I really should know better but....(Bose 901 musings)

Yep. I have a bunch of 901s, but as a younger man I coveted Klipschorns. I might however, have the longest continuous history at AK of owning and using a pair of 901s. Took possession in January, 1969.

42 years with the same speakers may be an outright record, not just with the 901's. Wonder if anyone is still using any pair of speakers this long?
 
I talked to Walter at underwoodhifi.com and he told me that he had a yamaha a-s2000 and a Luxman l550 in for trade-ins and they compared the two and the yamaha a-s2000 sounded better than the $$$4800 Luxman l550 ! I just ordered a yamaha a-s2000 to go with my 901's.
 
90 watts is a bit low for 901s, but I generally play mine at under 10 watts peak.

Problem is, there's almost no audible difference between 10 and 90 watts, so it's easy to clip if you have low frequency content.
 
90 watts is a bit low for 901s, but I generally play mine at under 10 watts peak.

Problem is, there's almost no audible difference between 10 and 90 watts, so it's easy to clip if you have low frequency content.

Someone over on audiogon forum has one of these Yamaha amps and the amp he had before was a Anthem i225 with 225 Watts of power and he said the yamaha was close as powerful as the anthem he replaced !
 
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Twice as much power only give you 3 dB. Considering possible difference is peak clean power, it could easily be true.

I'm a conservative listener. Nine or ten o'clock. But I burned out three vintage amps with 901s. One was a Dynaco 400.

For the past several years I've had a MX-600/U. I had bad caps in the equalizer and several times woke up with it in 60 Hz hum mode, which had been going on all night. I haven't noticed that the Yamaha complained.
 
I think I already did. Looks like a great amp, but I'd watch the levels. I don't know what you listen to or how loud.

I suppose I should have mentioned that my amp eaters are Series I and yours are 6s.
 
I think I already did. Looks like a great amp, but I'd watch the levels. I don't know what you listen to or how loud.

I suppose I should have mentioned that my amp eaters are Series I and yours are 6s.

You really don't need a lot power with these new and improved 901 series 6 version 2's.....Bose is not using the same speaker drivers as they used in past 901 speakers. Right now I'm using a marantz pm7001 that puts out only 70 watts.
 
I see others on the forums using fullrange speakers with their Yamaha a-s2000 integrated amps so this should be a great match with my 901's. I talked to one person that has a yamaha a-s2000 and he told me that this amp lets the music through, as it is recorded with no effect at all ! It sounds like "NO AMP" ! Getting Totally out of the way! He said he's been waiting for a product like this to come on the market for over 30 years now !...
 
Bose 901 needing lots of power is , in a way, a myth. The original Series I and II were acoustic suspension speakers - those needed gobs of power. To make the speaker available to more people, they started porting the speaker, so it needed much less power. Unless you have the Series I or II, you do not need a beast of an amp to drive them.
Do they sound better with more power ? Sure, but the vast majority of speakers sound better with more power.
 
Bose 901 needing lots of power is , in a way, a myth. The original Series I and II were acoustic suspension speakers - those needed gobs of power. To make the speaker available to more people, they started porting the speaker, so it needed much less power. Unless you have the Series I or II, you do not need a beast of an amp to drive them.
Do they sound better with more power ? Sure, but the vast majority of speakers sound better with more power.
This Yamaha a-s2000 puts out 190 watts as you can see in this review... http://www.goodgearguide.com.au/review/home_entertainment/yamaha/a-s2000/259907 Also they was French reviewer that just loved the Yamaha amp. In the review he was using some Verity Audio Parsifal Ovation ($25,000) and these speakers are hard to drive too....sensitivity is only 85.0db. He said this amp is an Incredible value....compare it to integrated amps in the.... $5,000 to $7,000 range !.. A Classic that we will talk about for a long time !
.I can't wait to get my Yamaha a-s2000 now !
 
I got my Yamaha a-s2000 integrated amp today and I'm shocked at how good this amp sounds !.. It sounds much more like a really good Class A amp like the Luxman L590a mk2 or Accuphase! This amp does run a little warm. This amp is a GOOD MATCH with my 901's too !.. I'm going let it break-in good for 400 hours or so and see how good it sounds then....:music:
 
One more thing about this yamaha amp.... you CAN NOT hook up the bose equalizer through the main-in and pre-out hook ups on this yamaha a-s2000. I had to hook up mine between my satellite receiver and the CD inputs on my yamaha a-s2000 integrated amp
 
The more I listen to the Yamaha a-s2000 the more amazed I am !... The sound quality is just amazing for the price yamaha is selling it !....I don't know how they did it !.. Normally you would have to pay A LOT OF MONEY to get sound and built quality like this now !... Yamaha seems to achieved their goal by giving us the best of both worlds (tube and solid state) with the A-S2000 Integrated amp !.. The A-S2000 is a match made in heaven with the NEW BOSE 901 series 6 version 2's too !.. Everything sounds SO SPOOKY REAL now !... I get that"YOU ARE THERE FEELING"when listening to music now !.. I think this is an AMAZING achievement for Yamaha at a AMAZING PRICE !... .Later on I'm going to try out one of those new HiFi Tuning Supreme fuses in this amp... http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue54/fuses.htm
 
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I have been enjoying my new improved 901's a lot now with the speakers turned around backwards with the speakers pointing dead straight ahead with no toe-in at all !.. You just have to let the 901's (settle-in really good for a few weeks) with the speakers turned around backwards and then JUDGE what they sound like then !. They sound SO MUCH BETTER after you let them settle-in good this way !... :yes: :music:
 
I have been enjoying my new improved 901's a lot now with the speakers turned around backwards with the speakers pointing dead straight ahead with no toe-in at all !.. You just have to let the 901's (settle-in really good for a few weeks) with the speakers turned around backwards and then JUDGE what they sound like then !. They sound SO MUCH BETTER after you let them settle-in good this way !... :yes: :music:
Are you saying the angled end is facing you as opposed to facing rearward? Not sure I've heard anyone do that before. If that is the case not toeing the speakers in makes a lot of sense. Interesting.

Without having to reread this whole thread, can you describe your room? I'm wondering if you have a lot of dampening going on that is, in a sense, absorbing sound and diminishing the volume getting to you. Do both speakers have similar arrangements, i.e. solid rear wall and solid side walls (extending out past the fronts of the speakers?
 
I have been enjoying my new improved 901's a lot now with the speakers turned around backwards with the speakers pointing dead straight ahead with no toe-in at all !.. You just have to let the 901's (settle-in really good for a few weeks) with the speakers turned around backwards and then JUDGE what they sound like then !. They sound SO MUCH BETTER after you let them settle-in good this way !... :yes: :music:

Gawd!
 
I have been enjoying my new improved 901's a lot now with the speakers turned around backwards with the speakers pointing dead straight ahead with no toe-in at all
if you are enjoying them that way, more power to you and keep on enjoying them, but that really pretty much defeats the whole design of the speaker.
The 901 is not made to be a studio monitor. It is made to "reflect" it's sound from the rear, surrounding the room in sound to give you a "concert hall" like effect.
Not supposed to be placed in corners, but on a straight wall, drivers of course facing the rear.

But hey, if u are happy, have at it
 
.....anyone....if you have 4 Series II Bose 901's, 2 Series II Bose 901 eq's, and a Marantz 3300 pre-amp, PM me :D....seriously.....
 
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