It's sad how surprised the author and all of us are. Has it really become the norm to create crap that you pay for, that just stops working one day and becomes e-waste? If that ever happens to me, that's a company I'm never giving money to again, ever.
Bose has released API docs and opened the API for its EoL SoundTouch speakers
121–130 of 416 posts
Re: Bose has released API docs and opened the API for its EoL SoundTouch speakers
#122This is how "end of support" should be handled. Instead of turning devices into e-waste, open-source them and let the community extend their life. Kudos to Bose for setting a good example. More companies should follow this approach - especially as right-to-repair becomes a bigger issue.
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Who would ever flash alternate firmware on their wifi routers?! Or do it for someone else, like family members?
Re: Bose has released API docs and opened the API for its EoL SoundTouch speakers
#123Earlier quoted context omitted.
A long while ago i heard something (that might have been a urban myth) about Bose putting useless weight into their headphones to make them appear more "substantially professional". Is that a myth or they have pivoted towards actual quality since early days?
Those were Beats, not Bose, and it was true. IMO Bose does a great job of being both consumer friendly and high quality. There are others with higher fidelity for the same price (Shure, Sennheiser) but you often lose the comfort and portability Bose offers.
Can you give the source for that? The one posted shows the claim was debunked by the fact that they were not really Beats.
https://www.core77.com/posts/38311/Teardown-Reveals-Beats-He...
Re: Bose has released API docs and opened the API for its EoL SoundTouch speakers
#124Earlier quoted context omitted.
A long while ago i heard something (that might have been a urban myth) about Bose putting useless weight into their headphones to make them appear more "substantially professional". Is that a myth or they have pivoted towards actual quality since early days?
That was Beats. Pre acquisition IIRC, it was years ago.
Can you give the source for that? The one posted shows the claim was debunked by the fact that they were not really Beats.
Re: Bose has released API docs and opened the API for its EoL SoundTouch speakers
#125Earlier quoted context omitted.
Some of their high priced noise cancelling headphones have excellent quality. I purchased the QC-25 ages ago, and when it stopped working I reached out to support, this was beyond their 3y warranty, provided serial number and they sent me a new QC-35 no questions asked replacement unit. I am very happy with my QC-35 headphones. They are probably 5y+ now and they go with me everywhere. I think it is unfair to state th…
In current dynamic world product quality of a company 'today' vs '5y+ ago' may drastically change. Sadly, usually to the bad side
Bose's QC/QC Ultra lines continue to receive praise for comfort, durability, sound quality, noise cancellation, etc. They make pretty great consumer quality headphones.
Until quite recently, they were widely one of if not the most recommended wireless headphones. The new Sennheiser's that come with a USB-C dongle might have finally stepped past what Bose has been delivering, but at a higher price.
Re: Bose has released API docs and opened the API for its EoL SoundTouch speakers
#126Earlier quoted context omitted.
If the publish the API for the server, as well as allow the device to specify the API hostname to connect to, that's all I need. We can write our own server implementation fairly easily, and this saves us the hassle of having to reverse-engineer the API, plus makes setup much easier if we can just tell the device where to connect. I wish more manufacturers would unlock their devices for local use when they don't want…
Exactly. Open source is great and all, but all 99% of these devices need is simply a way to configure them to connect to a different server, when the manufacturer inevitably turns their own server down (usually) bricking devices. The open source community will happily reverse-engineer the protocol and clean-room develop their own server code.
> 99% of these devices need is simply a way to configure them to connect to a different server, when the manufacturer inevitably turns their own server down (usually) bricking devices.
The same can be said about a lot of games, and should be the case with them as well. Big MMOs for example. See the plethora of WoW private servers as an example of how it can be done.
I think the stop killing games initiative in the EU was pushing for it but not sure how far they've gotten, but like with hardware, once a game studio no longer wants to run the servers for their game, they should be forced to turn it over to the community so the players can continue playing long after the studio is gone.
Re: Bose has released API docs and opened the API for its EoL SoundTouch speakers
#127Earlier quoted context omitted.
Bose hardware quality is rather low and, and their sound quality is sub-par, while forcing you to pay the Bose brand tax, riding the corpse of Amar around for profit. I'd avoid, even if they happened to do this.
Please suggest better alternatives
If you were going to consider Bose, you should at least take a look at Sennheiser. They are similar in a “can’t really go too wrong” sense. Nice build quality, generally pretty flat and analytical usually.
They are such a standard response that presumably a real audiophile will come along to point out that their favorite model is much better, than a particular well known Sennheiser model, but as far as one can say in brand terms they are solid.
Re: Bose has released API docs and opened the API for its EoL SoundTouch speakers
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
This def needs to be celebrated and rewarded. I am more likely to purchase Bose now.
Exactly this. "Bose blows" is a popular comment amongst the audiophile community but, to me, it seems like they don't blow at all[0]. In fact quite the opposite: this is a fantastic example for other companies to follow. Top marks, Bose! [0] What is actually true is that they are opinionated about sound reproduction in ways that a bunch of people don't agree with but which in the right context are often effective and…
Seems to me like an executive saw klipsch failures and saw an opening to kill two birds with one stone.
One, to show their support for audiophiles who supported them.
Two, make superior products to klipsch that - ummm - actually state the real ranges of the speakers and use real copper windings instead of “painted” copper.
Re: Bose has released API docs and opened the API for its EoL SoundTouch speakers
#129Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ironically this makes me want to buy this discontinued model, not anything currently supported by Bose.
A better way to say that is "This will boost the second-hand value of older Bose speakers". Budget-aware folks will buy these second-hand, neophiles will buy new, confident that long term solutions will exist even after "long term support" is over. Heck, even knowing there's a second-hand market makes me more likely to buy Bose new.
Many companies miss how important this is, too: they get caught up in "but if they buy it second-hand, they're not buying our new stuff!". When people buy the stuff second-hand, though, they become Bose fans — that means when the second-hand Bose stuff dies, they're more likely to replace it with new Bose stuff. That's particularly true with audio equipment, where people become attached not only to how something works but how it sounds. If they like Bose's rather particular audio signature, they'll keep buying more.
Between that and the good-will they're getting from this move, this is making a ton of life-long Bose fans out of a lot of audio geeks. And if there's a community well-known for creating religions out of their hardware preferences...
Re: Bose has released API docs and opened the API for its EoL SoundTouch speakers
#130This is not open sourcing any actual software or hardware it is “open-sourcing the API documentation for its SoundTouch smart speakers”. You might be able to point them at an alternative back-end¹ if you want the cloud features, but that will need to be written from scratch rather than being forked from code provided by Sonos. > When cloud support ends, an update to the SoundTouch app will add local controls to retai…
IBM's opening of desktop PC standards also contributed a lot to computing.
Sometimes, an open API is all you need.