Though he is currently referred to as the "sultan of sound," Bose's interest in sound technology dates back to his high school days when he began repairing radios to supplement his family's income after his father's import business suffered the loss of the international market during World War II.
Growing up, Bose was always a diligent and inquisitive student, and after graduating from Abington Senior High School, he went on to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he received his bachelor's degree. in Electrical Engineering in the early 1950s and later received his Ph.D. His doctoral thesis discussed a complex mathematical treatise dealing with non-linear systems.
After earning his doctorate, he spent a year abroad working in the research labs of NV Philips Electronics in Eindhoven, Netherlands, and then another year in New Delhi, India, as a Fulbright scholar. While in New Delhi, he met his wife, Prema.
After leaving India, he returned to MIT, assuming the post of assistant professor of electrical engineering. During this time, he successfully conducted extensive research on the subject of acoustics, which ultimately led to his invention of a stereo loudspeaker capable of producing, in a domestic setting, the reflected soundfield characteristic of sounds in a concert hall.
While he was an undergraduate student at MIT, Bose became aware that 80% of the sound experienced in a concert hall is indirect, meaning that it is travels to the audiences' ears after bouncing off the auditorium's walls and ceiling. Only a very small portion of sound travels directly from the stage to the ear. This basic concept of physics was the foundation of Bose's research, which he used to invent the 901Direct/Reflecting speaker system in 1968. It was one of the first stereo loudspeaker systems to utilize its surrounding space rather than recreating sound as if in a vacuum.
The 901 speakers remained the industry standard for 25 years after their introduction, proving that full and rich sound is not the result of large, cumbersome audio systems. The speakers would be the first in a long line of audio products demonstrating Bose Corp.'s trademark elegance and simplicity.
Bose first began on the path of discovery for a sound system because of his disappointment with his 1956 purchase of what as described as a high-end quality stereo speaker system. He focused his efforts on improving the widespread weakness of the '50s speaker systems, effectively recreating the concept of psychoacoustics which would go on to become the company's hallmark. Bose also successfully applied the same psychoacoustic principles to headphone technology, creating what are now known as tri-port earcup drivers.
Because of these engineered breakthroughs, Bose has been granted multiple patents in loud speaker design and non-linear, two-state modulated, Class-D, power processing.
With these patents secured and the future of sound systems promising a revolution, Bose founded his company in 1964, turning to several investors for initial capital, including his MIT thesis advisor and professor, Dr. Y. W. Lee, who was so convinced of Bose's vision that he invested his life savings in the Bose Corporation.
Among his first contracts were some major national organizations and institutions, including NASA and the U.S. Military. His company not only improved standard audio communications, but also developed their brand name by implementing its revolutionary loudspeaker design. In 1982, Bose Corp. became the first company to introduce factory-installed car stereo systems. Building on its reputation for innovation, it is currently a major supplier for luxury automobiles, including Porsche and Mercedes, with annual revenues approaching $2 billion.
Bose Corp. is also heavily involved in the booming music technology of iPods, home theater systems, and the increasingly popular noise-blocking headphones. And though it has grown into a major international corporation with over 10,000 employees, Bose insists on maintaining the same level of innovative research and design he experienced in 1964, particularly in the areas of acoustics and automotive systems.
Since the inception of his designs, Bose Corp.'s audio systems have been used in a variety of high-profile venues, including Olympic stadiums, Broadway theatres, the Sistine Chapel, and even the Space Shuttle, where astronauts are protected from permanent hearing damage by his noise cancellation system.
Being the son of a political dissident, Bose has never been satisfied with the status quo and has continuously sought innovation where it was needed. At age 78, he has experienced both professional and personal milestones, revealing himself to be the eternal questing journeyman who isn't bothered by the material demands of the contemporary business world where mergers and sell-offs are something of a weekly occurrence. When asked if he would ever consider selling his company, he scoffs by laughing and saying, "No. If I did that, I could be forced to go public."
Bose is also noted for being an almost surprisingly humble and down-to-earth businessman: he wears a name tag to work in case he happens upon someone who doesn't know who he is and a third party happens to name his salary. He also plans to leave his multi-billion dollar fortune not to future Bose generations, but to a research institute he plans to establish in the near future. Such attitudes are refreshing in an era of unchecked corporate fervor where conglomerates seem incapable of understanding anything other than the bottom line.
Such considerations are outside the realm of his concerns. When it comes to engineering, Bose affirms that his motto has always been about quality: "Do whatever it takes to make it better than it was before. If you do that, everything else [i.e., money] will come along."
