Bose 901 Series V

kelley

Not that I really want a pair of Bose but the price seems pretty decent. Sombody in the local paper wants $250 for the speakers with stands and equalizer in great shape. Is it worth checking out?

RuSsMaN

That's a great price, with everything included, assuming condition is good also.

It's the only pair of Bose I've ever owned, series II 901's.

Cheers,
Russ

sowen010599

Make sure they still have "the box".

madmax

In really good condition I paid $600 for mine. That is a great price.
madmax

[Deleted User]

Hello,
I remember a friend of mine, way back when, had two pairs of 901's. One pair facing the wall and the other pair stacked on top facing the listener. They were powered with two Crown DC300 amps and a Crown IC150 pre-amp. The turntable was a Thorens TD-125 with a Shure V15 III cartridge. He lived near the old stadium on 33rd street, in Baltimore. I destroyed quite a few brain cells listening to Cream, Tull, Hendrix etc on that system. He replaced them with the Infinity Servo Statics after the Bose.
Ken

steveinaz

I had Bose 901 Series VI for 14 yrs. I got them for $799 complete w/stands and EQ at a military "tent" sale in Germany. They can sound fantastic if powered correctly and placed in the room correctly. Very addictive as they only extend to about 13kHz, they're the most non-fatiquing speaker you'll ever listen to.

People can crack on the 901 all they want, but you need to hear a pair setup properly and powered properly to really appreciate the technology. Are they waaaayyyyy over-priced? You bet they are. Used market is the best place to shop for them.

I would venture a guess that 90% of those who dislike the 901, have never heard it..........PROPERLY setup. I still catch myself every now and then looking on ebay at 901 Series VI's (the only model I'd ever own).

Kelley,
Keep in mind that they need alot of power, 125watts rms, minimum to truly breathe. A preamp with a "processor loop" is the best scenario for connection of the EQ; don't connect the EQ between the preamp and amp---it really sounds horrible in that mode of operation. If you have a "tape monitor" you can also hook it up that way.

kelley

Thanks for the replies, and I'll keep it all in mind but I left a message on the phone and haven't received a return call. Guess they're gone

Tour2ma

Originally posted by Kenneth Swauger
I destroyed quite a few brain cells listening to Cream, Tull, Hendrix etc on that system.

Are you sure this was solely caused by the music?

Yup, $250 complete is a good price.

Series III and higher do carry with them surround rot potential. Just something of which you should be aware. Replacing surrounds on 18 of those little drivers would help pass winter's long nights though.

901's have been on my "hit list" for a while. Memories of a pair a friend in college had... very nice imaging.

Just nailed my first pair on da bay (Walnut Series II's). Unfortunately FedEx dropped one of them and split its bottom damn near through in one corner.

VR3

901 Foam Replacement Kit can be found at -

www.simplyspeakers.com

I think PE offers one too...

I dont think I will sit down long enough to refoam all of those drivers...

sowen010599

Anybody else see the demo where they put a plug on the speaker wire and plug it right into the wall?? Hummmmmmmmmmm

Dang!

If I remember correctly, "Maximum wattage unlimited in non-commercial applications."

[Deleted User]

Hello Tour,
Well, there may have been some other contributing factors. Ah, the good old days!
Ken

Tour2ma

sowen,
Never caught that act... I find that rather shocking.

I seem to remember the rating being 270 wpc as each driver was rated for 30 and then you just did the math...

steveinaz

I had 2 amps bridged for 600 watts/rms, and I could get the clipping led's to light---the 901's were not distressed, they just kept on going.

Tour2ma

Not surprising, Steve. A 200 W rated speaker can handle 600 W transients. What amps were you using? (I'm guessing Mc's...)

All I can find on the web are ratings for the Series VI:
Maximum Input Power 450 Watt

sowen010599

I wonder what the impedance curve looks like with 9 identical drivers and no x-over.

The only reason I remember that "unlimited" BS is because I remember seeing it in my dad's speakers manual. He had a set of 901's umpteen years ago. I remember being drop-jawed about that statement.

I was with him at the shop where he bought them in Minnesota and about fell over when they plugged a speaker into the wall socket. :eek:

Great sounding speakers except for the port noise on low notes. LOTS of air comes out those ports! I mean a HUGE amount! If you hold your hand behind the ports, you can hear and feel a slap from the air hitting your hand. When they get a good low note, the noise is almost like a low whistle. Kinda like the noise from blowing over the mouth if a big bottle. I will say this though, those little stingers in the ports sure look cool.

steveinaz

Originally posted by Tour2ma
Not surprising, Steve. A 200 W rated speaker can handle 600 W transients. What amps were you using? (I'm guessing Mc's...)

All I can find on the web are ratings for the Series VI:
Maximum Input Power 450 Watt

I was using 2 Soundcraftsmen PM-840's bridged with an AB-1. When bridged they put out 600 watts/rms per channel, 1235 watts peak. Pretty incredible.

Bose, in about the last 10yrs, dropped the "unlimited" power handling and went to 450 watts/rms. Don't know why.

kelley

Never heard back from the seller so I guess those are gone.

RayChuang

One thing I don't like about the Bose 901's is the fact you have be real critical in speaker placement, due to its deliberate reflecting sound design. They sound fairly good but for highly accurate stereo imaging I prefer the Polk RTA-11t, no contest.