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Bose 901's with "highend ancillaries"??

I STILL see Bose 901's are available here and maybe new after umpteen years in existence and yet I have still never hear a pair (unless you count the occasional high school concert which used the professional version).

Has anyone ever used these with "highend" gear, and if so what was the result??

Just curious if there is actually something good about the speaker other than the marketing the Bose Corporation has done over the years as they have never been inexpensive and even now hold their value pretty well.

And while I ma sure one can do better for the $$$ etc etc I am only looking for comments on how they actually SOUND - strengths and weaknesses
jrinkerptdnet

Showing 2 responses by almarg

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almarg
9,670 posts
 
You'll probably find this thread to be of interest. My comments in it were as follows:
01-07-12: Almarg
01-07-12: Johnnyb53
There are other things I don't agree with. For example, Amar Bose arrived at an 11/89% ratio of direct-to-reflected sound based on his measurements of Boston's Symphony Hall. The thing is, Symphony Hall is one of the most reverberant concert venues in the world.
I would add that there are problems with the 11/89% ratio in at least two other respects:

1)A recording of a performance in a hall will already have captured both direct and reflected sound. And if the recording is well engineered, that will have been done in a reasonably proper ratio.

2)A given ratio of direct to reflected sound that is produced by the speakers and the listening room will be perceived completely differently than the same ratio would be perceived in a concert hall, because the delay times between direct and reflected sound arrivals are vastly different in the two cases.

Putting aside issues related to quality of implementation, the basic concept itself is fundamentally flawed IMO.

Disclaimer: I have never heard a Bose speaker. I also have no desire to.
Regards,
-- Al
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almarg
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I MAY have to try a pair just to satisfy my curiosity ... though I am not sure I can drive them with 6w of tube power. Might have to break out my old Yamaha 2020 receiver!
Keep in mind that the deep bass boost provided by the 901's external equalizer will eat up a lot of your amplifier's power capability, if the music being listened to has significant content at low frequencies.

Based on a quick Google search, it appears that frequencies in the 30 to 40 Hz region are boosted by amounts between 12 db and 20 db or so, depending on the setting of the bass contour control, and perhaps also on the version of the 901. With lesser but still significant boosts being applied up to well over 100 Hz at the control's center position.

A boost of 12 db would in effect reduce your 6 watt amplifier to a 0.375 watt amplifier on notes in the corresponding frequency range, while a 20 db boost would in effect reduce it to a 0.06 watt amplifier on notes in the corresponding frequency range.

Regards,
-- Al
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