Trade Regrets: Amar Bose

Dr. Amar Bose, founder and chairman of Bose Corporation, design engineer, holder of many patents and professor at MIT for more than four decades, passed away July 12 at his home in Wayland, Mass., at the age of 83.

Son of an American mother and Indian political refugee Noni Gopal Bose (who fled to the U.S. in the 1920s after being jailed and persecuted by the British authorities for his activities), Amar Bose was born in Philadelphia in 1929. Bose developed a keen interest in electronics for an early age, and began repairing radios to help support his family during his teen years. A bright and hardworking student, Bose was accepted by MIT and after graduating with a BSEE degree, moved to The Netherlands, to do research work for Philips Electronics.

Returning to the States, Bose resumed his studies at MIT, attaining his PhD degree, and accepted a teaching position there while continuing his research into acoustics and psychoacoustics. Never satisfied with the performance of the typical home stereo systems of the time, Dr. Bose founded the Bose Corporation in 1964.

Even from his early days, Dr. Bose was willing to think well outside the [speaker] box. His 1959 Pressure Wave Generation patent not only outlines multi-speaker enclosures in rounded corner, hemispherical and round hanging versions, but also employs a compensation network for systems control. Pretty advanced stuff for the time. The enclosures in this early work are fitted with multiple identical small-diameter drivers, a concept that Dr. Bose later advanced in his landmark Bose 901 Direct/Reflecting speaker system, which debuted in 1968. That design (which also incorporated an external "Complementing Circuit"/system controller proved extremely successful and those basic principles and the Direct/Reflecting approach of the 901 also later found their way into Bose pro P.A. products.

In the consumer field, beyond the many 901 incarnations that followed, were some variations such as the original Bose 301 bookshelf speakers, which had a steerable flap that let users redirect the tweeter energy for direct (conventional listening) or towards a nearby wall for a more diffuse field. Later, Bose tackled the issue of large speakers with a system comprised of system with two small cube satellite speakers (that again, could swivel for directivity control) paired with a subwoofer placed out of sight. These were also available as a 5.1 surround audio system. Bose also pioneered active noise-cancelling headphones, popular with air travelers everywhere. Ironically, one of his most successful consumer products was the compact Bose Acoustic Wave table radio/CD player, which essentially took the boombox concept and put in a stylish, decor-friendly enclosure that incorporated an acoustic labyrinth to increase bass as well as provide a wide stereo image that belied the small size of the system. 

On the pro side, the 901 Direct/Reflecting concept was transformed to offer rugged, roadworthy P.A. systems that were ideal for acoustic performers and smaller shows or expanded with subs for larger venues. In 2003, Bose unveiled the L1 system, an acoustic column line array/subwoofer combo that promised to provide both mains and monitors from its on-stage placement. And the company's great ideas keep coming with products such as the RoomMatch array module P.A. speaker line, which recently expanded to 22 models, with some new entries featuring horizontally asymmetrical coverage patterns that provide a solution in difficult installations by reducing side-wall reflections.

Today, Bose Corporation creates products for consumer and pro, in the fields of home, auto, aviation, M.I., contracting, installation and professional audio. Thanks to the basic tenets and principles instilled by Dr. Bose in the company's more than 9,000 employees worldwide, team Bose will surely continue his legacy of innovation.