positive review for Bose 901s

leftwinger57

Having woken early w/ nothing better to do I started to go over some reviews of my favorite or best known speakers I've either heard or owned. I'm not going into the Rectilinears or Fraziers or ARs but the since Bose 901s get greif and somewhat good reviews both I wanted to see what this dude had to say. He bought and was not lent a pair of the latest incarnation and barely a negative word was said about these $1400 w/ the pedestal stands. I remember my friend hung his series 1s in the early 70's from the ceiling and paired w/ a larger Marantz 2xxx series receiver sound pretty good for his room. Me I always thought that they were way to placement critical, looking perfect to fit in a corner and of course that's one of the worst areas to put them. I was surprized at how enthusiastic this guy was about his pair of 901s. If I had a chance of getting a set w/ butyl surrounds at my thrift store type prices I would give them a shot in my living room. I might even hang them since room is getting tight. lol

leftwinger57

I forgot the link

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

Dennis Gardner

I think that room requirements cause a number of speakers to disappoint, including Bose 901s, Magnepans, Klipschorns, and our beloved Polk SDAs. If you can't or won't take time to dial them in, you are missing out on what they truly have to offer. I found the 901s to be smooth throughout vocal ranges and rarely collapsed the sound when driven with hard rock. They don't have much sizzle on the top, or the last octave of satisfying deep bass, but they are can pleasing to listen to. I actually like piano music played through a properly setup pair as most piano pieces are full of mids and the speakers are flush with mids.

Another thought about 901s is that stacking pairs "AK style" actually increases the impact and fun factor without having to worry about filter combing. 2-3 pairs stacked from their pedestal upwards would be a true wall of sound that wouldn't suffer the usual loss in imaging.

westmassguy

The Series II 901s are the best in my opinion. When properly setup, given 150-200 watts of clean, high current amplification, and an Equalizer that's been rebuilt with quality, Audiophile grade components, they present an excellent "Wall of Sound", that's very detailed. They are not point sources, rather Direct/Reflecting. They will re-create a live performance, that can be uncanny. They are not bass shy by any stretch when properly powered. The do roll off sharply below 30 Hz, and above 16.5 KHz. They should never be closer than 3' from a corner or wall opening. They need at least 5' of clear wall space behind each, and the wall should be made from dense material. The Series I & II had treated cloth surrounds. Series III through VI came with foam surrounds which rotted. The Revision B Series VI 901s have treated cloth surrounds. All Series III through VI which had foam surrounds can be re-edged with Cloth, so they'll last indefinitely.

sucks2beme

I bought JBL L100's over 901's back in my teens just because of the issue of
where to put them. Either one was better than the typical Japanese speakers
in the PBX exchange overseas. Both are certainly not great speakers.
They can rock out very well, but for anything else, they fall short.
You can find hundreds of speakers in the Dallas/Ft. Worth CL that
will sound better at much lower prices. The thrift store stuff consists
mostly of 901's with no EQ and rotted surrounds.

tonyb

You can find a positive review for pretty much any speaker out there, old or new. Doesn't matter how crappy a speaker is, someone...somewhere will like 'em.

steveinaz

Dennis Gardner wrote: »

I think that room requirements cause a number of speakers to disappoint, including Bose 901s, Magnepans, Klipschorns, and our beloved Polk SDAs. If you can't or won't take time to dial them in, you are missing out on what they truly have to offer. I found the 901s to be smooth throughout vocal ranges and rarely collapsed the sound when driven with hard rock. They don't have much sizzle on the top, or the last octave of satisfying deep bass, but they are can pleasing to listen to. I actually like piano music played through a properly setup pair as most piano pieces are full of mids and the speakers are flush with mids.

As a 901 VI user for 14yrs, your assessment is SPOT ON, IMO.

steveinaz

westmassguy wrote: »

The Revision B Series VI 901s have treated cloth surrounds. All Series III through VI which had foam surrounds can be re-edged with Cloth, so they'll last indefinitely.

From my understanding all versions after Series III have the cloth "v" style surrounds.

westmassguy

steveinaz wrote: »

As a 901 VI user for 14yrs, your assessment is SPOT ON, IMO.

The top and bottom end can be improved, the midrange smoothed out, with Audiophile grade caps in the Equalizer

westmassguy

steveinaz wrote: »

From my understanding all versions after Series III have the cloth "v" style surrounds.

No, the Series III through VI all had foam surrounds. Series III, IV and Early Series V had polyurethane foam, which deteriorated rather quickly. Mid production Series V and all Series VI up to Rev B had polyether foam surrounds, which lasted longer.

pitdogg2

Best pair I ever heard was set up in an old very large bank vault. Hung from the ceilings in the corner about 3' from the corner, Man Rush 2112 never sounded so good. Had them ran with top on the line Yamaha power amp and preamp. The bank vault was made of 6" of steel with 3' of concrete between another 6" of steel.

sucks2beme

pitdogg2 wrote: »

Best pair I ever heard was set up in an old very large bank vault. Hung from the ceilings in the corner about 3' from the corner, Man Rush 2112 never sounded so good. Had them ran with top on the line Yamaha power amp and preamp. The bank vault was made of 6" of steel with 3' of concrete between another 6" of steel.

That's one very special room!

westmassguy

pitdogg2 wrote: »

Best pair I ever heard was set up in an old very large bank vault. Hung from the ceilings in the corner about 3' from the corner, Man Rush 2112 never sounded so good. Had them ran with top on the line Yamaha power amp and preamp. The bank vault was made of 6" of steel with 3' of concrete between another 6" of steel.

Can't get a more suitable reflective surface than that pit.

steveinaz

I still have yet to hear a speaker play "Red Barchetta" as well as 901's on bridged amps in a large room. Talk about slam. Hate to admit it, but it is the truth. Peart's kick drum just punches you square in the chest.

Here's some infamous trivia: When I sold my 901's in 2002, the Hershey factory in Pennsylvania bought them from me, for their break room. I nearly got what I paid for them, in 1988.

MrBuhl

steveinaz wrote: »

As a 901 VI user for 14yrs, your assessment is SPOT ON, IMO.

I bought my 901's after listening to a Dave Grusin version of the Peanut's song on piano - crazy good sound and I bought them on the spot. I was young and foolish. Loved those speaks, hung them from chains because I couldn't afford the stands (they were drilled and tapped for the eye hooks already then) - really great sounding speakers when you tailor the room to them and follow the directions - a lot like SDA's in that way. Sadly - loooonnnnggg gone now - but the SDA soundstage is the only speaker I've ever heard that was larger than those 901's.