Bose 901 series VI & Yamaha A-S2000

I've decided to hold out for the Bose 902. It is rumored to have power grills and dual exhaust.

The end is surely near. This is a sign that the apocalypse is upon us. I think it all started when people began using "party" as a verb.

Next I'll be reading about Wendy's gourmet restaurants.

Everyone should buy what they like. However, all of us, if we are honest and we can still remember that far back, made a lot of costly mistakes finding our way. In those days it was much easier to turn your product back into the market place than it is today. So decisions made now are harder to correct than they were when we were fumbling.

Smart people learn from history and the mistakes of others thereby sparing themselves the expense, disappointment and inconvenience that an emotional or otherwise unwise purchase can cause. This is why we read Consumer Reports and ask for advice on this and other forums. Apparently many, maybe most, of us believe this to be true.

That being said, it is also true that we only know what we know and, in most cases, can't see how little we know vis a vis the whole body of available knowledge. To overcome this handicap, I strive to locate and emulate the individuals who impress me as well experienced and intellectually sufficient enough to guide me by the way they spent their money. That removes much (probably all) of "personal agenda" questions from my evaluation of their selections.

So --- please find me an amplifier manufacturer who involves their company with Bose. The potential to hitchhike a partnership with a sales monster like Bose would be very tempting, I would think. But no-one does it. Could be because of the credibility bruising they would suffer from embracing a product which the majority of audiophiles denounce -- or --- it could be because Bose really is that bad relative to the various and sundry other alternatives available. I suspect the latter, having owned 901s for 4 years in the 1970s and having sold hundreds of pairs of them during that time. Quite by accident I found myself using a pair of $100 AR speakers back then and being amazed at just how much better they sounded than my prized 901s.
What a shock that was. It took me awhile but I got over my ego and my staunch evangelical recalcitrance and sold my 901s. Got a pair of B&O S-45 speakers and never looked back.

For what it's worth - that's my answer to your inquiry.

Incidentally, I own and use daily a pair of horn hybrid loudspeakers nowadays that outperform anything else I've ever heard anywhere. And I drive them with a Yamaha A-S2000 integrated which is very well up to the task. So you are on the right track amp wise in my opinion but you should look elsewhere for speakers if you value nuance, tonal accuracy and timbral fullness. Bose doesn't do that stuff. There's no harm in buying them and there's the chance that you will like them for awhile, but the most likely scenario has Bose going down in your personal experience as an unnecessary detour.

Tell us where you are located and its just possible there will be some used speakers in your vicinity that you can evaluate in person. Audiogoners are everywhere.

Rrog - You seem to me to be a neophyte. Because of your ignorance you assume as much about others. Fact is, Bose has never for a minute been about performance. It is a marketing triumph, pure and simple. Any contention that the latest Bose 901 is substantively different or better than previous iterations is specious and probably naive, and certainly unrealistically optimistic.

The design, as has been explained here several times by your superiors, has inherent limitations. Of course, you have the right to believe anything that comforts you, but confronting others who plainly know more about physics, speaker design and reality than you do, is a very poor decision. Lighten up. Go enjoy your speakers, if you have them, and let the guys who have maps give directions.

These speakers would deliver a lot of performance for minimal money and they are located in the Tidewater area of Virginia. I'm sure they would be a good match for the Yamaha amp which, by the way, I also own and love.

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=97975.0

Here's a deal in Erie, Pa. and the seller sounds like he would meet you part way since he can't ship. Maybe you could meet up at Paterno's house for the exchange. State College might be a reasonable midpoint.

I remember these speakers from the 1990s. They were excellent.

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=102353.msg1037222;topicseen#new

Out of curiosity, I googled the Unity Fountainhead and found a thread with pictures so you can see what these speakers look like. They are much better than anything you imagined buying. If you can swing for somewhere near $2K and travel some to get them, you will be glad you did. The cabinets are made of Corian, very dead and quite expensive. I'm not sure what drivers he used but I know there is an 11 inch downward firing woofer with very good bass.
Efficiency was in the low 90s so your Yamaha would drive them with ease.

Original msrp in the mid 1990s was around $5-6K.

There was a very positive Stereophile review which you might turn up with a little research.

http://trade.audioasylum.com/ca/ca.html?ca=53287

Timlub - Would you be able to speculate about the parts cost in the 901s? And for now disregard the 60% bulk discount that Bose surely sees?
After I see your guess, I'll offer mine.