I hate to admit this. (Bose content.)

[Gearjunky]

Love my 901's, my 301's and even my 161's.

I purchased some Bose for background and dinner music in our family room. Had to get something with a very small footprint that would sit on the mantel over the fireplace (wife's request) and the 161's fit the bill. I think it helps that they are being fed by an Mx112/Mc250 along with a Dayton 1000L sub that slips behind the sectional. Regardless, they sound great actually, perfect for entertaining and casual listening.

Basement man cave has no wife requests, floorstanders, tube amps and pre's

 

[Bill Haywood]

Was at Stone Mountain GA. At least 10 yrs. ago and they had a outside Bose sound system. They have these concrete speaker towers spaced out over a large area. Let me tell you that it sounded fantastic to be outside. I myself don't own any Bose but I am not gonna say anything bad about Bose.

 

[nfafan]

Snagged a pair of the semi-maligned Bose 141s - the one with the single full-range driver - for about the current price of a pack of cigarettes. Thought they sounded fine for the price and can fill a small room. Gave them to a family member for use with their Sony table-top AM/FM/CD mini-stereo. Everyone is happy.

 

[Snow]

There is too much Bose snobbery on audio forums.

it is likely because Audiophiles know what good sound is or is not more so then the average listener, the average person would say they are a great brand and sound wonderful Bose has sold a lot of speakers. I think some of their products sound pretty good others are missing the upper end and lower bass which is the main reason they get bashed so much.

When I first got a pair of 901's I was impressed with the sound from such a small pair of speakers but after a few days I noticed that they seemed to be missing something that I was used to hearing then it came to me it was the highs and lows both ends were missing a portion of it. Bose does not provide specs for a reason an audiophile would never buy a pair if they seen the specs.

I do like the 201's and 301's though.

 

[JoeESP9]

Most speakers will sound good with some EQ applied.

I enjoyed my 901s.

The thing is to find and properly set up speakers that don't need an equalizer to sound good. I will never buy any speakers that need modification or serious EQ'ing to sound good. IMO a speaker should sound good to you without being equalized. Speakers that come with a dedicated equalizer are obviously not included.

I'm not against equalizing. Properly implemented an equalizer will only enhance the sound. I use a DSP for room equalization and I rely heavily on measurements.

 

[BigElCat]

Back in the early '90s, I had 301s stacked on 501s, powered by a Kenwood KR-8010 (125 rms).

Had a forward firing piezo wide horn in each 501.

MC cartridge from Dynavector and vinyl.

I rocked out on that set up !

 

[FluxT]

The 501’s are probably the worst of the direct/reflecting lineup. They need a whole wall to themselves, with nothing between them on either side. Not too far towards the corners either, or else they get boomy like nobody’s business. With the wrong amp, they get extremely muddy or unpleasantly harsh, and boy do they eat up power! But once they’re set up right, your knees get the best seat in the house.

301’s and 201’s are pretty golden, and 901’s are classics regardless of their performance.

 

[Silentnet]

My favorite part of this thread is the disclaimer.

 

[BigElCat]

A forward facing tweeter perked the 501s up very nicely. It was a wide horn piezo, that sat between the rear angled tweeters.

I hooked it up in series with the rear facing tweets, same crossover point.

 

[mashaffer]

A part of it is that early Bose work gets lumped in with the later lifestyle products.

 

[Jnevill]

I have a pair of 301 series II and a pair of 10.2’s, both are great sounding speakers in the setups I have them in. Ain’t a thing in the world wrong with them. I just picked up a pair of Ohm Walsh 2’s, the 10.2’s are in the same league.

Your ears don’t lie!

Jim

 

[GordonW]

Indeed. I’ve heard quite a few audiophile speakers that used expensive drivers in ways that...well, didn’t suit my taste. Quite a few speakers using Focal tweeters made me feel like that guy in the movie Seven Beauties who went to “better ****”. Say what you want about Bose but a Bose speaker never made me want to leave the room.

Bose 501s frequently make me want to leave a room. Bass so boomy that it gives me a headache.

Regards,
Gordon.

 

[Grenadeslio]

Friend had a pair of 301's back in the late 70's, sounded pretty good if memory serves, just never drank the Kool Aid myself. My first real speakers were AR12's in 1978 and they spanked his Bose so never had the desire.

 

[Tom Brennan]

The thing is to find and properly set up speakers that don't need an equalizer to sound good. I will never buy any speakers that need modification or serious EQ'ing to sound good. IMO a speaker should sound good to you without being equalized. Speakers that come with a dedicated equalizer are obviously not included.

Joe, note that many speakers have passive EQ circuits built into the crossover. My all time favorite Altec 19s had such a circuit and that circuit was why the 19 was (in my well informed opinion) superior to previous Altecs.

Regards

 

[Gazdatronik]

Was at Stone Mountain GA. At least 10 yrs. ago and they had a outside Bose sound system. They have these concrete speaker towers spaced out over a large area. Let me tell you that it sounded fantastic to be outside. I myself don't own any Bose but I am not gonna say anything bad about Bose.

Stone mountain used Eastern Acoustic Works loudspeakers, also made in Framingham, Massachusetts. They have since updated the system, so no idea if they stayed with them.

 

[Silentnet]

Joe, note that many speakers have passive EQ circuits built into the crossover. My all time favorite Altec 19s had such a circuit and that circuit was why the 19 was (in my well informed opinion) superior to previous Altecs.

Regards

Or my personal favorites:

The electrostat panel handles everything down to ~70Hz and a sub takes over.

 

[FluxT]

Bose 501s frequently make me want to leave a room. Bass so boomy that it gives me a headache.

Regards,
Gordon.

I remember feeling my insides rattle on “For the Longest Time” by Billy Joel on some 501’s placed in corners. For acoustic suspension(?) speakers, they certainly had a wicked peak around 40Hz and not much else. Fun on rock with drums, but anything with melodic bass just sounded lame.

 

[Tom Brennan]

Stone mountain used Eastern Acoustic Works loudspeakers, also made in Framingham, Massachusetts. They have since updated the system, so no idea if they stayed with them.

I wonder why Stone Mountain portrays two rebel generals who fought far away in Virginia rather than the stumblebums like Bragg, Johnston, Hood, Polk and Hardee who tried to defend Georgia against Uncle Billy and his Midwesterners.

 

[Gazdatronik]

I wonder why Stone Mountain portrays two rebel generals who fought far away in Virginia rather than the stumblebums like Bragg, Johnston, Hood, Polk and Hardee who tried to defend Georgia against Uncle Billy and his Midwesterners.

Eh, I had seen the laser show so many times as a kid that I was older before I ever realized there were people carved in the mountain at all.

 

[GordonW]

I remember feeling my insides rattle on “For the Longest Time” by Billy Joel on some 501’s placed in corners. For acoustic suspension(?) speakers, they certainly had a wicked peak around 40Hz and not much else. Fun on rock with drums, but anything with melodic bass just sounded lame.

Too small of a box for the Qtc and Vas of the woofer, leading to a very high Qtc. Combined with a box on the floor (acoustic coupling), the bass really got out of hand.

That woofer would have been better in infinite or open baffle (no enclosure). I know, as I robbed several derelict 501s for their woofers, and used them in low-budget car stereos using the trunk as the enclosure. It wouldn't get that loud (they only have about 100w power handling, tops), but the bass sounded MUCH better than when they were in their original cabinets!

Regards,
Gordon.