Bose 901 speaker help needed!

[Gary]

Hi, all!

A friend's cousin in going surround sound and may be selling his old Bose 901 speakers with equalizer. Apparently you need this between your amp and speakers. They are in great shape. And they are suspended from the ceiling - so no stands are available.

These are presently located a few hundred miles away so auditioning them is not an easy option. Before I take a trip, does anyone have any comments on these speakers?

I don't really need yet another set of speakers and I seem to remember some negative comments..... :confused: Do they image well? How do they sound?

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

[Todd Fredericks]

Brother Gary,

Please do not go for Bose. I don't have time to explain this minute (I'm tired) but do a search on the web, AA, etc. Bose is more about marketing than great speakers. Do you want to read the specs? Sorry, Bose keeps that secret because why should you want to be bothered with that sort of info...

Todd

P.S. You live in Canada, for the same money think Paradigm...

[Khorn]

Originally posted by Gary


I don't really need yet another set of speakers

Gary, I've had some experience with 901's and i suggest you stick with your statement above.

If it were even something like a small pair of LS3/5a's I'd say grab 'em but there are a lot of factors with the Bose. IMO which incarnation of these makes a big difference with the first and maybe second which were far less efficient being the best but requiring huge amounts of power to drive. People I knew back then were using pro Crown amps and the like to drive them and, for that time they weren't too bad. It seems to me that as the supposedly progressed to newer models thay went backwards in results.
Hell, I had a pair of supposedly much more efficent series III hooked up to a McIntosh MC2205 200wpc power amp and they kept dimming the lights with their power draw. I only had them for a few weeks as they were a part of a trade that I still bemoan to this day (a super pro JBL system went the other way) but hey, if you're getting them at a steal and want to go for a visit then maybe you could try them out.

[Gary]

Thanks for your advice, gentlemen! I seem to have read that they were not the ..... errrr ..... best available, so to speak! And sonce I don't have gobs of power to spare, I'd better pass on them!

I doubt they'd sound better than my Tangent RS6's anyway! :)

[Dave]

Good choice brother Gary as your Tangents are miles ahead of those Bose'.;)

[Todd Fredericks]

Good choice brother Gary as your Tangents are miles ahead of those Bose'.

Brother Gary,

I agree with Brother Dave...

Go to some local places and audition some other Bose products. Also, bring some towels to mop up the blood from your bleeding ears. I feel bad for other people who get conned with their demonstrations (especially that big stupid cloth "fake" speaker cover over their tiny acoustimas junk. "Gee, doesn't it sound big?" "No, it sounds bad, put the cover back over it quickly, thanks, ouch, my ears are bleeding, actually give me one of those covers to mop the blood off of my shirt".).

Brother Todd

[Gary]

Wow, Brother Todd! THAT bad!?! And my friends cousin is supposed to be an 'audiophile' ?!?

As I don't really need more speakers I think I'll even skip the audition idea - and I really, really need my hearing! ;)

Thanks, Bother Dave and Brother Todd! You saved me a long and disappointing car trip.... :)

[Todd Fredericks]

They are Brother Gary. I'll admit something (deep breath). Many, several years ago (I think 1994/I'm embarrassed) I listened to the advice of friends (my hearing wasn't that great yet) and I brought the Acoustamas AM 5 mk II (mark BS). I never listened to music that much when I owned them. I had no idea at the time why, I just would rather watch a film, etc. Let's just say, they went bye, bye... Do some reading on the net to find out why.

Todd

P.S. I have a friend who used to have the Bose 901 speakers . Let's just say we rarely listened to tunes at his house too...

[Joseph]

Originally posted by Gary
Thanks for your advice, gentlemen! I seem to have read that they were not the ..... errrr ..... best available, so to speak! And sonce I don't have gobs of power to spare, I'd better pass on them!

I doubt they'd sound better than my Tangent RS6's anyway! :)

Gary don't go down that road! You are a respected member of the Tangent appreciation club. Gary, don't go to the dark, Bose side.:(

[Sckott]

If you knew what kind of drivers most BOSE speakers used, if you knew and took a close look, you would be very dissapointed.

BOSE speakers are meant to be graduated from, not to.

[Gary]

Originally posted by Tangent
Gary don't go down that road! You are a respected member of the Tangent appreciation club. Gary, don't go to the dark, Bose side.:(

I won't, my friend, I won't! I have rarely heard anything better than my beloved Tangent's. Of course I don't go shopping at those super expensive audiophile stores but I am always looking, you know?

Sometimes I wish I had picked up the RS8's.... oh well, they'd probably be too big for my existing room anyway. How are your 8's doing in your smaller listening space?

My listening space is 12 X 13 feet and my RS6's are very happy - as am I! :)

[krabapple]

Originally posted by Gary
Hi, all!

A friend's cousin in going surround sound and may be selling his old Bose 901 speakers with equalizer. Apparently you need this between your amp and speakers. They are in great shape. And they are suspended from the ceiling - so no stands are available.

These are presently located a few hundred miles away so auditioning them is not an easy option. Before I take a trip, does anyone have any comments on these speakers?

I don't really need yet another set of speakers and I seem to remember some negative comments..... :confused: Do they image well? How do they sound?

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

They're not worth what they cost new, but as freebies they could be fun -- IF you are willing to do lots of experimenting with placement and room treatment and IF your room is large. They certainly have their own sound, and if you like that sort of spacious sound, you'll like them. If you can track down the June/July 2001 issue of $ensible Sound there's a long evaluation of a Bose 901 setup belonging to one of the few audiophiles I've ever seen champion these speakers. Apparently they *can* be made to sound good.

I don't think they're worth the bother, myself. I had a pair of 901s for some years and then switched to satellite/sub, and I would not go back.

[Dan C]

Originally posted by Todd Fredericks


Brother Gary,

I agree with Brother Dave...

Go to some local places and audition some other Bose products. Also, bring some towels to mop up the blood from your bleeding ears. I feel bad for other people who get conned with their demonstrations (especially that big stupid cloth "fake" speaker cover over their tiny acoustimas junk. "Gee, doesn't it sound big?" "No, it sounds bad, put the cover back over it quickly, thanks, ouch, my ears are bleeding, actually give me one of those covers to mop the blood off of my shirt".).

Brother Todd

I guess it depends on the model, but the last time I was in one of those Bose mall stores I didn't notice harshness from the speakers.

Mostly the things had plumped up mids and boomy/lumpy bass, but not really shrill highs. That surprised me. In fact, some of them were quite listenable, even the HT satillite units. Maybe it's because they were playing A Bug's Life (Love that movie!) and I was ignoring the sound, but they weren't bad enough to distract me.

Now, I'm not saying they're worth the asking price, but they aren't awful either. In general.

But let me also add that there are PLENTY of speakers that sound far better and cost FAR less.

Dan C

[Todd Fredericks]

Dan,

I heard that described test 2 or so years ago. They played some CD's and it sounded harsh to my ears. I think they're very bad. I had an honest conversation with the Bose salesman after some potential customers left. He admitted he thought they sound like crap too but he needed a job until he found something better...

Todd

[Joseph]

Originally posted by Gary


I won't, my friend, I won't! I have rarely heard anything better than my beloved Tangent's. Of course I don't go shopping at those super expensive audiophile stores but I am always looking, you know?

Sometimes I wish I had picked up the RS8's.... oh well, they'd probably be too big for my existing room anyway. How are your 8's doing in your smaller listening space?

My listening space is 12 X 13 feet and my RS6's are very happy - as am I! :)

Gary,
My listening room is ...12X13! Because the mid&tweeter are in a small enclosure due to the pyramid shape, they function very well in the small room. I know that the bottom would be a little deeper in a larger room but life is a trade-off (sigh).

[Khorn]

Originally posted by Todd Fredericks
Dan,

I heard that described test 2 or so years ago. They played some CD's and it sounded harsh to my ears. I think they're very bad. I had an honest conversation with the Bose salesman after some potential customers left. He admitted he thought they sound like crap too but he needed a job until he found something better...

Todd

Todd, I'll agree with you about using Bose at home for serious HI-FI music reproduction, but, they had some stuff like stage monitors that could do a pretty good job. The repro wasn't so critical under those circumstances and you could throw "a million watts" at them without worrying too much about them "blowing up".

Hey guys IMHO everybody has the message so maybe its time we let the Bose thing RIP.

[Todd Fredericks]

I have nothing more to say about them. I just felt I needed to warn Gary about not wasting his time (nor his money)...

[indy mike]

When I useta rebuild blown speakers it never ceased to amaze me about the cheap-o drivers those B-brand speakers used - I'd show folks what came out compared to what went back in and they couldn't believe the difference (especially the sonic attributes from carefully chosen replacement drivers). Ah well, gotta pay for all those ads somehow...

[Scott Wheeler]

For the price of the Bose 901s you can buy Vandersteen 2Ces. It boggles my mind to think two speakers that are so far apart in performance are so close in price.

[Tullman]

No highs or lows they must be bose!:D