They''re not bad.

They''re not great.

I am neither pro- nor anti-Bose. In fact, I don''t even own a pair of Bose 901''s........... I have a good friend who does own a pair that I have spent a great deal of time listening to and I would say they are OK. I don''t understand the thing about the extra equalizer box being necessary at all, though. I think a person would be better off chucking that and buying a graphic equalizer, but, hey...........it comes in the box with the speakers. All I can do is to compare the 901''s to the speakers I use at my house for music listening which are JBL L100 Century''s. The L100''s are better.

Incredible enveloping sound. Broad mid range and crisp highs.

None. This is Bose Bose is the best.

Being an audiophile, and thoroughly enjoying accurately produced sound I must say these speakers are absolutely amazing. The sound reproduction of the 901's easily surpasses any of the speakers I have mentioned above by exponential leaps and bounds. Through extremely advanced research and by taking advantage of the basic laws of physics Bose manufactures a flawless speaker capable of out performing any speaker at any price point. The accurate tight bass projected into my listening area is astounding. Accompanied with an extremely open and deep midrange one may be easily swept away to a place of sonic bliss. Granted these speakers will require quality amplification, so they are not for designed for those who use low quality recievers such as Denon, B&K, Marantz ETC....

I highly recommend these speakers. Only a true Audiophile will enjoy them the way deserve to be enjoyed!

Similar Products Used:

B&W 802'S, MARTIN LOGANS, Paradigm Studio Reference 100's

Mid-range and bass reproduction; versatile

Must be used with supplied EQ that needs careful connecting to amp or receiver; intelligent user required

I stopped thinking speakers required big woofers and other typical features immediately after my first ear-opening chance to hear these speakers in use. I was very skeptical until a friend bought a pair of the Series III and hooked them to his Sansui 9090 in 1978. The components both my friend and myself used with these 901's were never considered at the top end of equipment. However, the clarity, realism, (who cares about statistics and laboratory measurements), and "have-to-hear-it-to-believe-it" bass I get from these speakers is the best I've ever listened to. My original system included a Sherwood HP2000 integrated amp @120watts/channel, a Thorens TD115 turntable, a Pioneer CT-F900 cassette deck and my Series IV 901's. There was virtually no discernable distortion at any volume level. This means I don't really care what a lab test reflects when the sound is this crisp and clear. The real benchmark is the listener's own ears. I find negative comments directed towards these speakers very puzzling. It should be mentioned that the placement and the proper connection of these speakers is critical, altho I have found the former to be much less critical than has been made so much fuss over in so many reviews. I am in the process of upgrading my system and that will include the possible replacement of the amp and a nice trade-in policy offered by Bose to give me a new set of Series VI for about what I paid for my originals at the 1979 PX price! I am also considering adding a sub-woofer. It was with with much dismay that I learned that not all digitally recorded or re-issued music is done with the same level of quality and so not all CD's sound great. Poor sound reproduction using my Bose has never been the fault of Bose or Sherwood.

Similar Products Used:

There is not now, and never has been, anything similar to these except other series of the same speakers

Wide sound field and power handling,warrante program.

Must have receiver with tape monitor or pre-amps input and output loops on rear of recevier,or use separates.

The 901 is a great speaker for large rooms with a rear wall for the speaker 8 rear firing speakers to bounce off of. Very LARGE sweet spot.I had the series 4 bought at pawn and went though the exchange program and got the series 6.Using with (DPL) setup and loved the sound. Now using (DD) setup and using series 5 on the rear channel and Bose 802 series 2 professional on the front channel.Love the sound as it fills the room at all seating areas.Great speaker must get use to the sound of the speakers boucing off the wall.Great sound field,sound as the band is in the room and not coming out of a box in front of you.(5 Stars).This is a home speaker not to set on patio and have party outside.Need that rear wall. Must have that rear wall.This is a speaker that you are planning to keep for a long time,That's what it was built for and that why the exchange program is so great.I have not seen a warrante program or a company stand behind it's product the way Bose does. I was in the outlet Mall a a couple came in with a 3 year old lifestyle system and was having problems. The saleman hooked the system upand found no problems. So that couple would not have to drive bask 30 miles if problems come up at home sold them a brand new lifestyle for $33.59 afer durning there trade in for the old lifestyle.

Similar Products Used:

Bose 201, bose 501 and bose 601.Magaplanes.

I never bought a pair.

A buddy of mine bought a pair.

The ol' familiar Bose site...A good place to hit after a long day of work and a few stiff drinks. Why is that, you ask. Why, the sheer predictability of it all. You know, 'how could they sell so many if they suck...', 'people bash them because they sell well (!)...', et al.

Sometimes I feel stupid for slogging through my twelve-hour days for the same money I could make in 40 hours at an office (I'm a chef...). Just then, I see people raving Bose speakers, and I realize there are people FAR more stupid in the world. It warms my heart...

The Bose site always makes me wonder- you read reviews of a movie. If everyone says it blows, you assume it blows. You read restaurant reviews. If everyone gives it two stars, you figure you're better off at Burger King. You read user critiques of THOUSANDS of products at Audioreview.com and figure you're getting a pretty fair slice of public opinion. You hit the Bose site, you see FAR below-average scores and you see...

CONSPIRICY!!! Holy Cow! Who'd slander a great company like Bose? Murder, murder!

Er, uh, wait...could it be that the poor reviews of Bose products (not withstanding a few REAL masochists), more accurately reflect the quality of their products than the Bose Inquisition would like to believe? Could it be that the die-hard Bose fans have their heads up their corn- chutes, not the rest of the entire planet at large? Could THOUSANDS of negative reviews actually be honest consumers calling a spade a spade?

Check out a hundred or so products on this site. See any OTHER conspiracies? Go ahead, read the reviews of a few dozen products in a few dozen product catagories. I'll wait... See a pattern here. C'mon, do I hafta come to yur house an' pimp-slap ya'?

Come, now. Let's put this issue to rest and get on to more useful topics, like the value of green magic-marker around the edges of CDs. Bose has sold a lot for the same reason McDonald's has sold a lot: marketing and a big head start. Every taste test ever done shows a clear taste preference for several of their competitors. But there are Mikky Dee's on the moon, for Crissakes.

But this issue won't be put to bed. People who love Bose, just like those who love 'Touched By An Angel' and 'Opra' aren't really actively shopping for something better: the brain is on autopilot. The herd mentality rules over better judgement. They're right, it's the rest of the world that's wrong. Opinion polls be damned- the Bose Inquisition sees conspiracy at every turn. Does Willy Clinton own a set of Bose?

Just as well... I may need a belt tomorrow, and I always know where the court jester will be performing. On the Bose site, a monster in his pants, doing a dirty dance, in defense of King Bose.

Live long and enjoy the gear.

Similar Products Used:

Sanyo boom box my dad always take fishing.

rock hard, solid bass, weak highs, fills room

hardly audiophile class (never claims to be)

There is a part of the brain in which resides the ability to differentiate between "art and farse". Do we condem Dr Bose of his brilliant marketing skills, or do we applaud him for his "different" approach to sound design? After spending my pre-teen/teen young adult life dreaming of owning high end hifi gear, and reading countless advertisements on bose (hype?) I was able to purchase a pair of 901 IV in Japan during my Navy stint for circa 1983 $650 (US retail $1500). This speaker is NOT for any amp/recieve you throw at it (sh?t in sh?t out) but for shear power it holds it's own. Sonically I can't say it belongs in the audiophile class, but for the budweiser, weekend party people it holds it's own. I also believe an "audiophile" is one who can "afford" the title. (what's that? buy a low end audiophile component that cranks out 50 watts?) c'mon size DOES matter! Now the crap about direct-reflect in thereory is ok, but in practical terms it sucks. If I'd known then, I'd held out for a pair of Vandersteen per say; adcom etc. But the 901'a cranked out wall shakin' 'good, solid bass" for close to 13 years before the loss the low end capabilities ("pops" now in bass reigon). Would I buy another pair? no.

Quote from one of George's previous posts: "The highs had no sibilance". This was intended as a criticism. George's ears prefer sibilance. If yours don't, ignore his nonsense, and all the other idiotic stuck-in-the-muck jump-on-the-bandwagon lynch-mob-mentality noise making.

The Bosephobe's (Boso's for short) outbursts are pretty revealing; they're on a kind of pathetic power trip, needing to force Bose owners to defend themselves against the Boso's corrosive bile. The sound they really love best is the sibilance of their sibilant-spitting hissy-fits.
Poor George. You'd think his nice Nautiluses would give him enough pleasure to not waste time authoring cliche-ridden rants. Revealing.

The Bosephobe's (Boso's for short) outbursts are pretty revealing; they're on a kind of pathetic power trip, needing to force Bose owners to defend themselves against the Boso's corrosive bile. The sound they really love best is the sibilance of their sibilant-spitting hissy-fits.
Poor George. You'd think his nice Nautiluses would give him enough pleasure to not waste time authoring cliche-ridden rants. Revealing.

It's OK

You're OK

The Bosephobe's (Boso's for short) outbursts are pretty revealing; they're on a kind of pathetic power trip, needing to force Bose owners to defend themselves against the Boso's corrosive bile. The sound they really love best is the sibilance of their sibilant-spitting hissy-fits.
Poor George. You'd think his nice Nautiluses would give him enough pleasure to not waste time authoring cliche-ridden rants. Revealing.