rogitts

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Value Rating
 1 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $800.00 from Local store

Summary:
The Bose 901s are the most overrated speakers I have ever heard...I have had the series IV and the series VI....I think its got to be one of the worst speakers I have ever heard and that Bose has ever made....I put these alongside some JAMOs and some JBLs that I have and the 901s sounded like crap...excuse my french...And I have used top quality amps to drive them..They still sound bad....To make a long story short I always knew that you could not make a quality sounding speaker with 9 full range speakers in a box and Bose proved me right....you just have to have your highs,mids and lows separated to get true Hi Fidelity....These speakers make true HiFi Stereo sound like mono.Very Poor Audio

Strengths:
None as far as audio...Good for clarinet music

Weaknesses:
Audio sounds like crap...

Similar Products Used:
JBLs and Jamos

Dwight DeLarge

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1000.00 from Wall To Wall Sound

Summary:
I joined the Navy in 1970, and was station on the U.S.S. Piedmont which in turn was deployed on a West-Pac to Yokoska Japan. I first heard the the Bose 901
series two, (dark brown grill, walnut top, and black metal pedestals) and could not believe the remarkable sound that emulated from these small (for the time) speakers. I lke my father before me, have a passion for music, but also for sophisticated electronics. Speakers such as AR's, Whardale and Boston Acoutic were speakers I had become accustomed too, and heard as I grew up. I thought that i had just about heard it all unitl I saw a demonstation of the Bose-901's.
I could not afford the $2000 dollar price tag ($US) tag, so I only could one day dream of owning a pair of these fine speakers. It would be 11 year's later, and a store by the name of WALL-TO-Wall, goiing out of business sale that allowed me to perchase my dream speakers. The sale price of $999.00 for the (901's series VI )speakers, walnut, with sand grills, active equilizer and matching sand colored metal pedestals. I have owned these speakers for over 25 years and could not be happier with the beauty of craftmenship, small and unobtrusive size and spacious magnificant sound.

Strengths:
Extraordinary for concert and acoutic music. Very good for home theater.
Ease of listing, no coloration or stress (on ears) after long periods of play.
Can match or exceed any size, or priced speaker for sound clarity and three dimensional sound stage.

Weaknesses:
Absolutely none.

Markmaz

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $500.00 from used stereo shop

Summary:
901 series VI.
Coveting these speakers since I was a kid when I read about Bose's research on the theoretical pulsating sphere (which has considered to be the ultimate in sound reproduction) and the 901 that resulted from this research, I jumped at the chance to purchase a used pair about 11 years ago. Since then, these speakers have been powered by many different amps and even sat idle for years because my living spaces at the time were not suitable. Now, that I have my own house, they are again used, this time with a vintage 90W channel Onkyo reciever also powering a passive Paradigm subwoofer (which sounds great with the series VI active equalizer, by the way). I use this system as my "old school" surround sound, for watching TV, movies or listening to music. Although I refuse to get a modern surround sound system, it might be because I love the way these speakers sound in this use. They present a nice big comfy sound that seems to just emanate from the wall, flowing toward me like a big river, with an ethereal soundstage. Surround-sound is almost gimicky compared to the natural way the 901's work (and sound). Not totally adverse to modern times, I am planning on purchasing a flat-screen HDTV, soon. However, the 901's will stay.

My very favorite setup that these speakers have been part of, is one that I had during my days renting a house with a couple of friends. I had purchased a used DJ amp: QSC putting out about 300 watts/channel. My housemate, purchased the very same amp. Bridging the amp resullting in 1000 watts into one channel, thus using two amps gave 1000 watts per channel. We hooked up the 901s and the results were staggering! Although no other speakers were part of this setup (no subwoofers), the sound was prodigious and the speakers NEVER showed any signs of distress! The music was incredibly tight and loud. The bass was surprisingly deep and loud with impact that felt like a punch to the chest. I vividly remember playing a track of AC/DC's '74 Jailbreak for a friend of mine who actually jumped and flinched in surprise at the very first seconds of the song which started out solely with electic guitar. Those first strums filled the entire room like a rock concert. Listening to that setup was like going to the very best sounding rock concert that you could ever imagine. It really was larger than I ever expected and I have NEVER experienced a sound like that again (including actual rock concerts, which sound like garbage in comparison).

However, that setup was waaay too loud and would never pass muster with the wife...

For really big sound that sounds natural and is unfatiguing, I wholly recommend the 901's. They are very enjoyable as my "surround sound system".

My secondary system consists of an Audio Refinement Integrated Amp, vintage DBX DX-5 CD player and NHT SB-1 speakers. This system sounds totally different, with accurate imaging and soundstage. By comparison, I can understand how audiophiles can disregard the 901's, but its almost apples to oranges. The sound that 901's provide is unique enough to be in a class of their own. They may be better or worse than "normal" speakers to the listener, depending on what they are expecting.

Strengths:
Huge sound, incredible power handling. Natural, "easy" sound. Decent bass with moderate power, great bass with massive power, blends nicely with subwoofer, great "wow" factor when watching action movies.

Weaknesses:
Fuzzy soundstage that actually sounds nice when you get used to it.

Similar Products Used:
Really nothing else like it, for better or worse...

Fleemer

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $450.00 from seller

Summary:
Here's my debt to Bose paid in full. I say that because I bought my Bose 901's series II from somebody who didn't want them anymore and well, Bose doesn't benefit from that too much. Hopefully, my review will help fix that. I don't know how Bose has gotten a bad name in some circles with speakers like the 901's. I first heard them at a friend's house when I was 16. He put Van Halen down on the turntable and with his Kenwood amp, proceeded to knock me out of the room with the first 30 seconds of the first cut. I've never forgotten that. I was amazed. Since that time, I've heard demos of hundreds of speakers. I could never afford the Bose speakers I wanted. Never had the right room size either for the 901's. I've owned some good speakers (I thought) but then was never completely satisfied with the sound. Fast forward to today. I found some mint condition 901's some guy was selling because he didn't do much listening anymore. I took a chance that they were in good shape and that leap of faith paid off big time. Here it is, 30 years later and Van Halen never sounded so good. They still have it. Ironically, I think I got the same model and series as my friend had. Cosmetically, they are perfect and obviously built to last. These speakers do require a good sized room and proper placement. If you're not getting bass from them, you don't have them set up right. I can do side by side comparisons with my subwoofered system playing the same source and well, the subwoofer just makes things boomy. The 901's require no subwoofer, receiver does not have loudness on. Bass control is up 3 notches because I'm in a basement. If I was upstairs, I know controls would be flat or only up 1 notch. These speakers are amazing. If you turn the lights down low, or close your eyes, you can imagine the band right there in the room and the volume doesn't even have to be loud. You could listen for days without getting tired of the sound. I'm impressed with everything in my collection and I'm playing old lp's again, something I haven't done in years. Usually you buy speakers and they sound good for a while (like the old Steve Martin routine) and then they sound like #%@#. It's been a few months now and I'm as excited today about them as I was the day I bought them. In the brochure, they say they are quite probably the finest loudspeaker out there for the money. I agree - it's not bragging. The absence of a crossover network seems to be noticeable and the sound is smooth as silk. No listener fatigue. My ears don't ring later. Nothing harsh. It's all rich and smooth. I wish I could go back 30 years and get back the time lost messing with other systems. It turned out for the best however and well, it's a treat no matter what. They say they've made improvements in the Bose speakers over the years and I can't testify to that - I do recommend that folks buy the old stuff since it was the best stuff. If you can't achieve great sound with these speakers, you've made a bad choice in some component, haven't the right setup or don't know good sound when you hear it. Nobody really knows how music should sound since there are so many variables althought they claim they know. All you can know is whether or not, you feel the speakers sound good and live up to your expectations. These speakers are keepers and I don't see shopping for anything else as long as they keep giving me what I've heard so far. As someone already said, a company doensn't stay in business for 40 years unless they have something to offer that's great. No marketing scheme can keep you going that long. You hear most from people when they aren't happy. The happy satisfied customers usually don't say a thing...but here I am - sharing, happy and satisfied with my purchase and I hope you will be too.

Strengths:
Even, strong sound that packs a punch without boominess. All frequencies are smooth with powerful lows and sparkling highs. Not tinny or distorted. I'm using an old Kenwood 120wpc receiver, Model 11 III. I couldn't put the volume at 3 unless I want my neighbors calling 911. I'm convinced that a bad experience with these speakers is the result of today's low end electronics that have flooded the market. Maybe the new 901's have been improved to sound better with the crappy equipment that's out there but I don't know for sure. I tried mine with my new NAD 5.1 system and they lacked something in the low end for sure. My Bose 501's sound great with the NAD and a sub. The 901 with NAD needed the sub too - they were good but not great. This told me that for true great stereo sound you need a stereo amp or receiver and keep the 5.1 surround system hooked up to a sub. In other words, match the equipment carefully by design. To get great sound today using NAD - I'd need the top of the line model I think to equal the sound I get from my Kenwood. What can I say, they knew how to make good quality equipment back then and built it to last a lifetime.

Weaknesses:
None that I can say. A bad setup will most likely give you weaknesses. Make sure you have a good quality amp. You have to pay big bucks today to get the quality that was just expensive back in the '70's. These speakers will disappoint with a mid-range 5.1 receiver that's common. You need some quality since you have quality speakers. HIgh end NAD or McIntosh would probably fit the bill with the 901's.

Similar Products Used:
Bose 501

ostal1985

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Price Paid:  $350.00 from internet auction

Summary:
very good product....musical scene is very wide....incredible power .....naturality....interesting styling...

Strengths:
look up:)

Weaknesses:
weak bass( you need powered subwoofer)

Similar Products Used:
Bose 601,Nordmende 100,Audio research,Bose 301,Bose 100,omni audio