Bose 901s

lanion
lanion Posts: 843
edited September 2006 in Speakers
I picked up a pair of Bose 901 series 2 for $10 today (cheap, I say!). They don't have the active crossover -- are things worth putting another $50 in? (or less for a non-bose equalizer)
My Iron Man training/charity blog.

HT:
32" Sharp LCD. H/K dpr 1001 to Outlaw Audio 7900 to Polk LSi + Paradigm Studio center. Hsu DualDrive ULS-15. PS3/Wii. Outlaw 7900.
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  • reeltrouble1
    reeltrouble1 Posts: 9,312
    edited September 2006
    You could ship them to Polkfest where they will be handled appropriately.
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited September 2006
    I would look for the stock crossover but I don't think you'll really like either way. It's a disappointing speaker.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • lanion
    lanion Posts: 843
    edited September 2006
    reeltrouble1 wrote:
    You could ship them to Polkfest where they will be handled appropriately.

    haha. Hey, Chapel Hill is probobly on someone's way. . .
    My Iron Man training/charity blog.

    HT:
    32" Sharp LCD. H/K dpr 1001 to Outlaw Audio 7900 to Polk LSi + Paradigm Studio center. Hsu DualDrive ULS-15. PS3/Wii. Outlaw 7900.
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  • lanion
    lanion Posts: 843
    edited September 2006
    dorokusai wrote:
    I would look for the stock crossover but I don't think you'll really like either way. It's a disappointing speaker.

    As distasteful as Bose is to the community, there must be some price point at which it would become reasonable. These can't be that bad for ~$50 speakers.
    My Iron Man training/charity blog.

    HT:
    32" Sharp LCD. H/K dpr 1001 to Outlaw Audio 7900 to Polk LSi + Paradigm Studio center. Hsu DualDrive ULS-15. PS3/Wii. Outlaw 7900.
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  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited September 2006
    I thought mine were worth the $500 I put in them. Series 5 with the original frequency compensation unit. Initially I thought the original electronics were a good idea but found that some of my equalizers out of the closet did just as well, maybe a little better. Certainly worth putting some amout of money towards them. You get the benifit of a full range speaker (no crossover between bass and treble) and they sound pretty good. Not as good as the SDA's or LSi's, but OK The room is very important. I guess my feeling is that the 901 is the only thing worth having from bose.
    madmax
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  • unc2701
    unc2701 Posts: 3,587
    edited September 2006
    wow... talk about coincidence:

    http://raleigh.craigslist.org/ele/210308309.html
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  • lanion
    lanion Posts: 843
    edited September 2006
    I got the $10 ones that were on raleigh-craigslist yesterday :)
    My Iron Man training/charity blog.

    HT:
    32" Sharp LCD. H/K dpr 1001 to Outlaw Audio 7900 to Polk LSi + Paradigm Studio center. Hsu DualDrive ULS-15. PS3/Wii. Outlaw 7900.
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  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited September 2006
    unc2701 wrote:
    wow... talk about coincidence:

    http://raleigh.craigslist.org/ele/210308309.html


    They have been going for that price for years. You can always find some crappy ones cheap but in the condition those are in $500 is reasonable. I wouldn't buy another set but then again, there are a lot of speakers I wouldn't re-buy after trying them.
    madmax
    Vinyl, the final frontier...

    Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D
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  • lanion
    lanion Posts: 843
    edited September 2006
    Thanks for the encouragement. I think ill tear off the incredibly ugly 70s carpet grill, get an equalizer and see how it sounds!
    My Iron Man training/charity blog.

    HT:
    32" Sharp LCD. H/K dpr 1001 to Outlaw Audio 7900 to Polk LSi + Paradigm Studio center. Hsu DualDrive ULS-15. PS3/Wii. Outlaw 7900.
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  • Toka78
    Toka78 Posts: 192
    edited September 2006
    Worth playing around with for sure. While not even close to the best from that (or any) era, they aren't the worst either...certainly not as bad as all the anti-Bose hysteria would have you believe. Quality-wise, they went downhill pretty fast/far in the later series, but for $10 you can't lose.
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  • aaharvel
    aaharvel Posts: 4,489
    edited September 2006
    isn't it true that Bose only started using foam on the woofer surrounds in the latter series? Does anyone know which one it was? And if so, what series is considered the best of the 6? Relatively speaking of course.

    I've always liked the look of the 901's for some reason. When it comes to sound, I don't really know, only heard them at low volumes in one of those "Bose" stores down in Florida. It sounded decent, but I just don't understand why one has to have something as blasphemous as an EQ to make them sound 'decent'.
    H/K Signature 2.1+235
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  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,986
    edited September 2006
    You can drive the s$%t out of them, that's for sure. Like Chuck said, the room / setup is important to get them sounding right.

    You don't per se NEED an original EQ (I wish I hadn't just sold TWO of them recently, I'd get one to you) - a 3-5db boost in the top and bottom end, centered around 50-60Hz and 8-10Khz is about all you need, which can be acheived via most gruntball 7 or 10 band EQ's.

    I enjoyed the 701 and 901 - and not much else from Bose. When you are done, remove the drivers = dandy herb garden.

    Andrew, the series I and II had cloth surrounds, III-present day are all foam.

    Cheers,
    Russ
    Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
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  • Lsi9
    Lsi9 Posts: 616
    edited September 2006
    I wouldn't bother with 901's post 70's
    But they are legends from the pre 80's Enjoy

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  • Dennis Gardner
    Dennis Gardner Posts: 4,861
    edited September 2006
    Just make sure that you have nice surrounds like this pair, so they don't leak.:D
    HT Optoma HD25 LV on 80" DIY Screen, Anthem MRX 300 Receiver, Pioneer Elite BDP 51FD Polk CS350LS, Polk SDA1C, Polk FX300, Polk RT55, Dual EBS Adire Shiva 320watt tuned to 17hz, ICs-DIY Twisted Prs, Speaker-Raymond Cable

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  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,986
    edited September 2006
    Ah, the limted tc version. (tub caulk)

    Just when you think you've seen it all, eh Dennis?

    Cheers,
    Russ
    Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
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  • aaharvel
    aaharvel Posts: 4,489
    edited September 2006
    I don't understand the change.. is foam supposed to be better than cloth or something?
    H/K Signature 2.1+235
    Jungson MagicBoat II
    Revel Performa M-20
    Velodyne cht-10 sub
    Rega P1 Turntable

    "People working at Polk Audio must sit around the office and just laugh their balls off reading many of these comments." -Lush
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  • lanion
    lanion Posts: 843
    edited September 2006
    I played around with my computers EQ and was very pleased with the bass extention I got, especially considering I was using a 30watt/channel Jolida 1301 that I usually have hooked up to Totem Mites. My initial impression is pretty positive but I havn't played at all with room placement yet. I found a a 10band EQ for $25 so maybe this weekend Ill try it with my Outlaw amp.
    My Iron Man training/charity blog.

    HT:
    32" Sharp LCD. H/K dpr 1001 to Outlaw Audio 7900 to Polk LSi + Paradigm Studio center. Hsu DualDrive ULS-15. PS3/Wii. Outlaw 7900.
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  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,986
    edited September 2006
    aaharvel wrote:
    I don't understand the change.. is foam supposed to be better than cloth or something?

    Nope, but it sure helps to sell replacement drivers and factory refoam jobs every 8-12 years or so.

    I'm listening to 45 year old KLH's tonight, with original (cloth) surrounds.

    Cheers,
    Russ
    Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
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  • ESavinon
    ESavinon Posts: 3,066
    edited September 2006
    call blose and tell them you want to have your 901 serviced.
    They'll send a new pair shipped for around $500 with the eq.
    I have a friend that did this and was extremely happy with this deal.
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