In pursuit of Lifelike sound

So far, I have not had the pleasure of owning a Bose sound system but have friends who do, or in the case of one, did  -  before it was stolen from his car. And although I write about pitch, frequency, and sound waves here, it’s in connection with IP network attached paging  and intercom systems and portable PAs, I knew little else about Bose other than its iconic stature; Bose, one of those brands where just the name says it all - like Rolex or Apple.

Bose. I never realized it was the name of a gentleman whose dissatisfaction with existing stereo equipment gave spark to a quest for equipment that could deliver the quality of sound he was looking for. He passed away on July 12, 2013.

Amar G. Bose was born in Philadelphia to an Indian father and an American mother. His father had left India after being imprisoned for opposing British rule. At age 13, he organized his friends into a team to help him in his radio repair business so it appears that from early on, young Bose was destined to  connect entrepreneurship with delivering music.

His passage to founding Bose Sound Systems followed a winding path. After four years at MIT, for which his father borrowed $10,000, he journeyed to New Delhi on a Fulbright Scholarship, then back to MIT for a doctorate in electrical engineering. Had he arrived at the  Bose Systems point in his life? Not quite. A two year stint teaching at MIT turned into a professorship that lasted forty-five years.

However in 1956, frustrated at not being able to find any stereo systems that could replicate the sound of a live performance, he set out to design his own. He knew from his college courses that 80% of what we hear in an indoor concert setting is indirect sound; meaning it bounces off the ceiling and surrounding walls rather than directly travelling to our ears. He dug deep into psychoacoustics, the scientific study of how we perceive sound, and applied it to speaker technology, intent on coming up with a sound system that would deliver what he called “lifelike sound”. His research bore fruit with the 901 Directly/Reflecting speaker system, one of the first to utilize the space in the room. It remained the unparalleled standard for 25 years.

 The Bose Corporation recycles most of its profits into research in the area of acoustic engineering, and Amar G. Bose held  more than two dozen patents. But ironically, although Bose acoustical products are responsible for the crystal clear sound in such places as Olympic stadiums, Broadway theaters, and the Sistine Chapel, the company has also engineered products for the purpose of reducing sound:

• ·         a noise cancellation system to protect their hearing while travelling in space shuttles,
• ·         noise cancelling headphones for pilots and the military
• ·         non-linear control theory research that  contributed to an electromagnetic active control suspension for automobiles that provides sound control when driving on bumpy roads.

While Kintronics does not offer Bose Products, they do carry several different types of sound systems.

·         Portable PA and sound systems from Anchor Audio and Califone

Beacon by Anchor Audio

·        IP Network Attached Paging Systems and IP intercoms from DigitalAcoustics.

All are easily configured and feature excellent clarity of sound. So if you are part of a school system in need of a new portable PA for the new school year, or a hospital, corporation, or educational institution, looking for a scalable intercom system that attaches easily to your Ethernet network, a Kintronics sales engineer is available to answer your questions at 914-944-3425. Alternately, if you fill out an information request form, someone will respond to you.