BOSE 901s

[Paul R]

Tone Audio just published (online) a review of the Bose 901s. Amazingly enough, Jeff Dorgay likes 'em!

 

I have always had a bit of a desire to own a set of those, even though I have always managed to resist. Few people have anything good to say about them in the 21st century, though several decades ago, they won quite a bit of respect, if I recall correctly.

 

Anyone here own a set? If so, and you are willing to comment, how do they sound?

 

-Paul

 

Forgot to add the link! -> http://www.tonepublications.com/review/we-review-the-bose-901/

 

 

 

[rlnt500]

Interresting question you ask. I have never owned the 901's but I have heard them over the years many times. The only thing that matters is that if you like them, then you should buy them because that is what you like. (I know you didn't buy them, I'm just saying in general). I don't care for Bose. They are, however, allowed to make speakers any way they like. I do feel, however, they are not honest with the customers and take advantage of people that don't know much about audio. I think sometimes people forget that stereo is not just a word; it is a format just like AC3, CD, DSD and many others. By design, Bose destroys the format. I'm sure most people on this web sight already knows all or most of this info but the average consumer dosen't. Stereo is how we see. Our eyes work in stereo. The interresting thing is that each eye is not responsible for 50% of what we see. If you close 1 eye, you do not lose half of what you are looking at; mabye just 20 or 30%. The reason for this is that our eyes overlap and by doing so, that is how we get depth perception. We all know that this is exactly how a well setup stereo system should work. Things like imaging, scale, depth, soundstage are things we look for in a good audio system. We are just trying to "see" ad best we can into the origional audio event "high fidelity". When Bose points all those seperate drivers all over the place, the last thing you are going to be able to do is recrate the origional space with any type of accuracy whatsoever. As I first stated, they literally destroy the format. Just think of what would happen if you had a few more eyes installed by Dr. Bose. You would probably need a special pair of glasses and I definately wouldn't want to be around you if you tried to drive a car.

 

All this dosen't mean much if you can't use the info in the real world to prove my claim that Bose destroys the format. There aren't that many 901's out there in stores to listen to but you can find plenty of the small cubes they now use pointing everywhere. Try this: Close your eyes and listen to your current audio system. Try to locate where different instruments are comming from, point at them, and open you eyes. Again, we all know that we will be pointing to image locations, such as a voice floating between the 2 speakers. Now listen to Bose. Generally speaking, smaller speakers tend to image better and dissapear than large ones. The Bose are as small as they come. When you listen to them, close your eyes and point to image locations. You will point directly at the speaker every time, even though they are tiny and should disappear.

 

And that's why I don't like Bose. Also, I typed this out really fast so excuse the typos.

 

[wgscott]

"Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union of United States, Inc., 466 U.S. 485 (1984), was a product disparagement case ultimately decided by the Supreme Court of the United States. The Court found, on a 6-3 vote, in favor of Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, ruling that proof of "actual malice" was necessary in product disparagement cases raising First Amendment issues, as set out by the case of New York Times Co. v. Sullivan. The Court ruled that the First Circuit Court of Appeals had correctly concluded that Bose had not presented proof of actual malice."

 

"The magazine Consumer Reports had published in 1970 a review of an unusual loudspeaker system manufactured by Bose Corporation, called the Bose 901. The review expressed skepticism of the system's quality and recommended that consumers delay purchase until they had investigated for themselves whether the loudspeaker system's unusual attributes would suit them. Bose objected to numerous statements in the article, including the sentences, "Worse, individual instruments heard through the Bose system seemed to grow to gigantic proportions and tended to wander about the room. For instance, a violin appeared to be 10 feet (3.0 m) wide and a piano stretched from wall to wall." Bose demanded a retraction when they learned that Consumer Reports changed what the original reviewer wrote about the speakers in his pre-publication draft, which the magazine refused to do."

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bose_Corp._v._Consumers_Union_of_United_States,_Inc.

 

 

[4est]

I'd be vary wary of a speaker that uses tone controls in an attempt to use mid range drivers full range. If you are looking for the "immersive" experience they offer, I'd look into Ohm. Bose never really did have a good rep other than their media blitzes IIRC. They are built out of junk too btw, as with all of their product.

 

[Jud]

...appear to have been built on the theory that you hear me best when I shout into the wall. Bose products since then have seemed to steer away from the "direct/reflecting" philosophy.

 

Ohms, on the other hand, have nearly always impressed me favorably, being designed on a very different basis. Yes, Ohms use a single driver (but not really a "midrange" driver) for the full frequency range. (It's a vertical cone pointed downward, and what you hear is actually the back of the cone.) The Bose 901 uses an array of 8 identical midrange drivers in the rear and one of the same in front to attempt to cover the full range.

 

[4est]

Only the original Ohm F is a single driver. IIRC, the rest have a tweeter.

 

[avta]

I owned a pair in the mid 60's. At the time I was quite taken by them. I ended up hanging them from the ceiling with a chain and heavy hooks. I lived in New York at the time and if I remember correctly I had one of the first all transistor integrated amps with a built in fm tuner. I remember the sound filled the room and was loud although a bit tinny. We've come a long way haven't we?

 

[Jud]

Thanks, yeah, the F is the one I remember. A store a few blocks up from where I lived in Pittsburgh had a pair I listened to quite a few times my senior year in college.

 

A store in Pittsburgh's Oakland section had the 901s my junior year. Interesting in a "one trick pony" sorta way. What they also had was a pair of Sennheiser 414 "open air" headphones (the white plastic ones with the blue or yellow foam earpads) that I bought at their grand opening sale for (if I remember correctly) around $12. I had those until about four or five years ago when the drivers finally gave up, replacing earpads a couple of times a decade. (I think I still have a spare pair of the earpads in a closet if anyone needs them.)

 

[Paul R]

Oh yeah, but those 901s seem to be still hanging around. There is, in fact, a pair hanging in a Barbeque joint I occasionally lunch at. They sound good when I am in there, but of course, that is background music.

 

The review surprised me in that the chap doing the review thought they imaged very well. I've never heard a pair imaging well, though that is probably more because of venues I heard them in than anything intrinsic in the speakers.

 

I don't think I will trade the Maggies for them (grin) but I guess all the ads I saw for them in the 1970's still have a lingering effect. I did fiercely want a pair back then, but money was really tight.

 

-Paul

 

 

[Fitz Music]

I had Bose 901s in my younger, stupider days. I had scrimped to get together the cost of the speakers, having been convinced by advertising claims that these were the speakers for me. They were not for me. I hung them on chains from the ceiling: unsatisfactory, though they did swing back and forth playing heavily bass passages, propelled by the vent on the back. I bought the pricey stands that Bose offered: lots of sound, but not much music, to my taste. I moved them hither, thither, and yon; I fiddled endlessly with the equalizer that is a required part of the system. No satisfaction, no gratification.

 

In despair, I went back to the dealer (who had originally suggested these were not the speakers for me) and begged to trade them in for a much lower priced (not Bose) speaker that I had actually auditioned and liked. Satisfaction, gratification, music! This was a loss that I enjoyed taking, and the beginning of my interest in high quality sound reproduction.

 

 

[jackfish]

stacked double Large Advents blew the Bose 901s away.

 

[bdiament]

Hi Paul,

 

I don't own a pair myself, though I became quite familiar with the Bose sound when exposed to Auratones in some studios during the '70s; they used a single Bose driver... were often referred to as "Awfultones".

 

One of my best friends has a pair of 901s though and I've often heard them at his home with a variety of electronics driving them, from vintage Marantz to more modern designs. He also has a pair of MMGs and as far as I know, if one of those pairs had to go, it isn't going to be the Maggies.

 

Personally, I find the sound confused, with an artificial, "forced" yet not particularly extended bottom, no real top to speak of, with everything in between somewhat out-of-focus. That said, there is a "positive" side to that diffused sound that can be appealing... under the right circumstances. (But I stopped doing that years ago.)

 

As always, just my perspective.

My friend goes to his Maggies when he's doing "serious" listening but I should note that he hasn't parted with his 901s yet either.

 

Best regards,

Barry

www.soundkeeperrecordings.com

www.barrydiamentaudio.com

 

 

[Codifus]

I should note that he hasn't parted with his 901s yet either.

 

...that he couldn't give them away if he tried?

 

Since someone mentioned Advents, I just had to pipe in and mention my admiration for the late Henry Kloss. He seems to have been ignored in his later years. At least Stereophile took note of his passing.

 

I used to own a pair of Cambridge Soundworks Tower IIs. Perfect, they were not, but they introduced higher quality sound to the masses. I still miss them. Some would say that the Tower series was the last great speaker he produced.

 

On a more positive note, I do Love Bose..........in the car.

 

Their slogan should be: Compromise audio engineering perfect for a compromise audio environment:)

 

CD

 

 

 

[bdiament]

Hi Codifus,

 

**"......that he couldn't give them away if he tried?..."**

 

Hilarious!!

Thank you. That one brought out a burst of laughter.

 

While you might be right, a wise old man once told me "There is a customer for everything." And an old friend once declared that for any given piece of audio gear, there will be a reviewer somewhere that says it is "the best".

 

Best regards,

Barry

www.soundkeeperrecordings.com

www.barrydiamentaudio.com

 

[Codifus]

nm

 

[Daudio]

I was at an Audio show a long time ago, and very carefully listening to a pair of Acoustat 'X' electrostatics with their direct drive amplifiers. I was really enjoying the sound, and ended up buying a pair, and later, other Acoustat models.

 

But at that show, the dealer decided to shut down the 'X's and demo the Bose 901 in the exact same place. I didn't move, but waited for the equipment changeover (don't recall the electronics). As soon as the 901's started playing, I was disgusted at the horrible sound, and quickly exited the scene. I have carried that disgust for 901's to this day, and added to that the disgust of Bose's other crappy products and marketing bullshit.

 

Just to be fair the 901's were improperly demoed in a large open space, which probably allowed me to better hear the poor quality of the front driver. But I don't believe in their reflected sound concept anyway.

 

Just my, vehement, opinion )

 

 

[bixby]

stacked double Large Advents blew the Bose 901s away.

 

And we hooked them up to modified Dynaco 400 amp with a huge reservoir of big caps. Nice wall of sound!

 

[jackfish]

Or a pair of Phase Linear 400s with a 200 watt channel for each speaker!

 

See attached picture...

 

[Mark Powell]

I was at a (UK) country show and the local radio station had a stand. In front was an 'entertainment area' and in the evening it was set up as a dance floor, with a good CD player as the source, There was a Bose 901 at each corner. Best sound I have ever heard, and they, in theory, should not work at all in the open air.

 

It is purely because everyone says they are total crap that I never bought any.

 

[Jud]

t was set up as a dance floor, with a good CD player as the source, There was a Bose 901 at each corner.

 

Do you recall whether the flatter (one 4" speaker) or more angled face (eight 4" speakers) was turned toward the dance floor?

 

Bose sold the 901s as PA speakers for bands for a while, and for that I uniformly saw the 8-speaker side turned toward the audience, the opposite of the way they were configured in home use. Although higher frequencies would still tend not to be the forte of such an array, they would move enough air to provide respectable lower frequencies.

 

[Mark Powell]

But it was a radio station stand, so I assume they were set up 'correctly' as you say.

 

[jackfish]

applications. http://www.proacousticsusa.com/productdetail.php?pId=3717

http://www.bose.com/controller?event=VIEW_STATIC_PAGE_EVENT&url=/professional/on_stage/speaker_systems/802_basic.jsp

 

[Mark Powell]

That's what it says. Not DJs, but performers, though that could cover both.

 

So it gives the sound the performer intends. He would not use then otherwise. Of course they may have been selected by the venue owner, not the performer.

 

Either way they give the original performance, so it is time for the hi fi people (us) to stop criticising them and just buy them. They cannot be anything else but realistic, as they actually *are* the original sound.

 

[Paul R]

 

 

Amazing - I should have kept all those ancient Stereo Reviews. People are actually selling these ads on ebay and such!

 

 

 

[rlnt500]

Mark P,

 

When I saw your last couple of comments, I laughed and thought you were kidding. I wanted to see that else you wrote and read all of them. Now it looks like your comments are serious. Either way, you have a right to your opinion regardless of what I or anyone else says. Following, your logic, I have 2 honest questions for you. 1. Are going to stand by what you say and buy a pair for yourself? 2. I get what you are saying about bose the origional or absolute sound, in some cases but what about the other 99.9% of the recordings out there that don't use bose as the origional source. By your own definition, bose would then be the wrong speaker to use.

 

Please understand, I am not trying to offend you in any way, but I really think my questions are legit. (IF you really are serious, of course.)