Ok thanks, I had no idea. There isn't anything inline that can protect the speakers? What about the Spec 2 I wonder? I'd love any suggestions for a power amp that can do closer to 200 amps.
My expectations Bose 901 and setup
Ok thanks, I had no idea. There isn't anything inline that can protect the speakers? What about the Spec 2 I wonder? I'd love any suggestions for a power amp that can do closer to 200 amps.
whoaru99
Epic Member
Your PC2002M has protection circuit. My P-2200 does not.
Thanks for looking into that! I was trying to see where that info is on HiFi Engine. Much appreciated. Now if I can only get my wife to like the look of it! She says it looks like a bomb. lol.
Why do you want this much power??? Does the SX-950 not go loud enough for you? The need to over-exaggerate bass (potentially requiring power) to compensate for the 901 design goes away completely with a sub because you can turn the 901 EQ bass control to the minimum level, the sub will take care of all the bass. The receiver that Bose designed specifically for the 901 had only 40 watts per channel. You have 85 watts and a sub to offload the bass.
What music do you listen to? How loud do you listen to it? Does the Pioneer not go loud enough? Are you hoping to achieve better sound quality, instead of volume, with more power? (I don't think you will get better sound quality at all with more power as long as you have a sub in the picture).
The OP's first post pretty much says it all.
It really doesn't at all. The only comment about "sound issues" with the current system is wanting to increase the high and low frequencies because of the 901's deficiencies. Nothing about types of music (hugely important given his specific bass concerns), what volume levels he listens at (hugely important given desire for new amp), and nothing about budget. The only way to provide any recommendations is to know the current issues, usage parameters, and budget.
He does say in the first post that he wants a more powerful amp, but the reason for that isn't clear, so the responsible thing in making an amp recommendation is to ask what he is expecting to get from a more powerful amp (given that the amp he already has is both great sounding and powerful). If his current receiver isn't loud enough, maybe he needs a bigger amp. If the bigger amp is in search of sound quality, he probably doesn't need a larger amp.
EDIT: Looking back at earlier posts, just saw the comment above stating that volume is not an issue -- and that is presumably referring to the "status quo" of driving the 901's with the SX-950 with the Bose EQ in place (the SX-950 only gets more offloaded with sub/tweeter added). I think he also had settled on tweeters rather than bookshelf or ceiling speakers for the high frequencies (therefore doesn't need a second amp), so there would likely be no benefit of getting a higher wattage amp since sound quality and not volume is the goal. The SX-950 is hard to beat as an amp.
It seems to be off the table now, but I should mention that I've never heard ceiling speakers that don't sound awful. Blending in bookshelves (with a separate amp) could be interesting and fun to play with through the crossover, but still think adding a well-tuned tweeter would probably work best.
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One thing to think about if a "two amp" system is used to drive the 901's and bookshelf speakers is whether the appropriate balance can be maintained between the 901s and bookshelf speakers at different volume levels. The amp inside the SX-950 and the external amp likely will not have the same "gain" (amplification multiple of the preamp signal), and the efficiency of the 901's and bookshelves will also be very different. Given this, it seems like if you set the balance to be perfect at one volume level, the balance between the 901's and bookshelves will likely will be pretty far off when you change to a different volume level (due to the compounding factors of differing amp gains and differing speaker efficiencies).
whoaru99
Epic Member
Yeah, the effective gain for each band will need to be dialed in to account for the various amp gains and for the speaker sensitivity. Once that's done, as long as it's all controlled by one master volume knob (the SX-950), the relative levels should be maintained. As long, that is, as one doesn't try to exceed the limits of whatever the weakest link is.
Do you know anything about the 550 receiver? Are they suitable for 901s?It seems that you want to unnecessarily complicate things. Don't forget the KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid).
For that $1K budget you could buy a new pair of speakers and a subwoofer(s). For example: Magnepan LRS @ $650 a pair and a pair of Elac 1010 powered subwoofers ($129 each). The resulting sound will be a lot better than 901's without the equalizer no matter how or what you do with them.
IMO, the above setup will sound better than 901's even with the equalizer.
Why don't you find and purchase the correct equalizer for your 901's? It would be a lot cheaper, a lot less work, and allow the 901's to sound the way they're supposed to.
Do you know anything about the 550 receiver? Are they suitable for 901s?
Do you know anything about the 550 receiver? Are they suitable for 901s? I have series 6.
the skipper
Professional Curmudgeon
how many times are you going to ask this question?
I’m just asking a few people on the post who may have had experience with this combo. There’s not much info on the 550 40wpc or the 551 100wpc. I’m checking out a 550 this morning. Would love some insight first. Any info appreciated.
the skipper
Professional Curmudgeon
Well, send. them a PM. You're accomplishing nothing creating a new post for each one.
550 times? <insert drum crash here>
I
I guess by making the question public it allows the HiFi community on this site to see the responses and gain the knowledge also. A private message wouldn’t allow for this.
goodolpg
Just an old fart trying to help.
goodolpg
Just an old fart trying to help.
Spamming is not welcome here.
And that is what you are doing.
Reminds me of that new guy a few weeks ago who bumped 8 threads and asked the same question in every one.
JoeESP9
ESL's & tubes since 83
40WPC is completely inadequate for driving 901's. Read post #100.