The Bose 2.2 Bookshelf Speaker Taught Me Something New

Today we discuss the Bose 2.2 Bookshelf speaker from the late 80's, it's features and how to set up a pair of them. Also how to clean them.
AudioThrift is a channel dedicated to making vintage stereo equipment feel more accessible for novices with no experience. I am still a novice myself and my main message is if I can do it, so can you.
I am also trying out a new sound editor so let me know if you notice a difference.
Voice Coil Image: Daniel Christensen (Creative Commons 3.0)
creativecommon...
DISCLAIMER: All comments are held for review. Rudeness and politics will NOT be tolerated in any capacity. Any unpleasant comment will be removed and you will be blocked. That includes comments directed toward other commenters.
#bose #bosespeakers

[@djijspeakerguy4628]

A little tip with the Bose 2.2, these are NOT intended to be played with the grill removed, at least the ones where the grill is inserted into holes in the box, not grommets. These holes in the box will essentially act as erroneous bass reflex ports, and tune the box WAY higher than intended: it will sound boomy and not go very deep. If you put the grills on, they are a completely different speaker, and actually have decent bass. Turning up the bass will make you realize just how well tuned the boxes are, though I don’t really care for how the treble sounds. Smooth sounding to an average listener, but boring or not detailed enough to people who have listened to a lot of equipment, or young people like me with really good ears.

[@AudioThrift]

I did notice that when I was testing them but because I didn't mention it, I'm going to go ahead and pin this because it's helpful! :)

[@solarrobot]

These Bose are beautiful sounding speakers for classical music. Very accurate!

[@jameslaidler2152]

Love seeing the support and participation from your colleagues and friends. Please tell me you lot play D&D together. You guys give off that energy.

[@AudioThrift]

Thanks. Tattoo shops are a fun vibe. :)

[@kildozer2012]

Thanks for reminding me that I have a pair of these in my junk room! I pulled them out of the trash about 15 years ago and fell in love with the sound profile. Sure, they don't emit a massive amount of bass, but they have some of the best clarity for speakers from that era.

[@bpalpha]

Listening to this through my Bose Companion Series 3 mk2 sub/sat set right now! 😄 I'm not a huge Bose fan but they get shot down too early by many who don't even stop to listen to their products. If Bose sound is what you like, that is fine with me. They make respectable speakers. Any spring clip speaker terminal can accept something like Sewell's flex pin connectors (and other variants) so you do have some connection options. Could always change it out for after market binding posts.

[@AudioThrift]

A couple days ago I got may hands on a speaker selector switchbox from Amazon and hooked these up to it along with a couple other sets I had and was able to do an actual side-by-side comparison. I can't deny the clarity. Paired with a sub to get the bass on par with their highs and mids, they're pretty solid. :)

[@HenryKlausEsq.]

Wow, a Bose video without downvotes. Man your technical analysis is great - to the point & paired with show not tell. And that alligator is a ninja. Let's get those subscriber numbers up!

[@AudioThrift]

Thanks. 😊

[@Dubsteppah]

They remind me of my pair of Bose 301's. Still making nice sound to this day. Series 1's.

[@AudioThrift]

If everything I read is true, your 301's are supposed to be quite a bit better, in fact. 😁

[@robertdavis5714]

Only time you need a fuse for speakers is Adcom Stereo Eq. because has no "Protect Mode" at power-up. You get too much FREE stuff.

[@AudioThrift]

All I can say to that is Palm Springs is a fun place. lol

[@edwardkane7708]

Hello Mr Thrift- another great and informative video. Your mention of the ease of cap replacement is giving me confidence to open up my old thrift Tannoy’s and do the same. I must admit I have some fear of screwing up but I will take it one step at a time.

[@AudioThrift]

Do it! I guarantee you'll succeed. It's very easy.

[@stephenmorrissey1254]

I like how you bump the mic right when you say "I'm still in the learning process" 0:18 😆 I don't mind the Bose sound but finding a used pair for a decent price is difficult in my area. I had a pair of Roommate II powered speakers that sounded great coming out of a portable CD player but the quality of materials and construction was pretty poor.

[@AudioThrift]

That's what we call a "happy accident" lol I'm not familiar with the Roommate brand... but thinking back to actual room mates I've had, the poor build quality would be fitting... hehe.

[@stephenmorrissey1254]

@@AudioThrift It's the Bose Roommates II. They were interesting in that they were the first "good" sounding speaker you could plug into your Walkman in the late 80"s. Before that it was all boomboxes. Holy crap! Look for a boombox to review!

[@AudioThrift]

@@stephenmorrissey1254 Oh,yeah... I have been looking for one since I started the channel. They're so hard to find in presentable condition. But I DID just find a cheapo all-in-one that I'm gonna do once I get the belts for it. I've wanted to do that for a while. lol

[@marktubeie07]

Always a great video man, thank you! Sound wise comment since you asked... you sounded a bit more 'muddy' in this video, highs seemed clipped. 🤗

[@AudioThrift]

Thanks. This was more of a podcast style setting. I'll keep making adjustments. :)

[@mistert7958]

Could it be the 'gator ?

[@AudioThrift]

He claimed he knew what he was doing... just goes to show just because he's a reptile, doesn't mean he knows about sound editing.

[@ChuckSannel]

"No highs, No lows, Must be Bose", does this pair fall into this category?

[@ChuckSannel]

Also nice Sansui

[@AudioThrift]

The highs are pretty good but the lows are thin, if I'm being honest.

[@scottlowell493]

Thump and sizzle.

[@ChuckSannel]

@@AudioThrift yeah that would make sense, doesn't look like it's drivers are made for the low range

[@pervertedalchemist9944]

You got those Bose speakers for free? They are usually hughly priced at a lot of thrift outlets.

[@AudioThrift]

Yeah, it's wild. A lot of resellers get stuff in bulk and keep only the stuff they specifically trade in... like furniture or dishes or clothes or whatever. Everything else is either given to thrift stores or just handed out to other resellers or, in my case, weird KZbinrs.

[@ddanny3108]

How did they sound????

[@AudioThrift]

Compared to other speakers I've tried, it's a struggle to get a balanced bass out of them. Everything sounded thin. Even when I dialed in the amp settings and placement, I felt like something was missing. However, in a small room at lower volumes, they were surprisingly pleasant. It's weird.

[@ddanny3108]

@@AudioThrift phase correction?

[@ddanny3108]

Sorry. Is the speaker phase correct

[@AudioThrift]

Yeah, everything is hooked up properly. I tried inverting the phase just out of curiosity and it was worse, but it's also really interesting if you point them at each other on a table out of phase... it suddenly sounds like the music is coming from the next room with the door closed.

[@ddanny3108]

@@AudioThrift keep up the reviews. Loving them here in England.

[@ubtrippin9980]

Had a pair bought new in 1991. They suck. Sounds like fake music, not real music. An unreasonable facsimile of music. Traded them in for JBLs.

[@AudioThrift]

That's actually a really good way to describe the sound.

[@o_dubski]

Some of the prettiest speakers I’ve seen in awhile