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Bose 901 Equalizer

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OddE.O'Phile

OddE.O'Phile

Well-Known Member
Someone gave me this equalizer for the Bose 901 system. I think it is an early model, possibly the first edition. Since there is very, very little chance that I will ever own a pair of 901's (not a Bose fan), is there any use for this equalizer other than as a paperweight? I don't think it has enough mass to sink a wild cat... just kidding:D

Am I being insensitive to the plight of the Bose 901?:nono:
 

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You could Ebay it, or craigslist it. I've got 901's, and I run them and some other speakers off one reciever. some times I run the not 901 set with the BOSE EQ, just to see what it sounds like-(not real good)
 
I hooked up the EQ to my system (after spraying the switches, etc.) and the strangest thing happened....

Tuned a really strong local FM station. Flipped on the EQ and noticed it brightened up the treble noticeably. Then I listened for a while and much to my surprise the really deep bass octave down around 40 cycles just jumped out of my speakers (Infinity rs-6000's)!!!! So this EQ must severly boost the deep bass and the very high treble frequencies. The mids sound "normal".

Seriously, the EQ sounds horrible, absolutely horrible.:thumbsdn:

[Edited by Moderator]
 
tlgibbs said:
I hooked up the EQ to my system (after spraying the switches, etc.) and the strangest thing happened....

Tuned a really strong local FM station. Flipped on the EQ and noticed it brightened up the treble noticeably. Then I listened for a while and much to my surprise the really deep bass octave down around 40 cycles just jumped out of my speakers (Infinity rs-6000's)!!!! So this EQ must severly boost the deep bass and the very high treble frequencies. The mids sound "normal".

Seriously, the EQ sounds horrible, absolutely horrible.:thumbsdn:

[Edited by Moderator]
Click to expand...

That's good to hear! I just got my first pair of 901's today. Series IV. No stands, but they did include the EQ. So far they sound kind of bad. No low bass, too much midrange and not enough sparkle on the high end. Hopefully after I get the EQ hooked up, they'll sound better. Just need to get some RCA connectors for the speaker inputs. How annoying is that. One end needs RCA's and the other end needs eye hooks. :thumbsdn:
 
Let me know if you want another EQ.....

Seriously, what is the attraction to Bose, regardless of model number? No offense intended, testwork, but I hope you did not pay much for those....

I don't even think it is fair to charge for this component. Anyone unfortunate enough to have a pair of crap speakers like the 901's (just my opinion, mind you) deserves a free equalizer! So come on AK'ers! Drop me a line and tell me why you deserve a free equalizer! The best submission will get this baby, postage paid, as a gift, with love, from me to you......:thmbsp:
 
I deserve a free EQ so I can flip it and use the money to buy a surround kit for my 901's!!

I paid $200 but it included about six or seven other electronics items.
Twas a craigslist special from a single retired Army Woman moving to North Carolina in a week!

This is what you get for $215.00 or reasonable best offer:

Bose 901 Speakers W/901 Series IV Active Equalize Yes the speakers make a cracking sound.
Sansui Reverberation Amplifier RA-990.
Sansui Stereo Graphic Equalizer SE-7.
Pioneer RG Dynamic Processor RG-9.
Technics AV Control Stereo Receiver SA EX600 (120 Watts Per Channel) Dolby Surround Pro-logic sound
KLH 3430A Rear and Center Channel Loudspeaker system For Theater speakers for Dolby pro logic. (5-100 Watts)
Cyberpower 325SL (Back up Battery for computer).
Funai video cassette recorder.
Dish Network 301 receiver (MPEG-2Digital Satellite Receiver) This is new Never set up).
Manuel is included with most components.
Click to expand...

I don't know what she's talking about though. Other than the surround issue, there is no cracking? But then I haven't hooked up the EQ yet!
 
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i got some flawless bose 901 series 2s with the equalizer for 70.00 in perfect condition and the white cloth is still white. im not super fond of them vs. my mach twos or infinity sm152 or large a1 advents the list goes on but they do sound ok. i used them only on one of my 5 receivers a concept 5.5 and with the equalizer and the receiver between the two you can dial it to your likings no doubt about it and i think it provided plenty of base, and im a big rock fan and like em loud. maybe it would sound better on my 9090db or a kr9600 one of my favorites ive got. but i read in a post a long time ago in here that if you dont use the equalizer it will sound terrible and never be right,he claimed that you would have 18 speakers doing differnt things i think theres 9 speakers per speaker? ive only used the equalizer in my testing sessions.
 
I was refoaming a set of 901 series 4 for a guy and tested them with an amp using test tones. No bass at all. So i dug out a Series 3 equalizer (essentially the same) and I was quite surprised to hear such powerful bass from a box of about one cubic foot. And it blasted like heck for such a lousy little amplifier like I was using. I'm not mad keen on Bose 901's myself, but they do some things other speakers can't touch in such a small box. The drivers hardly move especially when you realize the considerable bass boost being applied.
 
lab said:
The drivers hardly move especially when you realize the considerable bass boost being applied.
Click to expand...

Considerable bass boost is an understatement. I had my amplifier at about 9 o'clock on the dial and whenever a 40 Hz signal came along, it was like boom! If I turned the amp up any higher I was afraid I might blow a woofer!

Now who wants this EQ? :D
 
A friend of mine is building a pair of line sources using a bunch of cheap 4" full-range speakers and needs the BOSE EQ to bump up the bass and treble response. He is a great guy having a rough time in this economy, so your EQ will be put to a good use and not resold. He is building these speakers to be used at his YMCA for an exercise class he teaches.
 
Don't be tempted to "complete the set" and get 901's. They are the worst, most gimmicky speakers that any company has ever claimed to be audiophile. Another Boser Poser. Sell the EQ and make a few bucks.
 
somebody has to say it, so it might as well be me, I started it....

No highs, no lows, must be Bose....

This EQ proves it, in my mind. Why else would you have to boost the highs and lows so much? The moderator that moved this thread told me that the EQ has an incredible bass boost, something like 15 db. I believe it. Isn't that kind of like artificial color?

Are Bose speakers the ultimate "audio boob job?" :lmao:
 
.....you Guys who are ragging the 901s and the Bose Equalizers speak in total ignorance :wave:....rag the rest of the line, I don't care, but I lived a Super Bose Setup with 4 901s and two equalizers that were affecting both channels....the 36db boost, or in my case a 72db boost at both ends of the 4 speakers, (allegedly, 72db), was being performed by 4 1/2 inch drivers with 89% of what I heard bouncing off the wall behind them first....best system I ever had up until this recent one for realism, I mean realism top-to-bottom.....

.....I said allegedly, because the boosts I got weren't like putting slide-eqs end to end in series....nothing like that....sounded wonderful "if" the 901s were setup correctly in the right type of room....12X15 was perfect with two speakers hung high 18 inches from the corners on the 12 wall, and a bottom two on Bose pedestals just around the corners of that 12 wall, firing into small rugs on the wall for system low-end.....
 
mulester7 said:
.....you Guys who are ragging the 901s and the Bose Equalizers speak in total ignorance :wave:....rag the rest of the line, I don't care, but I lived a Super Bose Setup with 4 901s and two equalizers that were affecting both channels....the 36db boost, or in my case a 72db boost at both ends of the 4 speakers, (allegedly, 72db), was being performed by 4 1/2 inch drivers with 89% of what I heard bouncing off the wall behind them first....best system I ever had up until this recent one for realism, I mean realism top-to-bottom.....

.....I said allegedly, because the boosts I got weren't like putting slide-eqs end to end in series....nothing like that....sounded wonderful "if" the 901s were setup correctly in the right type of room....12X15 was perfect with two speakers hung high 18 inches from the corners on the 12 wall, and a bottom two on Bose pedestals just around the corners of that 12 wall, firing into small rugs on the wall for system low-end.....
Click to expand...

Uh, glad you like them. I met an old quality control tech who used to work for a major manufacturer that is still in business today. He used to bench test samples from the line and also competitor's speakers. He told me the 901 generated close to 20% distortion. The speakers in his line were failed and destroyed if they tested above 7%. You are free to draw your own conclusions but IMO, the case is closed on the 901.
 
mulester7 said:
.....you Guys who are ragging the 901s and the Bose Equalizers speak in total ignorance :wave:....the 36db boost, or in my case a 72db boost at both ends of the 4 speakers, (allegedly, 72db), was being performed by 4 1/2 inch drivers with 89% of what I heard bouncing off the wall behind them first....best system I ever had up until this recent one for realism, I mean realism top-to-bottom.....

sounded wonderful "if" the 901s were setup correctly in the right type of room....

12X15 was perfect with two speakers hung high 18 inches from the corners on the 12 wall, and a bottom two on Bose pedestals just around the corners of that 12 wall, firing into small rugs on the wall for system low-end.....
Click to expand...

Riiiiiiiight.

And when the sun reflects off the western sky, and I'm in silhouette, on odd numbered Tuesdays when prevailing winds are out of the north to northwest, many blind women can mistake me for Mel Gibson......

Get real. Making a statement like that is absurd. Tell you what. I'll take an EQ measurement of any, repeat any loudspeaker, design a "custom crossover" to compensate for speaker anomalies, then design a perfect room for listening, and charge you, say, $2000 for the resulting system, and call it genius. Makes as much sense as the crap you just posted about the "super Bose setup".....

It is absolutely amazing to me what great marketing (I.E. Bose) can do to brainwash otherwise seemingly normal, even intelligent people. It proves that for every sucker, there is a product.

I stand by my words, and I'm not backing off.
 
The 901 Bose serve well when used for the correct purpose, I have a pair i use in my home theater set up strictly for the mid range running a Yamaha P-2201 @ 235 watts to each with each Bose sitting on a Cerwin Vega D-9 for my low end Bass 110 watts to each C.V. I also have a sub woofer under the couch and horn tweeters above my screen I really enjoy the Bose for mid duty and let the C.V.'s deal with the thunder, I found my Bose have their limits for hard bass that I don't think was thier intended design purpose. Anyway's I was really reaching out for a free Bose E.Q. I could use it for another project in the works. Mercy (LOL!!!) Eddy Franner
 
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