Bose 901 Series V Questions

@czarivey

"I tried wearing my T-shirt backwards, but it was very uncomfortable.

I believe that if I try that with speakers the effect will be nearly-same."

It’s moments like these that keep me coming back to this forum on a daily basis.

Yes I have.  Don't.  With the equalizer,  they will fill a big room with sound.  Not good in a small room.  

I have a pair of 901 IV's in a secondary system in my screen porch (the rears pointed at solid walls). I bought them cheap as the equalizer had been lost. The only music that sounded good on them was dub. I tried Nick Drake- terrible is too kind a word for the result! I bought an equalizer online- now all's fine. I have Quads in my living room, which are much better for close listening. 901's do what they're engineered to do very well- they move a huge amount of air for their size, filling the room with very spacious sound, making all recordings sound "big". They don't open a window into the inner life of the music- it's more like they demand you wallow in the gestalt of it all. Check your critical faculties at the door, partake in psychoactive substances if that's your thing, feed the system loud, impactful material & you'll be in heaven until the neighbors complain! They make me feel like a teenager again, which has its pluses and minuses.

The 901’s are very picky on how they need to be placed. Distance from the ceiling, side walls, rear walls, from each other etc. As far as your question is concerned, yes, you can turn them around but the room filling effect that they were designed for goes out the window. If you can’t install them within the parameters suggested by the manufacture, having them backwards may even be a better option. I have heard them backwards and they sound good. Just experiment. If you like the way they sound that’s all that matters. As for me, I was happy with them when I had them, but over time realized that they lack fidelity. I donated them to a family member several years ago. * Definitely use the included eq!  

Say what you want.....properly positioned ( hung from the ceiling ) with an acoustically dead and flat wall behind them, using the supplied eq ( with top notch ics ) and a monstrous amplifier ( I used a tweaked AMPZILLA ).....they were FUN ! You can spend more, and do much worse..... Enjoy, MrD.