@Mike
"And that mainly has to do with COST…Nothing else. Good high quality accurate and sound appeasing speakers are expensive. Far more expensive then the average buyer can buy."
Two things…first, if you read all my post, I continue to take the view that speaker manufacturers make speakers that are NOT the most accurate by design because they have other design factors in mind. And here, you make my point ! These speakers (sound bars) aren’t even made to be accurate within their price point. One speaker has much less stereo separation for example… They are made to be convenient first, make appealing sound which means as far as accuracy is concerned, no dramatics peaks but definitely no surprises in the say 8k range.
I will bet, that these speakers and others like most products are test marketed for long term listening NOT to audiophiles alone but to average consumers, which is going to be the majority (only) market. They are not as interested in the nuances of some self proclaimed audio buff who says he misses the oboe in the third row. They want the bubble form filled like. hey sounds great, wide, open and yes I would buy one of these.
As far as Bose 901s are concerned…again you are missing my point, frustrating…901s are not particularly accurate…BUT THEY SELL a heck of a lot more then your 604s which you steadfastly proclaim is a much better speaker…Why, I suspect ones answer might be “marketing”…
The Corolla is the leading selling name plate of all time, not because it’s the best car, not because, It’s the cheapest…and NOT because of marketing alone. It actually fills peoples needs and the 901, Polk and you name it sell speakers that do as well…Toyota has no intention of building the “best” car in a Corolla. They want the right answers on the bubble form and if it means money in a standard feature instead of better handling, in it goes and down goes it’s rating by car buffs who think a Corolla should be a “better” car.
I did all the math earlier on what makes speakers relatively accurate and neither you nor I need some one else telling us what we should like. But neither should we tell a bunch of other people out there as well…those at discos etc. You did get that the 901 by the review was a great party speaker. That’s because it had POOR stereo separation, a quality revered by audiophiles, not so much by the actual buyers and not so much by Bose.
"However, we doubt that the 901 will appeal to perfectionists who have developed a taste for subtleties of detail and timbre. " “It is ideal for rock enthusiasts to whom sheer sonic impact is of paramount importance, and for classical listeners who want the next best thing to ambient stereo without the cost and the bother of rear-channel add-ons.”
They aren’t selling to perfectionists…the sellers of not so perfect speakers are taking into account that there are more party goers, rock music lovers and concert goers then perfectionists…Cerwin Vega made a living on the West Coast selling party speakers…too as well. Infinity makes party speakers in some of their line with accentuated mid bass response etc etc etc etc There are a bunch major speaker makers, Harman International(sp) now, who also cater to the masses and not the perfectionists in many of their lines, STILL makes( has made in China ) excellent professional audio monitors and entertainment PA speakers. Many are very expensive and not particularly accurate, but great for their intended job. BTW, you can buy quite accurate, inexpensive speakers…you can make them too.