I am ashamed...

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Comments

  • oldrocker
    oldrocker Posts: 2,590
    My wife got me a pair of 201's from a lady she works with for just about nothing a while back. They sound ok.

    I got other sets, some 141's that I take with me when I'm out and about to test other stuff I might buy.
    The 301's are at my moms and she's happy with it.
    The 901's I never got set quite right but I'm Polk biased.

    I wouldn't mind stumbling across one of those 1801 Mr. Hardy posted, looks cool.

    If your ears are happy, that's all that matters.
  • mrloren
    mrloren Posts: 2,454
    K_M wrote: »
    mrloren wrote: »
    I my humble opinion the best speaker Bose made was the 601 followed by the 301. They were very good speakers but the price was a lot more than what they are worth. I have a pair of old Polk bookshelf speakers from the 80's that still sound good. when I got the the sales guy was trying to push me into 301 @ $200 more. I did the A/B for like a 1/2 hour and got the Polks.

    I could be wrong, but thought the bose 301's were only 200 some dollars in the eighties at most.

    I don't have the receipt any more, it was like 35 years ago or longer. If I remember correctly the 301 were in the mid 300 range and the Polks were around $180. The Bose sold for premium and were pushed by retailers. Even the few months I sold stereo equipment in 89 we were told to push Bose.

    I call those Polk bookshelf speakers the best Stairway speaker made. just sounded so sweet on them.
    When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
    Family Room:LG QNED80 75", Onkyo RZ50 Emotiva XPA3 GEN3 Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM. Main: Polk LsiM 705Center: Polk LSiM 704CFront High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT Surrounds: Polk S15 Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
    Bed Room; Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270Main: Polk Signature S20Center: Polk Signature S35Rear: Polk R15 Sub: SVS SB2000
    Working Warehouse; Yamaha A-S301, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc Plok TSX550T SVS PB2000 Mini tower PC with 400GB of music
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,929
    mrloren wrote: »
    K_M wrote: »
    mrloren wrote: »
    I my humble opinion the best speaker Bose made was the 601 followed by the 301. They were very good speakers but the price was a lot more than what they are worth. I have a pair of old Polk bookshelf speakers from the 80's that still sound good. when I got the the sales guy was trying to push me into 301 @ $200 more. I did the A/B for like a 1/2 hour and got the Polks.

    I could be wrong, but thought the bose 301's were only 200 some dollars in the eighties at most.

    I don't have the receipt any more, it was like 35 years ago or longer. If I remember correctly the 301 were in the mid 300 range and the Polks were around $180. The Bose sold for premium and were pushed by retailers. Even the few months I sold stereo equipment in 89 we were told to push Bose.

    I call those Polk bookshelf speakers the best Stairway speaker made. just sounded so sweet on them.

    Yes, I started to dig a little but got distracted by a squirrel or a shiny rock or something* My recollection also is that the 301 and 201 were premium-priced (arguably, overpriced) -- certainly compared to the Monitor 7 (which was bargain priced in its early days).
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,929
    :) from the late, lamented Audio magazine's October 1977 Annual Equipment Directory, courtesy of http://americanradiohistory.com
    http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Audio/70s/Audio-1977-10.pdf

    16joalc2v1vn.png
  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
    Yikes! Those are pricey-er than I thought! And in 70s/80s dollars? Wow!
  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
    edited April 2018
    Hey, it’s paul!
    Already watched the video. Nice idea, but it didn’t turn out so well IMO
  • Kingrat
    Kingrat Posts: 74
    I heard a 901setup that actually sounded pretty decent. They were on massive rubber chains, about 6 feet in the air in a room with a vaulted ceiling. He did have a sub hooked up, and I was shocked how decent it sounded. Not "wow", but "Not bad!". except for that one time, they were bad to "My ears!!!". Never understood how they sold so many of them. I saw a whole big bunch of them at Goodwill a few years ago. Someone apparently bought them, as they were gone the next time I looked.
    Cable atheist: They're just trying to get your money like a TV preacher!
    Vinyl system: I'm long done with the snap, crackle, and pop.
  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,481
    I had read somewhere in the last two weeks that Bose has finally ceased production of the 901. One of the longest productions of a speaker model.
  • mrloren
    mrloren Posts: 2,454
    pitdogg2 wrote: »
    I had read somewhere in the last two weeks that Bose has finally ceased production of the 901. One of the longest productions of a speaker model.

    I'll never understand that. The Bose 601 was a far better speaker than the 90.
    When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
    Family Room:LG QNED80 75", Onkyo RZ50 Emotiva XPA3 GEN3 Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM. Main: Polk LsiM 705Center: Polk LSiM 704CFront High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT Surrounds: Polk S15 Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
    Bed Room; Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270Main: Polk Signature S20Center: Polk Signature S35Rear: Polk R15 Sub: SVS SB2000
    Working Warehouse; Yamaha A-S301, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc Plok TSX550T SVS PB2000 Mini tower PC with 400GB of music
  • erniejade
    erniejade Posts: 6,288
    A friend a long time ago a friend of mine had a set of 501 that had a 10" woofer that didn't sound too bad. I had a set of 301 with a sub in my old garage that my friend Mike who lives in MN. Still runs in his garage today. For what they were, there were not bad. I have heard a few sets of 901's over the years. With the eq, they are a fun party speaker.

    Their pro stuff is $$###. I ran a set of Bose L1 column type speaker for weddings for 11 years. They looked great for weddings and sounded ok. I did not like the B1 subwoofer for larger rooms and used a different sub with them. Again $$$$ back in 04 it was $2400 a set!.
    Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista 300, Audioquest Thunderbird Zero Speaker Cable, Tyler Highland H2, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's.
  • Tony M
    Tony M Posts: 11,009
    erniejade wrote: »
    A friend a long time ago a friend of mine had a set of 501 that had a 10" woofer that didn't sound too bad. I had a set of 301 with a sub in my old garage that my friend Mike who lives in MN. Still runs in his garage today. For what they were, there were not bad. I have heard a few sets of 901's over the years. With the eq, they are a fun party speaker.

    Their pro stuff is $$###. I ran a set of Bose L1 column type speaker for weddings for 11 years. They looked great for weddings and sounded ok. I did not like the B1 subwoofer for larger rooms and used a different sub with them. Again $$$$ back in 04 it was $2400 a set!.

    15+ years ago I heard the 501's set up at the end of a rectangular room and was blown away at how good and loud they could play. Rock and Roll was the music playing so take that into consideration. ;)
    Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them.
  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,481
    edited April 2018
    Tony M wrote: »
    erniejade wrote: »
    A friend a long time ago a friend of mine had a set of 501 that had a 10" woofer that didn't sound too bad. I had a set of 301 with a sub in my old garage that my friend Mike who lives in MN. Still runs in his garage today. For what they were, there were not bad. I have heard a few sets of 901's over the years. With the eq, they are a fun party speaker.

    Their pro stuff is $$###. I ran a set of Bose L1 column type speaker for weddings for 11 years. They looked great for weddings and sounded ok. I did not like the B1 subwoofer for larger rooms and used a different sub with them. Again $$$$ back in 04 it was $2400 a set!.

    15+ years ago I heard the 501's set up at the end of a rectangular room and was blown away at how good and loud they could play. Rock and Roll was the music playing so take that into consideration. ;)

    12 years ago a good friend had bought a set of 501's brand new manys years before. Noticed the drivers had foam rot called Bose to see where he could take them to be replaced. Bose asked for his address and they would check for him and get back. 6 days later UPS dropped off a brand new set of 501 speakers he was just floored.
  • Tony M
    Tony M Posts: 11,009
    WOW, I didn't know Bose had that kind of FANTASTIC CUSTOMER SERVICE. :oB)

    Thanks for sharing that! ;)
    Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them.
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,929
    erniejade wrote: »
    A friend a long time ago a friend of mine had a set of 501 that had a 10" woofer that didn't sound too bad. I had a set of 301 with a sub in my old garage that my friend Mike who lives in MN. Still runs in his garage today. For what they were, there were not bad. I have heard a few sets of 901's over the years. With the eq, they are a fun party speaker.

    Their pro stuff is $$###. I ran a set of Bose L1 column type speaker for weddings for 11 years. They looked great for weddings and sounded ok. I did not like the B1 subwoofer for larger rooms and used a different sub with them. Again $$$$ back in 04 it was $2400 a set!.

    The 801 and 802 were pretty darned not bad, I'd opine (and FWIW).
  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
    ^^^^^^^
    Agreed. I have an 801 mk. II and even without the controller it sounds pretty good considering.
  • soundfreak1
    soundfreak1 Posts: 3,374
    Mrloren I think the 301 series one (foam grills) were the best bose every thing falls off from there.
    Main Rig:
    Krell KAV 250a biamped to mid/highs
    Parasound HCA1500A biamped to lows
    Nakamichi EC100 Active xover
    MIT exp 1 ic's
    Perreaux SA33 class A preamp
    AQ kingcobra ic's
    OPPO 83 CDP
    Lehmann audio black cube SE phono pre, Audioquest phono wire (ITA1/1)
    Denon DP-1200 TT. AToc9ML MC cart.
    Monster HTS 3600 power conditioner
    ADS L1590/2 Biamped
    MIT exps2 speaker cable
  • mrloren
    mrloren Posts: 2,454
    Mrloren I think the 301 series one (foam grills) were the best bose every thing falls off from there.

    Cool, I've never spent a lot of time with 301.

    Me I spent some time with the older 80's 601's hooked to a late 60's vintage Sansui BIG beast receiver and they were great.

    As for me, when I got my small Polks. 301 was a lot more money. I also had a bais to the Polks. Going to my friends home and listening to his dads setup made me want a pair. Stairway never sounded so good. I had Cerwin Vegas for blasting and Polks for listening.

    I totally lost interest in Bose. At first they were over priced. Then came them cubes with the AM radio wave thing.

    One great thing about growing up in SoCal. A lot of my friends parents were in the military. They would always have this great audio gear they picked up overseas.

    My kids friends come over and it's "what are those towers". I always got a grin then turned it up :)
    When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
    Family Room:LG QNED80 75", Onkyo RZ50 Emotiva XPA3 GEN3 Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM. Main: Polk LsiM 705Center: Polk LSiM 704CFront High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT Surrounds: Polk S15 Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
    Bed Room; Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270Main: Polk Signature S20Center: Polk Signature S35Rear: Polk R15 Sub: SVS SB2000
    Working Warehouse; Yamaha A-S301, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc Plok TSX550T SVS PB2000 Mini tower PC with 400GB of music
  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
    My aunt and uncle who I said before have the Bose wave radio just got a Bose cube system for their camper. :cry: luckily I haven’t had to hear it yet, I think I probably will hear it tomorrow.