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Bose 901...really

The good book says that there is a time and place for everything. Even Bose 901s?

I am building a pool house addition to my house, 36 X 26 with a cathedral ceiling about 24 ft. The entire interior is hard surface wood, glass, and concrete, so it will be very reverberant. I want to install a set of multichannel speakers. For the fronts, I am all set, with NHT1259 woofers in a 3 cu ft wall cavity, along with three Dynaudio monitors, mounted on the wall. (I have all this on hand). The rear wall includes a very large set of windows. They say that if the world gives you lemons, make lemonade. Why not use that expanse of glass and wood as a reflector for Bose 901s? I have a hunch it would work quite well. And the darned things a cheap as speakers go these days.
eldartford
rodman99999
6,032 posts
 
Eldartford- I missed that last sentence. Hey- If it works, and you're happy: don't change it!! Just build your airplane around it. Maybe if you keep it in the corners, your wife won't notice? Tell her it's an acoustic treatment to eliminate spurious trepidary bi-peds. That gets 'em every time.
eldartford OP
4,262 posts
 
Rodman99999...When I was at MIT Prof Bose had a huge multidriver speaker hung from the ceiling in the music library. It was mono. (That gives you an idea how long ago it was). At the time his interest was in multiple small drivers instead of one big one. Perhaps he was before his time, because today it's hard to find an audiophile speaker with a 12" or 15" woofer, and 6" woofers are multiplying like cup holders in cars. But his creative idea was to push the resonant frequency UP, instead of down, as all other designers do, so as to operate below resonance where rolloff behavior is smooth and predictable, and therefore correctable by electronic means.
inpepinnovations
134 posts
 
My original 901s were the II version - acoustic suspension with the resonance pushed up to 200 Hz. The equalizer compensated and the boost at 20 HZ was about 40db. They sounded very good and bass was flat to 30 Hz, but I did need to drive it with a HK Citation 16 and the meters showed 200 watts on peak pipe organ music.

The switche to a more 'efficient' vented model was a step backward in my opinion.

Bob P.
rodman99999
6,032 posts
 
But none of those current speaker designs are trying to reproduce everything from 20Hz to 20kHz with that same one driver. The laws of physics just don't allow it without distortion. Perhaps one day the 901 will be produced with a cone than acts as a perfect piston while reproducing all those octaves at the same time. But then- It still won't really matter to me, save perhaps on an academic level. BUT- If they're the wind beneath(and faster air above) your wings: fly with them!! Just don't get too close to the Sun. Some guy named Icarus established that doesn't work very well either.
eldartford OP
4,262 posts
 
Rodman99999...But, those little woofers ARE trying to reproduce everything down to 20 Hz, unless you use a filter to electronicly roll off the signal around 40 Hz. They beat their little hearts out trying, without much audible result, but with adverse effect on important higher frequencies. That's why subwoofers have become so popular. They replace what speaker system manufacturers left out.
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