ok, so i took the advice of those who offered it, and tweaked my stereo further (beyond the simple adjustments made before leaving the dealership)...
i now believe the bose system to be adequate. by no means is this an excellent system, but it does the job is was designed to to. after tweaking, the lows are much more crisp at max volume, which was my main concern.
my initial quick judgment was wrong, and i thank everyone whose comments pushed me to reconsider
