I'd always wanted a pair of BOSE 901 speakers, and when a friend called me one Saturday morning from an estate sale in Orange, California saying there was a pair with good driver surrounds for $100, I didn't hesitate, "Grab 'em!" I said over the phone, and felt a satisfying chill run down my spine.
What I forgot about was the fact that these need the BOSE active equalization unit, and I had to buy that separately off of eBay - oh well. Once up and running these sounded terrific. Of course, I also didn't have the stands for them, so I set them atop my JBL Century's for a few weeks while auditioning them. That worked fine, but looked pretty junky. The thought came to mind to purchase stands, but other speakers arrived, and as is the life of a fickle collector, my honeymoon with the 901s soon faded. I stored them for a few months and finally ended up selling them to a buddy of mine.
The main problem with these speakers, for me anyway, was the fact that they were very sensitive to placement. They wanted to be a certain distance from the corners in an otherwise uncluttered space. My room dynamics just didn't lend to the "perfect" listening space for these babies. Other than that - they sounded fine and had terrific imaging with the radiated sound waves. Had to be in the sweet spot though as with most speakers.
Have any experiences with your BOSE 901 speakers? Please leave a comment or shoot me an email.
What's it worth? With BOSE 901 Equalizer and walnut cabinet
Good: $500
Fair: $350
As in photo (no equalizer): $250
Heard my first set back around 1978. Boston had just put out thier debut album, Long Time, wow, it was sweet. I was just a kid then, but thats where i got the bug for this hobby.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog, just going thru all the posts, lots of familiar stuff thats for sure
One of the most over-hyped and over-priced speakers ever made. Equalized or not, these speakers lack the deepest bass and the upper treble that separate the good speakers from the junk. Used with a subwoofer and a super-tweeter, they make a decent mid-range speaker.
ReplyDeleteI just listened to a pair and with a large 200wpc separate amplifier driving these in a decent room. There was bass down into the mid 20hz region, and while rolling off, still present and clearly audible. I could hear up to 16khz test and I don't think I can hear past that at 41 years old. But the 24 year old next to me could up to 18khz. I don't see that as a major issue, but this is the current model as I write this. These were a lot of fun, and really they do add a new dimension to music that some people really enjoy. It's also hard to believe how seemly bottomless they are in handling power, and I really think separates are the only way to go on these. I can see why some picky musicians have chosen the reverse pro version of these, the 802's over the years.
ReplyDeleteNice article indeed. I have had many speakers in my life even some Infinity RS 2.5 and a pair of fostex LS3. The one thing i Love about my 901s is that i listened more to music other then swapping speakers every 3 days. Isnt this what this hobby is all about. I love mine for the price i got them for used. I did have a pair of black ones(not The Concertos) but mine were to close to direct sunlight and start peeling. I definitly prefer the Series % with the wood and metal look. I know have a pair of Series 3 and Series 6 stacked with a bose spatial receiver and to my ears this works.
ReplyDeleteI was given a pair of series 3 that needed surrounds on all 18 drivers. I replaced the surrounds which was a fun and easy project. I bought the series 3 EQ on Ebay and had all the upgrades done to it.Now, this is 2020 when I did this. I had been curious about 901s since 1978 when I was 18. All thru the years never heard them.Wejj , Once I had everything ready, I hooked them up to my Pioneer SX D7000 120 wpc..OMG I was blown away. I even cranked them up to almost full volume and we were amazed because they were clear with no distortion. Now they are on my Pioneer SX 1250 !60 wpc fully restored and I am a very happy camper. My neighbors not so happy because I like my music hard and loud. Ha , ha 61 years old and still rockin....still into chicks too...
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