901 series 2 speakers

I had a pair of 901/2's way back when.  Drove them with a Marantz 2270 that when cranked, the dial lights would pulse with the bass line....

No, I didn't blow the Marantz. *L*  I would and did back off.  However...

Ran into a salesperson that opined that the 901's could withstand a kilowatt (like with the then current Phase Linear's 'big one') and not seem to be in distress.  I wouldn't have been surprised with a new pair...

Lived for awhile in a rent house, and was blasting away when the landlady walked in and waved to get my attention.  She was laughing that when I had it cranked, it would drown out her stereo indoors some 50' away.

What blew her mind was that when she'd walk to the mailbox, she could follow what I had on....100 yards away.....*L*

Yeah, they weren't accurate, and they weren't 'audiophile' with they way they radiated, but damn you could get LOUD with them.  Not surprised that Bose later offered them as PA drivers, pointing the back 8 at the audience and saying the front single could be used as a stage monitor.  Often thought if you stacked, say, a dozen of them per side that they'd be an insane line source.  Turn the first 5 rows into jelly....*L*

Hey johnny, thanks for the history lesson. *L*  That was certainly my 'state of the art' for the era, and to get a 'flashback insight' on WTF was going on makes too much sense. *G*

The 901's were still impressive for the 'time and place', and I was happy as a well-fed pig in mud back then.  They could almost literally blow my friends away, even given the limits they were in.

As for the stated demo, it seems to relate to the modern 'line source' stack we see in concerts, driven by enough wattage to pound nails into softwoods. *L*  Small wonder the first 5 rows go home with their ears ringing. ;)  Perhaps, fortunately, I couldn't afford those seats on a regular basis....I wouldn't be able to hear what I can...*L*

Bose was right at the time....massed small drivers can work wonders, given a certain level of 'control' with active EQ.  And it still works...I'm a fanboy of active EQ to this day, dialing for 'flat response' in the space I'm faced with.  "All things being equal", if you will. ;)

Thanks again....*G*

*L*  And easy to DIY for not much bucks today, either, if one cares to duplicate them.  And the active eq is a snap, too.

If one wants to blast the daylights out of the neighborhood with 'whatever', or just have some sheer audio 'freak fun', you could do so for grins.  Decent drivers would make it edge into 'audiophile turf', but that's just heresy on my part. ;)

But those running 'line source' styled speakers know what that's about.  Making a bunch of small drivers 'go Big' is a well-beaten path by now...

I've taken 6 cheapie Pioneers and turned them into 'lines' hanging from the beams in my shop, 3 per side.  The guys were complaining that they couldn't hear their tunes over the equipment.  That stopped. *evil G*L*

kosst, yeah, true.

But that was then, and it's certainly now.  It could have been done, something like it did get done, and that's what lead to what's done now.

Progressions happen with remarkable frequency. ;)

Darkness into the light, only to find we're still in the dark. *L*

timlub, I later owned a pair of L07's.  They would have 'lit up' a 901/2 pair nicely.  Pity the two pairs were about a decade apart in my presence.

Anything nice in front of the L07's would have been merely frosting. ;)
Ah, well....long ago, and far away....*G*

Here's a history lesson re the WOS...
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/the-wall-of-sound

Lynn...*applause*  Well said, sir. *S*

When it was just our ears, and those of the people we read and trusted, it was a simpler time and the choices seemed more 'black & white'.  As the technology advanced and the means of measuring what was occurring, it all became shades of gray...or grey, if one prefers..

Bose is still the leader of making small 'act large', with their studies on the how and why a enclosure can accentuate the response of a driver.  It can be regarded as art and artifice, but they've certainly remained a Name in things audio...

Audiophile.  A description that can depend on POV and expectations, IMHO.  One persons' jewel is anothers' costume jewelry....

I gave up on chasing zeros to the right of the decimal point.  If I like the sounds I hear, I will call it Good and call it a day.  Others can cheer or jeer as desired; like me, HO....;)

...and all things and comments being said, we've proved once again that it's impossible to be everything to everyone.

6$ per speaker....mmm.....I wonder what a 901'X' would sound like with 'better' drivers, even if your only 'yardstick' was $.  Sure, it'd be more $, but it'd an interesting thing to try...select to correct for the perceived shortfalls.

They really demanded to be in a larger than average room, for sure.  Otherwise it was like having your head IN the enclosure with the drivers...'really big headphones'...*G*