Bose 901 Series VI Floorstanding Speakers

Bose 901 Series VI Floorstanding Speakers 

DESCRIPTION

Die Lautsprecher und der Equalizer der Serie VI, Modell 901 von Bose bilden in Verbindung mit Ihren Stereogeräten eine hervorragende Musikanlage. Der aktive Equalizer ist ein integrierter Bestandteil der Anlage und kann je nach den vorhandenen Geräten auf verschiedene Weise angeschlossen werden.

USER REVIEWS

Showing 61-70 of 315  
[Jul 18, 2005]
surie
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

very good at creating sound illusions , good bass .

Weakness:

set up for home theatre , too much of trial and error .

No I was not cheated , In India we have high custom tariffs , so price is usually double ,anyways my bose speakers are a year old , initially I had a lot of trouble setting them up , in case you want to hook them up as a part of theatre system , it is nerve racking , as most amplifiers do not support the bose 901 , due to the bose amp loop , so please look into that , I had to buy another amp to hook my bose , I have a denon 3803 and had to buy a denon 2803 ( you dont have to do this if you dont hook up your dvd by optical cable or denon link and dont mind the bose equaliser working on your centre and surround systems )so once i set my system up , the sound was still not great , thanks to this forum i started moving my speakers around , and now i adore the sound i get , the sound is full and the speakers are versatile , movies , rock , pop even hip hop sounds excellent , personally i think I made the right choice, but before you make your choice please do not think you will get optimal sound on day one , and also remember sound is perception , so choose what sounds good to you , as such these are very good speakers.

Similar Products Used:

JBL quad custom made centre and sub

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Mar 08, 2005]
DWas295
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

1) External active equalizer. This is a MUCH BETTER idea than the internal passive EQ's found in even $20,000 speakers. The EQ, when properly placed in the pre-amp's effect loop-thru, does not require your amplifier to expend band energy on frequencies that are going to be "thrown away" in the power resistors in passive equalizers. Also, the amp is not presented with the wild impedance shifts caused by passive EQ's in line with the speaker drivers. (2) Multiple small drivers suffer less cone breakup distortion than large drivers, but can still move just as much air. (3) The tuned acoustic chambers that Bose uses behind the the drivers present a high pressure, which requires less physical movement of the driver cones to creat the same sound pressure level. (4) Some have claimed that the drivers are simple paper cone el-cheapo units. Not so - they have voice coil motors almost as large as the cone itself, have edge-wound flat voice coil windings, and can handle very impressive levels of energy. In many years of listening to high SPL music including pipe organ and rock, I have had absolutely no failures of any kind. My KLH's trashed their tweeters in only 2 years of use. Enough said.

Weakness:

The speakers are sensitive to placement, and of course like all speakers, must be used WITH THEIR EQUALIZER IN PLACE! That would seem obvious, but based on some other reviews here, apparently it is not.

These are truly excellent speakers, and as others have said, I find it very sad that many will not give these units a fair listening test due to the prevailing "audiophile" opinion. My best example of their goodness is that I have a set of Magneplanar MMG's residing in the closet right now because the 901's just flat outperformed them, in my listening room. I have compared them, in my own home, with the Maggies, some Polks, Klipsch, KLH and Phase Tech's. I would really like to understand the silly rants against Bose products - what is behind this? Apparently, entry into the hallowed halls of audiophiledom requires you to empty your wallet and denounce Dr. Bose. I am an Electrical Engineer, and I understand the science of speakers. There are many good features of these units, that I will detail in the strengths area below, and I encourage all who might be interested to audition these, with the equalizer hooked up and the speakers properly set up as specified in the Bose literature. For the record, I do not sell these or any other audio items, I do not own stock in Bose and I am not involved with Bose in any way except as a customer. I can assure you that these were chosen based on what my ears tell me, not what I choose to believe from the "audiophile" press. I once searched the Stereophile archives for a test of a Bose product, and all I could find was one brief test of the first model of the 901's, in 1969 as I recall. There was no empirical data given, and the reviewer (possibly Gordon Holt?) spent the entire review explaining why the speakers could not work. Stereophile and Gordon Holt's mantra was that you could only determine the quality of a product by listetning to it. So why have they not listened to a Bose product since 1969? The evidence of an agenda is overwhelming. I would love to know what is behind this agenda.

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch, Maggies, Polks, KLHs, Phase Techs.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Jan 13, 2005]
toddress
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Great value for money,powerful,decent sound

Weakness:

cone excursion limits is a problem,need 200w per channel at least to sound good.

I enjoy my 901's very much and they are not the only speakers i own,unlike some others who may or may not have ever heard these speakers i am happy to point out the good and the bad things about them.Good,High power handling,decent reproduction of live recordings.small in size,ability to be used as P.A style speakers(we used a pair at my brothers party recently with a Subwoofer and the results were great).They may not be the best quality loudspeakers on the market but i get very frustrated when i hear people comparing them to Martin Logan/B&W Nautilus or other very high end speakers....HELLO they are not even in the same ball-park on quality or price for that matter,hell i would be upset if i owned a set of Wilson Watt puppy's and some Bose 901s sounded better but thats what people keep comparing them too.I dont think the price of my humble 901's is anywhere near the price of these speakers.Bad,cone excursion seems to limit the bass these things can take,Active E/Q seems to roll-off any serious bottom end which is annoying at low levels,series V1 has been around since 1988(could be time for a new model).

Similar Products Used:

B&W,Mordaunt Short,KEF,Cerwin Vega,JBL

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
3
[Jul 31, 2004]
shoes
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

cant kill them everything else including people are dying i will too had these since 87 . when setup wright they crank if you hang them from the corners itssounds deadly.

Weakness:

none

I still have them and will die with them,and then she will sell them with all my other stuff.I think if your going to a store to buy these speakers make shore they have the eq hooked up wright it can work hooked up wrong make shore all conections are wright and then when you have sound try the eq tape mon swicth it shouldnt make sound when that is switch is pressed i hook up my eq there oh and make shore they have moniter or you are screwed if it doesnt you have to run your cd dvd or whatever strait int to the eq and to the receiver in ,and that no good because the radio or anything else wont have the eq must have tape mon.

Similar Products Used:

my system pioneer vsx 9300 and vsx d810s,pdf9400 100 disc and laserdisc, gr777 eq sony vcr mini disc,panasonic 5dvd,sony 48 in not hd. speakers bose 901, infinity sm 62 and reference ones,in my home theater withthe 810 i got it for 299 can lol i have b&w 6001 series with cen rears energy vcss dipoler pipolers surrounds and one energy efx for dts es and a mirage psb150i piano fin sub this thing shake the house on -18 . thanks for looking and have fun try stuff out for yourself because everyone different like yamaha amps they have high wratings but i like the sound of the pioneers but everyone has there prefernece remember you have to live with the sound you pick for years have fun i know i do.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jul 08, 2004]
mileysubet
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

still thinking.....OK I give up.

Weakness:

The sound is muddy and inaccurate, hard placement, No high end speaker that I know of uses an EQ.

No one in their right mind should ever pay over 200.00USD for these speakers. If you are willing to spend around 1000.00 for a pair of speakers please do some research, there are many speakers out there that easily/far outclass the Bose 901's within the same price range. A high power amp and expensive cables will not improve the sound of a terible sounding speaker. Use your ears to listen to the music not the media.

Similar Products Used:

Axiom: M80ti VP150 QS8 EP350 B&K AVR507(7x150w)

OVERALL
RATING
2
VALUE
RATING
1
[Jun 16, 2004]
Shozo
AudioPhile

Strength:

Tremendous and I mean scarey good dynamic range. You will hear the full frequency range reproduced at any volume level. Tremendous power handling. 240 watts continuous and 400 watts peak. Cheap drivers could not handle that kind of power. They are extremely well made drivers. I also love the appearance of these speakers. Also people please consider this. The designers of these speakers are graduate degreed MIT electrical engineers.I looked it up. Now I'm willing to trust the design knowledge of people who have graduated with EE degrees from one of the finest universities in the world. But more importantly and actually more to the point, I trust what I hear. They just flat out sound incredible. I also like the additional adjustments possible on the EQ for mid-bass and mid-treble. It allows you to tailor the sound even more to your room and to your tastes. I adjust the mid-bass to about +5db to fill in that area and make them sound fuller. I also cut the mid-treble by 1 or 2 db for a more natural sound in my room. I love that flexibility. I'm driving them with a 50 watt Onkyo receiver and I can play them louder than I can stand. They are very easy to drive. You don't need expensive electronics!

Weakness:

The anti-intellectual reviews on this site that will scare people off from even giving these a try. If it wasn't for an unusual circumstance, I would have never bothered to ever listen to these speakers. I'm so lucky that I got to hear these set-up properly in someones' home. The dealers do these speakers a terrible injustice by not setting them up properly and usually the whole system is not even set-up. If you would just be open minded and listen to them properly set-up, I have no doubt you will be amazed. Also after all the terrible reviews people won't believe a positive review. They will think I must sell these or have some connection with Bose. I don't but of course I have no way of proving it. It's just sad that I have to make that kind of disclaimer. Of course we don't really know the motivation of some of the people giving bad reviews either. Some of them could sell competitors products. Listen to a pair a pair properly set-up and decide for yourself. It's not really a weakness but a strength but many people will perceive it as a weakness. If a disc is poorly recorded it will sound poorly recorded. Most all rock and pop music is terribly recorded. The 901's will not sugar coat the sound. It the recording is bad it will sound bad. The opposite is also true.If you have a really great recording it will sound better than you have ever heard it. My daughter plays bassoon,flute and piano. I hear real instruments everyday. I also go to many live concerts. I know how real instruments sound. These speakers can reproduce that real sound in an uncanny way.

To give you some backround,I have been into audio since 1970.I been around and I've seen a lot come and go. I have owned,Thiel,Vandersteen,Spica,Unity Audio,Magnepan,Velodyne and other speakers. I bought into the Bose sucks line that true audiophiles buy into. I never even gave them a chance. Everybody says they suck so they must suck. After reading almost all of the reviews below,some several times, I was of the opinion that the Bose 901's and the Bose company were the biggest frauds in all of audio. I went over to a friends house who was moving to help him move. I had never listened to his stereo system before, we were mostly fishing buddies and where we went fishing was close to my house, so we were always over at my place. He had told me he had 901's and I had always felt sorry for him and felt he must have been brainwashed by Bose advertising. He was always polite about my system when he heard it and I was always smug thinking to myself that he was lucky to finally hear a good system. When I went to help him move he said he was selling most of his system because he was moving into a much smaller place. Divorce, she got everything! So when I got there he was playing his system. Modest Onkyo receiver,Pioneer DVD player. Actually both of those pieces are much better than I would have ever thought with my Audiophile mentality of seperates are always better and good seperates are far superior to any receiver. His room was pretty big, about 28 by 22. I honestly was shocked at what I was hearing. I really could not believe it. I kept asking him, do you have a subwoofer or some special processing going on here? Nope, no sub in sight and the reciever was playing the music straight thru with no processing. We kept putting on different discs with all different kinds of music. I couldn't believe how revealing it was. Discs that were recorded poorly were reproduced poorly. Well recorded discs were reproduced better than I had ever heard. I kept running thru my mind all of the things I had remembered reading on this site about these speakers and I just couldn't reconcile what I had read and what I heard. It really was the best reproduced sound I had ever heard. I've heard some really fantastic systems too. My system, at that time, Vandersteen speakers, and Audio Research electronics, was a fantastic sounding system. I still have it and it still sounds incredible to me. I love it. However, I asked my buddy if I could take the 901's home with me and see how they would sound in my home. He didn't have to move completely for a couple of more weeks so he said I could take them home and play with them. I went to Circuit City and picked up a $300 Onkyo receiver and a $160 Pioneer DVD player to play around with the 901's. I thought if I didn't like them I could take them back and get my money back. They have a 30 day money back guarantee. I hooked everything up and let it kind of burn in for several days. Old audiophile habits die hard. I also wanted to give them a fair shake by letting the gear break-in. I don't know if electronics really do break in but that what I believed, so i did it. Well after listening to these as much as I possible could for about 10 days, I had to admit that they were better than any speakers I had ever owned. I didn't want it to be true but is was. With supposedly cheap electronics too. I just don't understand the negative reviews. I really don't. I know when something sounds good. I know when something sounds bad. The 901's were incredible. They weren't just good they were amazing. After re-reading some of these other reviews I have to conclude that most people have never actually heard a good pair set-up properly. Like the guy that got a pair at the flea market for $150 bucks. Who knows what kind of condition they were in. I don't even think he used the equalizer. His and many of the other reviews, are irresponsible. I travel in my job so I made it a point to go in as many stores that sold 901's that I could find. I went in 8 and not one had them hooked up to the equalizer. Not one. The owners manual that comes with the 901's states to not even consider the sound of the speakers without the equalizer. I listened to them without the equalizer and they sound awful. That's why Bose states that this is a SYSTEM. The two 901's and the equalizer. This system has the best bass reproduction that I have ever heard. The dynamic range spec. on these are 106db at 36hz. In my room I got 100db at 28hz. You DO NOT need a subwoofer. I don't know how they do it but they do. I got -3db at 17,000hz. These play the highs and the lows. To state so irresponsibly that these speakers are deficient in the frequency extemes amazes me. Most men cannot hear about 15,00hz. It is such a shame that so many people will be turned off these great speakers by some of the ridiculous reviews. I listened thoroughly and then bought these speakers. My audiophile stuff is up for sale.

Similar Products Used:

VAndersteen, Thiel. Spica, Magnepan,Unity Audio, Velodyne and many more

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Mar 23, 2004]
sprensenbuhl
AudioPhile

Strength:

the marketing and advertisement of the company can lure your money

Weakness:

hi-frequency and bass, low quality speaker ring edges (gets worn out so fast), if you have this budget try audition other speaker brand

gives audible midrange, compromises the bass and hi frequencies it needs by its equalizer

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer reference amp M90,Micromega Minium,Van del Hul interconnect,audioquest speaker cables

OVERALL
RATING
2
VALUE
RATING
2
[Feb 02, 2004]
arsecon
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Plenty of tight controlled bass. Excellent soundstage and imaging, very smooth.

Weakness:

Placement and setup is more critical than other designs.

I have been interested for some time to try out the bose 901's for myself irrespective of the questionable reviews that have been posted in this site. I do admit they are entertaining to read. I have them in my home theatre setup in my bed room that previously consisted of JBL main, center and surround speakers augmented with a JBL subwoofer. I purchased the speakers on Ebay which offers models from series I to the current series VI. I purchased a series VI model that has light walnut finish with the lighter colored retro grills that are not available in the current series VI lineup. I am using the 901's in a home theater setup with an older 5 channel carver amp that feeds 100W per Channel to the 901's. I am using a bose vcs center speaker and a pair of bose 161's for the surround channels. I use 2 preamps, a prologic Carver CT28V for decoding analog, and a separate Technics DD DTS decoder for DVDs. The speaker hookup requires the use of a tailored bose EQ that is mandatory for these speakers, that each use 9 identical drivers. The speakers require special placement given eight of the nine drivers in each speaker fire from the rear and reflect off the back and side walls. The 901s need a clearance of at least 8 inches from the back wall and 18 inches of clearance from the sides top and bottom of the speakers. My setup places the speakers 6 feet apart and 12 inches from the back wall using the bose 901 stands that were included with my purchase. The stands are sold separately for approximately $150.00 if purchased new. After all the gear was hooked up and the speaker levels were balanced using an SPL meter I put on a Steely Dan DVD that is encoded in both plain stereo and Dolby digital 5.1. The bass from the 901's was very defined and plentiful. I was using a 12" powered JBL subwoofer prior to hooking up the 901's and it quickly became obsolete. In my setup there was no need for a subwoofer with the 901's set to the large setting for the main speakers. The highs were very smooth but somewhat subdued in comparison with the JBL's that I used before,that are somewhat bright to begin with. I play trumpet (not well) and brass instruments sounded excellent and a bit more upfront on the 901's than the JBL's I was using previously. The most distinctive difference between these speakers and conventional designs that use separate tweeters and woofers was the soundstage that was very open and consistent regardless of where you were seated from the speakers. The speakers with their reflective design created a very plausible center image in stereo that generally requires the listener to be centered perfectly between conventional dynamic speaker designs. There was no requirement to be in the "sweet spot" with the 901's. In multichannel DD mode, use of a center speaker resulted in a slightly better center channel image in a home theatre setup, I also felt the same way about the surround channels. From listening to the 901's in stereo for both music and movies, these speakers may suffice for the individual who enjoys the ambient sound of a full blown 6 speaker surround system but is unwilling to shoehorn the additional speakers and amplification. I was very pleased with the wide imaging of the 901's that I have not heard with other speakers that I listened to. The Bose however were lacking somewhat in the very top end, but made up for that shortcoming with a smooth midrange and a very ample and defined bass. Does this mean I will now replace all the JBL speakers in my living room just as I have done in my bedroom? The answer to that question is no. As with all different makes and designs of speakers there are inherent strengths and weaknesses. The Bose 901's speakers however are pleasing to listen to and with careful placement and will provide surprising results if you give them a fair chance. I enjoy audio and the experience associate the listening to music whether reproduced or live with a variety of different gear. My suggestion, please try these speakers for yourself before you make a judgement, and have fun making your comparisons as I did.

Similar Products Used:

JBL, Klipsch, Infinity, Polk, Jamo

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Jan 17, 2004]
synergy2
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Size, Appearance, Performance, Longevity

Weakness:

None

I have owned Bose 901 series VI for about 9 years. Like everything else, everyone has a opinion no one is right or wrong. Everyone hears & see's things differently, that's what makes the world go round, and being able to express those thoughts freely, is what makes this such a great country to live in! I have enjoyed these speakers ever sense the day I bought them. The sound quality and performance is outstanding. I have owned Ohm,MK's,RTR Towers,JBL,Bose. I have never had a problem with the 901's, I have had a lot of people lisen to them in my house & there amazed to the clearity & live like sound quality. I have gone through a lot equipment over the years, but the Bose just keep on going, they sound just as good today as they did when I first purchased them. I lisen to a wide verity of music, Classical, Jazz, Country & Rock, even some rapp occasionally. A speaker is only as good as the quality of sound that your putting into it period! I recommend them highly to anyone who is thinking about purchasing them. But do remember, because of the design of refective speakers, placement is critical! If you enjoy 2 or 4 channel stereo sound these are excellent for that type of application. If your building a system for 5.1, 6.1, 7.1, these are not for you! Equipment used: Aragon,Krell,McIntosh,Rotel,Parasound,Adcom,Carver,Luxman.

Similar Products Used:

Ohm,MK,RTR Towers,JBL

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 02, 2003]
soundigga
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Allround speakers sounding natural and accurate...I recommend them especially for all acoustical music lovers

Weakness:

Room placement is critical, I put 2 bricks between the speakers and the piedestals...otherwise the sound was bad..

Hi first of all I must clarified something about the price 1000$ for a 7 years old model ? But the thing is a brand new pair of Bose 901 VI cost 3354 $ here in Sweden !!.. (26 000 swedish crowns @ 7,75 sek for 1$) I´m 39 years old...My audio intresst started 25 years ago ...And I´ve learned one thing: audio is like ice cream;chocolate is not better than vanilla but one or the other may suit you better...But before judging a pair of loudspeaker you have to listen to them right...So to boots mcgiffin can you please listen to bose with the front side facing you...not the rear!!... And to all the other people who are talking about the theoretical abilities of an 4,5 " full range driver or those who are listening music dissecating musical art in pieces of frequency range...Stop this intellectual onanism, go to concert and listen to reality... Then try to remember how stuff sounds in the real world...With the help of the psychoacoustic´s laws,your listening room and at last your loudspeakers try to simply enjoy the sound you have at home...The way you do is not so important..Only the result counts... My BOSE are hooked-up with a combo ONKYO M-508/P-308 and cd plus dac CAMBRIDGE AUDIO , Tara Labs interconnects, SUPRA 3,4s Speaker´s cable...I´ve heard Magnepan 3,6, JBL L-250 or 4435,Klipsch La Scala,Mirage M3, Infinity Kappa 8,Martin Logan CLS,Usher, Dynaudio ...I have had in my possession JM LAB , CABASSE and CELESTION speakers but nothing came closer to the BOSE 901 mk VI in question of : sonical performances price and size...

Similar Products Used:

Nothing I know is similar to BOSE 901... Maybe stuff from Mirage or Definitive Audio ...But look at the size and price

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
3
Showing 61-70 of 315  

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