Bose Wave FM Antenna

The "official" Bose antenna (lol!). It's certainly uncommon for an FM antenna to use a 3.5mm jack...but hey, this is Bose we're talking about.It definitely has the makings of an effective, quality antenna. The antenna is quite long, which I really appreciate. At the furthest section of the antenna, approx the most distal 1/3rd splits into 2 independent lines, forming a 'T'.Obviously, one could arrange the antenna into a 'T', or 'Y' shape (or whatever); whichever orientation receives the strongest desired signal.Bottom line: Its a good, long antenna w/ an oddball connection interface (3.5mm jack, aka., the "headphone" jack). And for what it's worth, it is the "official" Bose antenna, made for this radio.

I don't have any Bose product; I bought this to use with my Android smartphone. For years, many Android phones contained Qualcomm chips with FM radio tuners, but the major U.S. service providers initially forced phone manufacturers to disable that capability so customers would pay for extra data usage to stream. Eventually, providers started lifting this restriction, but there's still a technical catch: smartphones need an external antenna to receive FM frequencies. If you're listening with wired earbuds, the wire can act as FM antenna, but if you want to listen via speakers/Bluetooth, you must still plug some form of metal into the headset jack which can extend a foot or more (depending on your distance from broadcast source). I first tried a cheap rod-type antenna which would have been easy to walk around with, but its plug was a tiny bit too small due to poor Chinese manufacturing quality, so it kept falling out of the jack. This Bose antenna works great whenever I'm staying in one place. It's just not practical to use while I'm on the move, but most of those times, it's easy/convenient for me to use wired earbuds.

This antenna made all the difference in the reception on my Bose Wave radio/CD player. It not only makes the FM reception clean and clear, it also vastly improved the AM reception as well. The AM reception on the Bose was horrid. It reminded me of the AM radio in my dad's '60 Ford Falcon: lots of static. But no more! Both AM & FM now ring out clear. It was easy to install - just tacked it to the wall behind the radio about even with the table top. You don't need to stretch it out and up on the wall.The only reason I gave it four stars instead of five is because I don't believe one should have had to buy it in the first place. When you pay over $500 for a radio, you shouldn't have to pay extra to get an antenna so it will work properly.

Works pretty good

I THOUGHT THAT i COULD PUT IT BEHIND MY TV STAND & GET GOOD RADIO RECEPTION ON MY BOSE. NOT THE CASE. IT GETS BETTER RECEPTION PINNED UP ABOVE THE TV, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE CRAP. I AM KEEPING IT, BUT I THOUGHT THAT I WOULD GET BETTER RECEPTION OUT OF IT. I WAS TRYING TO PULL IN A RADIO STATION THAT IT MAYBE JUST TOO FAR FROM MY HOME. I GET THE STATION IN MY JEEP....... THAT WILL WORK TOO! I SAID THAT I HAD TO SPREAD OUT THE WIRE ABOVE MY WALL,BECAUSE IN MY CASE IT DID NOT GIVE ME GOOD RECEPTION DOWN LOW. YOUR RESULTS MAY BE BETTER, OR WORSE. I DO NOT WANT WIRES AND NAILS ON MY NEWLY PAINTED WALL BEHIND MY TV TO TRY TO GET BETTER RECEPTION...

Like most places, your geography makes a difference on how well your receiver picks up FM signals. That being said, the antenna helps me pick up a lot more stations and with greater clarity. However in my case, it degrades the public radio station signal. Location, location, location. I have to unplug the antenna to hear that station much better. But one of the reasons I wanted it was to help pick up an oldies station that is some distance away and it does that perfectly. Very much worth the purchase price in my opinion.

I have been consumer of Bose products for many years. Although some consider Bose products to be "overpriced", I find their sound quality, craftsmanship and longevity far exceed the initial cost. Recently I purchased the Bose Wave FM Antenna for my Wave radio in an attempt to get a clearer signal from several "local" FM stations. The stations would sometimes fade or not come in at all. After doing some "internet research", I decided that I would purchase the Bose antenna... Bose radio... Bose antenna... it has to be good. Not so! I ordered it through Amazon, directly from Bose. After over 2 weeks of waiting I called Bose and was told "small items such as the antenna take longer to ship" due to some mumbo jumbo about the cost of processing a small item. What??? After 3 weeks I received the antenna, which was little more than an FM di-pole unit that is included with cheap $10.00 radios you can purchase anywhere. Anyway... I pugged it into the radio, set it up as per the directions and "Voila"... no change! Moved the antenna around, moved the radio, checked the connection... still no change. This is a dual disappointment... first, why didn't Bose include this antenna with the $500.00 radio (maybe because it makes no difference in reception, i.e. doesn't work) and second it's a "chintzy" item that doesn't work for which I paid $15.00 (with shipping costs). Gave it a 1 rating based solely on functionality - couldn't figure out how to give it a zero. Save your money...I'm back on the hunt for a better antennaFINAL WORD: Hey Bose Corporation... you blew it on this one; its not up to you standards. Why not make something that works with your systems and better yet, include it in the box with the consumers initial purchase.