Is it worth springing for a Bose to play CDs?

You can rip your CDs to MP3, put them on your phone, and use just about any Bluetooth speaker box you want. I can see people still playing CDs on a high-end sound system but they’re completely dead for situations like this. Bose CD players never delivered what they promised and I personally would not get one. If you just want to play CDs then thrift stores have piles of those kitchen type players that mount nicely under a shelf.

GQ. I can see advantages to both. When I buy an appliance, my first concern is durability. I want it to last a long time, so I’m willing to pay more up front if it means I’m not going to replace it soon. It’s times like these I wish I had a subscription to Consumer Reports, but I don’t. I would read a couple of online reviews and probably go with the Bose.

@Blackwater_Park I’m not going to do that. If I want to do that, I’ll just play Pandora through the bluetooth. I want a CD player.

Id get a Bose Wave but (in the UK at least) they no longer sell them. Im keeping my out on ebay for one in good condition thats not too expensive.

I like Bose. They may not be super highest quality but they have excellent customer service

I just ordered a simple Bose Wave radio/CD player for less than I thought it would be. Thanks for the advice. (It is used but supposedly in very good condition.)

They stopped making Bose Wave. . . . everything is going to streaming services or satellite.

@janbb Is it refurbished? Because I don’t think it’s manufactured any longer. I checked their site.

@jca2 Yes, as I said it’s used.

I like the voluptuous sound and durability of the Bose Wave radio and CD player. I would buy another one if still available.

I’m inclined to echo @Blackwater_Park‘s suggestion of moving on from CD’s to mp3’s. Just for perspective, what the 8-track was in 1998, is to what a CD is now in 2024.

That said, I can also vouch for Bose customer service. I have a nice set of Bose headphones and when there was a problem (after the warranty had already expired) they still sent me a new pair, no charge. I can’t guarantee that you’ll have the same experience, but I was pleasantly surprised by that.

@gorillapaws

Can CD trax be copied to MP3 files with a Bose, so that the MP3’s will be stored in and playable by the Bose?

You mite be able to find some really nice CD players on ebay or at a pawn shop.
I would try the pawnshops first.

CD players are likely collecting dust in pawnshop warehouses everywhere. You may have your choice of a lot a great stuff, that was part of the last generations of CD players.

About 15 years ago, I found about 50 formerly top end CD players all in the dumpster area behind a recently closed TV repair shop.
The price tags, were still on them. They used to be expensive. They just became garbage overnight.

You may be able to find the same Bose model, if you ask a national pawnshop chain about it. I guarantee they are trying to get out from under that type of stuff.
If you do find something, low ball them with your offer.
If they don’t like your offer, tell them they can keep paying to store it somewhere.

If you get something used through ebay, I would recommend trying to add a protection plan or warranty.

I had a HUGE book of CDs, but lost them in a flood that got into my vehicle…
The only reason I had such a large amount, was because it was easy to get CDs from people who didn’t want them anymore.

Or. Just a thought. You could switch to vinyl, if you like the older stuff.

I guess it depends on how much of an audiophile you are. Bose has done some amazing things with sound systems I, personally, think they put out great sound. But I don’t need to have a Bose system to play my CDs. I have lesser systems because I don’t listen to stereos very often. I do have a pair of Monster BT speakers that I put outside when I’m working or lounging and want music. They put out good sound…not as good as my Bose system on the TV, but good sound nonetheless. And they were a whole lot cheaper than the Bose.

Older high-end CD players are seeing a resurgence in the hifi community. Not audiophile “gotta be all analog” nonsense. Just CDs in general because they’re sampled at a much higher rate than most MP3s people are using now. You can get some streaming services like spotify to stream at CD quality when using the desktop app. CDs are currently the cheapest way to enjoy high fidelity sound. You would not notice it on a small Bose wave radio though. Perhaps through a proper receiver and a pair of old Bose 601 or 301 speakers. Those were good. Most newer stuff from Bose was overpriced and overhyped to be honest. Bose is still better than most of the modern, cheap stuff from China sold in big box stores now. Not night and day but just marginally better. If you got it used cheap, I’d say you did well. If you do want to ever stream Bluetooth many of those wave radios had an AUX input and you can just connect an inexpensive Bluetooth audio adapter. Newer wave radios also could play mp3s ripped and burned back to a CD. That reduces the sample rate but allows you to put much more content on one disk.

I see you made a decision, sounds like a reasonable compromise. My answer would have been don’t bother spending a lot for a kitchen CD player.

We have two surround sound Bose systems and I wish we didn’t have either of them. It’s all my husband’s thing.

This Q is interesting to me. Maybe we can sell them for a decent price if he ever wants to get rid of them. They are many years old, maybe 20 years more or less?

I love my CDs. I also love my vinyl records. I listen to mp3s as well, but I still love the physical media.

^^ Yup. I gave away my stereo equipment finally but I love my CDs – some of which my Ex transferred from vinyl for me – and I listen to streaming music as well.

I’m into vinyl because you get all the album art and extras. Some vinyl mixes sound better than CDs, but generally, CDs are best.

I’d shop separately for separate CD player and speakers. I love higher quality audio. A company that makes good speakers might not make a combo with a CD player.

I received a invitation to a Stereo shop, to see a new two channel amp. The CD player was $12,000 and so was PreAmp. The new Amp was $15,000 . . the two speakers were $26,000.

YIKES.

$65,000 !

@Tropical_Willie I bet it sounded amazing though. That’s nuts though. No economy of scale there so it’s all $$$$$$

The golden era of hifi from the late 60’s to the early 80’s is still very, very good equipment that can be had for next to nothing if you know where to look.

@Tropical_Willie Wilson Audio speakers are the best but they are that expensive.

@Caravanfan has an audiophile friend who has an awesome system! I could hear individual singers in a choir piece that he played for me. That means the recordings have to be perfect since you’ll be able to pick out every imperfection. I could hear separate layers in pop recordings. I’m pretty happy with the Polk-level audio that I can afford.

@RocketGuy Yes, that’s the wilson Audio system.

@Caravanfan The speakers were Bowers & Wilkins 803, the rest were all top of the line Marantz !

@Tropical_Willie Too rich for my blood too. I have 25 year old Cambridge Soundworks speakers.

40 plus year old BES for front and Bose 501 for sides, four channel LR-5000 by Lafayette.

KLH model 5’s and 17’s here.

No. I would suggest getting a cheap cd player from a thrift shop or yard sale. I would not spend too much money as these things break too fast.

You can even get a cheap Playstation to listen to music with. I bought a ps1 from a thrift store for $1, and it worked fine just the lid would not close 100% of the first time. It closed after 3 or 4 tries. Was a great bargin.

Alas it burnt in the Jasper, Alberta wild fire.

I can vouch for Bose.
Through random chance, my wife’s high school bully moved in the apartment above us and were loud stompers.

After being a mature adult and asking nicely, they obviously doubled down.

Then….I tape my Bose speaker to the ceiling and let it rip with heavy bass songs (daft punk).

And wouldn’t you know….Bose amazingly put my bully upstairs neighbors in place.

Thank you, Bose.

I did the same thing in my dorm in freshman year! Next door neighbor loved to play top 40 around the time I liked to nap between classes. One day I took my ghetto blaster and faced it to the adjoining wall, put pillows around it, then cranked up Devo. 2 songs later, peace and quiet.

@Blackberry They were stompy and bossy and you had to go bosey on them.

@All Update Just unpacked and starting using my reconditioned Bose CD player and I’m very happy with the choice so far.

^^Are you playing songs you burned into CDs yourself or playing studio released CDs? I find that studio CDs sound much better than CDs I recorded songs into.

@mazingerz88 So far have only played one since I just set it up. It was one we recorded from an album. I had to turn the volume way up but the sound was good.

@mazingerz88 burning from MP3s? If so, that’s why.

^^Not familiar with the terminology but I got all the songs I burned in CDs from ITunes.

@mazingerz88 Yes, this is why. Itunes uses a lower bitrate than is on a retail CD (256bps vs 128bps.) Simply put, the sound quality is not as good, and with quality audio gear, you can hear that difference plain as day. I’m not an itunes user, but I think you can go in to itunes and change the settings to a higher bitrate. If it’s “sample rate” then you want as close to 44.100 kHz as it will let you.

I’m finding that the Bose has a great sound – even without additional speakers but it is very sensitive to any dust or scratches on the CD. I’ve had to wash several of mine before they will play through.

^^Now you know who’s the bose.

@mazingerz88 lol