getting all misty-eyed over Bose 901's

[jdm56]

I owned 901 Series IV speakers about 25 years ago or so. My best buddy also had a pair. Since that time, I've had ESS amt-1b's, Klipsch Cornwalls, Amrita Reference Standards, Klipschorns, and now, B&W 703's. My buddy, he kept his 901's till the foam surrounds rotted out and Bose fixed or replaced them free. Still has them. And I recently heard a pair absolutely kick butt playin Lindsey Buckingham's "Trouble".

So....although I love my B&W's, I've been having these evil thoughts. 901 VI's hanging from the ceiling of my music room...And I'm trying to remember what it was I didn't like about my original 901's. I think it was the lack of imaging specificity and some tonal colorations, but dang, the VI series I heard didn't sound colored, and I've come to the conclusion that pinpoint imaging is really an artifact of 2-channel stereo that really doesn't relate to live music. Think about it next time you hear good sounding live music. That pinpoint imaging just isn't there. I do well to hear relatively vague left, right and center images, and they're all BIGGER than those typically produced by good conventional speakers.

Amar was on to something with the 901. Too bad almost everything else he's built has sucked. No crossover, small size, high output, fairly efficient, rugged as all get-out, and relatively cheap. What's not to like there?

Somebody talk me down before I hurt myself.[:'(]

[Duke Spinner]

don't forget to go out and buy a 1000 watt amp,too ........

remember the one Blose made, Silver in color, 'bought 150 #........

[Frzninvt]

Like the Duke said you are going to need some power, most of the times I heard the 901's they had big power behind them. Like a Carver 1.5t or 4.0t.

If I were to make such a crazy and bold move such as the one that you are contemplating I would use four of them suspended from equal heights and distances in all four corners of the room, or all on the stands in the four corners in a similar array. A couple of Carver 1.5t's or Yamaha MX-1000U's, or Nakamichi PA-7AII's providing the horsepower.

Back in 1985 I heard a setup such as the one I suggest, a slightly rectangular room with four 901's suspended from the ceiling equal distances from the back and side walls. Powering them was a rare Bose receiver with the built in equalizer. He had a Pioneer SR-303 Time Delay unit set very minimally and let me tell you from the center of the couch it sounded unbelievable! Honestly, the best I have ever heard 901's sound. The source was MTV and they were playing Huey Lewis' Bad is Bad song it really sounded phenomenal.

Any time after that no matter the setting, room, club, or audio display where I listened to them they did not sound the same, not even close. In Germany they had rooms with the Polk SDA's, Infinity SM's, Cerwin Vega's, JBL's, and Klipsch and the Bose never impressed like they did on that one ocassion.

After all it is what sounds good to you.

[D-MAN]

I Somebody talk me down before I hurt myself.[:'(]

Can we just shoot you instead? It's way easier and just plain better all the way around - trust us![]

DM

[rockbobmel]

Oh Boy, Here we go!!! This is a delicate matter!! Well, I have a set of the V series 901s and they don't take a ton of power. I'm using 100wpc. I use them for rear surrounds and I can even timbre match them with the goofy EQ they come with. Just FYI, I played that silly "I Love B-Big Speakers" demo that has synth bass down to about 16HZ. Granted, it was an exaggerated sample, but the "Bloze" reproduced much of the fundamental notes. You could blow out a candle at about 4 feet away from the LF ports. Anyway, I am using K RF-7s and RC-7 for fronts and they sound HUGE. The bose are prolly better for jazz or classical if you use them for fronts, or like stated, get 4 of them n hangem. I used to hang mine about 15" down and 2ft from the corners angled down.

[codhead]

Once had 2 pair of 901's, driven by a pair of Yamaha M-80's. That's

1000 watts total, so guess I only had half of what it takes to fully

appreciate them. [] Even with the reduced power, that system had the

ability to make a police officer appear - seemingly out of nowhere.

[travisc]

I had the series II 901's powered by an Acurus amp, they were loud and dug pretty deep. but they were gone the second I got my ForteII. Those 18 4" drivers couldnt do the detail the k75 and tactrix could not even close.

direct reflecting does the soundstage disapearing act well though

the series 2 were the only ones without foam surrounds

[rockbobmel]

I hope this takes

[leok]

Bose 901s are to some extent a "dipole" speaker, projecting sound toward and away from the listener. Their presentation includes the listening room. There are many speaker designs that include the listening room.

Was your listening room in the mind of the recording engineer that recorded any particular recording you listen to? Probably not, but in some cases the combination may work well.

Getting a system that does not include the listening room to work correctly is difficult, and possibly more academic than practical.

Leo

[sunburnwilly]

A friend of mine from work brought his dads old pair of 901's over 4 years ago for me to try out . I had enough power to drive them but I hated the sound . All midrange . I tried them as my rear surround and felt my old KG 1.2's were far superior . He wanted a couple hundred bucks for them but in the end was just going to give them to me , his wife didn't want them in the house , turns out neither did I . I should have kept them though , I could have sold them on ebay and made some money . But I would have felt bad for the buyer . []

[Woodog]

The day I brought my Cornwalls home was the day the 901 VI's went silent. I was always fiddling with the tone controls trying to get a sound that I liked. I didn't sell them, however. Currently they are on permanent loan to a friend whose rather cheap speakers died. His family loves the sound, and admittedly, if set up correctly, the 901's can put out a heap of sound!

Woo

[Spkrdctr]

I can't even respond........ I'll get the 9mm out and put you out of your misery...... 901's are GREAT speakers for $500/pr. After $500/pr, too many speakers brands and models leave them in the dust.

[jdm56]

Dang, TWO offers to pop a cap in my arse! Am I having a great day or what?[]

I remember when I first got my 901 IV's. They were to replace my trusty old "New" Advents. Well, in just matter of months I mothballed the Bose and drug the Advents back into service. The 901's got sold.

So why am I waxing nostalgic over them now? Maybe I've come full circle, I dunno. Or maybe it's kinda like a 24-hour bug. I'll take a pill and see if I feel better in the morning.

[J M O N]

This is what happens to one's mind when they get rid of a perfectly good pair of Klipschorns... []

[jdm56]

Ouch. I knew somebody'd have to bring that up.[:$]

[colterphoto1]

If you go out in the boat and wrap the anchor line around your ankle REAL TIGHT......

[RAPTORMAN]

I owned a pair of bose 701 mk VI, I think it was. I only kept it for about 2 weeks--The sonics was a total joke.[] The sound was very electonicaly altered, it was almost like fake imaging. Threw out on Ebay and got myself a pair of Heresy II and another pair, and another pair. Until I got myself a pair of Khorns. Now this is what I called live music.

[scriven]

This is what

happens to one's mind when they get rid of a perfectly good pair of

Klipschorns... []

Ouch. I knew

somebody'd have to bring that up.[:$]

You got rid of Khorhs and now you

are reminiscing about 901s????

[sunburnwilly]

I think that jdm56 is actualy reminiscing about the time period in his life when he owned his 901's . But ya' know what they say , you can never go back . [:'(] Now Snap Out Of It You Big Baby !

[jdm56]

This is what happens to one's mind when they get rid of a perfectly good pair of Klipschorns... []

Ouch. I knew somebody'd have to bring that up.[:$]

You got rid of Khorhs and now you are reminiscing about 901s????

Well, yeah. If you'll notice, there's a whole bunch of klipsch owners with a Bose daliance in their deep, dark past. And some who still have a pair around. The 901 is, after all, a classic. In fact, it may be right behind the k-horn, la scala and heresy in market longevity.

The last pair I heard, a series VI set at the local Bose outlet store, absolutely rocked--and in a very poor set up, just sitting helter-skelter out in the middle of a big, open showroom.

Ah, I'll probably stay with what I've got, but I ain't writing them off yet. The worst thing is I'd probably take a major loss on my year-old B&W 703's.[]