Ordinarily, a recall of products sold in the early 2000s probably wouldn’t catch our attention. But this particular recall is about Bose, and people tend to hang onto Bose gear for a very, very long time. Plus, we’re dealing with speakers – and good old “dumb” speakers can last for decades. So it is worth drawing attention to the fact that Bose is recalling more than 1 million bass modules which were part of the company’s Acoustimass, Lifestyle and Companion home theater systems.
The recall website says these systems were sold from January 1994 to April 2007 at “Bose stores, Best Buy, Circuit City, Sam’s Club, Sears and other electronics stores nationwide, and online at Bose.com for between $220 and $2,200.” Circuit city? This really brings me back. And damn, those used to be those Bose home-theater-in-a-box kits duration.
A wide variety of bass modules from different systems are included in this recall. You can see all relevant product names on the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s site, but Bose has also published a helpful page to determine if you have affected hardware. If you own anything from the company that looks like one of the modules above (in black or white), you’ll need to unplug it and look for the product name and serial number to confirm it’s a risk unit.
Here’s a random YouTube unboxing I found where you can get a good look at one of the bass modules and get an idea of its size at 5:30.
According to the CPSC, Bose “has received 21 reports worldwide of bass modules igniting or melting, including three fire incidents resulting in property damage to carpeting, an entertainment cabinet, and to materials surrounding the bass box.” Damaged property is never fun, but at least no injuries have been reported as a result of this issue.
This isn’t Bose’s first voluntary bass module recall; Company issued in 2012 of a potential fire hazard when those products are used with high voltage outlets outside the United States. This time around, the CPSC says Bose is willing to repair affected modules, but it’s also offering a 40 percent discount “on a replacement product.” The edge contacted Bose for more information on which products in its modern home theater portfolio qualify for that savings.
