I hate to admit this. (Bose content.)

I've always thought that the crux of "Bose bashing" centered around the 901's, which are, after all, a midrange speaker supplied with a "smiley-face" EQ. Even Bose themselves, mounted them in a composite case, turned them around backwards, and sold them as a very successful PA midrange speaker. (The 800 series.) I think I mentioned in my first post that I have a set of 901's, and the matching Spatial receiver, that I'm dying to try out. (Using the 3-wire method.) But I need the right room to try them, which is a little harder to obtain.
 
I am a big fan of the Bose 601 series II and III. I have a pair of II's that I purchased new in 1984 and they still sound great and look almost new. For about 20 years they were my systems main speakers and they did a great job. After so many years though I felt like trying something new and I upgraded to Infinity Kappa 600's. I moved the Bose system to the bedroom. I really like the sound of my Kappa system, but I still enjoy my 601's and will never sell them.
 
Last summer I bought a set of 901 Series III speakers with the stands and EQ. Of course all the surrounds are rotted away and they have a few dings here and there. But the price was right and now they are sitting...waiting to live again. Maybe I need to get on those.

It’s funny, the Bose 901 was like so many pieces of gear I remember seeing at the local hifi stores long before I had any business even thinking about them. Now when I see *those* pieces, I feel the need to buy them. Haha, at least they are cheap now.
 
I'm not ashamed to admit I own a few Bose. I have stacked 901 Series II with eq, 301 Series III and the powered Video Roommates with the cool MMA-2 desktop edge mount stands for computer use. Love them all as they each serve their purpose here. I may even add a pair of Bose 201 Series 5 to my stash if I can get them cheap. I've really not run across a bad Bose product other than a botched set of 501s that probably had crossover issues. With good amplification using the required eq being setup properly, the 901s are downright brilliant! Prefer them to alot of speakers I've had in the past. Huge sound in a very small package.. no doubt. They are cool and will always be here. The 901s can be a really nice break from forward/ analytical setups. That is if you suffer from sonic fatigue like me. I mostly get it from headphones but some of my horn speakers definitely cause it too. The 901s are just non-offending and can play all day with little bother to my ears. Excellent for when I'm working on stuff. 901 midrange is very good to my ears. Love bongos and other light percusion instruments on them. Just wonderful. But.. I gave them a chance which many won't because of it's brand. I just want what works for my ears.
 
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I have 205, 301/I, 501/I, 601/I, 901II, 901/III

The 205 seem to be similar to the 201. And they deserve a better place than somewhere in the attic...

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You know, if he had put the 901 eq inside incorporating it into a crossover curcuit it would not have offended the purists. Would have just been an elaborate crossover network. lol
 
Oh..and the 301 IIIs. Those things way surpassed my expectation. Wow! That's all I'm gonna say for a loudspeaker that size with that look. The 301 will make you think you are going crazy. Those darn things sound way better than they should. Those 205s are very cool looking HK.
 
Millions of equalizers were sold in the 70's and 80's for really high end systems and studios. Even some really high end loudspeakers like Kef had the Kube. Is it non- purist for me to have an outboard electronic crossover on my Altec and JBL horn systems that I continually tweak to find the sound I like. Not hardly, it's almost the natural progression with Altec/ Lansing stuff. Folks get hung up on the weirdest crap as far as herd mentality. What I am ashamed to admit is I was one who followed herd mentality until I realized I don't need anyone's approval and am capable of my own critical thinking.. at least at times. LOL
 
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I think I'll wear my Bose ballcap today. Black with big bold and gold Bose logo. I'm definitely gonna wear it to a hi-fi meet.... if I ever go to one.
 
I was given a pair of Bose 502b sub's. Haven't been able to get ahold of the 502c controller but I pulled the plate amp out of a paradigm PS-1000 sub ,that is kind of a one note sub, and hooked it up to one of the Bose and it actually sounds pretty good. Its a lot more musical then the paradigm for sure. Definitely need to mess around with placement.
 
Bose bashing seems to be going out of style. It’s often a sign of an inexperienced audiophile seeking approval of his betters.

Of course there are also those experienced audiophiles who’ve nothing to prove and simply don’t like them.
 
I believe most of the Bose bashing is a reaction to the claim that the 901 is the greatest speaker ever, which you hear from many non audiophiles. It very well may be the best speaker they have ever heard, but that's because they haven't heard many great speakers. And they may certainly be the best looking, in a domestic way, speaker range, which counts for a lot in the non golden ears world. Plus many of the models do, in fact, sound perfectly fine.
Bose obviously encourages this adulation with very savvy and ubiquitous marketing, not just in audio publications, but in general interest ones. Which is smart. But they also sue reviewers who don't rate their speakers very highly - they sued Consumer Reports, and won on an absurd technicality - the review said the image wanders when probably they should have said it is diffuse. Bose has put at least one magazine out of business in Europe, where libel laws are more lenient.
 
Have Bose 10.2 and 10.2 series II for quite the longest and they came cheap (craigslist) at 25.00 a pair probably due (in part) to the bashing. I really did benefit from it by saving many $ for both pair and they are probably the best kept secret that Bose discontinued. The sound is just superb to my uneducated ears.
 
Tom Brennan said:
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
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Actually, I was aware of this. Just as I'm aware of the KEF Kube and other speaker crossover tweaks and devices. My problem is not using "whatever" to make a speaker sound better, it's needing such to make a speaker listenable. I apply the same rules to any speaker. For instance, most Klipsch sound awful to me if they don't have the Crites mods. The Crites mods make them listenable to me. Not good but listenable. Doing all that to make a speaker listenable just doesn't work for me. Making a speaker sound better by whatever means is cool with me. However, it has to sound good to me from the start.
 
Wow! They sound even better when connected in-phase. (I blame white zip-cord and old eyes.) I just swapped out the Yammy for my Mac4275. That's when I realized I had one wire reversed. I can't believe how much bass these little things produce. Mind you, this is with the speakers only 2 or 3 feet from my head. But dang, they sound good.

P.S. The Mac really sounds good too. My first Mac.
 
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parvo said:
Have Bose 10.2 and 10.2 series II for quite the longest and they came cheap (craigslist) at 25.00 a pair probably due (in part) to the bashing. I really did benefit from it by saving many $ for both pair and they are probably the best kept secret that Bose discontinued. The sound is just superb to my uneducated ears.
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We need to stop this thread now. All this new-found Bose mea culpa is just gonna Dynaco the prices we will have to pay for used Bose.
 
Funny enough a friend of mine who owns the pub across the street from me offered me a free pair of his old 201s that had been mounted on the walls since before he took over the place. He recently upgraded to the new ones. Told him I'd slide by tonight and pick them up. They might work perfectly fine on the walls in my den. My den is next to my living room so I should be able to operate them off the Zone 2 of my AVR.
 
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