The only thing I ever heard Bose actually do get some positive respond on (from audiophiles, that is), was the bass from the 901 system, WITH the EQ on, that is... They are supposedly quite capable in that area.Some years ago I was at a party where they used a couple of small Bose speakers - they had a 8" bass unit & two cone tweeters (the 301?). They did have a pretty good bass (especially the size of the box taken into consideration) & was able to play amazingly loud without actually sounding overloaded or break... They were driven by a large Sony amp, well over 100 watts PCH.