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My equipment review of the Bose 901
http://www.epinions.com/content_105506836100
In 1968, I took an old Philco record player and turned it into my first hifi record player by installing a Shure M3D stereo magnetic phono cartridge and then adding a preamp and low powered amp and sealing the entire deal by building these gigantic enclosures for a pair of Jensen duo cone 8" speakers that cost a grand total of $20/Pr. This was my introduction to stereo hifi and a new audionut had been born! This was also the year that the now famous Bose 901 DIRECT/REFLECTING speaker system graced the audio world with a courageous unorthodox design! Had it not been for Dr. Amar Bose and this speaker, who would have caused so many speaker designers to even give stereo imaging the slightest consideration!???? Believe it or not, I wasn't even aware of the design at that time. In fact it wasn't until 1972 when I was stationed in Alaska for the USAF that I took to picking up a few stereo magazines including CONSUMER GUIDE and STEREO REVIEW and then ventured into the local hifi shop in Fairbanks that my first encounter with the 901 took place. When the salesman put on an album by a band called Chase, The 901's that were suspended from the ceiling immediately shook the room and the clarity was awesome! Stereo everywhere yet I could distinctly identify each trumpet, guitar, percussion and voices with better separation than I had ever experienced! The amplifier driving the speakers at the time was none other than Bob Carver's creation...the Phase Linear 700. The love affair had begun and I purchased my first set of Bose 901's. In 1983 I upgraded to SERIES V and just recently to SERIES VI...the subject of this review. It is a solidly well built speaker system throughout! The Bose 901 SERIES VI features a 21" x 12" x 13" cabinet with curved fronts and two angled panels in the rear. The two angled panels each contain four 4 1/2" drivers while one single driver is placed toward the center of the front panel. Thus the reason for the model #...9 drivers total with 1 in front. The design is appropriately designated as direct/reflecting with 89% of the sound projected from the rear and the remaining 11% coming out of the front. This proportion was the finding of Dr. Bose's MIT team when studying various halls where LIVE PERFORMANCES were featured. The impedence is a solid 8 ohms across the musical spectrum and should prove to be a most stable load for whatever amplifier one chooses but choose wisely as this speaker is extremely picky about what drives it and I'm not referring to just power alone! It is quite conceivable that a given 50 watt amp could sound better with the 901's than a competitive 200 watt amp! The small drivers themselves boast heavy magnets and high quality voice coils as they must move an enormous amount of air. The multi chambered ACOUSTIC MATRIX enclosure vents the speaker in a most unusual way with air speeds exceeding 60 mph! Three ports or jets protrude through the rear of the 901 enclosure. Because of the use of small full range drivers, an active equalizer which is absolutely essential to the system is used in place of the normal CROSSOVERS that introduce distortion no matter how well engineered. The 901 EQ simply smooths out any bumps or irregularities in the system's power response. FREQUENCY RESPONSE specs are not ever offered by Bose because one of the founding principles was that they offer little or no value to the audiophile! Bose simply observed that great specs certainly did not always coincide with equally great performance. The OWNER'S MANUAL is quite extensive and written in several languages. It also gives special instructions for mounting the 901's on pedestals or hanging them from ceilings. The speakers are rated to handle amplifiers of 10 to 450 watts of clean power but do not induce amplifier clipping as this will kill any speaker regardless of the rating or how well it is made! DYNAMIC RANGE is rated at 106db...well above the 90db capability of the best digital sources! The two finishes that are available are black ash and light walnut. I chose the light walnut for mine with dark brown indestructible grills that are absolutely seductive looking! Optional PS6 pedestals are available. Pedestals are also offered by others and you could save some money but make sure they support your 901's properly. Two foot high end tables offer a sturdy and childproof support of the speakers also. The bottom of each 901 speaker reveals a circular cutaway that surrounds the two heavy duty knurled nut speaker terminals that hold speaker wire like no other arrangement I know of. It is very secure and should make for a lifetime of good connection to quality OFC speaker wire. This wire is available from Kimber Kable and AR but for my money MIRASONIC.COM has the best stuff at super low prices that can truly make an audible difference. There is no substitute for controlled well defined bass and clear mids and highs. Good wire can accomplish that! It's been proven. After patching the 901 EQ into my TAPE MONITOR circuit on my humble Parasound integrated amplifier with the supplied patch chords and then carefully setting up the speakers in my living room I was able to listen to my vast collection of CD's into the wee hours of the morning night after night as I simply could not get enough of the beautiful sound the speakers project! A new TAPE MONITOR is provided on the EQ to replace your old one. Adjust the MID BASS and MID TREBLE slider controls moderately for room and source compensation. DO NOT MIX AND MATCH WRONG EQ's FROM VARIOUS SERIES MODELS AS THE SOUND WILL BE INCORRECT AND DO NOT USE WITH OTHER CONVENTIONAL UNEQUALIZED SPEAKERS FOR HOME THEATER!!!! 901 EQ AND SPEAKER SERIES COMPATABILITY: SERIES I and II...ACOUSTIC SUSPENSION design from 1968-1976 SERIES III and IV...ACOUSTIC MATRIX design from 1976-1983 SERIES V and VI...ACOUSTIC MATRIX design from 1983-Present day Do not deviate from these guidelines as 901's are available in used condition over the internet. Undoubtedly as you read this review, someone is selling a SERIES IV 901 with a SERIES VI EQ or a SERIES II EQ with a SERIES III speaker and will result in total dissatisfaction with the product on the buyer's end. Also beware of the phony 901 look alike LDL 749 speakers that were manufactured from 1970 to 1974 without EQ's but did not equal the 901 quality sound. I almost purchased one of these systems back then but thankfully did not but beware as they can easily be peddled as 901's. They do resemble the Bose to a great degree. I think someone from the original Bose/MIT group jumped ship to make these imposters. As for the subject of speaker placement I can only suggest that you experiment a bit and rid yourself of any normal distance you would keep between conventional LEFT and RIGHT STEREO speakers as the 901 is anything but conventional itself! I really do believe that the LOVE and HATE stems from the fact that the 901 sound can change drastically in the lower frequencies when not setup properly! Alas, I have found the 901's to sound best on 18" high pedestals and out 18" from the REAR wall along the SHORT wall of my listening room as compared to the LONGER wall. I think this is better than hanging the speakers from the ceiling where the bass tends to get lost. Experiment...experiment...this is the key! Because of the angled rear panels, the "middle sound" will be quite strong and stable eliminating the typical "sweet spot" rules. You can separate these speakers miles apart from each other and in fact should do so within reason to get great stereo separation! By doing so, you'll not only widen the fantastic soundstage but also eliminate any possibility of losing left and right channel detail. Don't worry, you will not have a "hole in the middle" effect. This way also gets you to move the 901's closer to the adjacent walls. Just keep the wall behind the speakers relatively free of drapes and teddy bears. Hanging the 901's from ceilings more than ten feet from the ground is not recommended as the sound may get obscured a bit and imaging along with deep bass lost. In other words, if you have a ceiling like the Sistine Chapel, forget it! The sound of the 901 SERIES VI is really special and downright seductive! Regardless of the many genres of music that have been played thru my 901's, the SOUNDSTAGING is such that never have I experienced a wider higher portrayal of various performances with equally impressive depth! You can literally point to every instrument in the orchestra or follow a soloist as he or she moves about the stage in front of you [e.g. Tony Clarke-"The Entertainer" as he as he moves to and fro banging his tambourine...it's really something to behold!] The break-in period for the 901-VI went very nicely with the drivers fully seated after six months. Be careful not to push them too hard at first and do not introduce amplifier clipping. By the way, this break-in period applies to owners of older 901 models that have had their foam surrounds replaced [Simply Speakers on EBAY has a wondertful kit for under $50]. I love it when people say that the 901's can't go deep. Just checkout the opening low pedal note in the movie "2001-A Space Oddysey" and see if it doesn't rattle every window and loose floor board in the house! Or checkout Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" at the four minute mark. Just MIDRANGE speakers, huh? No, what's happening is that the ACOUSTIC MATRIX enclosure is moving huge amounts of air! That's what gives you bass...not just the physical size of the driver. Why do you think many top notch speaker systems like Win Burhoe's SILENT SPEAKERS or the Spendors use such small drivers and are still able to produce such deep notes? It's because the cabinets have special sophisticated chambers that create significant air speeds. Also the drivers have powerful motors in their voice coil and magnet assemblies. All other systems seem to be fat sounding in the bass...even the biggest most expensive ones! Forget about subwoofering the 901 as it is not necessary in the right room! Put your wallet away and be happy with the fact that you own a fantastic 40Hz gut puncher! Telarc's CD of "Carmina Burana" is so dynamic with the voices and orchestra bringing forth massive but clear emotional sound thru the 901's. Midrange and high notes are crystal clear thru the speakers when they are truly present. That brings me to another point...that the 901's only reproduce what's in the recording itself and very little of anything else! BUT YOU GOTTA LISTEN TO THEM FOR YOURSELF. YOU MAY NOT AGREE WITH MY FINDINGS AS THE 901 IS NOT FOR EVERYONE. The EQ is silent with no perceived extraneous noise. The only noise that will be revealed is amplifier hiss or such sound in an analog mastered recording. Some digital recordings even have modulation noise and you will recognize such flawed CD's immediately! The speaker has an uncanny ability to reveal eveything! Beware as this is certainly a double edged sword for the Bose. I have one CD of Barry White's Greatest Hits that on the song..."You're The First, The Last, My Everything" where this older recording used a poor microphone for Barry's voice that can sound downright harsh! Yet the orchestra behind him is very nicely portrayed. You will certainly stay up late the first night checking out all of your library to see what's good and what isn't. I'm not kidding when I tell you that the 901 can distinguish between a good MIC or a bad one. You can even hear "poof!" sounds from microphones that were not properly screened and windproofed! Just listen to a variety of radio broadcasts or checkout the "Buddy Holly Collection" CD of remastered recordings and listen for yourself. That is how revealing the 901 is. I dare say that many of you will not like the speaker because of this very fact. The quality of your amplifier and CD player will also be unveiled for whatever it is. Use good quality power as the 901 likes heaps of it! Yes, it can play quite loudly but sounds wonderful at a whisper. That high current Onkyo/Integra stereo only receiver should be wonderful with the 901's! I'm not so sure about some other massed produced brands. Certainly super audiophile expensive MONO BLOCKS will be at their best also. If you listen to JAZZ 88 in the Newark, NJ area you will hear non smeared percussion and wonderful vocalists with plenty of plucked basses and super sweet highs all naturally portrayed thru the 901's. The cymbals are so darn natural! TRANSIENT RESPONSE is exemplary! I love the fact that I can hear a kickdrum change tone or every subtlety and overtone on various recorded music. The simple striking of a trianglular bell can raise the hairs on my back! Accuracy of musical timbre is important and with the Bose you get plenty of it. You haven't heard the Beatles until you've heard "Sgt Peppers" played thru the Bose 901! There is a rather nice CD entitled "Atmospheres-Celtic Voices" featuring ambient waterfall sounds along with various seductive strings, tom toms, woodwinds and basses. This Irish music CD is worth seeking out as it reveals changes in the stringed bass's tones and subtleties that can be a very useful tool for speaker evaluation! You can probably pick it up for around $8 or less! The 901 sounds wonderful with this recording! But don't just take my word for it...listen for yourself! You may or may not agree. That is how controversial this speaker is! Speaker auditioning should be fun and pleasant so don't let snotty proprietors and extremely opinionated sales people stand in your way. Some of the hatred stems from the fact that Bose seems to pursuit competitors in court quite often and also even went after a negative reviewer...and that's not right. We are free to print how we feel about a product and should have no fear of repercussion! But as a maker of great speakers I think Bose does very well indeed and their customer support is unbelievable! I have had some nice chats with both Bose field and customer service reps. Look, my feeling is that a truly great speaker can involve you in the performance so well as to summon all your emotions as I have felt many tears in my eyes when listening to beautiful music thru the speakers. Telarc's "Rite Of Spring" has a tympani gut puncher at around the ten minute mark that can make your heart jump out and if you hold a tissue over one of the 901's ports it will fly out of your hand! Yet the orchestra sounds so sweet as to make you cry or stand up and exclaim...BRAVO!...as it does on CBS MASTERWORKS' "Nutcracker" w/Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the New Phiharmonia Orch. There are many bigger more expensive models costing well over $5000 a pair but I don't really consider some of these Gigantors to be appropriate for the average listening room. We don't have auditoriums for listening areas do we? Well the 901's have served me well in some of my rooms over the past thirty years and can sound great in rooms big or small if the acoustics are correct for them. If your listening room is smaller than average and full of curtains then look elsewhere for your special transducer. In larger rooms with solid walls or undraped windows the Bose 901 SERIES VI will be at its best! The fact that their current price is still within reason for such great performance at $1500 is a credit to Bose. The USA engineered speaker is now being crafted in Canada which lays claim to such fine outfits like Mirage, PSB and Paradigm. Although the system is not always setup properly in malls and generally not available through high end dealers, don't let that fact stop you from seeking the speaker out. My advice is to find someone locally who owns a SERIES III thru VI system and ask for an audition in the home where they reside. There is simply no substitute for auditioning the 901's in an actual home! You can also go online at BOSE.COM to place an order and use a 12 month payment plan that makes it so much easier on your pocketbook. A Special Note To 901 Owners And Perspective Buyers: Do not be discouraged or put off by those who feel this speaker system is overrated or hyped up. Trust your own ears! No amount of poetic flowery descriptive double talk can truly make a given speaker system sound great. Neither can impressive manufacturer's specifications! Listen for yourself. Compare the speakers to the best of the best like the B&W NAUTILUS 801's and 802's but also the biggest most expensive Tannoys, Martin Logans, Definitives, JBL's, Allisons, Bostons, Polks, Legacy's or any other brand you can think of as I have and see if you agree with my findings. Isn't it most interesting that some of these lovely sounding models cost up to ten times the price of the 901 or more! I did compare my Bose to these speakers! While I did so, the high end salesman tried to tell me what was wrong with them [like most of us audiophiles he was very opinionated]! I simply smiled as my 901's outperformed these great speakers on every single CD used for this audition! What a great audition but the salesman knew he had lost his battle! Who needs someone telling us what we should be hearing while auditioning speakers or any piece of audio gear? It is our decision. We know what to listen for! Just beware of this little trick when you decide to bring a 901 system into a high end store. They don't like Bose! This silliness began in 1971 when J Gordon Holt gave the original Bose 901 a somewhat negative review. He did however bring up some good points but was off the mark on the 901's sounding "fat" in the bass as they are anything but that! However, the battle lines were drawn. This review sparked the "Love/Hate" of the Bose 901 speaker system and you can link to the entire review from my profile page. Just so you have an idea of where Mr. Holt is at...he loves the sound of the B&W 801. I thought that this was rather ironic as this model [although great] has been tagged by myself and others as a bit overwhelming and "fat sounding" in the bass frequencies...again...room acoustics like it or not will affect various speaker models more than we sometimes are willing to admit! With the proper amplifier and room your reaction may very well be like this..."I may be living in a different world from everyone else but if so...DO NOT wake me up! I'm having too much fun listening to music the way it was meant to be heard with this heavenly speaker!" With the wrong amp and improper room you will probably feel that you've been ripped off and Bose is full of nothing but hype. I recommend the speakers highly with the condition that you fully audition them in the right situation but be aware of the fact that many of you will find yourselves wondering why you even bothered to give the beasts a listen! For those of you in this situation I highly recommend the Vandersteen 1C speakers at a slightly lower price. The Vandersteens are wonderful sounding in just about any room you can think of and are available at fine high end stores like John Rutan's Audio Connection of Verona, NJ [see the link on my profile page]. Bose states that the 901-VI was engineered by passionate music lovers. This fact is so highly obvious once you give the speaker a listen in an appropriate setup [and the Bose Store may very well not be the best!]. It seems like no other speaker system delivers powerful accuracy quite like this one! |
My equipment review of the Bose 901
Peter Sammon wrote:
huge snip I really don't know where to begin, so I'll basically end. I have heard 901's of various models with various amps and pre amps. I don't know where you would hear Legacy and bose at the time. Same with B&W's or any other "hi end" speaker. I would be interested in this place where I can compare the 901's to something like my Von Schweikert VR4's (which most certainly go deeper and sound better than the 901's). If you like them, fine. That is your choice. They were "different" when first introduced. Great marketing certainly sold a lot of them. But to say that their "equalizer" introduces less distortion than a crossover network, well, where are the facts (read: numbers) to back this up? You like them. I don't care for them. But, it is a matter of choice. You made yours, I made mine, and others will make theirs. Listen first. Listen long. Then decide. It's like all those people that love those little bose acoustamates (?). They are terrible sounding and way overpriced. But, they offer what those that don't know how music sounds, the wiz-bang effect. Tizzy highs, screatching mids, and of course, bloated muddy mid bass passed off as bass. Hey sorta reminds me of 901's! |
My equipment review of the Bose 901
Peter Sammon wrote:
http://www.epinions.com/content_105506836100 In 1968, I took an old Philco record player and turned it into my first hifi record player by installing a Shure M3D stereo magnetic phono cartridge and then adding a preamp and low powered amp and Are you really an enthusiastic (but-misguided) Bose-user, or a part of the Bose Inc marketing department. It never looked objective, but now this tripe is popping up several times with changed subjects, across a bunch of newgroups, it is starting to look like SPAM. Or is it all really a tongue-in-cheek joke ? geoff |
My equipment review of the Bose 901
Peter Sammon wrote:
God, what a lot of blather. Are you sure you aren't an employee? You sure sound like one. FREQUENCY RESPONSE specs are not ever offered by Bose because one of the founding principles was that they offer little or no value to the audiophile! Bose simply observed that great specs certainly did not always coincide with equally great performance. Like their Acoustimass system which has a +/- 12 db efficienty and a complete hole from around 180-200hz? Or their noise cancelling headphones that work about as well as a simple pair of earplugs(and mangle the sound just as much) The EQ is silent with no perceived extraneous noise. The only noise that will be revealed is amplifier hiss or such sound in an analog mastered recording. Some digital recordings even have modulation noise and you will recognize such flawed CD's immediately! Q: why do studio monitors, elctrostatics, and even movie theatres all not use any EQ? Perhaps because the speaker is accurate enough to not need artificial mangling of the sound to be listenable? (snip 3 pages of shill blather) I did compare my Bose to these speakers! While I did so, the high end salesman tried to tell me what was wrong with them [like most of us audiophiles he was very opinionated]! I simply smiled as my 901's outperformed these great speakers on every single CD used for this audition! I know people who think that their squidded-out Civic street racer is better than a Porsche 911. Lol. (snip more blather) I can't believe someone actually spent two hours typing that crud in to post it. |
My equipment review of the Bose 901
No Highs, No Lows, must be Bose has remained true
since 1968. No imaging either. Great to demonstrate doppler effect though. Bose did keep after Consumer Reports in the courts all the way to the Supreme Court for 14 years a bad review. For some reason they did not go after J. Gordon Holt for his not so flattering review in Stereophile. http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/425/ "Peter Sammon" wrote in message ... http://www.epinions.com/content_105506836100 In 1968, I took an old Philco record player and turned it into my first hifi record player by installing a Shure M3D stereo magnetic phono cartridge and then adding a preamp and low powered amp and sealing the entire deal by building these gigantic enclosures for a pair of Jensen duo cone 8" speakers that cost a grand total of $20/Pr. This was my introduction to stereo hifi and a new audionut had been born! This was also the year that the now famous Bose 901 DIRECT/REFLECTING speaker system graced the audio world with a courageous unorthodox design! Had it not been for Dr. Amar Bose and this speaker, who would have caused so many speaker designers to even give stereo imaging the slightest consideration!???? Believe it or not, I wasn't even aware of the design at that time. In fact it wasn't until 1972 when I was stationed in Alaska for the USAF that I took to picking up a few stereo magazines including CONSUMER GUIDE and STEREO REVIEW and then ventured into the local hifi shop in Fairbanks that my first encounter with the 901 took place. When the salesman put on an album by a band called Chase, The 901's that were suspended from the ceiling immediately shook the room and the clarity was awesome! Stereo everywhere yet I could distinctly identify each trumpet, guitar, percussion and voices with better separation than I had ever experienced! The amplifier driving the speakers at the time was none other than Bob Carver's creation...the Phase Linear 700. The love affair had begun and I purchased my first set of Bose 901's. In 1983 I upgraded to SERIES V and just recently to SERIES VI...the subject of this review. It is a solidly well built speaker system throughout! The Bose 901 SERIES VI features a 21" x 12" x 13" cabinet with curved fronts and two angled panels in the rear. The two angled panels each contain four 4 1/2" drivers while one single driver is placed toward the center of the front panel. Thus the reason for the model #...9 drivers total with 1 in front. The design is appropriately designated as direct/reflecting with 89% of the sound projected from the rear and the remaining 11% coming out of the front. This proportion was the finding of Dr. Bose's MIT team when studying various halls where LIVE PERFORMANCES were featured. The impedence is a solid 8 ohms across the musical spectrum and should prove to be a most stable load for whatever amplifier one chooses but choose wisely as this speaker is extremely picky about what drives it and I'm not referring to just power alone! It is quite conceivable that a given 50 watt amp could sound better with the 901's than a competitive 200 watt amp! The small drivers themselves boast heavy magnets and high quality voice coils as they must move an enormous amount of air. The multi chambered ACOUSTIC MATRIX enclosure vents the speaker in a most unusual way with air speeds exceeding 60 mph! Three ports or jets protrude through the rear of the 901 enclosure. Because of the use of small full range drivers, an active equalizer which is absolutely essential to the system is used in place of the normal CROSSOVERS that introduce distortion no matter how well engineered. The 901 EQ simply smooths out any bumps or irregularities in the system's power response. FREQUENCY RESPONSE specs are not ever offered by Bose because one of the founding principles was that they offer little or no value to the audiophile! Bose simply observed that great specs certainly did not always coincide with equally great performance. The OWNER'S MANUAL is quite extensive and written in several languages. It also gives special instructions for mounting the 901's on pedestals or hanging them from ceilings. The speakers are rated to handle amplifiers of 10 to 450 watts of clean power but do not induce amplifier clipping as this will kill any speaker regardless of the rating or how well it is made! DYNAMIC RANGE is rated at 106db...well above the 90db capability of the best digital sources! The two finishes that are available are black ash and light walnut. I chose the light walnut for mine with dark brown indestructible grills that are absolutely seductive looking! Optional PS6 pedestals are available. Pedestals are also offered by others and you could save some money but make sure they support your 901's properly. Two foot high end tables offer a sturdy and childproof support of the speakers also. The bottom of each 901 speaker reveals a circular cutaway that surrounds the two heavy duty knurled nut speaker terminals that hold speaker wire like no other arrangement I know of. It is very secure and should make for a lifetime of good connection to quality OFC speaker wire. This wire is available from Kimber Kable and AR but for my money MIRASONIC.COM has the best stuff at super low prices that can truly make an audible difference. There is no substitute for controlled well defined bass and clear mids and highs. Good wire can accomplish that! It's been proven. After patching the 901 EQ into my TAPE MONITOR circuit on my humble Parasound integrated amplifier with the supplied patch chords and then carefully setting up the speakers in my living room I was able to listen to my vast collection of CD's into the wee hours of the morning night after night as I simply could not get enough of the beautiful sound the speakers project! A new TAPE MONITOR is provided on the EQ to replace your old one. Adjust the MID BASS and MID TREBLE slider controls moderately for room and source compensation. DO NOT MIX AND MATCH WRONG EQ's FROM VARIOUS SERIES MODELS AS THE SOUND WILL BE INCORRECT AND DO NOT USE WITH OTHER CONVENTIONAL UNEQUALIZED SPEAKERS FOR HOME THEATER!!!! 901 EQ AND SPEAKER SERIES COMPATABILITY: SERIES I and II...ACOUSTIC SUSPENSION design from 1968-1976 SERIES III and IV...ACOUSTIC MATRIX design from 1976-1983 SERIES V and VI...ACOUSTIC MATRIX design from 1983-Present day Do not deviate from these guidelines as 901's are available in used condition over the internet. Undoubtedly as you read this review, someone is selling a SERIES IV 901 with a SERIES VI EQ or a SERIES II EQ with a SERIES III speaker and will result in total dissatisfaction with the product on the buyer's end. Also beware of the phony 901 look alike LDL 749 speakers that were manufactured from 1970 to 1974 without EQ's but did not equal the 901 quality sound. I almost purchased one of these systems back then but thankfully did not but beware as they can easily be peddled as 901's. They do resemble the Bose to a great degree. I think someone from the original Bose/MIT group jumped ship to make these imposters. As for the subject of speaker placement I can only suggest that you experiment a bit and rid yourself of any normal distance you would keep between conventional LEFT and RIGHT STEREO speakers as the 901 is anything but conventional itself! I really do believe that the LOVE and HATE stems from the fact that the 901 sound can change drastically in the lower frequencies when not setup properly! Alas, I have found the 901's to sound best on 18" high pedestals and out 18" from the REAR wall along the SHORT wall of my listening room as compared to the LONGER wall. I think this is better than hanging the speakers from the ceiling where the bass tends to get lost. Experiment...experiment...this is the key! Because of the angled rear panels, the "middle sound" will be quite strong and stable eliminating the typical "sweet spot" rules. You can separate these speakers miles apart from each other and in fact should do so within reason to get great stereo separation! By doing so, you'll not only widen the fantastic soundstage but also eliminate any possibility of losing left and right channel detail. Don't worry, you will not have a "hole in the middle" effect. This way also gets you to move the 901's closer to the adjacent walls. Just keep the wall behind the speakers relatively free of drapes and teddy bears. Hanging the 901's from ceilings more than ten feet from the ground is not recommended as the sound may get obscured a bit and imaging along with deep bass lost. In other words, if you have a ceiling like the Sistine Chapel, forget it! The sound of the 901 SERIES VI is really special and downright seductive! Regardless of the many genres of music that have been played thru my 901's, the SOUNDSTAGING is such that never have I experienced a wider higher portrayal of various performances with equally impressive depth! You can literally point to every instrument in the orchestra or follow a soloist as he or she moves about the stage in front of you [e.g. Tony Clarke-"The Entertainer" as he as he moves to and fro banging his tambourine...it's really something to behold!] The break-in period for the 901-VI went very nicely with the drivers fully seated after six months. Be careful not to push them too hard at first and do not introduce amplifier clipping. By the way, this break-in period applies to owners of older 901 models that have had their foam surrounds replaced [Simply Speakers on EBAY has a wondertful kit for under $50]. I love it when people say that the 901's can't go deep. Just checkout the opening low pedal note in the movie "2001-A Space Oddysey" and see if it doesn't rattle every window and loose floor board in the house! Or checkout Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" at the four minute mark. Just MIDRANGE speakers, huh? No, what's happening is that the ACOUSTIC MATRIX enclosure is moving huge amounts of air! That's what gives you bass...not just the physical size of the driver. Why do you think many top notch speaker systems like Win Burhoe's SILENT SPEAKERS or the Spendors use such small drivers and are still able to produce such deep notes? It's because the cabinets have special sophisticated chambers that create significant air speeds. Also the drivers have powerful motors in their voice coil and magnet assemblies. All other systems seem to be fat sounding in the bass...even the biggest most expensive ones! Forget about subwoofering the 901 as it is not necessary in the right room! Put your wallet away and be happy with the fact that you own a fantastic 40Hz gut puncher! Telarc's CD of "Carmina Burana" is so dynamic with the voices and orchestra bringing forth massive but clear emotional sound thru the 901's. Midrange and high notes are crystal clear thru the speakers when they are truly present. That brings me to another point...that the 901's only reproduce what's in the recording itself and very little of anything else! BUT YOU GOTTA LISTEN TO THEM FOR YOURSELF. YOU MAY NOT AGREE WITH MY FINDINGS AS THE 901 IS NOT FOR EVERYONE. The EQ is silent with no perceived extraneous noise. The only noise that will be revealed is amplifier hiss or such sound in an analog mastered recording. Some digital recordings even have modulation noise and you will recognize such flawed CD's immediately! The speaker has an uncanny ability to reveal eveything! Beware as this is certainly a double edged sword for the Bose. I have one CD of Barry White's Greatest Hits that on the song..."You're The First, The Last, My Everything" where this older recording used a poor microphone for Barry's voice that can sound downright harsh! Yet the orchestra behind him is very nicely portrayed. You will certainly stay up late the first night checking out all of your library to see what's good and what isn't. I'm not kidding when I tell you that the 901 can distinguish between a good MIC or a bad one. You can even hear "poof!" sounds from microphones that were not properly screened and windproofed! Just listen to a variety of radio broadcasts or checkout the "Buddy Holly Collection" CD of remastered recordings and listen for yourself. That is how revealing the 901 is. I dare say that many of you will not like the speaker because of this very fact. The quality of your amplifier and CD player will also be unveiled for whatever it is. Use good quality power as the 901 likes heaps of it! Yes, it can play quite loudly but sounds wonderful at a whisper. That high current Onkyo/Integra stereo only receiver should be wonderful with the 901's! I'm not so sure about some other massed produced brands. Certainly super audiophile expensive MONO BLOCKS will be at their best also. If you listen to JAZZ 88 in the Newark, NJ area you will hear non smeared percussion and wonderful vocalists with plenty of plucked basses and super sweet highs all naturally portrayed thru the 901's. The cymbals are so darn natural! TRANSIENT RESPONSE is exemplary! I love the fact that I can hear a kickdrum change tone or every subtlety and overtone on various recorded music. The simple striking of a trianglular bell can raise the hairs on my back! Accuracy of musical timbre is important and with the Bose you get plenty of it. You haven't heard the Beatles until you've heard "Sgt Peppers" played thru the Bose 901! There is a rather nice CD entitled "Atmospheres-Celtic Voices" featuring ambient waterfall sounds along with various seductive strings, tom toms, woodwinds and basses. This Irish music CD is worth seeking out as it reveals changes in the stringed bass's tones and subtleties that can be a very useful tool for speaker evaluation! You can probably pick it up for around $8 or less! The 901 sounds wonderful with this recording! But don't just take my word for it...listen for yourself! You may or may not agree. That is how controversial this speaker is! Speaker auditioning should be fun and pleasant so don't let snotty proprietors and extremely opinionated sales people stand in your way. Some of the hatred stems from the fact that Bose seems to pursuit competitors in court quite often and also even went after a negative reviewer...and that's not right. We are free to print how we feel about a product and should have no fear of repercussion! But as a maker of great speakers I think Bose does very well indeed and their customer support is unbelievable! I have had some nice chats with both Bose field and customer service reps. Look, my feeling is that a truly great speaker can involve you in the performance so well as to summon all your emotions as I have felt many tears in my eyes when listening to beautiful music thru the speakers. Telarc's "Rite Of Spring" has a tympani gut puncher at around the ten minute mark that can make your heart jump out and if you hold a tissue over one of the 901's ports it will fly out of your hand! Yet the orchestra sounds so sweet as to make you cry or stand up and exclaim...BRAVO!...as it does on CBS MASTERWORKS' "Nutcracker" w/Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the New Phiharmonia Orch. There are many bigger more expensive models costing well over $5000 a pair but I don't really consider some of these Gigantors to be appropriate for the average listening room. We don't have auditoriums for listening areas do we? Well the 901's have served me well in some of my rooms over the past thirty years and can sound great in rooms big or small if the acoustics are correct for them. If your listening room is smaller than average and full of curtains then look elsewhere for your special transducer. In larger rooms with solid walls or undraped windows the Bose 901 SERIES VI will be at its best! The fact that their current price is still within reason for such great performance at $1500 is a credit to Bose. The USA engineered speaker is now being crafted in Canada which lays claim to such fine outfits like Mirage, PSB and Paradigm. Although the system is not always setup properly in malls and generally not available through high end dealers, don't let that fact stop you from seeking the speaker out. My advice is to find someone locally who owns a SERIES III thru VI system and ask for an audition in the home where they reside. There is simply no substitute for auditioning the 901's in an actual home! You can also go online at BOSE.COM to place an order and use a 12 month payment plan that makes it so much easier on your pocketbook. A Special Note To 901 Owners And Perspective Buyers: Do not be discouraged or put off by those who feel this speaker system is overrated or hyped up. Trust your own ears! No amount of poetic flowery descriptive double talk can truly make a given speaker system sound great. Neither can impressive manufacturer's specifications! Listen for yourself. Compare the speakers to the best of the best like the B&W NAUTILUS 801's and 802's but also the biggest most expensive Tannoys, Martin Logans, Definitives, JBL's, Allisons, Bostons, Polks, Legacy's or any other brand you can think of as I have and see if you agree with my findings. Isn't it most interesting that some of these lovely sounding models cost up to ten times the price of the 901 or more! I did compare my Bose to these speakers! While I did so, the high end salesman tried to tell me what was wrong with them [like most of us audiophiles he was very opinionated]! I simply smiled as my 901's outperformed these great speakers on every single CD used for this audition! What a great audition but the salesman knew he had lost his battle! Who needs someone telling us what we should be hearing while auditioning speakers or any piece of audio gear? It is our decision. We know what to listen for! Just beware of this little trick when you decide to bring a 901 system into a high end store. They don't like Bose! This silliness began in 1971 when J Gordon Holt gave the original Bose 901 a somewhat negative review. He did however bring up some good points but was off the mark on the 901's sounding "fat" in the bass as they are anything but that! However, the battle lines were drawn. This review sparked the "Love/Hate" of the Bose 901 speaker system and you can link to the entire review from my profile page. Just so you have an idea of where Mr. Holt is at...he loves the sound of the B&W 801. I thought that this was rather ironic as this model [although great] has been tagged by myself and others as a bit overwhelming and "fat sounding" in the bass frequencies...again...room acoustics like it or not will affect various speaker models more than we sometimes are willing to admit! With the proper amplifier and room your reaction may very well be like this..."I may be living in a different world from everyone else but if so...DO NOT wake me up! I'm having too much fun listening to music the way it was meant to be heard with this heavenly speaker!" With the wrong amp and improper room you will probably feel that you've been ripped off and Bose is full of nothing but hype. I recommend the speakers highly with the condition that you fully audition them in the right situation but be aware of the fact that many of you will find yourselves wondering why you even bothered to give the beasts a listen! For those of you in this situation I highly recommend the Vandersteen 1C speakers at a slightly lower price. The Vandersteens are wonderful sounding in just about any room you can think of and are available at fine high end stores like John Rutan's Audio Connection of Verona, NJ [see the link on my profile page]. Bose states that the 901-VI was engineered by passionate music lovers. This fact is so highly obvious once you give the speaker a listen in an appropriate setup [and the Bose Store may very well not be the best!]. It seems like no other speaker system delivers powerful accuracy quite like this one! |
My equipment review of the Bose 901
No Highs, No Lows, must be Bose has remained true
since 1968. No imaging either. Great to demonstrate doppler effect though. Bose did keep after Consumer Reports in the courts all the way to the Supreme Court for 14 years a bad review. For some reason they did not go after J. Gordon Holt for his not so flattering review in Stereophile. http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/425/ "Peter Sammon" wrote in message ... http://www.epinions.com/content_105506836100 In 1968, I took an old Philco record player and turned it into my first hifi record player by installing a Shure M3D stereo magnetic phono cartridge and then adding a preamp and low powered amp and sealing the entire deal by building these gigantic enclosures for a pair of Jensen duo cone 8" speakers that cost a grand total of $20/Pr. This was my introduction to stereo hifi and a new audionut had been born! This was also the year that the now famous Bose 901 DIRECT/REFLECTING speaker system graced the audio world with a courageous unorthodox design! Had it not been for Dr. Amar Bose and this speaker, who would have caused so many speaker designers to even give stereo imaging the slightest consideration!???? Believe it or not, I wasn't even aware of the design at that time. In fact it wasn't until 1972 when I was stationed in Alaska for the USAF that I took to picking up a few stereo magazines including CONSUMER GUIDE and STEREO REVIEW and then ventured into the local hifi shop in Fairbanks that my first encounter with the 901 took place. When the salesman put on an album by a band called Chase, The 901's that were suspended from the ceiling immediately shook the room and the clarity was awesome! Stereo everywhere yet I could distinctly identify each trumpet, guitar, percussion and voices with better separation than I had ever experienced! The amplifier driving the speakers at the time was none other than Bob Carver's creation...the Phase Linear 700. The love affair had begun and I purchased my first set of Bose 901's. In 1983 I upgraded to SERIES V and just recently to SERIES VI...the subject of this review. It is a solidly well built speaker system throughout! The Bose 901 SERIES VI features a 21" x 12" x 13" cabinet with curved fronts and two angled panels in the rear. The two angled panels each contain four 4 1/2" drivers while one single driver is placed toward the center of the front panel. Thus the reason for the model #...9 drivers total with 1 in front. The design is appropriately designated as direct/reflecting with 89% of the sound projected from the rear and the remaining 11% coming out of the front. This proportion was the finding of Dr. Bose's MIT team when studying various halls where LIVE PERFORMANCES were featured. The impedence is a solid 8 ohms across the musical spectrum and should prove to be a most stable load for whatever amplifier one chooses but choose wisely as this speaker is extremely picky about what drives it and I'm not referring to just power alone! It is quite conceivable that a given 50 watt amp could sound better with the 901's than a competitive 200 watt amp! The small drivers themselves boast heavy magnets and high quality voice coils as they must move an enormous amount of air. The multi chambered ACOUSTIC MATRIX enclosure vents the speaker in a most unusual way with air speeds exceeding 60 mph! Three ports or jets protrude through the rear of the 901 enclosure. Because of the use of small full range drivers, an active equalizer which is absolutely essential to the system is used in place of the normal CROSSOVERS that introduce distortion no matter how well engineered. The 901 EQ simply smooths out any bumps or irregularities in the system's power response. FREQUENCY RESPONSE specs are not ever offered by Bose because one of the founding principles was that they offer little or no value to the audiophile! Bose simply observed that great specs certainly did not always coincide with equally great performance. The OWNER'S MANUAL is quite extensive and written in several languages. It also gives special instructions for mounting the 901's on pedestals or hanging them from ceilings. The speakers are rated to handle amplifiers of 10 to 450 watts of clean power but do not induce amplifier clipping as this will kill any speaker regardless of the rating or how well it is made! DYNAMIC RANGE is rated at 106db...well above the 90db capability of the best digital sources! The two finishes that are available are black ash and light walnut. I chose the light walnut for mine with dark brown indestructible grills that are absolutely seductive looking! Optional PS6 pedestals are available. Pedestals are also offered by others and you could save some money but make sure they support your 901's properly. Two foot high end tables offer a sturdy and childproof support of the speakers also. The bottom of each 901 speaker reveals a circular cutaway that surrounds the two heavy duty knurled nut speaker terminals that hold speaker wire like no other arrangement I know of. It is very secure and should make for a lifetime of good connection to quality OFC speaker wire. This wire is available from Kimber Kable and AR but for my money MIRASONIC.COM has the best stuff at super low prices that can truly make an audible difference. There is no substitute for controlled well defined bass and clear mids and highs. Good wire can accomplish that! It's been proven. After patching the 901 EQ into my TAPE MONITOR circuit on my humble Parasound integrated amplifier with the supplied patch chords and then carefully setting up the speakers in my living room I was able to listen to my vast collection of CD's into the wee hours of the morning night after night as I simply could not get enough of the beautiful sound the speakers project! A new TAPE MONITOR is provided on the EQ to replace your old one. Adjust the MID BASS and MID TREBLE slider controls moderately for room and source compensation. DO NOT MIX AND MATCH WRONG EQ's FROM VARIOUS SERIES MODELS AS THE SOUND WILL BE INCORRECT AND DO NOT USE WITH OTHER CONVENTIONAL UNEQUALIZED SPEAKERS FOR HOME THEATER!!!! 901 EQ AND SPEAKER SERIES COMPATABILITY: SERIES I and II...ACOUSTIC SUSPENSION design from 1968-1976 SERIES III and IV...ACOUSTIC MATRIX design from 1976-1983 SERIES V and VI...ACOUSTIC MATRIX design from 1983-Present day Do not deviate from these guidelines as 901's are available in used condition over the internet. Undoubtedly as you read this review, someone is selling a SERIES IV 901 with a SERIES VI EQ or a SERIES II EQ with a SERIES III speaker and will result in total dissatisfaction with the product on the buyer's end. Also beware of the phony 901 look alike LDL 749 speakers that were manufactured from 1970 to 1974 without EQ's but did not equal the 901 quality sound. I almost purchased one of these systems back then but thankfully did not but beware as they can easily be peddled as 901's. They do resemble the Bose to a great degree. I think someone from the original Bose/MIT group jumped ship to make these imposters. As for the subject of speaker placement I can only suggest that you experiment a bit and rid yourself of any normal distance you would keep between conventional LEFT and RIGHT STEREO speakers as the 901 is anything but conventional itself! I really do believe that the LOVE and HATE stems from the fact that the 901 sound can change drastically in the lower frequencies when not setup properly! Alas, I have found the 901's to sound best on 18" high pedestals and out 18" from the REAR wall along the SHORT wall of my listening room as compared to the LONGER wall. I think this is better than hanging the speakers from the ceiling where the bass tends to get lost. Experiment...experiment...this is the key! Because of the angled rear panels, the "middle sound" will be quite strong and stable eliminating the typical "sweet spot" rules. You can separate these speakers miles apart from each other and in fact should do so within reason to get great stereo separation! By doing so, you'll not only widen the fantastic soundstage but also eliminate any possibility of losing left and right channel detail. Don't worry, you will not have a "hole in the middle" effect. This way also gets you to move the 901's closer to the adjacent walls. Just keep the wall behind the speakers relatively free of drapes and teddy bears. Hanging the 901's from ceilings more than ten feet from the ground is not recommended as the sound may get obscured a bit and imaging along with deep bass lost. In other words, if you have a ceiling like the Sistine Chapel, forget it! The sound of the 901 SERIES VI is really special and downright seductive! Regardless of the many genres of music that have been played thru my 901's, the SOUNDSTAGING is such that never have I experienced a wider higher portrayal of various performances with equally impressive depth! You can literally point to every instrument in the orchestra or follow a soloist as he or she moves about the stage in front of you [e.g. Tony Clarke-"The Entertainer" as he as he moves to and fro banging his tambourine...it's really something to behold!] The break-in period for the 901-VI went very nicely with the drivers fully seated after six months. Be careful not to push them too hard at first and do not introduce amplifier clipping. By the way, this break-in period applies to owners of older 901 models that have had their foam surrounds replaced [Simply Speakers on EBAY has a wondertful kit for under $50]. I love it when people say that the 901's can't go deep. Just checkout the opening low pedal note in the movie "2001-A Space Oddysey" and see if it doesn't rattle every window and loose floor board in the house! Or checkout Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" at the four minute mark. Just MIDRANGE speakers, huh? No, what's happening is that the ACOUSTIC MATRIX enclosure is moving huge amounts of air! That's what gives you bass...not just the physical size of the driver. Why do you think many top notch speaker systems like Win Burhoe's SILENT SPEAKERS or the Spendors use such small drivers and are still able to produce such deep notes? It's because the cabinets have special sophisticated chambers that create significant air speeds. Also the drivers have powerful motors in their voice coil and magnet assemblies. All other systems seem to be fat sounding in the bass...even the biggest most expensive ones! Forget about subwoofering the 901 as it is not necessary in the right room! Put your wallet away and be happy with the fact that you own a fantastic 40Hz gut puncher! Telarc's CD of "Carmina Burana" is so dynamic with the voices and orchestra bringing forth massive but clear emotional sound thru the 901's. Midrange and high notes are crystal clear thru the speakers when they are truly present. That brings me to another point...that the 901's only reproduce what's in the recording itself and very little of anything else! BUT YOU GOTTA LISTEN TO THEM FOR YOURSELF. YOU MAY NOT AGREE WITH MY FINDINGS AS THE 901 IS NOT FOR EVERYONE. The EQ is silent with no perceived extraneous noise. The only noise that will be revealed is amplifier hiss or such sound in an analog mastered recording. Some digital recordings even have modulation noise and you will recognize such flawed CD's immediately! The speaker has an uncanny ability to reveal eveything! Beware as this is certainly a double edged sword for the Bose. I have one CD of Barry White's Greatest Hits that on the song..."You're The First, The Last, My Everything" where this older recording used a poor microphone for Barry's voice that can sound downright harsh! Yet the orchestra behind him is very nicely portrayed. You will certainly stay up late the first night checking out all of your library to see what's good and what isn't. I'm not kidding when I tell you that the 901 can distinguish between a good MIC or a bad one. You can even hear "poof!" sounds from microphones that were not properly screened and windproofed! Just listen to a variety of radio broadcasts or checkout the "Buddy Holly Collection" CD of remastered recordings and listen for yourself. That is how revealing the 901 is. I dare say that many of you will not like the speaker because of this very fact. The quality of your amplifier and CD player will also be unveiled for whatever it is. Use good quality power as the 901 likes heaps of it! Yes, it can play quite loudly but sounds wonderful at a whisper. That high current Onkyo/Integra stereo only receiver should be wonderful with the 901's! I'm not so sure about some other massed produced brands. Certainly super audiophile expensive MONO BLOCKS will be at their best also. If you listen to JAZZ 88 in the Newark, NJ area you will hear non smeared percussion and wonderful vocalists with plenty of plucked basses and super sweet highs all naturally portrayed thru the 901's. The cymbals are so darn natural! TRANSIENT RESPONSE is exemplary! I love the fact that I can hear a kickdrum change tone or every subtlety and overtone on various recorded music. The simple striking of a trianglular bell can raise the hairs on my back! Accuracy of musical timbre is important and with the Bose you get plenty of it. You haven't heard the Beatles until you've heard "Sgt Peppers" played thru the Bose 901! There is a rather nice CD entitled "Atmospheres-Celtic Voices" featuring ambient waterfall sounds along with various seductive strings, tom toms, woodwinds and basses. This Irish music CD is worth seeking out as it reveals changes in the stringed bass's tones and subtleties that can be a very useful tool for speaker evaluation! You can probably pick it up for around $8 or less! The 901 sounds wonderful with this recording! But don't just take my word for it...listen for yourself! You may or may not agree. That is how controversial this speaker is! Speaker auditioning should be fun and pleasant so don't let snotty proprietors and extremely opinionated sales people stand in your way. Some of the hatred stems from the fact that Bose seems to pursuit competitors in court quite often and also even went after a negative reviewer...and that's not right. We are free to print how we feel about a product and should have no fear of repercussion! But as a maker of great speakers I think Bose does very well indeed and their customer support is unbelievable! I have had some nice chats with both Bose field and customer service reps. Look, my feeling is that a truly great speaker can involve you in the performance so well as to summon all your emotions as I have felt many tears in my eyes when listening to beautiful music thru the speakers. Telarc's "Rite Of Spring" has a tympani gut puncher at around the ten minute mark that can make your heart jump out and if you hold a tissue over one of the 901's ports it will fly out of your hand! Yet the orchestra sounds so sweet as to make you cry or stand up and exclaim...BRAVO!...as it does on CBS MASTERWORKS' "Nutcracker" w/Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the New Phiharmonia Orch. There are many bigger more expensive models costing well over $5000 a pair but I don't really consider some of these Gigantors to be appropriate for the average listening room. We don't have auditoriums for listening areas do we? Well the 901's have served me well in some of my rooms over the past thirty years and can sound great in rooms big or small if the acoustics are correct for them. If your listening room is smaller than average and full of curtains then look elsewhere for your special transducer. In larger rooms with solid walls or undraped windows the Bose 901 SERIES VI will be at its best! The fact that their current price is still within reason for such great performance at $1500 is a credit to Bose. The USA engineered speaker is now being crafted in Canada which lays claim to such fine outfits like Mirage, PSB and Paradigm. Although the system is not always setup properly in malls and generally not available through high end dealers, don't let that fact stop you from seeking the speaker out. My advice is to find someone locally who owns a SERIES III thru VI system and ask for an audition in the home where they reside. There is simply no substitute for auditioning the 901's in an actual home! You can also go online at BOSE.COM to place an order and use a 12 month payment plan that makes it so much easier on your pocketbook. A Special Note To 901 Owners And Perspective Buyers: Do not be discouraged or put off by those who feel this speaker system is overrated or hyped up. Trust your own ears! No amount of poetic flowery descriptive double talk can truly make a given speaker system sound great. Neither can impressive manufacturer's specifications! Listen for yourself. Compare the speakers to the best of the best like the B&W NAUTILUS 801's and 802's but also the biggest most expensive Tannoys, Martin Logans, Definitives, JBL's, Allisons, Bostons, Polks, Legacy's or any other brand you can think of as I have and see if you agree with my findings. Isn't it most interesting that some of these lovely sounding models cost up to ten times the price of the 901 or more! I did compare my Bose to these speakers! While I did so, the high end salesman tried to tell me what was wrong with them [like most of us audiophiles he was very opinionated]! I simply smiled as my 901's outperformed these great speakers on every single CD used for this audition! What a great audition but the salesman knew he had lost his battle! Who needs someone telling us what we should be hearing while auditioning speakers or any piece of audio gear? It is our decision. We know what to listen for! Just beware of this little trick when you decide to bring a 901 system into a high end store. They don't like Bose! This silliness began in 1971 when J Gordon Holt gave the original Bose 901 a somewhat negative review. He did however bring up some good points but was off the mark on the 901's sounding "fat" in the bass as they are anything but that! However, the battle lines were drawn. This review sparked the "Love/Hate" of the Bose 901 speaker system and you can link to the entire review from my profile page. Just so you have an idea of where Mr. Holt is at...he loves the sound of the B&W 801. I thought that this was rather ironic as this model [although great] has been tagged by myself and others as a bit overwhelming and "fat sounding" in the bass frequencies...again...room acoustics like it or not will affect various speaker models more than we sometimes are willing to admit! With the proper amplifier and room your reaction may very well be like this..."I may be living in a different world from everyone else but if so...DO NOT wake me up! I'm having too much fun listening to music the way it was meant to be heard with this heavenly speaker!" With the wrong amp and improper room you will probably feel that you've been ripped off and Bose is full of nothing but hype. I recommend the speakers highly with the condition that you fully audition them in the right situation but be aware of the fact that many of you will find yourselves wondering why you even bothered to give the beasts a listen! For those of you in this situation I highly recommend the Vandersteen 1C speakers at a slightly lower price. The Vandersteens are wonderful sounding in just about any room you can think of and are available at fine high end stores like John Rutan's Audio Connection of Verona, NJ [see the link on my profile page]. Bose states that the 901-VI was engineered by passionate music lovers. This fact is so highly obvious once you give the speaker a listen in an appropriate setup [and the Bose Store may very well not be the best!]. It seems like no other speaker system delivers powerful accuracy quite like this one! |
My equipment review of the Bose 901
"Peter Sammon" wrote in message
The small drivers themselves boast heavy magnets and high quality voice coils as they must move an enormous amount of air. Myth number one: A reasonable number of small drivers can move as much air as a single large one, all other things being equal. The hidden agenda is linear stroke. Let's compare a 4" driver and an 8" driver. How many 4" drivers does it take to move as much air as an 8" driver? The naive answer is 4, presuming that cone area is proportional to diameter, squared. True for theoretical geometry, not true for speakers. Speakers have flexible surrounds and a fraction of the area of the surround must be deducted from the area of the cone. However, the width of the surround is not proportional to the diameter of the speaker, but rather is dependent on the designer's goals for maximum linear stroke. IOW an 8" speaker with a certain linear stroke will have a surround that is a certain width. If the 4" speaker has the same linear stroke, then its surround will have to be the same width. However, since the diameter of the smaller speaker is quite a bit smaller, the surround takes up a greater proportion of the diameter of the speaker. IOW, the area of the actual moving part of the smaller cone is even less than proportionately smaller. For small speakers, it may take 5 4" speakers to have the same moving cone area as an 8" speaker due to the loss of effective moving diaphragm area because of the width of the surround. Secondly, smaller speakers, all other things being equal, don't have the same linear stroke as larger speakers. Speakers tend to scale in all dimensions. Not only is a 4" speaker half the diameter of an 8" speaker, but it will have half the linear stroke, all other things being equal. In short, it might take as many as 10 4" speakers to have the air-moving capacity of a single 8" speaker, all other things being equal. The multi chambered ACOUSTIC MATRIX enclosure vents the speaker in a most unusual way with air speeds exceeding 60 mph! Three ports or jets protrude through the rear of the 901 enclosure. Knowledgeable speaker designers know that high air velocity in ports is anathema. High air velocities lead to higher turbulence, and turbulent flow tends to be noisy flow. One sign of a quality ported speaker is a large, low-velocity port. Because of the use of small full range drivers, an active equalizer which is absolutely essential to the system is used in place of the normal CROSSOVERS that introduce distortion no matter how well engineered. The 901 EQ simply smooths out any bumps or irregularities in the system's power response. Plan B: build a system that is essentially acoustically flat. Not mission impossible in this day and age. Now for the seriously damning facts about the Bose 901. When the 901 was built, not that much was generally known about optimizing the performance of arrays of small drivers. It turns out that arrays of small drivers can be a real can of worms, if smooth, well-balanced frequency response is desired. I'm quite sure that if Bose were to design the 901 today with a clean piece of paper, they'd do it quite a bit differently. Probably the most serious problem with designs based on ad-hoc collections of identical small drivers is that they can have very rough frequency response (lobing and comb-filter effects) when you move slightly off-axis, and they can also have frequency response that is a strong function of distance from the speaker to the listener. There are ways to manage these problems with generally involve putting the drivers on curved baffles, and/or adjusting the level and/or frequency response of the drive to the various drivers. However, the classic Bose 901 design really does neither of these things well. Here's an AES paper that points out these problems and potential solutions in some detail: Author(s): Keele, Jr., D. B. Publication: JAES Volume 38 Number 10 pp. 723·748; October 1990 Abstract: The Bessel array is a configuration of five, seven, or nine identical loudspeakers in an equal-spaced line array that provides the same overall polar pattern as a single loudspeaker of the array One important point is that the no way is the Bose 901 a Bessel array. A second important point is that of all the Bessel arrays analyzed, 5 drivers in a row was found to be the only one that was recommended. |
My equipment review of the Bose 901
Peter Sammon wrote a massive amount about an expensive pair of
underperforming speakers. If I wanted overpriced speakers that sound "nice" but don't reproduce music how the sound engineer intended it to be reproduced I think the B&O beolab 5 would be my choice, they sound good. The 901 Bose does not give the crisp response across the frequency range that's required or the power and transient response that you get with real loudspeakers. They still sound "good" but then so do many 150quid radio / CD players and mini audio systems. I dare say that if music was recorded with the intention of playback on limited bandwidth reflected audio systems then they'd be a good idea - they also work well for background music but then there's cheaper options there too. I hear no highs, I feel no lows, it sounds like crap, it must be Bose.... |
My equipment review of the Bose 901
In article ,
Peter Sammon wrote: This was also the year that the now famous Bose 901 DIRECT/REFLECTING speaker system graced the audio world with a courageous unorthodox design! Had it not been for Dr. Amar Bose and this speaker, who would have caused so many speaker designers to even give stereo imaging the slightest consideration!???? Strange. You've obviously never heard decent stereo imaging, as the 901 is *utterly* incapable of producing it. -- *Pride is what we have. Vanity is what others have. Dave Plowman London SW 12 RIP Acorn |
My equipment review of the Bose 901
This guy posted the same to rec.audio.misc and started the usual Bose
flameout. I don't suppose the guys here will ignore him, but he's obviously a troll or maybe even sells Bose. Why else would he come onto groups of technically competent people who he obviously knows will disagree and deliberately dispense this bull****? Bose speakers are designed so that unknowledgeable people can spend lots of money to impress their unknowledgeable friends. Mark Z. -- Please reply only to Group. I regret this is necessary. Viruses and spam have rendered my regular e-mail address useless. "Peter Sammon" wrote in message ... http://www.epinions.com/content_105506836100 In 1968, I took an old Philco record player and turned it into my first hifi record player by installing a Shure M3D stereo magnetic phono cartridge and then adding a preamp and low powered amp and sealing the entire deal by building these gigantic enclosures for a pair of Jensen duo cone 8" speakers that cost a grand total of $20/Pr. This was my introduction to stereo hifi and a new audionut had been born! This was also the year that the now famous Bose 901 DIRECT/REFLECTING speaker system graced the audio world with a courageous unorthodox design! Had it not been for Dr. Amar Bose and this speaker, who would have caused so many speaker designers to even give stereo imaging the slightest consideration!???? Believe it or not, I wasn't even aware of the design at that time. In fact it wasn't until 1972 when I was stationed in Alaska for the USAF that I took to picking up a few stereo magazines including CONSUMER GUIDE and STEREO REVIEW and then ventured into the local hifi shop in Fairbanks that my first encounter with the 901 took place. When the salesman put on an album by a band called Chase, The 901's that were suspended from the ceiling immediately shook the room and the clarity was awesome! Stereo everywhere yet I could distinctly identify each trumpet, guitar, percussion and voices with better separation than I had ever experienced! The amplifier driving the speakers at the time was none other than Bob Carver's creation...the Phase Linear 700. The love affair had begun and I purchased my first set of Bose 901's. In 1983 I upgraded to SERIES V and just recently to SERIES VI...the subject of this review. It is a solidly well built speaker system throughout! The Bose 901 SERIES VI features a 21" x 12" x 13" cabinet with curved fronts and two angled panels in the rear. The two angled panels each contain four 4 1/2" drivers while one single driver is placed toward the center of the front panel. Thus the reason for the model #...9 drivers total with 1 in front. The design is appropriately designated as direct/reflecting with 89% of the sound projected from the rear and the remaining 11% coming out of the front. This proportion was the finding of Dr. Bose's MIT team when studying various halls where LIVE PERFORMANCES were featured. The impedence is a solid 8 ohms across the musical spectrum and should prove to be a most stable load for whatever amplifier one chooses but choose wisely as this speaker is extremely picky about what drives it and I'm not referring to just power alone! It is quite conceivable that a given 50 watt amp could sound better with the 901's than a competitive 200 watt amp! The small drivers themselves boast heavy magnets and high quality voice coils as they must move an enormous amount of air. The multi chambered ACOUSTIC MATRIX enclosure vents the speaker in a most unusual way with air speeds exceeding 60 mph! Three ports or jets protrude through the rear of the 901 enclosure. Because of the use of small full range drivers, an active equalizer which is absolutely essential to the system is used in place of the normal CROSSOVERS that introduce distortion no matter how well engineered. The 901 EQ simply smooths out any bumps or irregularities in the system's power response. FREQUENCY RESPONSE specs are not ever offered by Bose because one of the founding principles was that they offer little or no value to the audiophile! Bose simply observed that great specs certainly did not always coincide with equally great performance. The OWNER'S MANUAL is quite extensive and written in several languages. It also gives special instructions for mounting the 901's on pedestals or hanging them from ceilings. The speakers are rated to handle amplifiers of 10 to 450 watts of clean power but do not induce amplifier clipping as this will kill any speaker regardless of the rating or how well it is made! DYNAMIC RANGE is rated at 106db...well above the 90db capability of the best digital sources! The two finishes that are available are black ash and light walnut. I chose the light walnut for mine with dark brown indestructible grills that are absolutely seductive looking! Optional PS6 pedestals are available. Pedestals are also offered by others and you could save some money but make sure they support your 901's properly. Two foot high end tables offer a sturdy and childproof support of the speakers also. The bottom of each 901 speaker reveals a circular cutaway that surrounds the two heavy duty knurled nut speaker terminals that hold speaker wire like no other arrangement I know of. It is very secure and should make for a lifetime of good connection to quality OFC speaker wire. This wire is available from Kimber Kable and AR but for my money MIRASONIC.COM has the best stuff at super low prices that can truly make an audible difference. There is no substitute for controlled well defined bass and clear mids and highs. Good wire can accomplish that! It's been proven. After patching the 901 EQ into my TAPE MONITOR circuit on my humble Parasound integrated amplifier with the supplied patch chords and then carefully setting up the speakers in my living room I was able to listen to my vast collection of CD's into the wee hours of the morning night after night as I simply could not get enough of the beautiful sound the speakers project! A new TAPE MONITOR is provided on the EQ to replace your old one. Adjust the MID BASS and MID TREBLE slider controls moderately for room and source compensation. DO NOT MIX AND MATCH WRONG EQ's FROM VARIOUS SERIES MODELS AS THE SOUND WILL BE INCORRECT AND DO NOT USE WITH OTHER CONVENTIONAL UNEQUALIZED SPEAKERS FOR HOME THEATER!!!! 901 EQ AND SPEAKER SERIES COMPATABILITY: SERIES I and II...ACOUSTIC SUSPENSION design from 1968-1976 SERIES III and IV...ACOUSTIC MATRIX design from 1976-1983 SERIES V and VI...ACOUSTIC MATRIX design from 1983-Present day Do not deviate from these guidelines as 901's are available in used condition over the internet. Undoubtedly as you read this review, someone is selling a SERIES IV 901 with a SERIES VI EQ or a SERIES II EQ with a SERIES III speaker and will result in total dissatisfaction with the product on the buyer's end. Also beware of the phony 901 look alike LDL 749 speakers that were manufactured from 1970 to 1974 without EQ's but did not equal the 901 quality sound. I almost purchased one of these systems back then but thankfully did not but beware as they can easily be peddled as 901's. They do resemble the Bose to a great degree. I think someone from the original Bose/MIT group jumped ship to make these imposters. As for the subject of speaker placement I can only suggest that you experiment a bit and rid yourself of any normal distance you would keep between conventional LEFT and RIGHT STEREO speakers as the 901 is anything but conventional itself! I really do believe that the LOVE and HATE stems from the fact that the 901 sound can change drastically in the lower frequencies when not setup properly! Alas, I have found the 901's to sound best on 18" high pedestals and out 18" from the REAR wall along the SHORT wall of my listening room as compared to the LONGER wall. I think this is better than hanging the speakers from the ceiling where the bass tends to get lost. Experiment...experiment...this is the key! Because of the angled rear panels, the "middle sound" will be quite strong and stable eliminating the typical "sweet spot" rules. You can separate these speakers miles apart from each other and in fact should do so within reason to get great stereo separation! By doing so, you'll not only widen the fantastic soundstage but also eliminate any possibility of losing left and right channel detail. Don't worry, you will not have a "hole in the middle" effect. This way also gets you to move the 901's closer to the adjacent walls. Just keep the wall behind the speakers relatively free of drapes and teddy bears. Hanging the 901's from ceilings more than ten feet from the ground is not recommended as the sound may get obscured a bit and imaging along with deep bass lost. In other words, if you have a ceiling like the Sistine Chapel, forget it! The sound of the 901 SERIES VI is really special and downright seductive! Regardless of the many genres of music that have been played thru my 901's, the SOUNDSTAGING is such that never have I experienced a wider higher portrayal of various performances with equally impressive depth! You can literally point to every instrument in the orchestra or follow a soloist as he or she moves about the stage in front of you [e.g. Tony Clarke-"The Entertainer" as he as he moves to and fro banging his tambourine...it's really something to behold!] The break-in period for the 901-VI went very nicely with the drivers fully seated after six months. Be careful not to push them too hard at first and do not introduce amplifier clipping. By the way, this break-in period applies to owners of older 901 models that have had their foam surrounds replaced [Simply Speakers on EBAY has a wondertful kit for under $50]. I love it when people say that the 901's can't go deep. Just checkout the opening low pedal note in the movie "2001-A Space Oddysey" and see if it doesn't rattle every window and loose floor board in the house! Or checkout Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" at the four minute mark. Just MIDRANGE speakers, huh? No, what's happening is that the ACOUSTIC MATRIX enclosure is moving huge amounts of air! That's what gives you bass...not just the physical size of the driver. Why do you think many top notch speaker systems like Win Burhoe's SILENT SPEAKERS or the Spendors use such small drivers and are still able to produce such deep notes? It's because the cabinets have special sophisticated chambers that create significant air speeds. Also the drivers have powerful motors in their voice coil and magnet assemblies. All other systems seem to be fat sounding in the bass...even the biggest most expensive ones! Forget about subwoofering the 901 as it is not necessary in the right room! Put your wallet away and be happy with the fact that you own a fantastic 40Hz gut puncher! Telarc's CD of "Carmina Burana" is so dynamic with the voices and orchestra bringing forth massive but clear emotional sound thru the 901's. Midrange and high notes are crystal clear thru the speakers when they are truly present. That brings me to another point...that the 901's only reproduce what's in the recording itself and very little of anything else! BUT YOU GOTTA LISTEN TO THEM FOR YOURSELF. YOU MAY NOT AGREE WITH MY FINDINGS AS THE 901 IS NOT FOR EVERYONE. The EQ is silent with no perceived extraneous noise. The only noise that will be revealed is amplifier hiss or such sound in an analog mastered recording. Some digital recordings even have modulation noise and you will recognize such flawed CD's immediately! The speaker has an uncanny ability to reveal eveything! Beware as this is certainly a double edged sword for the Bose. I have one CD of Barry White's Greatest Hits that on the song..."You're The First, The Last, My Everything" where this older recording used a poor microphone for Barry's voice that can sound downright harsh! Yet the orchestra behind him is very nicely portrayed. You will certainly stay up late the first night checking out all of your library to see what's good and what isn't. I'm not kidding when I tell you that the 901 can distinguish between a good MIC or a bad one. You can even hear "poof!" sounds from microphones that were not properly screened and windproofed! Just listen to a variety of radio broadcasts or checkout the "Buddy Holly Collection" CD of remastered recordings and listen for yourself. That is how revealing the 901 is. I dare say that many of you will not like the speaker because of this very fact. The quality of your amplifier and CD player will also be unveiled for whatever it is. Use good quality power as the 901 likes heaps of it! Yes, it can play quite loudly but sounds wonderful at a whisper. That high current Onkyo/Integra stereo only receiver should be wonderful with the 901's! I'm not so sure about some other massed produced brands. Certainly super audiophile expensive MONO BLOCKS will be at their best also. If you listen to JAZZ 88 in the Newark, NJ area you will hear non smeared percussion and wonderful vocalists with plenty of plucked basses and super sweet highs all naturally portrayed thru the 901's. The cymbals are so darn natural! TRANSIENT RESPONSE is exemplary! I love the fact that I can hear a kickdrum change tone or every subtlety and overtone on various recorded music. The simple striking of a trianglular bell can raise the hairs on my back! Accuracy of musical timbre is important and with the Bose you get plenty of it. You haven't heard the Beatles until you've heard "Sgt Peppers" played thru the Bose 901! There is a rather nice CD entitled "Atmospheres-Celtic Voices" featuring ambient waterfall sounds along with various seductive strings, tom toms, woodwinds and basses. This Irish music CD is worth seeking out as it reveals changes in the stringed bass's tones and subtleties that can be a very useful tool for speaker evaluation! You can probably pick it up for around $8 or less! The 901 sounds wonderful with this recording! But don't just take my word for it...listen for yourself! You may or may not agree. That is how controversial this speaker is! Speaker auditioning should be fun and pleasant so don't let snotty proprietors and extremely opinionated sales people stand in your way. Some of the hatred stems from the fact that Bose seems to pursuit competitors in court quite often and also even went after a negative reviewer...and that's not right. We are free to print how we feel about a product and should have no fear of repercussion! But as a maker of great speakers I think Bose does very well indeed and their customer support is unbelievable! I have had some nice chats with both Bose field and customer service reps. Look, my feeling is that a truly great speaker can involve you in the performance so well as to summon all your emotions as I have felt many tears in my eyes when listening to beautiful music thru the speakers. Telarc's "Rite Of Spring" has a tympani gut puncher at around the ten minute mark that can make your heart jump out and if you hold a tissue over one of the 901's ports it will fly out of your hand! Yet the orchestra sounds so sweet as to make you cry or stand up and exclaim...BRAVO!...as it does on CBS MASTERWORKS' "Nutcracker" w/Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the New Phiharmonia Orch. There are many bigger more expensive models costing well over $5000 a pair but I don't really consider some of these Gigantors to be appropriate for the average listening room. We don't have auditoriums for listening areas do we? Well the 901's have served me well in some of my rooms over the past thirty years and can sound great in rooms big or small if the acoustics are correct for them. If your listening room is smaller than average and full of curtains then look elsewhere for your special transducer. In larger rooms with solid walls or undraped windows the Bose 901 SERIES VI will be at its best! The fact that their current price is still within reason for such great performance at $1500 is a credit to Bose. The USA engineered speaker is now being crafted in Canada which lays claim to such fine outfits like Mirage, PSB and Paradigm. Although the system is not always setup properly in malls and generally not available through high end dealers, don't let that fact stop you from seeking the speaker out. My advice is to find someone locally who owns a SERIES III thru VI system and ask for an audition in the home where they reside. There is simply no substitute for auditioning the 901's in an actual home! You can also go online at BOSE.COM to place an order and use a 12 month payment plan that makes it so much easier on your pocketbook. A Special Note To 901 Owners And Perspective Buyers: Do not be discouraged or put off by those who feel this speaker system is overrated or hyped up. Trust your own ears! No amount of poetic flowery descriptive double talk can truly make a given speaker system sound great. Neither can impressive manufacturer's specifications! Listen for yourself. Compare the speakers to the best of the best like the B&W NAUTILUS 801's and 802's but also the biggest most expensive Tannoys, Martin Logans, Definitives, JBL's, Allisons, Bostons, Polks, Legacy's or any other brand you can think of as I have and see if you agree with my findings. Isn't it most interesting that some of these lovely sounding models cost up to ten times the price of the 901 or more! I did compare my Bose to these speakers! While I did so, the high end salesman tried to tell me what was wrong with them [like most of us audiophiles he was very opinionated]! I simply smiled as my 901's outperformed these great speakers on every single CD used for this audition! What a great audition but the salesman knew he had lost his battle! Who needs someone telling us what we should be hearing while auditioning speakers or any piece of audio gear? It is our decision. We know what to listen for! Just beware of this little trick when you decide to bring a 901 system into a high end store. They don't like Bose! This silliness began in 1971 when J Gordon Holt gave the original Bose 901 a somewhat negative review. He did however bring up some good points but was off the mark on the 901's sounding "fat" in the bass as they are anything but that! However, the battle lines were drawn. This review sparked the "Love/Hate" of the Bose 901 speaker system and you can link to the entire review from my profile page. Just so you have an idea of where Mr. Holt is at...he loves the sound of the B&W 801. I thought that this was rather ironic as this model [although great] has been tagged by myself and others as a bit overwhelming and "fat sounding" in the bass frequencies...again...room acoustics like it or not will affect various speaker models more than we sometimes are willing to admit! With the proper amplifier and room your reaction may very well be like this..."I may be living in a different world from everyone else but if so...DO NOT wake me up! I'm having too much fun listening to music the way it was meant to be heard with this heavenly speaker!" With the wrong amp and improper room you will probably feel that you've been ripped off and Bose is full of nothing but hype. I recommend the speakers highly with the condition that you fully audition them in the right situation but be aware of the fact that many of you will find yourselves wondering why you even bothered to give the beasts a listen! For those of you in this situation I highly recommend the Vandersteen 1C speakers at a slightly lower price. The Vandersteens are wonderful sounding in just about any room you can think of and are available at fine high end stores like John Rutan's Audio Connection of Verona, NJ [see the link on my profile page]. Bose states that the 901-VI was engineered by passionate music lovers. This fact is so highly obvious once you give the speaker a listen in an appropriate setup [and the Bose Store may very well not be the best!]. It seems like no other speaker system delivers powerful accuracy quite like this one! |
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