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To hear Bose speakers full potential.


Matthews

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OK, should say I believe those who say under very specific conditions 901's can be listenable.  But you apparently have to design the space to what is required for that to happen.  PWK did the opposite.  Built a speaker that requires only that which most rooms can provide, corners. 

 

That's what a genius does.  Conform to nature rather than attempting to beat it to death with raw force. 

 

Dave

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True. The 901's have to be set up with practically nothing else in the room for the "direct reflecting" BS to work.

I was in the PX @ Yakota airbase in japan in the 70s shopping for stereo goods.

Upon passing a room there they were, 901s hanging by chains, they sounded ok.

Proceeded to buy Kenwoods.

(There was NOTHING ELSE in the room)

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  But you apparently have to design the space to what is required for that to happen.

 

 

True. The 901's have to be set up with practically nothing else in the room for the "direct reflecting" BS to work.

 

The pace where I heard Bose 901s sound the worst (bland, weak, muddy) was a place in which there was practically nothing else, a large living room, powered by a 60 watt Dyna amplifier.  The owners were a physicist and an engineer.  Apparently, that didn't help.

 

The place I heard 901s sound the best (smooth, adequate bass, even pretty dynamic) was in a small store, powered by a 1,000 watt per channel amplifier with the speakers hanging from the ceiling, nestled in an indented wall, with a short wall (3 feet?) on one side with bins of record albums on the other side, and also below. 

 

I suspect the important factor was not the space or its design, but the amplification.

 

As PWK pointed out, when criticizing "direct reflecting" designs ALL speakers are "reverberant field" speakers, with a goodly proportion of the sound coming from room reflections, including those from behind the listener.  He found that at 16 feet away ("normal ear location") a speaker in a room produces about 9 dB higher SPL than it would in a free field (e.g., outdoors, on a flag pole).  Yes, I know some of the definitions (e.g., reverberant field) have changed somewhat since he wrote that.  (The Great Major Break Through No. 29, or "Reverberant Field Speakers" by Paul W. Klipsch, c. 1970, or so).  As good as the Bose 901s were with the 1K amplifier, my Khorns, with 120 w.p.s RMS were and are better, more dynamic, and even a little too "direct reflecting."  But I took care of that with just a few room treatments.

Edited by garyrc
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For you're new years enjoyment :emotion-21:

Man-0-man that seat does look comfy......

Now if it had a strong vacuum so you didn't even have to push...... ;)

 

You appear to be dialed into the right thread for the subject of "Sucking"  :rolleyes: 

I think the subject of "Bose" is a Gimmie.

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powered by a 1,000 watt per channel amplifier

 

"What this country needs is a good 5 watt amplifier."  Paul Wilbur Klipsch

 

Dave

 

 

With his Heritage speakers, yes.  But not Bose.  Another reason he said that may have been that most really low powered amps of that time were also low quality, therefore, "what this country needs is a good 5 watt amplifier."  

 

As I said in an earlier post, "Bose never published efficiency data on their speakers, AFAIK.  If we can trust the figures in an old Consumer Reports magazine, 120 w.p.c. into speakers of the efficiency of Khorns is the rough equivalent of 2,760 w.p.c into Bose 901s."

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At one time in the 70s Bose sent blue mirrors to its dealers to put on the wall behind the 901s, ostensibly to show off the back side where 8 of the 9 drivers are. However, it was really to create a consistent reflective surface, which was elusive in showrooms or  home installations, which can vary widely.

 

My experience with 901s led me to conclude that they are interesting producers of music, not reproducers of music. Hearing them used as PA speakers in small venues, or as part of a small club set-up for dance music, they sounded pretty good with a subwoofer. 

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