Some stuff sounds great on Bose. . . Other stuff's awful

[D4vidG4rr3tt]

I know Bose speakers have a mixed reputation, so I'm not posting to revive old arguments.

After getting the equalizer recapped, I hooked up the 901 Series 1 I got two or three months ago. Some CDs sound incredible. Right now, I'm listening to Kenny Burrell's "Guitar Forms." It sounds great -- as did Clifford Brown and Max Roach's "Study in Brown." The newly remastered "Sgt. Pepper" also sounded wonderful.

But other CDs sound awful. "Are You Experienced" sounded muddy and Noel Redding's bass was barely audible. Ditto the Dead's "Live in Europe '72."

Wondering if someone who knows more about this stuff has any ideas why this might be. I haven't noticed the same thing with my other systems -- Scott tube integrated and ADS speakers; Yamaha amp/pre-amp and stacked Advents. I'm driving the Bose with a recapped Yamaha CR2020 and a Nakamichi CD player.

 

[nexus]

I have found that placement is everything with a 901. They are also an acquired taste. I remember listening to Ringo Starr's solo album in '72 on a perfectly set up Series I system in a house with 60's solid block construction and with good amps and it was incredible. Orchestral music was too. But detail at average or low dynamics was not their strong point. Bass is boomy in the wrong rooms..

 

[dshoaf]

I'd suggest that both your speakers _and_ the driving electronics are getting good enough that you're now hearing 'back through' them to the audio source and discovering that some of it isn't well produced!

Good gear does that and it isn't only Bose, so we can get that off the table.

Cheers,

David

 

[D4vidG4rr3tt]

I have found that placement is everything with a 901. They are also an acquired taste. I remember listening to Ringo Starr's solo album in '72 on a perfectly set up Series I system in a house with 60's solid block construction and with good amps and it was incredible. Orchestral music was too. But detail at average or low dynamics was not their strong point. Bass is boomy in the wrong rooms..

I think the set up isn't the problem. I moved them out from the wall, which took care of the boominess in the bass. I thought I'd read somewhere that they were better for some kinds of music than others. I do like the speakers -- when I worked in a record shop years (too many years) ago, we had 901s suspended from the ceiling playing from the time the store opened till they closed. Not sure yet if they are keepers, though.

 

[D4vidG4rr3tt]

I'd suggest that both your speakers _and_ the driving electronics are getting good enough that you're now hearing 'back through' them to the audio source and discovering that some of it isn't well produced!

Good gear does that and it isn't only Bose, so we can get that off the table.

Cheers,

David

That's both good news and bad news! Nice to know that post-Medicare eligibility my hearing isn't completely shot. But if I'm becoming more discerning, I'll probably find music I once really loved sounds awful because it wasn't recorded well.

The bright side is I can tell my wife I have several systems because some music sounds better than one than it does on another. . .

 

[KingBubba]

Bose positioning is the reason I never bought them. No house I ever owned had space for the 901s to ever be placed correctly. Positioning is almost formulaic. I have, until recently, had bookshelves and happily so. It has alway been great for my structures. I am in a bigger space now and am using DCM TimeFrames and have yet to find a position where they do not sound good. I too, though, am having the same sort of revelations as you. The better my systems get the less acceptable that the old, poorly engineered music, sounds. I love the Moody Blues, but now I can hardly sit through an entire album. My systems are making badly engineered music sound worse than it did when I listened to in my car and my old Lafayette 20 watt integrated. Good luck with your dilemma. Maybe a second set of bookshelfs will make you able to switch speakers when the sound is not right.

 

[SaturationPt]

Sounds good can be subjective, and not necessarily tied to accurate. Many popular audio systems or components have inherent flaws or inaccuracies that are pleasant to hear. Not saying this is the case with the 901s nor with your placement, ... but it is a possibility.

Thewe inaccuracies can be magical on one piece of music, yet destroy another.

 

[freQ(*)Oddio]

your speakers will excel with horns and piano/ vocals that are in a crossovers range, 901s have no crossover to mess with those frequencies like all other speakers do, Also your sealed cabinet series 1 speakers would really like 2 or 300 watts- even more, for the 18 drivers (that are loaded with copper), to sound best, most owners have not heard them with the power that makes them sound like a real contender. I absolutely understand all the ads from the 70s stating they sounded good even with just 30 watts, 30 watts might make 1- small 901 driver happy , but divide that into 9 or 18, We dont think about how much copper are in those cabinets, you have seen the huge monster 1801 power amp bose built for them right, one of the largest amps and transformers made in the 70s, but........bose needed to help them sell to the public so they advertised they worked with any power system. i used a dynaco system with 750wpc into a pr of series 6 , that were ported, and they were alive in the room , unfortunately most owners were just happy with them sounding good, 901s also like clean sounding sources, 60s guitar rock were not great on the 901s, mostly because electric guitars are such a directional source and we are used to wanting rock guitars directionaly loud, the 901s are not directional so it can be strange with rock guitars, but piano, horns acoustical instruments, drums, steeley dan, /jazz, / good 70s recordings, fleetwood mac exc.. sound great, enjoy!

 

[D4vidG4rr3tt]

You're exactly right -- it is a revelation! Better equipment reveals details that make listening more pleasurable, as well as deficiencies that make some music unlistenable. I just had not considered the possibility this might be the case with the 901s.

I'd been thinking I wanted to explore smaller speakers -- this is a good excuse!

Bose positioning is the reason I never bought them. No house I ever owned had space for the 901s to ever be placed correctly. Positioning is almost formulaic. I have, until recently, had bookshelves and happily so. It has alway been great for my structures. I am in a bigger space now and am using DCM TimeFrames and have yet to find a position where they do not sound good. I too, though, am having the same sort of revelations as you. The better my systems get the less acceptable that the old, poorly engineered music, sounds. I love the Moody Blues, but now I can hardly sit through an entire album. My systems are making badly engineered music sound worse than it did when I listened to in my car and my old Lafayette 20 watt integrated. Good luck with your dilemma. Maybe a second set of bookshelfs will make you able to switch speakers when the sound is not right.

 

[D4vidG4rr3tt]

Yes, exactly. It took last night's listening session to show me that.

Sounds good can be subjective, and not necessarily tied to accurate. Many popular audio systems or components have inherent flaws or inaccuracies that are pleasant to hear. Not saying this is the case with the 901s nor with your placement, ... but it is a possibility.

Thewe inaccuracies can be magical on one piece of music, yet destroy another.

 

[D4vidG4rr3tt]

Thanks for the comments and the suggestions I'm going to pull a bunch of CDs with different kinds of music and see what sounds best.

I've wanted a pair since I first heard them in the early '70s when I worked in a record store. Thought they sounded great with everything then, but I wasn't paying attention the way I am when I listen now.

I'd heard that the 901s like lots of power. I'll also try the Adcom GFA-555 -- 200 wpc -- I have in my office. I've got another Adcom that needs work, but there's the potential to run the 901s with 400 wpc. May have to warn the neighbors before I crank it up. . .

your speakers will excel with horns and piano/ vocals that are in a crossovers range, 901s have no crossover to mess with those frequencies like all other speakers do, Also your sealed cabinet series 1 speakers would really like 2 or 300 watts- even more, for the 18 drivers (that are loaded with copper), to sound best, most owners have not heard them with the power that makes them sound like a real contender. I absolutely understand all the ads from the 70s stating they sounded good even with just 30 watts, 30 watts might make 1- small 901 driver happy , but divide that into 9 or 18, We dont think about how much copper are in those cabinets, you have seen the huge monster 1801 power amp bose built for them right, one of the largest amps and transformers made in the 70s, but........bose needed to help them sell to the public so they advertised they worked with any power system. i used a dynaco system with 750wpc into a pr of series 6 , that were ported, and they were alive in the room , unfortunately most owners were just happy with them sounding good, 901s also like clean sounding sources, 60s guitar rock were not great on the 901s, mostly because electric guitars are such a directional source and we are used to wanting rock guitars directionaly loud, the 901s are not directional so it can be strange with rock guitars, but piano, horns acoustical instruments, drums, steeley dan, /jazz, / good 70s recordings, fleetwood mac exc.. sound great, enjoy!

 

[KingBubba]

A pair of DCM CX-17s or CX-27s might shock the hell out of you. The amount of sound that can come from those small speakers is amazing.

 

[D4vidG4rr3tt]

I'll keep my eye out for a used pair.

Thanks!

A pair of DCM CX-17s or CX-27s might shock the hell out of you. The amount of sound that can come from those small speakers is amazing.

 

[savatage1973]

This thread has gone down the road of many of my previous posts--at what point does a system get "too resolving"? This has nothing to do with Bose, or any other equipment manufacturer, but down to the basics--some recordings are better than others, and at a certain point, you end up listening to the "flaws", rather than the music. On a "great" system, a good recording will sound great--a mediocre (or worse) recording will become unlistenable--that's why I have different systems for different material.

 

[mars_volta]

I would go nuts trying to have multiple systems for different material.

 

[savatage1973]

I would go nuts trying to have multiple systems for different material.

No--you will go broke or end up in divorce court--I have that luxury being single and self-employed.

 

[Lucky Pierre]

I'd suggest that both your speakers _and_ the driving electronics are getting good enough that you're now hearing 'back through' them to the audio source and discovering that some of it isn't well produced!

Good gear does that and it isn't only Bose, so we can get that off the table.

Cheers,

David

I think you hit one of the nails on the head. My system is now to the point that I can easily hear flaws in the production of a lot of music.

 

[D4vidG4rr3tt]

A while back, I met a guy who claimed he owned several copies of records because some had tracks with scratches or pops.

It would drive me nuts (a) keeping lists of which tracks sounded best on which copies and (b) running back and forth to the turntable to switch copies so I could listen to an entire album.

I would go nuts trying to have multiple systems for different material.

 

[D4vidG4rr3tt]

I suspect you are right. It was just interesting to me that I noticed it with this particular set up.

This thread has gone down the road of many of my previous posts--at what point does a system get "too resolving"? This has nothing to do with Bose, or any other equipment manufacturer, but down to the basics--some recordings are better than others, and at a certain point, you end up listening to the "flaws", rather than the music. On a "great" system, a good recording will sound great--a mediocre (or worse) recording will become unlistenable--that's why I have different systems for different material.

 

[nexus]

in my old age i now dislike the quality metal dome tweeters i loved for their resolution and only listen to the better soft dome tweeters as the flaws in older music production (and even some current!) are just annoying after about 40 minutes of listening. i swapped the aluminum domes in my madisound/ACI speakers with a very reasonably priced Vifa softdome.

one thing that cannot be argued with the 901s is their crossoverless design. my complaint was always that to get the detail you had to crank them up with lots of power.