Hi-Fi Music: Bass & Treble Controls

[Kiran_tech_mania]

One of the top company namely "BOSE" believes pure music reproduction is reproducing music how it is recorded. They don't believe in putting those controls. For them it is like changing the way music is supposed to sound. Hence most of there systems don't have Bass & Treble controls. Some reviewers say that Bose is unusually expensive and some say that it's worth each penny.

This is in contrary to what other companies manufacture. They all have Bass & Treble controls.

[legolas]

To be honest, I really din't know Bose Speakers were designed with the logic you have mentioned. Either ways, We can change the equalizer characteristics of the song internally, if not in the speaker (in case of a computer)??

If not, I would really want to hear a meaningful explanation to back up the logic you have mentioned as to changing the original music...??

[enticer86]

AFAIK, most songs these days are digitally mastered that do NOT need any further equaliser adjustment.
Coming to Bose: they may not have these controls, but then they indeed ARE worth every penny. They may be very expensive, but then you need to have the ears to appreciate music.

PS: since the Original poster discussed Bose, i did not talk abt any other music player/ Earphone/Headphone

[legolas]

Songs may be digitally mastered. But, usually while playing in the softwares, either they should be able to identify the actual genre of music and alter the equalizer accordingly or we have to set it in the software, preassigned for a particular band or so...

But, I don't think BASS and TREBLE buttons alone will do any trick (for the reason I explained). An equalizer is what is necessary.. I guess boss systems should have it (not the speakers)...

But as enticer86 pointed out, BOSE is supposedly (i dont know technical differences) the best!!

[solomon_paulraj]

controls are a must... in amplifiers... not in speakers..

speakers having bass/treble controls have built-in amplifiers and are not of good quality.

[Zeeshan Quireshi]

I prefer playing music the Way it was recorded .

And besides passing music through a circuitry to adjust treble , bass will result in loss of quality .

[The_Devil_Himself]

Bose:they are grossly overpriced but I am kinda their fan,even their entry level headphones are awesome.

controls:I dont use them at all,just sometimes change equaliser settings from the software itself.

[PCWORM]

I agree with bose,, the inclusion of Bass and treble controls wipes out the real
In-thing of the songs,,and gives it a wieird Chirpy and thumping profile.!!
I even dont use equaliser setting while hearing songs, i usually hear all songs
on PowerDVD 7.0 which has no equaliser and Bass-treble controls...
It uses some sophisticated processing modules like Dolby prologic, Dolby virtual speaker which truly enhance the listening experience without any aural
distortion!!!

[vish786]

check out their pricey headphones they are enough too literally shock you !

[Ch@0s]

Bass and Treble controls are basically not worth it. I use a vacuum tube preamplifier and a solid state power amplifier. The only controls the preamp has are volume and input selection.

What treble/bass controls do is add another stage of passive filtering components into the signal path which in reduces the signal purity.

Also less said about bose, the better. It is *absolute overpriced crap*. Here is a nice read.

http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html

[PCWORM]

Bass and Treble controls are basically not worth it. I use a vacuum tube preamplifier and a solid state power amplifier. The only controls the preamp has are volume and input selection.

What treble/bass controls do is add another stage of passive filtering components into the signal path which in reduces the signal purity.

Also less said about bose, the better. It is *absolute overpriced crap*. Here is a nice read.

http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html
yes i admit bose is not d best, but it is surely amongst the best audio innovators..the other players in the market are onkyo, pioneer, klipsch afaik

[pushkaraj]

What treble/bass controls do is add another stage of passive filtering components into the signal path which in reduces the signal purity.

+1


controls are a must... in amplifiers... not in speakers..

speakers having bass/treble controls have built-in amplifiers and are not of good quality.

+1


Controls should be there. They are required in adujusting different accoustic conditios, we can always turn them to zero position if required.

+1 to this too, because the music is produced in the recording studio under ideal conditions and even if the speakers like those from BOSE make an earnest attempt to give a faithful reproduction of the song by not giving the user any controls like Bass and Treble, yet the place where the music will be heard may not have ideal or near-ideal conditions so even if the music is faithfully produced, it would sound different than the original to the listener. What Bose means to say is that they have done their bit in giving faithful sound output by not giving the user the bass and treble controls.


I agree with bose,, the inclusion of Bass and treble controls wipes out the real
In-thing of the songs,,and gives it a wieird Chirpy and thumping profile.!!
I even dont use equaliser setting while hearing songs, i usually hear all songs
on PowerDVD 7.0 which has no equaliser and Bass-treble controls...
It uses some sophisticated processing modules like Dolby prologic, Dolby virtual speaker which truly enhance the listening experience without any aural
distortion!!!

Ultimately what powerdvd is doing using Dolby prologic and Dolby virtual speaker is also changing the original sound reproduction. Also when you say that the bass and treble controls wipes out the real In-thing of the songs even i may say that Dolby prologic and Dolby virtual speaker do the same to the sound. No offence meant, bro(in fact i have tried the dolby virtual speaker and indeed liked it :grin: ). What i want to say is
what is music to my ears might not be music to your ears and vice versa

[nish_higher]

there's so much above Bose..its just insanely overpriced crap.and as far as Bass and treble is concerned--it should be there-sometimes u might wanna lower the Bass in a game--where will u find an EQ?

[PCWORM]

+Ultimately what powerdvd is doing using Dolby prologic and Dolby virtual speaker is also changing the original sound reproduction. Also when you say that the bass and treble controls wipes out the real In-thing of the songs even i may say that Dolby prologic and Dolby virtual speaker do the same to the sound. No offence meant, bro(in fact i have tried the dolby virtual speaker and indeed liked it :grin: ). What i want to say is
what is music to my ears might not be music to your ears and vice versa
Yes,,Dolby modules do change the sound but to make it feel better as u said..
another option is to use winamp or WMP with the equaliser and other setting disabled,,and did so well!

[Ch@0s]

yes i admit bose is not d best, but it is surely amongst the best audio innovators..the other players in the market are onkyo, pioneer, klipsch afaik

Bose has never done any innovation in Audio. They just have a great marketing department.

If you tell me that Audio Research/Conrad Johnson/Thiel/Passlabs/Linkwitz Labs/Dynaudio/B&W or something similar has done innovation, I would kinda agree but Bose is rubbish... absolute rubbish. You can get far better deals than bose for half the money. Even uber cheapo made in india Norge electronics stuff sounds a million times better than bose.

[kalpik]

Lemme tell you one thing.. Quality of music is a very relative term.. What may sound good to you without adjustment, may sound bad to me!

[T159]

I like the natural sound of music, so no basshunter for me.

It would be nice to have bass and treble control for movies and games.

[Kiran_tech_mania]

To be honest, I really din't know Bose Speakers were designed with the logic you have mentioned. Either ways, We can change the equalizer characteristics of the song internally, if not in the speaker (in case of a computer)??

If not, I would really want to hear a meaningful explanation to back up the logic you have mentioned as to changing the original music...??

Yes. Bose believes in reproducing the rich music the way it got recorded in studio. By using graphic equalizer, it's nothing but altering the original sound.

AFAIK, most songs these days are digitally mastered that do NOT need any further equaliser adjustment.
Coming to Bose: they may not have these controls, but then they indeed ARE worth every penny. They may be very expensive, but then you need to have the ears to appreciate music.

PS: since the Original poster discussed Bose, i did not talk abt any other music player/ Earphone/Headphone

Exactly! They are worth every penny!

I am not surprised to see many people voting for "Yes". That has been the case with most of manufacturers. I have seen some music systems with around 10-band graphic equalizer for each channel! So 20 in whole! What the heck? By doing so, Left will sound different than right channel. The music output in such case is entirely different from what is recorded in Studio. Who understands music best? A creator or a listener?

[T159]

Who understands music best? A creator or a listener?

a tie b/w true listener and true creator.

[pushkaraj]

I am not surprised to see many people voting for "Yes". That has been the case with most of manufacturers. I have seen some music systems with around 10-band graphic equalizer for each channel! So 20 in whole! What the heck? By doing so, Left will sound different than right channel. The music output in such case is entirely different from what is recorded in Studio.

No doubt the music reproduced that way would definitely not resemble a studio. But do u know that there are many songs out there that have parts of them coming out differently from two channels. Listen to the beginning of the song "Aazmale" from the movie "Taxi no. 9 2 11". You will know what i mean(Try to listen to the song on an earphone, if need be, to understand how the sound "seems to travel" from the left channel to the right channel.) And AFAIK, that really does not reduce the beauty of the song. In fact, that effect is deliberately done. Similarly, if there are graphic equalisers available with 10 bands per channel, then they need not really sound bad with different settings on different channel. It depends on how they have been adjusted. Of course, that would make the music sound completely different from the original one. But then the one who has bought such a system, and knows what he has got, is indeed a music enthusiast who loves to listen to songs in his own way:D

Who understands music best? A creator or a listener?

I did not understand what u meant by "understand"?

[Kiran_tech_mania]

No doubt the music reproduced that way would definitely not resemble a studio. But do u know that there are many songs out there that have parts of them coming out differently from two channels. Listen to the beginning of the song "Aazmale" from the movie "Taxi no. 9 2 11". You will know what i mean(Try to listen to the song on an earphone, if need be, to understand how the sound "seems to travel" from the left channel to the right channel.) And AFAIK, that really does not reduce the beauty of the song. In fact, that effect is deliberately done. Similarly, if there are graphic equalisers available with 10 bands per channel, then they need not really sound bad with different settings on different channel. It depends on how they have been adjusted. Of course, that would make the music sound completely different from the original one. But then the one who has bought such a system, and knows what he has got, is indeed a music enthusiast who loves to listen to songs in his own way:D

That's called "Stereo" and yes there are tons of music effects in day-today music. My point was that 10 band graphic equalizer for each channel doesn't make any sense. The swing which you said will vanish if right channel high frequency range is increased using Graphic equalizer. So it sounds different than original.

I believe that Graphic Equalizer's are useful in speakers which are not capable of producing original sound. Use graphic equalizers to tweak the non-performing Woofer/Tweater. That applies for all low quality systems.

I did not understand what u meant by "understand"?

"knows"

[pushkaraj]

That's called "Stereo" and yes there are tons of music effects in day-today music. My point was that 10 band graphic equalizer for each channel doesn't make any sense. The swing which you said will vanish if right channel high frequency range is increased using Graphic equalizer. So it sounds different than original.

I agree http://gigasmilies.googlepages.com/113.gif

"knows"

The creator need not necessarily know music better than the listener and vice versa.

a tie b/w true listener and true creator.

+1

[Kiran_tech_mania]

The creator need not necessarily know music better than the listener and vice versa.

Agreed. :) But I assumed creator as a quality guy. A.R. Rehman. ;)

[pushkaraj]

Agreed. :) But I assumed creator as a quality guy. A.R. Rehman. ;)
Dude u read minds or something? u wont believe it but even i was going to give the example of A. R. Rehman :p

[Kiran_tech_mania]

Bass and Treble controls are basically not worth it. I use a vacuum tube preamplifier and a solid state power amplifier. The only controls the preamp has are volume and input selection.

What treble/bass controls do is add another stage of passive filtering components into the signal path which in reduces the signal purity.

Yep. In my college days, I had a big craze about Passive filters and BT boards. I made my own Passive boards, connected to woofer and tweater and decreased midrange frequency as much as possible. It sounded good for particular songs and for short interval. As I ventured deeply, I recognized "rich" sound is not the altered level of frequency but it's the reproduction of "all" frequencies in a pleasant manner. With a BT board it is not possible.

Also less said about bose, the better. It is *absolute overpriced crap*. Here is a nice read.

http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html

I won't believe in such links. If needed, I can give some more against bose.
I am in process of reviewing Bose Companion 2 which I bought for 100$. The problem is I can't compare it with my existing sound system at home (in India). So I can do this in March after coming to India. That will clear my doubts.

Dude u read minds or something? u wont believe it but even i was going to give the example of A. R. Rehman :p

I dono whether I can read all minds...but I can read yours. ;)

[Ch@0s]

What sound system do you have at home? Its upto you to believe or not but bose is complete crap. Zero value for money.

Passive components exist in all decent speakers. All conventional speakers of decent build quality have an L-C-R crossover network. Certain designs such as the thiel CS2.4 are phase coherent and don't require one.

[..:: Free Radical ::..]

My 2 paise:
Bose = expensive crap
Marantz = expensive not crap
Assembled box with things i put in (with bass and treble controls) = worth my 2 paise

even though i agree that its evil to adjust music using controls/equalizer, i would like to have that option

Hell, I even got myself a 24 band analog equalizer (that ****'s rare) along with a dsp for my poweramp. Never tweaked the equalizer though. My floorstanders make enough bass anyway. Used only for parties. For music there is my foobar2k on an audigy.

[W i d e S c r e e N]

I won't believe in such links. If needed, I can give some more against bose.
I am in process of reviewing Bose Companion 2 which I bought for 100$.

I have used the pairs for a week, and let me tell you
the Senn' PX 100 sounds 100x better than those. :mad:

Overpriced piece of carp is what BOSE is!

[legolas]

Ok guys, I was about to buy stereo speakers from Bose... Now, I am starting to have alternating opinions!! :)

If not Bose, what else do you suggest? (sorry if it is Off Topic)

[Kiran_tech_mania]

What sound system do you have at home? Its upto you to believe or not but bose is complete crap. Zero value for money.

Passive components exist in all decent speakers. All conventional speakers of decent build quality have an L-C-R crossover network. Certain designs such as the thiel CS2.4 are phase coherent and don't require one.

The system which I want to compare with is Artis 2.1 Speaker system which I bought for Rs.1200 for my lappy.

Did you listen to Bose? Or it's others experience which is speaking your words? Bose Companion 2 sounds impressive for it's compact size. It is so compact that I can easily carry it anywhere during onsite visits. During purchase, it was only one compact model that sounded rich. Other models I saw didn't even have the depth required to produce good fidelity sound. Bose Companion 2 has a impressive 12 Cm depth... ..(See image).
Ofcourse at 100$ I can get a better 2.1, if not a 5.1 channel sound system which may sound better than Companion 2. But portability is concern.

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/2095/img1254largepw5.th.jpg (http://img100.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1254largepw5.jpg) http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/743/img1256largehd2.th.jpg (http://img91.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1256largehd2.jpg) http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/6834/img1257largeze6.th.jpg (http://img211.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1257largeze6.jpg) http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/1516/img1258largedv9.th.jpg (http://img443.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1258largedv9.jpg) http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/2332/img1260largexz5.th.jpg (http://img149.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1260largexz5.jpg)

[Ch@0s]

The system which I want to compare with is Artis 2.1 Speaker system which I bought for Rs.1200 for my lappy.

Did you listen to Bose? Or it's others experience which is speaking your words? Bose Companion 2 sounds impressive for it's compact size. It is so compact that I can easily carry it anywhere during onsite visits. During purchase, it was only one compact model that sounded rich. Other models I saw didn't even have the depth required to produce good fidelity sound. Bose Companion 2 has a impressive 12 Cm depth... ..(See image).
Ofcourse at 100$ I can get a better 2.1, if not a 5.1 channel sound system which may sound better than Companion 2. But portability is concern.

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/2095/img1254largepw5.th.jpg (http://img100.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1254largepw5.jpg) http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/743/img1256largehd2.th.jpg (http://img91.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1256largehd2.jpg) http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/6834/img1257largeze6.th.jpg (http://img211.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1257largeze6.jpg) http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/1516/img1258largedv9.th.jpg (http://img443.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1258largedv9.jpg) http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/2332/img1260largexz5.th.jpg (http://img149.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1260largexz5.jpg)

Yea have heard that piece of crap. My cousin bro has one. Sounds like rubbish. It has a bloated bottom, slightly forward sounding highs and a completely muddy midrange. For less than 100$, you can get the M-Audio Studio Pro AV30 which will whack the bose bigtime. Other options are the Klipsch Promedia 2.0 and the Behringer MS40.

Ofcourse it'll sound better than a 1200 rupee artis speaker that you have. What you need to look at is what can be had for 100$. If you are looking for a high quality compact system, I suggest you look at the AudioEngine A2 for a bit more. You won't be disappointed.

[W i d e S c r e e N]

it's 100% fair to compare it with Artis speakers.

@Ch@os,
are these "M-Audio Studio Pro AV30/ Behringer MS40" officially avail in our markets

[PCWORM]

Imo 2-channel audio is best experienced on Audiophile-Headphones...

[Zeeshan Quireshi]

Ok guys, I was about to buy stereo speakers from Bose... Now, I am starting to have alternating opinions!! :)

If not Bose, what else do you suggest? (sorry if it is Off Topic)
Klipsch ProMedia GMX 2.1 .

[legolas]

a tie b/w true listener and true creator.

Seems like this should be the answer to Science and God topic too! ;)

@Zeeshan Quireshi
Wow, the specifications and the looks are gr8, any idea on the price? couldn't locate it anywhere!

legolas.

[Ch@0s]

Imo 2-channel audio is best experienced on Audiophile-Headphones...

Headphones are more accurate but speakers are more fun, they image far better, have the in your gut bass impact. Its a tradeoff... the best is to have both :D.

The M-Audio Studiopros are available in india.

[Zeeshan Quireshi]

Headphones are more accurate but speakers are more fun, they image far better, have the in your gut bass impact. Its a tradeoff... the best is to have both :D.

The M-Audio Studiopros are available in india.
Yup . but The Best Music Experience is on Headphones as far as i have experienced .

Unless you're in a theatre ofcourse ;)

[ring_wraith]

To me, the best in sound is to be had by 2.1 speakers. Unless the bass is sub-woofer is over-utilized.

Headphones are truer to the original sound, but the fact that speakers provide a more airy experience [i.e. distance of sound from ear] it sounds better.

[Stuge]

BOSE is supposedly (i dont know technical differences) the best!!

NO ,Man Bose is not the best ,Beyerdynamics ,AKG,Sennheiser etc are much better than Bose .QC2 which costs Rs 16000 has all bass and no mids and highs and Too muddy for me .

[ashok jain]

I prefer controls .

[moshel]

personally i prefer original sounds, no extra bass or treble required. But for that the speakers should be able to play the frequencies properly or the music would sound totally bland. and Bose is a leader in that department.

controls or no controls....i wish to own Bose speakers some day. (a small 2.1 system costs 16k:-o :-o :-o ) (Bose Wave system costs 27k:-o :-o :-o ) and they offer finance schemes on things costing more than 70k.

the current speakers (Altec Lansing 621) i own has a very unique system. first of all there is no treble control.
and the bass control is on the back side of the woofer! and that too it is a small knob like which we find in electrical fittings (at first glance it looks like a fuse)..we have to rotate it to increase or decrease the bass.

[Kiran_tech_mania]

Oh...Bose thrashed from all directions! :D
Will review other models suggested here....

[NucleusKore]

Well BOSE would be right if we used a BOSE system for playback through BOSE speakers. I do not think they can generalise. (It will end up being like using high end Creative speakers with some junk soundcard).

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/9472/pubthefuture2cisopen466cr4.png (http://www.publicons.de/)

[Ch@0s]

^^Pure junk post

- Bose only makes crappy speakers. Doesn't make electronics
- Even the top end creative speakers are pure junk... doesnt matter what soundcard one uses :D

[NucleusKore]

^^Pure junk post

- Bose only makes crappy speakers.

Crappy? You must be from Mars.

... Doesn't make electronics

What a JOKE. Show's how well informed you are. See this
http://www.bose.com/controller?event=view_product_page_event&product=wrcd_wave_index

- Even the top end creative speakers are pure junk... doesnt matter what soundcard one uses :D

Maybe for you.

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/9472/pubthefuture2cisopen466cr4.png (http://www.publicons.de/)

[Ch@0s]

Crappy? You must be from Mars.

Have you heard any other speaker brand? Other than mass market stuff?


What a JOKE. Show's how well informed you are. See this
http://www.bose.com/controller?event=view_product_page_event&product=wrcd_wave_index

Maybe for you.


Again that is not classified as electronics. Its an single system. All of those are crap made in china stuff rebadged by bose. By electronics I mean amplifiers. Bose itself uses Denon electronics in its showroom. Doesn't matter anyway cos no matter what electronics you use, bose sounds crappy :P.

[Zeeshan Quireshi]

I'd Prefer Klipsch , Paradigm , B&W over Bose any time .

Specially , as bode doesn't sell Floor-Standing 3-Way or 4-Way speaker systems , they can't match the quality offered by these companies .

[Kiran_tech_mania]

Bose makes good compact systems. Companion 2 sounds crisp and I really couldn't believe that such small speakers gives such a good big sound. One drawback I noticed is it's bass level reduces significantly after crossing 50% of volume. But at 100$ and ultra compact system, I couldn't ask for more.

So all guys who are thrashing Bose, just listen it once in Studio and believe it. Don't believe in some useless posts and reviews on net. Sound quality is subjective. High Bass sound may be awesome for somebody, but for another, it's simply "Noise".

To get a taste of Bose Companion 2, I will shoot a video and post it here tomorrow!

[Zeeshan Quireshi]

I have heard the Bose speakers .

But what i'm saying is that for the same 100$ i can get a better sounding set of speakers .

[Kiran_tech_mania]

Ok guys...I have uploaded the video to You tube. Sorry, I have to trim off the video in-between to reduce file size.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-T00I3jR60Q

[club_pranay]

i looked up on the internet, and found...
Onkyo - All "amplifiers" has Bass/Treble/Super Bass controls. equalizer was missing everywhere. (DVD/CD players has no amplifier)

Denon - All Amplifiers has Bass/Treble controls. Equalizer was missing everywhere

JVC - All Amplifiers has Electronic Bass/Treble Tone Controls. Equalizer was still missing everywhere

Pioneer - No information

Yamaha - Bass/Treble controls - but Equalizer was missing everywhere


Now, look at this list..

Philips - Loudness , Digital Sound Control 4 modes , Dynamic Bass Boost

Sony - Groove Bass Boost Function, MP3 Booster, 3 Surround Sound Modes

Samsung - No Info

What i see here, all hi end and hi quality systems does not have very complicated audio adjustments. it seems that low end systems had just one thing on their minds, BASS BOOST!! for them it's everything!

talking about bose, they are more concerned about reducing the size of their speakers without sacrificing the sound quality.

If we put an original CD(not MP3 for god's sake!! LoL) or a DVD into a hi end player, it will sound best if we keep the equalisers out of the way. i think ppl from digit test centers will agree to this.

as an exercise, try playing with a 10point equaliser to make the sound as good as it can be. when you're done, compare it with the original sound. you will see the mess created by the equalizer!

During the last visit to the AV EXPO in delhi, i heard an onkyo system(av receiver + DVD)and B&W(Sound)(http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/) playing at default settings.. that was the best sound i ever ever heard!!

[Aberforth]

I dislike any company thats tries to snatch a choice from me, so Bose doesn't have my good side. :rolleyes:

Anyway, concerning pricing of Bose speakers, I do think they are grossly overpriced as compared to other brands of its price, it doesn't really match up. I'd rather prefer Paradigm or Von Schweikert for that kind of money. For headphones, nothing matches Sennheiser.

[club_pranay]

true!
talking about price, one unit of series 601 B&W speaker(that's front left component of hometheatre spks) costs more than the cost of the entire 5.1 bose setup! Bose's primary goal is "being small" but still very good sound. while B&W or Von Schweikert has just one goal "absolutely perfect sound" with no compromise! that's where the difference is.



I dislike any company thats tries to snatch a choice from me, so Bose doesn't have my good side. :rolleyes:

Anyway, concerning pricing of Bose speakers, I do think they are grossly overpriced as compared to other brands of its price, it doesn't really match up. I'd rather prefer Paradigm or Von Schweikert for that kind of money. For headphones, nothing matches Sennheiser.

[Kiran_tech_mania]

true!
talking about price, one unit of series 601 B&W speaker(that's front left component of hometheatre spks) costs more than the cost of the entire 5.1 bose setup! Bose's primary goal is "being small" but still very good sound. .....

Exactly! This is what I like about Bose and that's the reason I went for Companion 2. I am sure that at 100$ and such small speakers, I don't have enough options left. It stands to it's name as "Companion" during all times..especially when one is moving to places and still want to enjoy good music.

[Aberforth]

while B&W or Von Schweikert has just one goal "absolutely perfect sound" with no compromise! that's where the difference is.
Exactly. Which makes me feel if I buy a Von Schweikert, I get my money's worth. I prefer crystal clear sound with normal size over tiny size with 'good sound'. I'd rather get a pair of mid-level Sennheiser headphones if I were looking for portability.

[The Conqueror]

I like Bass esp. during Gaming....it roxx