out. And I do agree with another post stated by someone else on this threat, the Bose earbud style headphones are very good (to their credit).

I know you will laugh, but in my young stereo building hay day, my biggest investment was a Nakamichi Tape deck. I took a loan out for it. I spent over $750.00 for it. What else is funny, is that it was a choice between the Nakamichi tape deck or an Apple IIe computer. Needless to say the tape deck won. I always wanted a Nakamichi Dragon tape deck, but I could not justify that with the wife.

May God bless!

Ed

ronin67 · Aug 8, 2011

robduckyworth said:
I respect the brand name. i think speakers and audio gear in general are a preference thing. i love the sound of my Bose gear, and i have heard a lot of more advanced gear in my studies. I dont particularly like the sound of Dynaudio monitors coming through a Digidesign AD/DA. And they are some well regarded bits of kit.

comparing Bose speakers to that stupid Zeppelin thing that B&W make, Bose won outright (last time i listened, probably a year or so ago now.) But that again, is opinion.

As for poor build quality. I have owned countless pairs of headphones over the years, and Bose have made the only ones that can actually survive the battering i give headphones on a day to day basis. most pairs I use last around 4-6 months before something breaks. my Bose 'phones have been going strong for a year and a bit now. (And that's 100 miles a week, in a backpack on a motorbike.)

And even then, if we want to go all audiophile on it, you should be looking at treating your room for inconsistent frequencies and resonances, standing waves, etc, because this will colour the sound of your speakers dramatically anyway.

There we go, i think I defended my opinion well enough. maybe I overdid it slightly

The B&W Zeppelin sounds that bad? I was considering getting the original Zeppelin or the Zeppelin air.

Thanks!

Ed

a911scanner · Aug 25, 2011

Wow... Way to make this a Bose vs Bowers & Wilkins thread!! Exactly what the OP was looking for, to be sure.

Enough of my rant for a new poster. Here's my thoughts, based on experience.

1) Bose generally sucks. Try using the 901's without the eq.. that should explain the comment.

2) Speakers are indeed a personal thing. Something may sound good to one person and not another.

3) I tried the B&W MM-1 when I first got my 11,3 iMac. They had great sound, especially very good lows for their size. Problem was they just didn't get loud enough. Audiophile quality, to be sure, just without awesome volumes levels when you wanted to "get loud"

4) I got some powered speakers from AudioPro out of Sweden. The LV2's to be exact. Twice the price of the B&W's, but well more than 4 times the sound. Check them out... Living LV2 | Audio Pro

MM

RavingMac · Aug 25, 2011

ronin67 said:
The B&W Zeppelin sounds that bad? I was considering getting the original Zeppelin or the Zeppelin air.

Thanks!

Ed

I am absolutely NOT an audiophile, audio engineer, or audio anything. But I have to agree with Rob about the Zeppelin. It may sound fine, but it is bug ugly!

dtravis7 · Aug 25, 2011

Razormac said:
I am absolutely NOT an audiophile, audio engineer, or audio anything. But I have to agree with Rob about the Zeppelin. It may sound fine, but it is bug ugly!

I have never looked at the Zeppelin or Zeppelin Air. I agree Razor! They are Ugly. I hope they sound better than they look! I am sure they do but I could not stand having that in my house near my computer even if it was the most accurate sound out there!

Wonder why they call them Zeppelin? After Led Zeppelin?

brentm · Oct 23, 2011

I do have a pair of B&W MM1 speakers... very nice and sound very good. no regrets. they are very well priced also.

I would also like a pair of B&O Beolab 4's for my other mac. expensive but again extremely good.

cheers.

Anyone have B&W Computer speakers for there Mac's?

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