Krosya
Well-Known Member
Hi All,
This is my first thread here. May not be very popular, as there seem to be not that many Bose fans here, but I'd try anyway.
Some background. I'm sure I dont qualify to be called an expert on any of this, but I do like to listen to the music - all kinds, really, as well as trying different (mostly vintage) speakers, receivers, etc.
I also like to keep things on a budget, which means - most of my electronics usually come from CL, Thrift stores, etc. Slowly I have managed to put together a couple of small systems that I'm pretty happy with. But periodically I like to stir things up - switch out speakers or amps and such. Which means if I come across something interesting I might just try it. My latest toy - a pair of Bose 401 brown/wood colour speakers (they also came in black, I understand). They are in great condition, everything works.
I have never owned anything Bose in a past and based on many comments here and other online places, I was not sure at first if I should even get them. But condition and the way the look - their shape peaked my interest, so I thought I'd give them a try.
They are connected to my Pioneer SX-780, and I also have Pioneer SG-9500 EQ and Pioneer PL-400 TT hooked up to it. Before I had some bookshelf speakers connected to this set up - Pioneer BS-22's and they sounded pretty well overall. Now I have these new to me Bose 401's in place on BS-22's.
They (Bose) sure are a different animal. Sound is different, not as clearly bright as with the Pioneers. And one thing I noticed, - when Bose speakers are positioned as recommended in a manual - sound was OK, but something was missing. Almost like they were playing "against" each other, instead of in harmony.
I checked the wires - all were plugged in as they should. Then I started playing with the positioning of the speakers. From past experiences I learned that different speakers "like" to be positioned differently - some more/less distance from the walls, different toe-in to get the best sound. So I started experimenting with that.
I guess, it hugely depends on any given room's acoustics - as to how speakers will sound. I suppose this applies even more so with the Bose's reflective design.
And this was apparent pretty much immediately. However, what was funny is that they sounded much better with the side with a one woofer and tweeter pointed to the back wall. (Usually ported side should face the back wall). this was (as speakers are triangle shape - looking from the top) causing a side with just one woofer face the room and port facing the side wall. I guess, the whole idea of reflectivity of the sound actually works.
Sound got better, by a good amount. Yet, interestingly enough, they sounded better in some parts of the room but not others. So, I started tweaking orientation of the speakers - which way they would point. Each adjustment would bring somewhat different results - some better, some worse.
Yet the best results I got when I broke all the rules - one speaker I left pointed tweeter side to the back wall, yet the other - tweeter pointed towards the other speaker. When you look at them this way - looks odd - but they do sound very good now - sound seem to have a very good stereo effect, nice clean sound, good soundstage - all reflected off the walls. Low end , of course, is not as deep as my JBL speakers with 12 inch woofers, I have with my other system, but otherwise - very good sound. I'm actually rather surprised - as I read lots of unfavorable reviews of Bose speakers. I tried this setup with different types of music - from Ohio Players to Led Zeppelin to Coltrane. All sound very pleasant. Just took a while to find just the right orientation, thinking outside of the box, so to speak. Makes me wonder if this is why people often dont like Bose - maybe they didnt take time to set them up for the best sound.
Thoughts?
This is my first thread here. May not be very popular, as there seem to be not that many Bose fans here, but I'd try anyway.
Some background. I'm sure I dont qualify to be called an expert on any of this, but I do like to listen to the music - all kinds, really, as well as trying different (mostly vintage) speakers, receivers, etc.
I also like to keep things on a budget, which means - most of my electronics usually come from CL, Thrift stores, etc. Slowly I have managed to put together a couple of small systems that I'm pretty happy with. But periodically I like to stir things up - switch out speakers or amps and such. Which means if I come across something interesting I might just try it. My latest toy - a pair of Bose 401 brown/wood colour speakers (they also came in black, I understand). They are in great condition, everything works.
I have never owned anything Bose in a past and based on many comments here and other online places, I was not sure at first if I should even get them. But condition and the way the look - their shape peaked my interest, so I thought I'd give them a try.
They are connected to my Pioneer SX-780, and I also have Pioneer SG-9500 EQ and Pioneer PL-400 TT hooked up to it. Before I had some bookshelf speakers connected to this set up - Pioneer BS-22's and they sounded pretty well overall. Now I have these new to me Bose 401's in place on BS-22's.
They (Bose) sure are a different animal. Sound is different, not as clearly bright as with the Pioneers. And one thing I noticed, - when Bose speakers are positioned as recommended in a manual - sound was OK, but something was missing. Almost like they were playing "against" each other, instead of in harmony.
I checked the wires - all were plugged in as they should. Then I started playing with the positioning of the speakers. From past experiences I learned that different speakers "like" to be positioned differently - some more/less distance from the walls, different toe-in to get the best sound. So I started experimenting with that.
I guess, it hugely depends on any given room's acoustics - as to how speakers will sound. I suppose this applies even more so with the Bose's reflective design.
And this was apparent pretty much immediately. However, what was funny is that they sounded much better with the side with a one woofer and tweeter pointed to the back wall. (Usually ported side should face the back wall). this was (as speakers are triangle shape - looking from the top) causing a side with just one woofer face the room and port facing the side wall. I guess, the whole idea of reflectivity of the sound actually works.
Sound got better, by a good amount. Yet, interestingly enough, they sounded better in some parts of the room but not others. So, I started tweaking orientation of the speakers - which way they would point. Each adjustment would bring somewhat different results - some better, some worse.
Yet the best results I got when I broke all the rules - one speaker I left pointed tweeter side to the back wall, yet the other - tweeter pointed towards the other speaker. When you look at them this way - looks odd - but they do sound very good now - sound seem to have a very good stereo effect, nice clean sound, good soundstage - all reflected off the walls. Low end , of course, is not as deep as my JBL speakers with 12 inch woofers, I have with my other system, but otherwise - very good sound. I'm actually rather surprised - as I read lots of unfavorable reviews of Bose speakers. I tried this setup with different types of music - from Ohio Players to Led Zeppelin to Coltrane. All sound very pleasant. Just took a while to find just the right orientation, thinking outside of the box, so to speak. Makes me wonder if this is why people often dont like Bose - maybe they didnt take time to set them up for the best sound.
Thoughts?