I find it interesting how polarizing a brand of audio equipment can be. Generally, Bose uses mediocre components and heavily relies on DSP to bring out their best features biased towards how humans perceive sound. This is generally not a flat response curve. I think it's remarkable how good a set of cheap drivers can subjectively sound with proper DSP and/or enclosure design. With equal tuning invested, a set of higher priced drivers will almost always sound better, but if not tuned properly, it is easy for them to sound worse. Check out HexiBase on YouTube for examples of inexpensive drivers in 3d printed cabinets. If Bose made these and put their label on them, they'd probably jack up the price, but the sound is still the sound.
I have seen many people on car audio forums heavily recommend the use of a DSP to get the most out of their speakers. In fact, some argue against better speakers at all - instead recommending investing huge amounts of time and/or money into the tune vs. improved drivers. In a car, this is all that more important. These are the same people who generally bash Bose without a listen.
People have already piled on the "bash Bose" wagon without even listening to the prospective setup. How sad. On the flip side, you have people who laud Bose as the kings of audio without having auditioned anything else. I think both sides have something to learn.
Before anyone accuses me of being a Bose fanboy, I don't own any of their products. I do wish that automakers would invest more into their sound systems though. For the price, you're generally always better off buying the base system and upgrading it with aftermarket components than relying on the factory to do it right, especially given the cost premium.
