The Bose 901: A trilogy in three parts...

Ok, part two is ready to roll. Let the major arguments begin!

 

Bose beach party at Jeff's beach house.

 

Awesome writeup - thanks for the thoughts

 

Wow.. way better than I expected! Nice article Jeff. Do you think they'd be even better with 'modern' budget amps like the less expensive NAD and Cambridge models, or does the much older Pioneer provide some unusual synergy?

 

Sheeeeeyeah!!!!

 

INCOMING!

 

Great review, but I didn't expect anything less.

I didn't come into this thread with any preconceptions about how the Bose 901 sound and what conclusions you would reach in your review. That being said, it is refreshing to read a review that is objective and even-handed, especially about a product and a manufacturer that are lightening rods for knee-jerk negative criticism by the unwashed denizens of the Internets. Well, maybe not all of us grumpy electronic forum-goers are "unwashed."

Thanks, Jeff!

 

Great review! Way more positive than I thought it would be.

 

I also used it (but will mention in part 3) with a Cambridge 740 with excellent results. I chose the Pioneer more because I felt it typical of what someone on a tight budget could easily purchase and set up. The vintage receivers (also used a Nak TA2, and Marantz 2245) will of course be a little more mellow and the current stuff more extended. I'll bet a NAD 3020 would be a nice combination.

 

This is going to sound a little crazy, but after reading part two of Jeff's review, I wonder if the modding community will take to improving the 901's outboard crossovers? I am not talking about DIY guys and gals, I'm talking about the experienced modification shops like ModWright, etc. I also wonder if anyone will adapt any of the myriad outboard programmable digital EQ/room correction boxes to work with the 901's instead of using the standard Bose crossover. Could be fun!

 

I was referring to the pics of the Bose in your post - the ports in them resemble eyes and along with the one perched on top of the stand....you know, looks kinda like a pair of robots.....

 

Great write-up.

 

Part 2 was a blast and I can't wait for part 3. Great job of blowing up another myth, Jeff.

 

I have to be honest, I did not expect these speakers to sound as good as they did either, and that's pretty much the same conclusion everyone that heard them reached. However, just like putting a pair of Magnepans right up against the wall, the 901's sound outright weird if you put them tightly in the corner, and like many people, that's how the speakers end up getting used.

But in the end, very user friendly and I'd be curious to see what they would sound like if you were a modding genius and replaced a handful of caps in the EQ box. But that's a project for someone else!

BTW: No teflon tape was used in this review...

 

i agree with eric. as a 37 year old who has only become interested in the audiophile world in the past 5 years or so, i had no preconceptions or baggage with regard to the 901's.

jeff's review strikes me as impressively fair, and although it is different in style and substance than the holt review, it seems to capture the same spirit of fair evaluation. thank you!

 

Glad you liked them, I did too - so what a relief. Plus they look good are easy to be placed inside a room and you don't need fancy cables and speaker stands to really make them sing (I guees that will be the outcome)).
Best thing is They can rock, easy on the ears and produce a vivid large 3 D sound stage..
All that for 1400 ! Easy to drive on top !
Hell, i should actually consider a pair of those for myself -lol
Great review Jeff !

 

Apparently you didn't listen to them backwards. That's the only way I could get sufficient articulation out of my 901 IIIs. No doubt over the years they have improved the drivers somewhat. Perhaps that is some compensation.

A fair review, but not one that would lead me to ever consider buying a pair. Not in a million years.

You were pretty clear on the quantity of bass, but the quality? I just don't remember how I would rate the tightness and pitch definition of my old 901s. I remember it was fun to play records with low, low bass -- esp. organ pedals -- and feel the wind coming out of the jets in the back.

 

"But Mikey Likes It!"

Clearly Jeff has gone insane.

I recommend a three-week double-blind test of two unmarked digital interconnects. He ought to back to his normal self at the end of that little exercise

 

I wonder if the Bose Panaray digital controller--designed for use with their pro monitors--would work with 901 and, if so, how it would sound?

Link to the Panaray:

http://www.amazon.com/Bose-Panaray-System-Digital-Controller/dp/B0002GMXS4/

 

I like the bit about the hallucinatory nature of the soundstage on some recordings. Back in the mid-80s a friend had some 901s in his set up and I remember a night listening to the BBs 'Surfs Up' LP. Day In The Life Of A Tree was one of the most incredible things I'd ever heard. On his system ( Technics DD, old Marantz tuner) that track delivered the most incredible deep reverberant organ. I've never heard it sound as good again on systems many, many times more expensive.

 

We'll address a bit of that in part three.... The few Bose enthusiasts I've managed to turn up have told me that these are significantly different than the old ones.

And, last but not least, not trying to convince anyone just reporting the news..

 

I happened to visit Tone HQ during the review and got to listen to the 901s. To say the least, I was gob smacked by what I heard. Nothing like the excruciating series 1s that I sold back in the day that had shrieking treble and awful low bass reproduction. And don't forget that the early ones could swallow everything a Phase Linear 700 had to offer without breaking a sweat. These new ones are definitely competitive with other speakers in their price class and offer some attributes ( coherence and nice spacial representation ) that those others simply cannot touch. Consider me amazed.

 

I imagine this transformation could be attributed to what must be pretty dramatic improvements in the materials used in stock affordable drivers these days. X9, that would be a big bump in sound keeping the same general design, let alone any adjustments to the eq box for the new drivers.

 

Parts Express is selling 901 drivers.

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=290-922

Probably even sourced from the same factory. It would be fun to build a pair of 901 clones! A 1/3 band graphic would get them flat as Kansas.

What I'm wondering is, if Bose has thousands of employees, surely one of them would know about this message board. Why have I never seen a post from a Bose employee?

 

If I recall correctly, the drivers in my 901 IIIs were paper cones. I don't know what stiffening agents might have been used, if any. In the center was a dome of sorts, for the high frequencies, I imagine.

Scanning the review again, I do not see any mention of the construction of the drivers. Perhaps that is on the Bose website, though I don't see any mention. I find pictures out on the web, and they sure look like the same drivers, superficially.