Yes, I love my Bose 401s

[rminton]

I know the general feeling about Bose. Let's get past that.

I'll also admit up front that I'm no audiophile. But I do love music. My system is neither vintage nor hi fi. Right now, it's a 20,000 song library played through an Apple TV, a decent Yamaha surround sound receiver (switched to 2-channel output) and the 401s.

The 401s replaced a pair of Polk Monitor 11Ts that I liked, but never loved. Great recordings sounded great. Flat recordings sounded flat. Which is fine. I love listening to scratchy old Hank Williams (Sr.) tracks and borderline listenable live recordings right alongside overly clean Dire Straits and James Taylor stuff. But I admit, I was a little disappointed at how flat and uninteresting a lot of my music sounded. Mainly, I chalked it up to bad mixing and mastering of the 80s CDs much of my library came from.

Until I got these 401s. I know they're not the best. I did - at first - think some stuff sounded a little too bassy. Maybe even a little muddled. But the more I listened, the more I liked what I heard. I also know it's a bit of a gimmick - the direct/reflected sound. But what it does is add a touch of analog reverb that wakes up a lot of the music. Now the great stuff still sounds great. But so does everything else. They hide flaws. They add warmth.

That's all I wanted to say. Definitely worth checking out if your enjoyment of music isn't tied to the purity of the recording. And especially if those recordings aren't all that pure in the first place. After all, it's not about accuracy. It's about enjoyment. For me, anyway, it's not science. It's art.

 

[boza]

They look really nice. Thanks for the write up and your right it is more important to have something you enjoy listening to with the music you like.

 

[Northwinds]

I think the 401s and the 10.2's are the only Bose speaker I have not owned at some point in the past. They look cool!

 

[Gazdatronik]

Not all bose is bad, the speakers they made that look like speakers are often quite reasonable. What you have there is reminiscent of a Timewindow, albeit with a harsher angle. I see what looks like a peerless tweeter that is well respected, and a pair of 6.5" woofers in each cab has been shown to get plenty of work done in other speakers.

We forget sometimes that Bose used to be a fairly standard speaker company before they decided to change their business model to one of hyperbole and self aggrandizing to peddle overpriced clock radios. Yeah they had their oddballs like the 601, 901, and 101, but they did make some solid stuff in the old days when they weren't trying to be weird.

 

[Northwinds]

^^^^^

What's wrong with the 601's and 901's? Many people feel the (601 series II and the 901 series I) were the best speakers Bose ever made

 

[Gazdatronik]

Not bad, just an unconventional design philosophy. There are a handful of Bose products I would have in my house, but for the sound I am looking for the 601 and 901 would not be the ones I go for.

The 201, 301, and 401 would be plenty welcome here.

 

[greg s]

If you enjoy them that's what matters. And yes I agree that speakers that make the music you enjoy sound bad are not really all that great. If thats what this hobby was about we would all have something by sound design in the living room.

 

[Aldo]

I have a black pair of 401s in storage right now. Occasionally I bring them out and give them a little exercise, and I'm never disappointed.

 

[harman/kardon]

I have 205, 301, 501, 601, 901, 901.

Interesting to hear about the nice sound qualtity of the 401. I have seen them from time to time on Ebay and most of the sets were pretty cheap, even in good condition. So perhaps one time...

 

[Djcoolray]

In a four speaker system, I use a pair of Bose 301's as rear speakers to create that wall of sound. But, the main focus of sound is coming from a huge pair of Cerwin Vega AT-100's. Using two different styles of speakers, the Bose speakers seem to be able to contribute to the tones made by the conventional speakers.

 

[wvu80]

What's wrong with the 601's and 901's? Many people feel the (601 series II and the 901 series I) were the best speakers Bose ever made

The 901 needs 1,000 watt amp and an equalizer. That's more than any other speakers I know.

I used to use a pair of 301's on a Marantz 2230 as rear channels.
All of that said, 301's aren't the worst I've ever heard, but I know much better can be had for the same cash.

How did that turn out using the 301's for side surrounds? It looks like they shuld work out fine for that.

 

[Northwinds]

The 901's don't need a 1000w's, maybe the first series could take that but later series handled much less. As long as you have at least 200wpc they will sing. Yeah, they need the EQ but it usually comes with sets. The Bose 1801 was specifically designed to be used with 901's and it's definitely not a 1000w amp

 

[jrtrent]

The 901's don't need a 1000w's, maybe the first series could take that but later series handled much less. As long as you have at least 200wpc they will sing. Yeah, they need the EQ but it usually comes with sets. The Bose 1801 was specifically designed to be used with 901's and it's definitely not a 1000w amp

Stereophile's review of the original 901's says that a 35 watt amplifier put out very respectable sound levels without offensive distortion provided the equalizer unit was set for bass cut (i.e., with equalization ceasing at 40Hz). ToneAudio reviewed a newer set a few years ago and said that a $150 vintage receiver would work well to create a "rocking system." They used the 12 watt per channel Pioneer SX-424 as well as a Unison Research S6, a 35 watt per channel integrated amp.

 

[Natasha Bell]

^^^^^

What's wrong with the 601's and 901's? Many people feel the (601 series II and the 901 series I) were the best speakers Bose ever made

While I am definitely not a Bose fan, the 601s, as well as the 10.2 do sound quite well. I would love to have a pair of 10.2s in good condition if I had the space, just because they are so unique.

 

[Natasha Bell]

I know the general feeling about Bose. Let's get past that.

I'll also admit up front that I'm no audiophile. But I do love music. My system is neither vintage nor hi fi. Right now, it's a 20,000 song library played through an Apple TV, a decent Yamaha surround sound receiver (switched to 2-channel output) and the 401s.
The 401s replaced a pair of Polk Monitor 11Ts that I liked, but never loved. Great recordings sounded great. Flat recordings sounded flat. Which is fine. I love listening to scratchy old Hank Williams (Sr.) tracks and borderline listenable live recordings right alongside overly clean Dire Straits and James Taylor stuff. But I admit, I was a little disappointed at how flat and uninteresting a lot of my music sounded. Mainly, I chalked it up to bad mixing and mastering of the 80s CDs much of my library came from.
Until I got these 401s. I know they're not the best. I did - at first - think some stuff sounded a little too bassy. Maybe even a little muddled. But the more I listened, the more I liked what I heard. I also know it's a bit of a gimmick - the direct/reflected sound. But what it does is add a touch of analog reverb that wakes up a lot of the music. Now the great stuff still sounds great. But so does everything else. They hide flaws. They add warmth.
That's all I wanted to say. Definitely worth checking out if your enjoyment of music isn't tied to the purity of the recording. And especially if those recordings aren't all that pure in the first place. After all, it's not about accuracy. It's about enjoyment. For me, anyway, it's not science. It's art.

It should be about how the speakers sound to you. Personally... Bose What exactly do you like about the Bose 401? A neighbor of mine is selling a pair of 10.2s, but the drivers are in poor condition. They still sound pretty good though, although I got a rendition of elevator music through them, followed by some Pat Boone (and it wasn't the "In the Metal Mood" CD either ) Do you still have the Polk 11Ts?

 

[Krosya]

I too not long ago got me a pair of 401's - here is a thread I posted about my impressions:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/some-thoughts-on-bose-401-speakers.717546/

To my ears they are nice speakers, once you figure out how to position they best in a given room

 

[Lavane]

I have a pair of 301's mounted using the measurements from ceiling and walls Bose suggested and they sound pretty nice. I use them in my bedroom system. And then just yesterday I found the sweet spot in the room for listening to these. It made a huge difference in how they sounded. I wish I had the room for 601's. Next time I see 401's at a thrift I may give them a try.

 

[Natasha Bell]

I have a pair of 301's mounted using the measurements from ceiling and walls Bose suggested and they sound pretty nice. I use them in my bedroom system. And then just yesterday I found the sweet spot in the room for listening to these. It made a huge difference in how they sounded. I wish I had the room for 601's. Next time I see 401's at a thrift I may give them a try.

I too have heard some 301 setups which sounded really nice. The issue with Bose speakers, other than the drivers tend to really deteriorate, their engineers used a different concept of stereo surround which they called "Stereo Everywhere", and even registered the term as a trademark I believe. The problem with that, is what they tried to create, tended not to work properly. Thus, the placement of Bose speakers is critical, although according to Bose, it is not. My neighbor has a pair of 10.2s, and although the drivers need help, they still sound pretty good, and produce an enveloping sound field which is very interesting.

 

[JRC75]

I had a Kenwood 9340 4-Channel with 4 Bose 401's sounded good to me. Cranked pretty good too.

 

[Roy Skinner]

I had a pair of 401s and loved them. I gave them to my daughter, and son in law. To hear them say they love them too was music to my ears. They are in their early 30s, and have been listening to cell phones for the past 10 years.
They create great bass, ant to my ears the highs are nice and crisp.