At no time was I fooled by the inane demonstration given by Bose reps. They play an 8mm movie, and some Jim Croce tunes that are all midrange. The 901's didn't even do that well. Amar Bose claimed he's heard a "perfect measuring speaker that sounded bad" These 901's are so limited in the noise they project that at no time could anything be called coherent, realistic or flat.
My guess is that the material cost is about $100 for the pair to be stamped out in framingham, and the rest of the markup is to pay for adveratising.
From what I have seen, the military, and joe six pack seem to be that largest body of purchase from Bose.
I cannot think of one pair of speakers (even at 1/3 the price) that I do not prefer over Bose.
Those who are 1/2 deaf, or really like the sound of am clock radios should like these.
Not me: they are worse than mediocre for a exhorbitant price: 0 stars!!!

Unlike what some people may think I am not hear to dog Bose Im simply stating my opion about these loudspeakers and many others that I have spent many hours listening to.I have spent the last 6 months auditioning speakers in the 1k-2.5k price range and felt it only fair to take home a pair of 901s , previously having auditioned Snell Type E/IVs ($1100pr) Paradigm M9($900pr) Vienna Acoustics Bachs($1500) Definitive BP10s($1000) Energy C6($1200) and a few others including some Infinities and JBL, I found the 901s to be very muddy ,very lacking of any detail ,the low end response would to very good to hit anything below 60-65hz with out totally destroying the mundane performance of this already poor sounding speaker. They were also laking of any real ability to provide anything other than a very shallow almost nonexistant soundstage. Needled to say I was very disappointed after some of the things I have read about Bose loudspeakers. Of course most of what I have read was from advertising and some audio magazines wich are simply paid advertising for the most part anyway. I have auditioned speakers ranging from $170(paradigm titans) to $4500(vienna acoustics beethovens) and would have to say that for sheer music quality they are by far the worst listening experience I have ever had! The Paradigm at $170pr has a fuller sound ,larger sound stage and have more resolution and detail than the Bose at about 18% of the cost. But dont take word for it let your ears decide and I know most people who are seriuos about audio and the whole musical experience will agree that Bose loudspeakers are extremely over rated and the price way to steep.Giving them even one star is hard to do.For those interested my speaker of choice was the Snell Type E/IVs , I will provide my review of these speakers at a later date.

If the Bose 901 sounds so bad why have they been on the marketsince 1968? If a speaker sounds as bad as the people here at
this site describe, why would people buy it? I don't go along
with marketing/advertising to be the key, if people didn't like
the sound they would be returing these products right and left
for a refund/exchange. I've heard the 901's at two different
retailers and they didn't sound that bad. Speaker placement is
critical with Bose, the sound rooms at retailers probably make
them sound bad. I still have a pair of Bose 601's that are almost
15 years old and they still sound great, but placement is very
important and must be played with.

Bose's sound is lifelike? and another speakers is cartoon image? I doubt that, c'mon give me a break. Have you ever heard of transparency that is not just an audiophile cliche'. Actually, I'm not a loyal subscriber of Stereophile as well since they always overwhelmingly use of ridiculous words and metaphors in their reviews. I mean the fact that most of Bose speakers not just add too much bass they always lack of "REAL" image. Anyone who said Bose sound more realistic and close to live music, what kind of live music you've attended, those punchy rock music which never has something called "IMAGE", I guess. If you like Bose, take it for what it is, punchy and bright always too bright and shapeless, but don't ever try to claim Bose as lifelike kinda speakers it just doesn't cut it. I never mind someone telling me they like or dislike Bose, if you can not live without them so be it! but do not use those audiophile cliche' like soundstage, live music or image to represent Bose speakers it makes me wanna puke.

I cannot come to grips with anyone that buys these 901's. They ask such a high price for such poor performance. Even to my untrained ears, these speakers are so artificial sounding that they cannot sound like live music. I think DR. Bose should have stopped at saying they sound like live music, but rather said: "Tries to replicate the sound distribution of live music in certain circumstances."
I have not attended a concert of any type that used BOSE as thier sound equipment.
The pre requisites to buy this speaker are as follows:
1) Have over $1600 to totally WASTE
2) Have no ability to discern sound (real from artificial, or good from bad)
3) Have no taste whatsoever

Do any studios use BOSE as a recording source reference? NEVER!
These are truly speakers for clueless idiots.

I do not understand why the people in the army like these speakers so much. They must be brainwashed in to thinking that you must listen to an ad and believe that this speaker is the greatest. The 901s sound average at a high price. The list of better speakers in this price range is endless. if you are big into gimmiks and namebrands, then these bad boys are just the ticket. Don't feel bad when your audiophile friends don't have too many nice things to say about your 1200 waste of time. In fact I know of someone who bought these speakers and wishes he bought something else. that is sad. For 1200 bucks, I will give you a radio shack speaker and punch you in the gut. You would be better off!!!

Great value when purchased used. Very durable.

Tough to set up, needs power.

I have never been under the influence of Bose advertising (i havent seen much of it, besides the ads in Stereophile magazine, etc, I havent seen much...What marketing are most of you guys speaking of? I have seen more marketing from other companies.

My family has had Bose 901's since the series II...and we never had one problem with them quality wise. Now I own a pair of Series V, which I have mounted on the wall, on some clever VOGEL shelves (the arm, which is bolted to the stud moves left and right, and then there is an elbow which allows me to pan, and the speaker stand can be tilted like 15 deg up or down), which allow me to move the speakers in any direction I want for easy adjustements,,,

I have listened to countless speakers, in countless locations, and to me, the only ideal set-up is your own. The shops are too sterile an environment to tell. My Bose sound warm, very very clean detailing,,,I can tell when i play a smooth Jazz guitar, or spanish guitar. It can handle Chris Squire's boomy bass...The feeling that the stage is up center when you have them set up right is amazing.

Other speakers I listened to, which cost at least 5 times as much, sounded like shrills to me,,,and they were hooked up with Krell stuff. Its just not true that these speakers are bad (readers: read between the lines of the hater's reviews, they are so transparent in their ignorance of the product). Its strange to see them because they are short, and the stands they fit on from Bose are ugly...But If you get them, get the Vogel's support shelves.

In summary: I never heard a better speaker (to my ears) for all kinds of music, especially drums. Just dont buy them ignoring the room they will be in...

To the bashers: I have spend maybe a bit too much time reading them, but almost every bash is a vague and childish rant, as a few of the supportrive reviews are; But most of he positive reviews, were very well thought out and reasonable.

I am not a BOSE fanatic, as I was about to buy other speakers, but couldnt find the sound I wanted.

hooked up now thru Adcom gtp450 pre, gta-5500 amp (200w/ch), and adcom gcd-700 cd player, and bsr eq..
Best sound combo is with a Sansui au-717..

Similar Products Used:

Mirage, KEH, Cerwin Vega, Wharfdale, Klipsch, etc

is possible to get very good sound in right
situation

in most cases and rooms good sound is not
possible causing many owners to be in
denial about the sound quality

TO ALL 901 OWNERS AND 901 HATERS

first of all let me state I am a 901 owner
and have 3 friends who own 901s
one who owns 2 sets (double bose)
I have heard every direct/reflecting
speaker bose ever made from the original
901 to 901V,801,701,601,501,301,201,10.2
series

THE BAD NEWS:

contrary to what all the bose owners have
posted here the speakers do so like crap
90% of the time you hear them in most rooms

most 901 owners don't have a clue as to
what good sound is or how to achieve it
with their speakers (good sound is possible
as you see later on)

I can tell by their post that they have no
idea what effects the sound quality of 901
more than anything else and its not just
distance from wall

what makes 901 owners seem so deaf when it
comes to good sound and why does anyone buy
this speaker in the first place? is what
most sane people want to know

well deny this if you want to but it's the
hype "compare these speakers to any other
speaker regardless of size or price"

they think hey I only wanted good speakers
but for only $1299 I could have the best
so in other words I could buy a speaker the
size of a refrigerator or costing $30,000
and these would still sound better because
of the technology?

yep you can buy these mid-fi speakers or
supersize to the 901 and have the best

but where can they compare these to the
larger or exotic speakers? certainly not
any store that sells 901 thats for sure
well they have the 701 I'll compare with
them
no they are a step down and I want the best
(note:dealers don't carry 901s cause the
sound good they carry them cause they sell
good,even if they can't figure out why
people buy them,hey as long as they sell we
don't need to carry speakers that sound
better)

NOW ALL YOU 901 OWNERS WHO SAY THEY SOUND
GOOD

did you really ever compare them to any
thing but the junk they sell at stores that
sold you the 901

Hell no you didn't if you had you wouldn't
be the proud owner of 901s and post all
that dumb stuff about your great sound that
you really don't have
if you only knew how stupid you sound to
others who have heard them and gagged

well I compared my 901s to a guy I met
speakers, klipsch cornwalls, he works at a
local high end store in town

i took my 901s over to his house and even
though they were not the greatest speakers
I could tell mine had problems with over
all tonal balance, imaging, detail and they
didn't some rich and musical but more like
comparing a loud fm radio source to a cd
source

DAMN 901s DUSTED BY SOME KLIPSCH
er...CORNBALLS

rather than concede they were junk I began
an obsession into trying to get my 901s to
sound the best, new electronics,new cd
player, weeks then months of trying every
possible placement in various rooms moving
inches closer to the rear wall listening
further from wall listening closer to side
walls further then closer together whew!!!

I even called bose and talked to techs as
to why I could not get my 901s to sound
like the best speakers

one tech who must must have got a kick out
of bewildered bose callers with the same
problem. he just sort of chuckled and said
he never ever thought they were the best.
he though they were good but...then I knew
I had been screwed

YEARS LATER
after moving to a house with brick
exterior walls the strangest thing happen I
hooked my 901s and they sounded good no
great what!!! these junk speakers that I
had tried in every position in other houses
what happened?

What happened is the only way to get great
sound from 901s is the rooms you use them
in has to not let any sound pass through

I'm not talking about a reflective surface

since 901s don't have a speaker box your
room is like a speaker box
it has the rear drivers facing the wall and
if that wall is just drywall it allows to
much of the sound to pass through and
reflects the wrong portions back into the
room resulting in the washed out sound the
901 is famous for with the walls outside
the dry wall being brick you have a tighter
seal and all sound and frequencies are
directed back into the room in equal
portions something that was never achieved
in all my other setups

the resulting sound was very smooth highs
,rich midrange,extended non boomy bass,good
imaging
gone was all the harsh sound usually
associated with 901s

you 901 owners if you don't have yours in a
home with brick walls or in a basement with
the same reinforced walls you haven't heard
901s sound good
END

Similar Products Used:

all 901 series I thru V 501 dbx soundfields
1a

LOUD, EXTREMELLY LOUD!!!!!!!!!!!

The Bose 901's need a SUBWOOFER!!!!!!!!!

Excellent, BUT I can understand why people either LOVE or HATE the BOSE PRODUCTS!!!!!
What I did is too enlist Bose Corp. and find out how to hang my Bose 901's from my ceiling, and I did just that. I have the Onkyo DS-TX 777 powering my Bose, I do have the EQ!!!! IT really does need a EQ for it to work. But to all the bitchers about no low end, it does NEED a subwoofer, I have two, both are the Velodyne CT-120. No Problems with the low end!!!!!
They are very loud and everyone is impressed with my setup. They are away from the walls and sit about two feet from the walls, I do not use Monster cable, that is a joke, I use THX Appoved Cable and it does make a huge difference, They have a much warmer sound and feel to it. I like my speakers, I purchased them off Ebay, for around 400.00 and no problems, they have been refitted with new speakers in them. But I believe that most people who do not have a subwoofer with there systems feel such a huge letdown, and plus it they don't use the EQ it sounds just like crap!!!!!!!!! There is where the problem lies. I think most people do not know how to set up these speakers up the right way. So I think that is why either they love them or HATE THEM!!!!!!!!!

Rich ful sound

None

I have own 901 for alot of years. Like other have said your either hate them or love them. I love the 901's it does take some time to set up but once you have done so nothing else compares. The 901's are not ment to produce massive base, if that is your preference do not waste your money for 901's go buy a cheap set of bookshelf. They are ment for music that has some meaning and not just noise.

Similar Products Used:

None