Digital Ready

Cost a pretty penny. Not the best styling.

The Bose 901s are the best speaker period. They can handle anything you throw at them! I have owned a lot of speakers over the years and have never been satisfied...until I heard a demo of the 901s. Everyone talks about Paradigm! I'd have to admit, they provide good bang for the buck, but they are also very overrated. Lots of advertising and good reviews. Hype! Use a good source, amp, cables and you'll be amazed by what these produce. Proper placement is a must. Take time to experiment. It will pay off.
Ignore the Bose bashers! Trust your own ears! Bose #1!

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Paradigm,Energy,Sound Dynamics,Advent

Great imaging, natural life-like sound

I just wanted to follow up on my earlier post reference Bose 901's and the hysterical rants by a number of self-professed "audio experts" on this board.

Throughout many of the posts about these speakers, many writers refer to the quality of construction, the materials used (i.e. paper for the speaker cones), and many other assorted "sins" committed by the folks at Bose. My question to these posters is: Would you know the sound of a paper cone vs. a cone made from any other material? Is your ear so perfectly tuned that you can distingush between the actual materials used in the construction of the speakers?? If so, I envy your God-given abilities. Nobody I've ever met in my 46 years has EVER professed to possess such an extraordinary ability.

I humbly suggest you try a blind listening test. Would you be man (or woman) enough to submit to a blind listening test of the 901's and other high-end speakers? What better way is there to audition speakers? To all of the naysayers: would you be willing to say the 901's were a good speaker if they indeed souded better in a blind test? If you listened IMPARTIALLY, without preconceived ideas about brand name or materials or whatever, and found to your surprise that the 901's DID offer audio reproduction that YOU found pleasing - would you be willing to admit it? Or, would you hide behind the harangues and carpings about inferior materials, no bass, blah blah blah, and buy something else simply because your opinionated friends would think less of you if they saw 901's in your livingroom?

I own 901 Series VI speakers and love them. I also own a complete NHT home theater set up and love it too. I own what sounds good to ME. That's my personal preference in sound reproduction. It may not be yours, but it makes me happy. I certainly don't care what others say or think about my personal taste in speakers or sound reproduction. I don't pre-judge products, or dismiss them because I read reviews (good or bad) on some website. I listen objectively, and buy according to MY tastes. You should AT LEAST be objective in your assessment. Be a man (or woman) and be willing to dispel your preconceptions or biases.

Listen without bias in blind test. If you still don't like them, fine! Go buy something else. However, please don't clog this board with your pedantic ravings. It does a great disservice to the people who truly appreciate these speakers for their audio reproduction capabilities.

Thanks!

None apparent to me.

The sound of these things is muddled, and the music does not seem 'honest' to me. Can't believe these things are selling!

One of the previous posters said it right. This speaker is older technology, and a pair of $600 Paradigms just blow this thing out of the water. In fact, after auditioning a bunch of speakers in the $500-$1500 range, I chose the Paradigm Monitor 7's over others. The Magnepan 1.6's were my first choice, but I decided it was better for my budget to spend less than $1000 for speakers at this point in time, plus the waiting period for the Maggies is over 3 months.

Placement

I had always wanted to listen to Bose in my surroundings and some years ago I purchased a pair and listened to them for a week or so. I played most of my CDs through them and experimented with placement in every conceivable position. Unfortunately the only placement which sounded right was in the middle of my listening area! I was shocked. Placed in the middle of the listening area about thirds away from each other and each wall they sounded pretty good - filling up the room with sound although getting around them and finding a suitable sweet spot was difficult. Reluctantly I decided to return them.

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Only direct radiation systems

Great sound do not need to seat in one spot(sweet spot)Fills the room with sound as a true soundstage is in front of the room.

Using the outboard EQ makes it hard to use with the new DD receivers for true DD or DTS playback.Need receiver with main pre-amps ins and main outs.

The bose 901's is a great speaker for the person wanting true soundstage experience. I am using four 901's and the 802 as a center channel.great bass not boom.It add just the right amount of bass that if you take it way you will hear the hole in the sound.Not to heavy were a bess head dream will be,once again I started with true sound.Think when you go to a Jazz show the bass is not the main focus but the total musical experience of the band as a whole.I tell people before you buy speakers for true a lasting investment go to a live show to find what it live sound is all about.Then and only then will you know what you want your music to sound like.What you hear in most homes is not true soundstage it is the sound that person wants to hear. Nothing wrong with one person wanting more or less bass or mid's that why tone controls were made.Bose start you in the right direction and were you go from there is your goal. That is why you do not see Bose trying to sell to the 18-28 year olds. At the age of 30 most people buy for an investment not something to change everytime someone say this is the speaker of the year. In my room which is 18wX22lX9h with full brick walls and inclosed in it's on HT room everyone in the room enjoy great sound,Kids do not fight for the best seat because all seats give great sound and movies sound full and the impact is great, even with low powered amps this is a great speaker.The more power the better. The speaker will not distort your amp at high volume because of the ease of play for low powered amps. And I must say to the ones that don't understand the read channel boes made the design before we though of HT. Now we hear direct is better,bipole is better,no dipole,go with the 901's on the rear and be blown away. The 802 is a professional loud speaker by Bose drivers is just like the 901's,but 8 face the front and none in the rear.It is a direct loud speaker. The same on used at WildWater in the Wipeout Pool in silversprings Florida. I am using a 12" Sub for the very lows and the out board EQ makes getting the feq. with no gap or hole in the sound. Wish Bose use a in board EQ.But once again EQ is great for sound adjustment to the room."Rememer Bose is just like any fine dealer,there are the one's that spend money on fine wine and there are one spend money on cheap beer,you get the same drunkness but the fine wine don't give you a hang over in the morning.So you that like having a block party Bose is not for you. If you a soundstage that peform to true life you want Bose.Last thing we all have friends that we watch a football game with,that one class,and we have friends that we go to fine dinners with that another class. If you are the football class just want it loud hard and rough Bose is not for you.If you want every detail inspected and searched for the right goal that the artist or producer wanted you to hear Bose is for you.Only drawback to the 901's you need the rear walls for the music to bounce off of,music come 99%from the back of the speaker in the bipole format.Overall Bose gets a 4 for the EQ setup becase of limited receivers that can be used mainly high end. Thanks Nathan 901 Jax.Fl.

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Maggies,501's 301's

A somewhat clear mid-range that mimics perhaps an electrostat on its worst day.

They are abundant, however first and foremost is the overall lack of high-freq accuracy.

I will not take seriously the reviews of "audiophiles" or even "audio enthusiasts" who gave these a 5 star review.
People who have never actually heard a 5 star speaker (B&W CDM9NT, Revel performa 30, these are sub $3000 speakers that squeezed into the 5 star catagory; Let alone the likes of the N801 and Revel Studio) can give an objective review of what should enter this prestigious catagory. To be a self proclaimed audiophile means to have painstakingly chosen components optimized for your own musical obsesion.
People rave about these things without ever even come close to hearing what reference speakers sound like. Like the B&W nautilus 801 or Revel Salon, which, While expensive ($11000, $16000 respectively) give a whole new meaning to the word acuracy. Acuracy indeed; a thing that most bose fans seem to scorn more than my abrasive but true words. That "harshness" that you claim to hear is nothing more then the reality of how those recordings actually sound. Ever heard a trumpet in real life? Pretty damn harsh huh? If the speakers produce that very same trumpet solo with realism, they WILL be harsh, attributing to the accuracy of the speakers. I live in the real world my friends, where I want to hear the full story behind my recordings. Not some ridiculous attempt to "smooth out" the reality behind the source material with a bloated-inaccurate representation of the original. I award 2 stars for foisting the public into buying them (value, right.....) and 2 stars for offering a somewhat respectable performance against my alarm clock. If you want to buy these, do yourself a favor; go to a high-end store and audition a pair of B&W DM602S2s, and I promise you the word Bose will never cross your minds again.

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A martin logan SL-3 after being dropped from an airplane.

The day I got rid of them

you name it

About two weeks ago I traded my bose 901's for a new computer. I am a much happier person now. Those Bose 901's are crap. Hey Bose they are PURE CRAP. You guys at Bose Corps. have the greatest ad campaign in the world. And even better you got most of guys fooled. Your products are PURE CRAP. Why don't you guys let us audio guys know what the specs. on your PURE CRAP speakers?????

I hung my bose 901's from my ceiling and they did sound pretty good, and plus I had that pure crap eq, that bose supplies. It is maybe a 10.00 eq sold for around 100.00 or so. But when I didn't turn on my Velodyne 12' sub, you could tell that those bose 901's sound like a high end wal-mart or even jensen speakers.

These speakers, and they have not changed their design since 1968!!!!!!! No Home A/V Systems back then, these speakers are just 9 drivers, no mid, lows, or highs. just bluh!!!!!
I loved them at first, or I fooled myself into loving them. But I started hearing some speakers that cost less than those PURE CRAP BOSE. Polk Audio, the RT's 55 and 35. Now they are some much more envolved, much more highs and lows in them. So I was happy one day, my computer guy came by and said what are those speakers, and how much do you want to sell them for. I said a newer and faster computer, and my story has a happy ending. And now my computer guy has those PURE CRAP BOSE 901's!!!! heehaw

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my sony walkman headphones has more range

sound, quality

none

I bought the speakers about 4 months ago and it works great with my old receiver which has the tape monitor. Now I have a problem of hooking it up to my new receiver, Sony Str-da777es, which does not have tape monitor but does have tape selector. If anyone knows how to set this up, please email me , I am really appreciated.

Huge depth of sound, real, almost tangible soundstage

Unsympathetic to excessive synthetic bass, ie Eric Clapton's 'Pilgrim' album is a really good example.

My 901's were the fruit of a 4 year search for a speaker that was genuinely easy to listen to. Sure there are many good speakers out there that do a great job of reproducing sound with clinical precision - the 901's make music sound like it was supposed to when it was recorded.

If you want music that sounds like its coming out of a box then the 901's are not for you. If you want to be bathed in sound of a quality that makes your hair stand on end - there are few other choices.

Incidently home my set up is a 10 year old 50w Technics amp and basic Technics CD player.

The extent of reproduction capability is uncanny - the 901's will faithfully reveal the entire recording - and that will include items that the recording engineer did not intend you hear.

It is not unusual to have friends round who in listening to a piece of music they know well - and get comments like:

Wow! I have never heard that before - often its the low frequency notes of a double-bass or the deep tones of a big organ pipe. Is this all good? well yes and no - some recordings especially those with synthetic bass are hard to listen to - if real music with real instruments is what you enjoy - its R&B for me and I reckon the 901's are unbeatable.

On a final note - the Active Equaliser that the Series 6's have is not optional - it must be installed, unless you have a pre-amp out to put in the loop with or you can get it in between you pre & power amps - you will need further Active Equalisers for each sound source (CD/TV/DVD/Tuner etc). At £205 each here in the UK it ain't cheap - but worth it.

The instruction manual makes this process seem daunting - don't be put off - if you don't install you get the muddy, cloudy sound that some of the reviewers on this page have complained of.

Verdict - If you can afford it - buy!

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B&W, Mission

Cool looks, unique design, can play insanely loud.

Restricted frequency response, muddy bass and midbass, no stereo image to speak of.

I first got to hear a pair of 901's at one of the "wilder" parties during high school (in case you wonder, that was a good number of years back) and I was stunned. Boy those things were loud ! And the music seemed to come from everywhere. Amazing! The 901 looked to be quite the party animal. I was really, really impressed. I was equally drunk at the time (that's the most I will ever acknowledge in public and deny everything else) so one should not take my oppinion too seriously based on just that one night stand...

Nonetheless that old impression stuck in my head and 15 years later here I am, set to get myself a pair of new speakers. On a little side note I should point that just reading Stereophile doesn't make one an audiophile. It certainly prepares you for the madness Hi-Fi has become lately though (magic stones,round dots, voodoo and all). Most of all, their recommended list is not by all means exhaustive. I remember buying the Polk RT5 for my home theater at a time when every snotty audiophile was scoffing at just hearing the Polk name. I thought they were realy nice speakers and I got them. Now they're class D listed in the aforementioned list...HEHEHE. Just mentioned all this to make you understand that for me lists, marketing hype and manufacturer specs mean pretty close to nothing. Just call me Thomas.

On to the review.

This is based entirely on a quite long comparative listening session at my dealer. I was willing to pay anywhere between 400-2500 Can$ for a decent quality pair of speakers so my list included stuff ranging from the B&W 302 to the NHT 2.9. The list had to be narrowed down so within about three weeks I took out NHT and Tannoy off my list (I think the 2.9's and the Revolution R2's are really great speakers but the dealer acted funny... sorry Tannoy & NHT). Note to yourself: If a dealer refuses (or is reluctant)to set up the gear you want to buy the way you like it and he does not offer you a valid reason for that, walk away. I also crossed off the 302's, Paradigm's excellent (for the money) Mini's (decided to spend a little more) and Monitor Audio's Silver 4 and 5 (nice speakers but a little too much on the "analitical" side for my taste). At that moment I was left with only 3 contenders: B&W 602s2 and CDM1se Paradigm's Reference Studio 40. Why I threw the 901's to the mix? God knows... blame it on that fateful night so many years ago.
For all of you saying "just cut to the chase allready" I'll say I finally bought the Paradigms. At 1100 Can$ for the wood finish(which does nothing for the sound IMHO but makes them look classy... yea... I know I'm a despicable show off) I was hard pressed to find a reason to spend another 300 for the CDM1se. I loved the sound of both but...

OK...OK now the 901's

The Good

They are capable of insane levels which makes them good for parties. Direct/Reflecting sound also a plus in this respect (nobody will go for soundstage at a party...)and the "everpresent" sound will get people dancing. They'll make probably good surrounds (though I wouldn't lay that much "green" just for a pair of surrounds). The supplied EQ can really compensate for some of the 901's inherent design oditties (Bose strongly advises too use it and that's a piece of marketing genius you should believe... they sound absolutely horrendous without... kinda makes you to want to put your finger thru your eye... into your brain... and swirl it around). Though shortchanged in frequency response a pair of 901s will make a good background speaker both at home or at your place of bussiness if you happen to own one (store, restaurant or something similar). They're also good for speech (I saw them in many conference halls).Finally they look funky and hi tech.

The Bad

The 901's can play loud but they tend to get edgy and grainy when pushed to their (non existing ;-)limits. They also lack real bass extention and get congested at high levels but I won't hold this against them much. Real bass costs a lot of money to get and in 901s price range is not uncommon to trade some bass for some clarity (though clarity is not one of the 901's great strengths). I also disliked the hollow sound the 901 made when tapped with a finger. The cabinet looks cool and fancy but don't try to take a driver out to have a look inside. You stand to get dissapointed: cheap wiring, no bracing and no resonance control material. No wonder the hollow sound when tapped and the quite obvious "coloured" musical presentation. At the price asked I would have expected much more. Take the B&W, Paradigm... hell ANY other serious manufacturer delivers better quality cabinets at this price. Last the "better sound thru research" probably does not refer to the drivers themselves as it looks like no research was made on them since 1938.

The Ugly

Soundstaging and imaging is non existent. (And no... sitting on your head in a corner, across the hall and being able to hear both speakers or being envelopped in sound in the kitchen while the system plays in the living room does not qualify for good soundstaging and even less for imaging). 901s can probably recreate a large and loud pop-rock concert but never a small jazz room (or studio)or a classical ensemble. Their design choice(the reflecting part of it to be more specific) inherently smears the instruments all over the room ruining any attempt to decent imaging. Compared to any speaker listed above they fail to recreate any atmosphere whatsoever as they equally fail to "dissapear" and get out of music's way. Regardless of where you stand you can allways point at the speaker and again this does not qualify as soundstaging. Some people like it and (judging from the posts) are amazed and quite taken by this. It's your call.

Conclusion

To say that the 901s are either worthless or superb is to be equally and quite far from the truth. Like any other speakers they certainly have their strenghts and weaknesses. Unlike any other speakers those qualities and defects are set so widely appart, they blend as seamlessly as oil and water so you can only either madly love or ferrociously hate them. There's no in between. That makes it so difficult to rate them "sonically".

From the value point of view the situation is quite different. Dr Amar Bose has a profit margin on this higher that the Empire State Building. At the price asked I would not buy them. I would get an integrated like a Rotel RA971,a Cambridge Audio A3i or a Creek 4330 (around $500), a pair of B&W 302 ($250) and CD player like the Rotel RCD971 Marantz CD6000 OSE Cambridge Audio CD4SE (gosh this last one's good!)for around $550. Get them all together at one dealer and you may walk away with a decent pair of stands and some decent speaker wire included in your $1300 budget. That's what I (and repeat I alone) call value. The combination won't play at pants fluttering level like the 901 but unlike the 901 my little $1300 system will trully "make your music come alive".

Happy listening!

PS. Gave it 3 stars overall but this should really be (as I pointed out before) 2.5

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No other speaker is similar to this one so the point is moot.