Bose 901's

boston1450

Had a chance to listen to some vintage 901's & i know alot dont like them. But they didnt sound too bad. Was at yardsale last week & he had them for sale. They werent hooked up BUT i said why not. I dont understand how he had them hooked up. A Pioneer V SX-D1s receiver & a Adcom GFA545. Why would you need a Adcom with a 130wpc@8ohm receiver ? Thats the question i got. I did hook it up to the receiver (without the Eq-i have it) not bad. The 8 drivers on back definitely are noticeable & front one is there

mhardy6647

The 901 family need lots of power "for best results".

No, they really aren't bad -- and there are folks (myself included) who like the idea of wide-range, crossover-less drivers (although, at least in my case, I am NOT a fan of using extensive EQ, as the Bose 901 does, to achieve relatively broad and flat frequency response). It's that extensive EQ that is PART of the reason they're so power hungry... but they're also fundamentally quite insensitive.

steveinaz

See the Tone Audio review of the 901 VI. I found earlier versions to be a bit nasal, but the series VI was not only more efficient, it didn't have that nasal sound. 901's need lots of power to really shine. I ran a set for nearly 14 years (series VI) with 2 bridged amps. I enjoyed them.

The ideal setup is to put the EQ in a looped inout/output (processor/eq loop) on your pre or reciever; or use a input with record out function. This way the EQ operates at line level for the best S/N ratio. They need to be at least 8 feet apart, with about 8-10" from the rear apex of the speaker to the back wall. Try to be at least 2ft from any corner, or bass will over bloom.

I would suspect that about 80% of the "naysayers" probably never heard a set, or heard them in a far less than ideal setup.

Tone Audio review: http://www.tonepublications.com/review/we-review-the-bose-901/

Mystery

They are decent if used properly with the corresponding equalizer.
901 and 601 are the only decent sounding Bose models

steveinaz

Setup is a bit fussy. They need a long wall in a medium to large room to really strut their stuff; and the proper mix of reflective/absorbing room furnishings.

PolkieMan

I picked up some 901 original series 1 at Goodwill for $20 I have not found a EQ for them yet. The EQ boosts the bass a lot one of the reasons they need lots of power.

boston1450

Thanks I tried to hook that darn Eq up earlier & said screw it & jumped on the bike.... Big help on hooking it up. I will try again before i toss it all in closet before the Mrs's see's more darn speakers

boston1450

Mystery wrote: »

They are decent if used properly with the corresponding equalizer.
901 and 601 are the only decent sounding Bose models

i had the 401's & they didnt seem too bad. I thought they were much better than the 201-301's

voltz

I think westmassguy restores the 901's

westmassguy

voltz wrote: »

I think westmassguy restores the 901's

Yes he does.

boston1450

westmassguy wrote: »

Yes he does.

any idea why they would have used the receiver & amp vs just the receiver. Im not sure it would have brought more power to it ? Maybe cleaner power ? 130 vs 100 or did they use it to make it easier to use the Eq?any thoughts. Bose with this Eq is different. When i get the time tomorrow, i will hook it up properly-i think- it might sound better than without it.... TIA

westmassguy

The receiver probably didn't have an old school tape monitor loop. Most new receivers have tape connections, but they're not Monitor Loops. They probably had the EQ connected via the pre-outs on the receiver to a power amp.

boston1450

Got ya. Thank you sir. I will give it a whirl tomorrow

cnh

Bose 901s are actually OK with their EQ BOX and proper set up. I demoed some a couple of decades ago.

I also think that the early versions of the 301s were not that bad either, at least in the extremely important mid-frequencies.

Did you pick those up with the Pioneer receiver. I saw the ad. as well. I'd be curious as to what you think of that Pioneer. That's the next generation well after the silver face period but I believe it is made in JAPAN? No?

Love your Fluroscans in the other post. I have an SX-3900 (120 watts x 2, 45 lbs) I run in the basement with some Original Advents (wood finish, masonite woofers). Your set up inspired me to spend yesterday with that system, good power, pretty clean and a decent 4 gang FM tuner with good sensitivity.

Enjoy!

cnh

boston1450

Yes Cnh. Pioneer VSX-D1S , Ive never seen a receiver with all vents on top & sides like this. It is quite the receiver & it has the power to back it the other Pioneer is a SA-9800

boston1450

Yes sir re. The Eq is a must. Just like ya said. Like night & day. They sound terrific. Thank you Westmassguy. Walked me through the steps PERFECTLY.

steveinaz

boston1450 wrote: »

Thanks I tried to hook that darn Eq up earlier & said screw it & jumped on the bike.... Big help on hooking it up. I will try again before i toss it all in closet before the Mrs's see's more darn speakers

Just hook it to a tape input, then use your record out switch to "route" your source thru the EQ. You can also connect between reciever (or pre) and amp.

and YES the EQ is a must. It's doing alot more than just controlling bass & treble. leave your recievers tone controls flat, and use the treble control on the Bose EQ (you'll need it).

Play Rush "Red Barchetta" on them, and get back to me.....

boston1450

Seens how i love Rush i will try them. I have it hooked up to Receiver Eq Amp & it sounds very nice. Here is pic on the stands when i got them. They are on table now & deciding what i want to do next. I know the Amp isnt big enough & i offered it to friend but he didnt have room for it with his Halfer.

steveinaz

That's the sand/teak 901's, the same finish I had. Have fun with them, they can be quite addicting as they naturally "destroy" digititus. They only extend to about 13kHz, which is why they have a smooth quality to them, even with the harshest of CD's.

The 901 is a speaker that you listen to with the labcoat off, and the oscilloscope unplugged. Forget the techno-geek spec stuff, and give them an honest listen; I think you'll be surprised.

westmassguy

steveinaz wrote: »

That's the sand/teak 901's, the same finish I had. Have fun with them, they can be quite addicting as they naturally "destroy" digititus. They only extend to about 13kHz, which is why they have a smooth quality to them, even with the harshest of CD's.

The 901 is a speaker that you listen to with the labcoat off, and the oscilloscope unplugged. Forget the techno-geek spec stuff, and give them an honest listen; I think you'll be surprised.

They top out at 16-17khz, not 13khz

cnh

OK, here's a question for you all: the partsexpress clone driver for these speakers (link below). Lists the full range frequency of the 9, 4+" drivers at 83hz to 15Khz.

http://www.parts-express.com/replacement-speaker-driver-for-bose-901-4-1-2-1-ohm--290-922

So HOW is it that they manage to reach below 83hz? I've heard them and I know that 83hz is NOT their bottom end. And the graph above shows the same thing. Can you do that with EQing. Seems hard to believe you can get much more LOW end out of such small speakers.

Or is it the cabinet VOLUME that somehow enters into the equation. I'd say that what I heard is more in line with the graph above: 35-40 hz bottom to, perhaps 16hz+ top end.

cnh

westmassguy

9 acoustically coupled 4.25" drivers have an effective cone area equivalent to a 10.5" woofer, with 15-20db boost at 35 Hz.

steveinaz

Too bad they went with foam surrounds on those replacements. IIRC, and it's been a few years, the series VI has a much more durable surround material.

westmassguy

The Series VI has been in production since 1987. They had foam surrounds till the mid 2000s, and switched to treated cloth. They also changed the cone material. They couldn't get the New Zealand pulp anymore.

leftwinger57

Never owned 901s but had 601s that I refurbished myself. As the saying goes location, location ect. With the 601s you were not as limited in placement as you were with the 901s and even proven in their own original manuals. The 601s w/ the slide switch mounted on the terminal plate allowed you to go symettrical and have a fairly normal speaker w/ sound being thrown out from the top and front woofers. In asymettrical mode this enabled you to put the speakers by a rear wall and use those reflections to bounce the music all over and get the " all around effect. I thought they were very clear and powerful. Now w/ original series 1 901s there were many placement limitations. They looked perfect for corners and no, not even close to corners. Yes you can hang them as many people I knew did and generally using the eq got decent results. After all this model speaker put and kept Bose in the world market for a very long time. Was there better, of course. From what I can recall the main players at the time were JBL, Dalquist, ESS Heill and all the east coast group of speakers including Frazier w/ their famous Frazier Black Boxes.

Gatecrasher

I used to have a Pioneer VSX-D1S AVR. Bought it brand-new back in the early 1990s from J&R mail order. It was over $1,000 new and has some great specs. A couple years ago, I had it on here for sale for a week and no one bought it so I put it on eBay and it sold for $250. The only reason I sold it was because it was pre-Dolby 5.1 and only has Pro-Logic surround and I didn't use it anymore. It was in the factory box collecting dust in my closet. It's a great stereo receiver.