Audio Technology Soars
Bose
In The
1970s
Audio Technology Soars
Speaker design and sound reproduction make an exponential leap.
The 70s brought lava lamps, microwaves, VCRs, Star Wars and disco music to the scene. Apple and Microsoft were founded. Disney World opened. And the Apollo 13 Mission saw three astronauts beat the odds to return safely home. The 70s were also the era Bose Corporation emerged as a pioneer in audio technology — Bose was on the rise, setting the stage for formative breakthroughs to come.
In 1972, the company headquarters moves to The Mountain in Framingham, Massachusetts. Today, the site houses the Bose Corporate Center, as well as the company’s Research and Development facility. Bose now has engineering and manufacturing facilities and sales offices throughout the world.
“My dad…drove up to this mountain — which was just a hill; and a funny looking hill, too, because it was flat — the top had been cut off and used as fill for building the nearby Mass Turnpike. My dad said: ‘Someday, the company’s going to have its headquarters here.’ Now, on the face of it, this was just crazy. They didn’t own the land. They couldn’t afford the land. It wasn’t even for sale. But my dad had this vision that the company would be successful and this is where it would be. And that’s where it is today.”
Dr. Vanu Bose
Dr. Amar Bose’s Son
Going Global
Bose sells its first products outside of the U.S., starting in Germany. Through a relationship with an audio retailer in Bad Homburg, Germany, Bose begins selling products outside the United States for the first time.
1972
Bose Enters Professional Audio
Not long after the tremendous success of the Bose 901 speakers, the company discovers that professional musicians and sound engineers are repurposing the 901s as public address speakers and onstage monitors. Sensing the possibilities, Bose launches the Bose 800 Professional speaker — a breakthrough technology designed for musicians that becomes widely used in concerts and music venues. It quickly becomes a bestseller worldwide.
1975
The Road to Premium Sound
All Bose speakers and music system undergo extensive testing in specially outfitted listening room.
The Bose 1401 speaker is the company’s first foray into automotive sound. Because it is an after-market system, there is no way to control for vehicle acoustics or quality of installation. As a result, the company pulls it from the market. The decision to cancel the Bose 1401 does not deter Bose from pursuing automotive audio, but instead provides inspiration for thinking about other ways to deliver a new level of sound quality in an automobile.
Shortly after, Dr. Bose visits Dr. Jerome Wiesner, then President of MIT, and their discussion quickly turns to acoustics. Dr. Bose comments that in the future, it might be possible to get better sound in a car than in a home. He reasoned there were three very important dimensions to sound reproduction that could be defined in a vehicle, but not a home: 1. The acoustics of a particular car model could be precisely characterized, 2. The placement of the speakers within the car would be known, and 3. The location of listeners would be a given.
As Dr. Bose is getting ready to leave, Dr. Wiesner picks up the phone, calls the then Vice Chairman of General Motors and says, “There’s some technology here I think you should be aware of. I’d like to put you in contact with someone.” A few weeks later, Bose Corporation makes a presentation at GM’s headquarters in Detroit. With a handshake, it is agreed that the companies would work together on a factory- installed, high-fidelity sound system project. And Bose Automotive gets its start.
1978
Invention of the Helical Voice Coil
Promotional illustration of the 901 Series V using HVC technology.
With the introduction of the 901 Series III speaker comes the development of a custom driver that leverages a proprietary helical voice coil. This new approach enables the driver to be far more efficient and deliver more consistent performance. This technology would later be used in many automotive and professional applications given its tremendous capability.
1978
The Idea of Noise Cancelling
On April 19, 1978, Dr. Bose takes a flight from Zurich to Boston that impacts the future for how people will communicate and experience audio on a plane. The flight offers new electrodynamic headphones that are supposed to be more comfortable and higher quality, but Dr. Bose is disappointed with them. They let in even more airplane noise, making music either too difficult to hear or horribly loud and distorted. So instead of listening to music as he had planned, Dr. Bose pulls out a pencil and starts looking for a solution. By the time he reaches Boston 8 hours later, Dr. Bose has a concept for noise cancelation that he thinks might work.
