A Music System So Hot, The Remote Caught Fire!

Ha! That post title will make more sense in just a second. 🙂

I’ve been a Bose fan ever since I purchased their Lifestyle® 12 surround sound system for my living room over twenty years ago. When something went wrong with the large acoustimass module after many years of use, Bose was still in business (unlike a lot of companies these days) and were happy to assist.

 

They mailed me a very large box that contained a lot of smaller boxes, with detailed instructions on how to box it up for shipping. They refurbished the entire system, updated all the components, and mailed it back for what I felt was a reasonable cost of $250. They even replaced the remote that I had managed to catch on fire. Yup, I caught the remote on fire!

 

I had placed the remote on the table we were going to be lunching at, out on the deck. I lit a large pillar candle (you know where this is going) and placed it in the center of the table. Since this was a casual meal on the deck, I decided to use paper napkins that day.

I was in the kitchen taking care of the last few details of the meal when a friend ran into the kitchen exclaiming that the table was on fire. What?!?!

I rushed outside to find several napkins burning away atop the Bose remote I had placed on the table earlier. Apparently, a breeze had come along and lifted some of the napkins from the stack,  blowing them into the candle before ultimately depositing them atop the remote.

I put out the fire and underneath the ashes I found a very charred, very brown, partially-melted remote. Of all the places those burning napkins could have landed, they chose the remote!

Shockingly, it still worked! Too bad I wasn’t blogging back then, I definitely would have taken a photo of that little mini-disaster! The remote made for some interesting conversations over the years. It was almost worth the melting just for the looks (and laughs) from friend’s over the years whenever they caught a glimpse of it in the living room. lol

When the acoustimass module quit working years later and I was in the process of boxing the system up to send it in for repairs, I asked Bose how much a new remote would cost. They quoted me $100 which seemed like a lot since the repairs and refurbishment of the whole system was only $250. So, I paid for the repairs and told them I’d just keep using the old remote.

As I boxed up the system I thought, what the heck, I’ll include the melted remote and just see what happens. They may need it anyway for testing out the system to make sure it works after repairs. I was surprised and delighted to find a brand new remote tucked inside the box when the system arrived back home. Thank you, Bose!

I wonder if Bose has one of those BIG jars on their counter like you see at the repair shop where I take my car for oil services. You know, the jar that’s filled with all the “can-you-believe-this-stuff” that customers mail into them? You know there must have been some surprised faces when they opened the box with my system and found that brown, charred remote inside that had obviously been set on fire! lol

 

A New Bose Addition

For Christmas I was very fortunate to receive two Amazon gift cards, one from family and another from a lovely reader.  (Thank you again, Juanita!)

I was so excited about the gift cards, I decided to save them to use toward something special. I didn’t want them to get absorbed or vanish into the usual household stuff I order regularly from Amazon. Do you do that when you’re given a nice gift card, save it for something really special?

Not too long after Christmas, it hit me. I knew exactly how I wanted to use the gift cards. I decided to put them toward something I had been lusting after for about 10 years, a Bose Wave Radio. That’s what I was still calling it, but when I checked on Amazon I discovered the Wave Radio has gone through several updates/editions and is now called a Bose Wave SoundTouch Music System IV.

I ordered one to enjoy here in the office and was happy to find that they also have several sizes of wireless speakers designed to work with the system. That means you can place Bose speakers all around your home and play the same music (or different, if you prefer) all throughout your home.

 

When the Bose system arrived, I opened it and placed it on the section of the desk that’s to the right of where I normally sit. As it played a CD, I thought it sounded nice. Then I read the instructions that came with the system and noticed you’re supposed to place the system across the room from you for the best performance.

 

There was only one spot where it could go and that was on the chest across the room from my desk. I moved the travel guides I normally keep there over to the book shelves here in the office. I placed the Bose Wave system on the chest, plugged in and listened again.

Bose Wave Radio Sound System for Home Office

 

Wow! What a difference! Amazing the things that happen when you actually follow the instructions! Bose describes the Bose SoundTouch System saying it, “delivers lifelike, room-filling sound” and indeed, it does!

Update: I’ve had a few questions about the Bucket List Map I have hanging here in the office. You can read more about it and see some close-up pictures in this previous post: An Inspiration Update for My Home Office.

Place Bose Radio Wave Radio On Other Side of Room

 

It’s definitely the beautiful Bose sound that I was hoping for and I totally understand now all the amazing reviews online. When it plays, it’s hard to believe that big, beautiful sound is coming out of something so small!

Speaking of beautiful, the lovely flowers you see on the right were a birthday present from my sweet friend, Linda. You may remember Linda from when she and I took a Staycation this past fall.

Bose Wave Radio System Review

 

To turn on the Bose system, you can use the remote that it comes with, or simply touch it on the top. Guess that’s why they call it a “SoundTouch” Music System.  It comes in an all black finish or a platinum silver finish that looks kinda retro. I liked the silver finish and went with that.

The SoundTouch IV system is a radio, but of course it will also play CDs. I really like that feature since I have some CDs that I still enjoy. It also has Bluetooth built-in which means you can stream any music you have on your smart phone or tablet. Cool, huh?

Bose Wave SoundTouch Music System IV, Review

 

It will also stream music from all these places below. So if you use Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music or any of the others shown below, you can stream it right through your Bose system. The only one I use is Amazon Music and it does work, I had no trouble playing it.

 

I hope to one day add some of the Bose wireless speakers to other rooms in my home, then I can enjoy the music all throughout my home without having to have my home wired. Love that!

I just discovered today, if you have the Amazon Echo Dot, which I do, you can control the Bose speaker in that room with your voice! So cool!  Update: Paired my Echo Dot with my Bose Wave SoundTouch and it works great. Whatever I tell Alexa (Echo Dot) to play, plays via my Bose.

Read more about that here: Bose SoundTouch & Echo Dot.

 

I paired my phone to the Bose SoundTouchand am now enjoying the Audible books I’ve downloaded via the Bose System. Very excited about all the ways I’m able to use this system, never dreamed of listening to books on it!

The real test of my Bose SoundTouch Wave system was when I played some of my favorite Jazz CD’s by Kim Waters. Those CDs have a lot of rich bass tones. I don’t like melancholy jazz and don’t like jazz music that’s too loud or too hyper, but I love Kim Waters’ music. I have five of his CDs and love them all.

His music is soft, relaxing and very uplifting/happy…but not manic-happy, if that makes sense. Some jazz music can make me feel on edge. His doesn’t, instead it makes me feel super relaxed and happy. Hard to explain until you hear it.

If you’ve never liked Jazz, test listen to some of his CD’s at Amazon. If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can listen to several in full, for free. Here’s a good one to try: Kim Waters, and this one: Kim Waters My Loves.

Wish I had found his Christmas music a couple of months ago–hear it here: Kim Water Christmas. Just click on the blue “Listen Now” button on the right at those links, and enjoy! I love listening to his music when I’m reading on the porch, and it sounds amazing coming out of the Bose SoundTouch system!

Bose Wave Radio Music System Remote Control

 

Just wanted to share this awesome system with you in case you’ve wondered about it over the years like I have. It’s not inexpensive, but definitely worth it. And it comes from a company that’s been around for many years and I expect will be around for many more. You can read more about it where I purchased mine here: Bose Wave SoundTouch Music System.

Have a wonderful weekend, Friends! See you Monday for Metamorphosis Monday!

Place Bose Radio Wave Radio On Other Side of Room

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Comments

  1. Bose is a great company. When my Soundwave remote quit working, even with battery replacement, they sent me a new one for free. That’s wonderful customer service!

  2. I am a fan of the Bose sound. I replaced my ancient radio a few years ago. I would not even consider looking at a different manufacturer. When my daughter purchased a new car last year I was pleased that she chose the model with a Bose sound system. We all love the Bose sound!

    • That’s awesome that it came with a Bose system…love that! Yeah, I am totally sold on their sound systems! They seem to be staying up to date with the latest technology, too. So glad they are doing that! I should probably update my Lifestyle system in the living room so it will work with all their Bluetooth technology, but it’s still working so well and sounds so good, I hate to get rid of it.

  3. It’s so nice to hear about a company that has great customer service. As to your hot remote, you’re fortunate that your lunch was outside. My sis-in-law had a candle mishap in her dining room and had to replace her entire table! I have also been looking at a Bose sound system and maybe, some day, I will treat myself. They are very expensive, but I do trust your review and will start saving up for one. Also, thanks for the music recommendation. I will give him a listen. I also like jazz, but not the generic type. Something upbeat sounds like my style, too.

    • Yikes! Glad she got it out before it got totally out of control. How scary that must have been! When dining outside, I now use those napkin holders that have the device thingy that holds the napkins down in their container.

    • Many years ago I bought a bose radio/cd. At that time I was able to pay for it on time which made it affordable for me. I love my bose.

  4. Susan,
    Thanks for a great Saturday post.
    Funny story …
    that reminded me of when I set my son’s birthday cake decorated with a Legos Pirate Ship afire much to the delight of a room full of 5 year olds. It too made for great stories and because I was so focused on getting a perfect picture of the party revelers (surrounding the afore mentioned cake) I have a lovely photo of the ship’s sail in a blaze of glory!!

    I L.O.V.E. Kim Waters!

    Have a good weekend!

    • LOL They were like, Wow, this is cool! They thought your son has the best parties ever! 🙂 That pictures sounds hilarious! What a fun birthday that was, one you’ll never forget! lol

  5. We’ve had our BOSE 15-20 years…maybe we need an update!! No “Chariots of Fire.” “Ring of Fire,” “Light My Fire”….for you…just sayin…

  6. Linda Page says

    You like spending my money, don’t you!!!! I listened to Kim Waters and he is great. I could listen to him all the time. Guess I will just have to order a few of his CD’s. Checked out the Bose system you got. It looks wonderful. I think I might need to get one of these once we get the living room redone (starting on it next week). Would never have considered it if you hadn’t posted about it. Maybe I should just put you on my payroll!!!! lol The flowers look good!

  7. Most jazz music makes me jittery, too but I will have to check out your recommended artist. May I suggest Crossroads Radio for some good, Southern music? We have a small Bose Bluetooth speaker that we play it on.

  8. Rose Mary Lee says

    I have had a Bose sound system by my bed that I awake to often that must be 20 years old. It still works perfectly and has a wonderful sound. When iPhone’s first came out I purchased the Bose speaker system to play my music downloaded on my phone and it is a wonderful addition. I feel everything Bose produces is 1st class!!!!

  9. I am confused. Did you trade in your old Bose system or repair your old one AND get a new one?

    • Sorry if that was confusing Betsy. I still have the Lifestyle 12 surround system in my living room for TV/movie watching. That’s the system I purchased 20+ years ago and that I mailed off to Bose to have refurbished several years ago. I just added the Bose Wave SoundTouch System to the office right after Christmas.

  10. Hello SUSAN..I too have a Bose System that I bought with rewards points from my business credit card..I LOVE IT,,.. at Christmas Josh Groban, Celine Dion and all my wonderful favorites rang out.. I do not have Wi-Fi..can you believe it..I live in a rural area where AT&at doesn’t think it profitable to run cable..so it is a challenge to get stream music using a Verizon Hot Spot.. I did purchase a connection cable that allows me to play music saved on my Apple devices..
    My husband purchased a blue-tooth speaker from Bose that is fabulous..it is small and I leave it in the bathroom most of the time..I look forward to enjoying it on the patio.
    Sorry for the lengthy post but wanted to share and also let you know I love your blog.. I found you as a result of following Pat’s Blog ‘Back Porch Musings’. So glad her Granddaughter has taken over but I dearly miss Pat’s wonderful post. Again keep the wonderful ideas flowing..
    Tracy from North Carolina

    • I hope A T & T eventually adds service there. It’s run by cable and not an antenna? Here we have those giant antennas behind businesses and schools.
      Glad you were able to find a work-around.
      I was so sad when I heard about Pat’s passing, glad her granddaughter has kept the blog going.
      Thanks, Tracy!

  11. So all that talk of the burned and melted remote–and no photos of it? 🙂
    Thanks for all the reviews of Bose and their sound systems. I am envious!

    • lol Sorry that was many, years before blogging. I don’t even think Smart phones existed then, we were still in the flip-phone era. Remember those? I wish I had a picture of it, you wouldn’t believe it would still work if you had seen it…it was bad! It melted the plastic right up to the little rubbery buttons, but not enough to interfere with pressing them.
      Get one, Mia…you will love it!

  12. Raymond WALLACE says

    Just love my Wave radio its on all the time I have my lap feed a classical station just fills the room with a full sound.

  13. I love the story about the remote catching fire! That sounds like something that would happen to me. That’s wonderful that Bose backed their product with service after you had owned the system a while. Great idea on the new unit in the office!

  14. Hi Susan I have the Bose without the soundwave…it was about 1,000.00 when I would like to have purchased. One day…

    BTW: I just love seeing pics of your home, it is so warm.

  15. Regality (aka The Quing) says

    I still have hundreds of CDs and still love a specific Sony CD player that will shuffle among 5 CDs. In other words, one song could be an aria from La Boheme , the next, a track from Further Down the Spiral, by Nine Inch Nails, and then something by Otis Redding. I have never found another player that will do this. Some will shuffle the order on a single CD, but not among multiples. I love the player so much that I keep an extra in reserve, since it is no longer manufactured. Call me a Luddite (waiting while you do so), but for me it’s a compliment, not a disparagement. The system is, however, hooked up to Bose speakers, so I guess I’m not a total*Luddite. 🙂

    • I had to look up the word “luddite.” lol You are too funny! I wish this had a CD changer built in but apparently everyone has gone to streaming music or storing it on phones and playing it via Bluetooth from there. So guess that’s why it doesn’t hold more than one at the time.

  16. Hi Susan, really enjoyed this post. Your remote fire story reminded me of when I had a a dining room table fire just this past Christmas! We had dinner in the dinning room one evening, with two lit taper candles. I had twinkle lights and a mini Christmas tree in the room, so we cleaned off the table and no one thought to blow out the candles. Over an hour later, I got up to let the dog outside and smelled a strong chemical smell by the front door. Glancing into the dining room, I saw a small part of the table top on fire! I rushed in, snuffing the fire out, but the table cloth had a hole burned and the top of the table underneath buckled and blackened where the fire was. The taper candle wax had burned down faster than the wick burned so it bent sideways and fell off, catching the tablecloth on fire. It could have been much worse had I not happened to get up to let out the dog! So I have to caution especially when using any candle, especially tapers that they don’t always burn down evenly. These were cheap candles but don’t let any of them out of your sight when burning. Glad you had your remote replaced by Boze, very nice policy on their part.

    • Wow, how scary is that! Two little candles sure can cause a big mess and do a lot damage. Can your table be refinished or will you have to get a new one? So glad you had to let the dog out, sounds like things were progressing quickly! I’ve before gotten half way down my street and turned around and gone back to make sure I blew out the candle in my office. It’s always out when I do that, but I’d rather know it for sure than take a chance.

      Thanks for sharing that Barb, good lesson for us all to remember to blow those candles out. Makes me think more about just using faux, but I love a real flame and love the scented candles I burn in the office.

      • The table is not an expensive one and is part wood and laminate I think. We’re thrifty people and the table was bought years ago at a friend’s estate sale for cheap! It has three leaf inserts and the burn is in one, but I’ll hardly ever have all of them in, but I did keep it. Even if I did, it would be covered with a tablecloth. But I’m thankful I caught it in time. I thought I’ve always been careful with candles, but this proves I wasn’t. I love the look and glow of real candles too, and love scented ones. But I know I’m going to be much more careful from now on.

  17. Susan, looking for a map similar to the one you have hanging in your office. Do you have a source for it? Thanks!

  18. Yes, love your “likes,” and they always tempt me. Previewing and enjoying Kim Waters as I write. My old 5-CD changer died last year, and I’m trying to figure out if I just want to convert all my CDs to digital, put them on my iPad, and play them on my Bose portable sound dock or invest in another Bose CD player.

    Question about your map in photo (searched for the old post). Are you pleased with all the extra words around the sites? I saw another on Amazon that was black and gold and didn’t appear to have the extra info about places.

    Thanks. Your site makes me happy.

    • Awww, thanks! I do like the extra words. They are written very small, but it’s fun reading them because it gives you a little info about each of the places. So even if you haven’t traveled there yet, it makes you want to see it even more. There are a lot of different maps available on there. I also like how colorful this one is becoming as I scratch off the countries I’ve visited.

  19. Susan, I’ve meant to ask you – were did you get the lampshade on that chest?

  20. Jill from Southern New Hampshire says

    Thanks for letting us know about Kim Waters!I love jazz, and have an Amazon Echo (full sized one) in the kitchen, so after I read your post, I told Alexa to “play music by Kim Waters” and she played several of his songs for me in full, until I gave her another command. Not sure if you know this, but if you have the Alexa app and the Echo, it will play any music from Amazon’s entire music library that you ask it to – you don’t have to have own it already, download the song, or even have it in your library : ) In fact, I use it to loop music for my kitty, like the Lion King soundtrack, when I’m not home to keep him company.

  21. Susan- First–long time subscriber to your blog–love your energy and enthusiasm and always feel happy after reading anything you write! My husband worked for Bose for 38 years and retired last year. Bose is an amazing American Cinderella story-if you are interested, read this: https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2013/07/20/bose-greatest-innovation-may-his-company/ARdTMG37pvKAWHqhr7yu2O/story.html. We owe our family success to Dr Bose taking a chance on my husband fresh out of business school. He was a genius. I have been lusting after a Pelaton since your post–I am hopeful that when I share your love for Bose products with my husband–he might see your genius and agree to our Pelaton purchase! In the meantime, enjoy your SoundTouch and think about getting a SoundLink for music on the go! Happy Monday and know your a favorite blogger of me and my family!

  22. I bought my Bose Wave many years ago on payment plan from QVC. After reading your post I need to look into the SoundTouch, sounds awesome! Thanks for sharing another great find.

  23. I still have the Bose Life Style system that you showed. I was brought up in music and wanted the best sound quality. I was told recently by a Bose dealer that Life Style system was the best they ever produced. The music quality is unbeatable. I also have the Sound Touch in the basement, but still use the Life Style system over that. Its a pity that sound quality does not seem to matter anymore like it did before.

    • Judy, they still make the Lifestyle, right? I think it has different numbers though…like Lifestyle 600 or 650? I was wondering how the old Lifestyle 12 compares to their new Home Theater Surround Sound Systems.

  24. Just received my Bucketlist Map. I knew before ordering that the individual states weren’t outlined. I noticed in your original post that you had the eastern states scratched off. In this post, the entire U.S. seems to be scratched off. Have you visited all states since you purchased the map or did you do what one reviewer (Amazon, I think) suggested and scratched off all? I was thinking of scratching off all U.S. and using push pins to denote more specific areas. Could it be I’m OCD?

    • I agonized over that and ultimately decided to go ahead and do the whole country (all of the USA) because that’s how I’m doing it for all the other countries to which I have traveled. For example, when I visited the country, Kenya on the continent of Africa, I didn’t just scratch off the area of Kenya that I was in. Besides, it would have been impossible to know exactly where that area was on the map.
      To me, this map is a world/country map…not a city map. Plus, it would be impossible for us to visit every square inch of every country we visit, as much as we would like to, right? So, I decided to look at it as a “Countries Visited” map. So, that’s the main reason I decided to go ahead and scratch off all of the U.S. and treat it the exact same way I’ve been treating all the other countries.
      It we tried to just scratch off cities or regions in countries, this would be one very boring map and would remain pretty gray and not very colorful. lol
      By the way, they do have bucket list maps on Amazon that are just for keeping up with what states you’ve visited in the United States. I wouldn’t mind getting one of those maps, too.
      It was just too difficult to try and keep the states separate within that small space, and in the end, it didn’t make sense to treat the U.S. differently from all the other countries I was visiting.

  25. Julio Rocha says

    Hello
    Does anyone know if the alexa echo dot should also be playing as a speaker when connected to the wave? The quality would of course not compare but I was hoping to use it until I can buy enough additional Bose speakers
    Thanks

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