I can't afford the bose controller so i was a little dissapointed at first, but I bought a crown xti amp to power them and it has all the eq and crossover features (hi-q network)that were needed and I can truly say it has a better, more pleasing over all sound the any speaker I have heard(except studio monitors) I can carry two at once, and don't cry when they get rained on, because they are made to take it 365a year. The sound carries better than any other setup I have tried

I own and have the Bose 802 for a number of years. The speakers sound great for the spoken word. Don't even think about using these for a full band without subs. Even with subs I have not been happy with a full band playing. I'm in the process of replacing the speaker. Overall the speakers work well for a small band or the spoken word but are over price.

I have these speaker since 1991 and all i can say is these speakers are awsome clear and krispy sounds u need to have bose 802 controller to feel the real good sounds.

We have 6 of the 802 III and 1 Bose MB24 for a sub. We have used OAP, Peavy, Mackie, EV, Klipsch, JBL and EAW. Nothing compares! The Bose has a better sound and the all around dispersement is greater. The low end on the 802 is between 55-60 hertz so if you like alot of subharmonic or bass you can feel then go with a Bose sub MB 24. Its a 130lb beast that has 2 12 inch paired in at 4 ohms that will throw out some major lows.

I beleave that some hate them because they try to use them with out the Bose controller (EQ) They try to EQ with a 31 band graphic and this can not be done. You must use a 7 band parametric EQ. this is like using (31) 31 band graphic EQ's! If you do not know what butter- worth 3rd is then please stick with the Bose controller.

You will not go wrong with these. I would use a DBX Driverack as well to ad the compression and extra functions that will only make you love the Bose that much more!

Because I design and repair audio equipment for a living, I know what's inside these things. They are junk. You can bench test them yourself as I did. If you don't have the equipment or know how to do that, ask any competent audio tech. You will discover that these have terrible frequency response, weak power handling, and need all sorts of electronic trickery to make them work.

The reason some people like these things is because they have decent dispersion characteristic and are usually placed above the audience's heads. You can do that with any pole mount speaker. There are many pole-mountable passive loudspeakers on this website that provide MUCH better sound, are far more reliable, handle greater power and have better dispersion, for less than HALF what these over-rated mud-flaps cost.

Check out the PDF specs for yourself! You will see that Bose doesn't even publish any real specifications. The so-called "spec-sheet" is just more hype. There are no facts; No dispersion or frequency-response graphs, no driver specifications, ...just some marketing buzz-words and pretty pictures. Check it out for yourself. Use your brains. This "flagship" Bose speaker has been around for over 30 years. It sucked then, it sucks more now at this price.