Bose Store

I like Easton, a lot more than Polaris, although even at Easton there are only a small handful of stores that I truly enjoy going to on a regular basis. The Bose Store is one of them.
It’s weird, how this open-​ended store — with two parallel entrances (you can walk in one door, past the cash wrap and right on out the other side) — actually still feels like a discrete space once you’re inside. And once you’re inside, you’re clearly in Bose territory.
From the side I usually enter — the parking garage promenade — you’ll see the headphones first. Try them on, and you’ll see why Bose is so well-​known for higher-​quality audiophile products. I personally own quite a few of these items, like computer speakers and a nice Bluetooth speaker brick. But the best part about this store is that you can try everything! And not just the headphones…
Someone did a great job designing this store, so you can actually play with the products, like speakers, smaller entertainment systems and even the larger, home theater units in a separate demo room. It’s classy. And it’s exactly what you’ll want/​need before you plunk down a few grand on some of the higher-​end stuff.
Nothing in Bose is cheap — inexpensive or poorly-​made. This isn’t the place you want to go if you’re on a budget, but then you knew that already, right? The quality is high, the prices are what you’d expect, but it’s a great store to kick the tires (don’t actually kick the products, please!) and see what works best for you.
Aside from the design of the store, they’ve clearly put a lot of time into hiring staff that knows a lot about the products, the warranties, and takes the time to explain it all to you. I’ve never felt any «pushy» vibes here. If you want to just look around, they’ll give you space. If you have a ton of questions, they’re more than happy to oblige.
So as mentioned before, they have an island for headphones, and the higher-​end noise canceling headphones on another wall, the check-​out is in the center, with some of the stereo systems along the wall. All of these are really good reasons to stop in, if you’re looking for headphones and the smaller stereo systems. But where this store really shines is the home theater area.
They’ve clearly put a lot of thought into the design of the home theater area, where you can go in and demo the systems. Big screen TV, with all the best equipment, plus the Bose line of products to check out. It’s like the Magnolia section at Best Buy — but exclusively for Bose. And, like any good Home Theater testing room, the door closes, and the room has great sound isolation, so you can turn the sound up as loud as you need. Very nice.
One of the things I tell anyone who is in the market for headphones, stereo systems and home theater products: you have to listen for yourself. You can’t read a review and «know» what the best set-​up is for you. All ears are different, and you might need a little more or less than someone else. That’s why going to a Bose store (like this one!) is the best way to shop for Bose. There’s no way you can get the same experience in a Big Box store, except maybe for headphones but still… better in a Bose store. The store is probably the closest thing to a furnished home/​apartment as you’re going to get when trying these things out.
So overall, out of all the Bose locations I’ve been to over the years, this is my favorite. Although Bose is not the first name I think of when I think of buying speakers — mainly because they tend to be a little pricey for what you’re buying — it’s still a very good place to start if you want higher quality and don’t mind spending a decent premium for a well-​honed brand name.

We went to Bose looking for a pair of wired speakers for our stereo. The salesman, Thom, was very knowledgeable, helpful and friendly. Prices are competitive, and they offer free 30-​day returns and a free 5-​year warranty.
The store has a well thought out system for trying out different speakers: Using an iPad, Thom was able to choose from an infinite selection of streaming music, then he could select the speaker pair we wanted to hear. We went back and forth between the 301s and the 201s with different music genres and settled on the 301s.
I brought the car around from the parking garage to the customer loading zone at the north entrance of the building, and Thom brought the speakers and stands out on a dolly and helped my husband load them into the car.
The speakers look great in our living room and the sound is incredible at both low and high volume. A great shopping experience!

I’ve wanted one of the L1 systems for years; one of my music professors had the classic system set up for listening, and I decided I was going to own at least one stick someday. A recent visit to their website showed that Bose has released a compact (and cheaper) version, so I figured it was worth checking out.
The store is currently undergoing some renovation/​redecorating, so some rooms were a bit messy. I was greeted by a salesman who was happy to show me the L1 compact model that they had on display; they do not stock any of the higher models regularly, but they can order them for in-​store pick-​up. I was little disappointed at the «lite» compact model (I’d really like to get my hands on one of the L1 Classic models), but the salesman was was informative and not pushy, and offered up information about their no-​interest payment plans when I commented on the price point.
I’m still waffling about whether to hold out for a Classic model, but if I do decide on the compact, I’ll be returning to this store for my purchase.