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Marantz7t15

Marantz7t15

Well-Known Member
Banned
I know many people love the Bose 901 series speakers. I also know that many people seem to despise them. Opinions aside, can anyone direct me to any publications or articles with solid hitting facts about these speakers from Bose, speaking in favor or against. Again, I don't care about opinions of any sort. I only want to be directed to actual scientific data, either pro or con.
 
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I suppose the best place to start your quest would be to review the 901 User Guides: http://www.bose.com/controller?event=VIEW_STATIC_PAGE_EVENT&url=/customer_service/owners/guides/stereo_speakers.jsp

In 1970, Consumer Reports "bashed" the 901. Bose sued them for product disparagement. Bose lost. Bose appealed. Bose lost again. A summary is in the wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bose_Corp._v._Consumers_Union_of_United_States,_Inc.

Full case details here: http://supreme.justia.com/us/466/485/case.html
 
FredC said:
I suppose the best place to start your quest would be to review the 901 User Guides: http://www.bose.com/controller?event=VIEW_STATIC_PAGE_EVENT&url=/customer_service/owners/guides/stereo_speakers.jsp

In 1970, Consumer Reports "bashed" the 901. Bose sued them for product disparagement. Bose lost. Bose appealed. Bose lost again. A summary is in the wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bose_Corp._v._Consumers_Union_of_United_States,_Inc.

Full case details here: http://supreme.justia.com/us/466/485/case.html
Click to expand...

Excellent enlightenment Fredc. I found this especially helpful. Please keep the info coming folks
 
LOL Did you read the part about the 10' wide violin? Hey I have nothing against Bose. If you don't like how they sound they make great rocking horses if u got twins.
 
I wonder how the 901's would do with a bipolar tweeter like the Heil and a good sub?
Could be interesting.
 
I'll give you my opinion of them based on my professional experience with them.

If you want a speaker that attempts recreate a live performance in terms of direct and reflected sound, then they're fine, the trade off is accuracy. You'll find them in clubs for background music occasionally, never in a studio doing monitor duty.

It's one of those things where you're really trying to compare them to...

There isn't any other speaker based on the Bose design concepts to compare them to, Bose has went their way with their following away from the mass market, you can't establish it's ranking in it's genre because it's the sole species.

You either like it or you don't, no debate, no scientific reserach nor opinion's of 27 trial lawyers can judge it a good or bad speaker.

It is what is, just like most things.
 
As someone who's owned a couple pair of Bose bookshelfs and listened to several more of their more modern systems, I approached my refoam and rehab of 901 Series IV and matching Spatial Control Receiver with a bit of trepidation. There were many negative opinions regarding these speakers, so I wasn't sure I wanted to invest the time and money to referb them.

I'm glad I did. You can read my final thoughts after the refurb here. I've found that the most important aspect of getting good sound from these speakers is placement. These speakers yearn for space. They are very finicky with placement. Following the guidelines in the Bose literature, and then making small adjustments from there, I was able to get astounding sound. Even then my setup wasn't optimal, but the sound was incredible.

But set them up incorrectly and they sound horrible. Just today, I moved them to a different location with poor solid wall space and too little room. Now the highs override everything and they sound muddled. Setting them up correctly is the key to enjoyment.

As for not being accurate, I suppose that is correct. They are not accurate like studio monitors. But when the setup is correct, they have incredible dynamics.
 
I've read that mixing and matching different series of 901's with Bose's active equalizers from other series will produce a negative affect. IIRC the original series and series II speakers equalizer are interchangeable. As it is with the III & IV series , or the V & VI series.

I hope to get another set someday, just to give them another chance, since I do have a room now that would be better suited for them.
 
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