distintive sound

needs power

most people on this site have never listened to the 901's' probally only the 301's. these are the only bose speakers i would recommend, but they are real good speakers for the price. they do have a different sound to them but also do the klipsch and many others. they are something that you could consider. the problem with them is home theater. it is almost impossible to match them with a center and surround speaker because no other bose speaker matches their quality. in a 2-channel system they are something everyone should consider

Similar Products Used:

yamaha, atlantic tech,klipsch

they sound good

they are expensive

First off I did not end up buying a pair of 901s but I got ample time to test them at a local store. I own a few other pairs of Bose speakers. I own a pair of Bose 501 Series IV, they are big old cube style ones, and unlike the new 501s are actually good speakers, with a 10 inch woofer, and several tweeters. They sound clean, and have deep full bass. When I got my new surround reciever 11 years ago or so I ended up getting two pairs of 101s at Sears reduced. I never particularly cared for them, but they were dirt cheap, I use them in the kitchen now. I ended up finding a pair of 141s quite cheap a few years ago, I used them in my bedroom, they sounded much better than 101s, but I eventually upgraded to a pair of Acoustic Research 226PS in my bedroom, there was no real comparison, the ARs were so much better. I took the 141s and use them as surround speakers now. I ended up finding a pair of 201s for half price at Sears last August, and I put them in my computer room. It eventually came time for me to get a pair of speakers for my dolby digital reciever, so I went and auditioned many models. I tried a few Bose, mainly the 401s, 501s, 701s, and 901s. After listening to them I realized the main reason I keep buyings Bose speakers is because I keep finding them cheap. For the list prices they are quite expensive. The 401s which I believe are now discontinued were actually better than the new 501s. The 501s sound rather thin. The 701 sounds similar to the 501, a tad deeper bass but nothing special. I did like the 901s, but they are expensive for what you get. What I do like about the 901s and several other Bose speakers is the direct reflecting sound. Some of the rooms I am trying to use these speakers in have terrible soundstages, with odd dead spots, and the direct reflecting seems to overcome it (but it does add strange sensations of sound floating above you and other strange things). The bass can be a bit anemic sometimes, but overall they sounded good. I was not about to spend $1500 on a pair of speakers at the time. I auditioned a pair of Missions that were reduced but they sold before I got to buy them. Eventually I ended up searching Ebay seeing what if anything I could turn up. I stumbled across an oddity, a pair of IDI Turbo Speakers Inc. direct reflecting speakers, at a much more affordable price of $60. I had never heard of IDI, and couldnt track anything down on them, but I bid on them anyway figuring at the least I could use them in the kitchen instead of the 101s. Upon recieving these IDI speakers, they were a model called the Octagon, and Octagon shaped speaker with a chrome stand, with 8 speakers, a few woofers, a few midranges and tweeters. I think it is 4 woofers, 2 midrange, 2 tweeters. They have a few advantages over the 901s too, dedicated midranges and tweeters. The midranges are also sealed in the back so the woofers do not create any coloration in their sound. They also have some disadvantages, the stands are particularly inconvenient, because the speakers being roundish must sit directly in the center of them so they take up a bit of floor space. They weigh a ton, more than the 901s because they use 5/8s inch particle board, and the speaker wire enters from the bottom. They sound good though, I get the direct reflecting sound I wanted, and I saved over $1400. The 901s are good speakers, dont get me wrong, but they are expensive. Buying them would be a difficult decision at their price, there are a lot of other good speakers out there. If you want the direct reflecting sound, a dipole tweeter will do it, and there are other brands out there even though they may not be well known. For value the 901s gets two stars, at $500 less they would be a better value. They sound good enough to earn 4 stars IMO. If the price was more reasonable for the package it probably be a good deal. I have nothing against Bose, otherwise I wouldnt keep buying their stuff, but if the price isnt right I wouldnt hesitate to look elsewhere either.

Similar Products Used:

IDI Turbo Speakers Inc. Octagon, Bose 101, 141, 201, 501 Series IV, Utah WD-90, Acoustics 200P, Lyric 5, Acoustic Reasearch 226PS, Acoustic Research 318PS, and various others

name recognition? if that is a strength

no professional use
weak frequency response
harsh sounding midrange
audible distortion on bass

basically, tested my uncle's pair when he purchased them. after our tests and after he listened to my PSB golds, he took his bose back and purchased some Stratus silvers. He couldn't believe the clairity and detail, frequency response that was missing in the cheap bose.

bose is never used in theaters, yet they claim to be great for home theater.
likewise, none of their speakers are THX certified, because they simply cannot meet the standards. no recording studios use them for monitors because they simply are horrible.
bose is a big marketing company, nothing more. You can buy better speakers at half the price, don't believe us, go out and listen for yourself !
WAIT, that's right, bose seperates their speakers away from the rest of the companies in stores, so you CAN'T compare. suspicious coincidence, huh?
Those who like bose have never really heard decent speakers, and have fallen prey to the bose marketing machine. I am not advocating any particular speaker, just be smart consumers and compare with your MINDS and EARS, not some heavy marketing hype from bose

Similar Products Used:

I use PSB stratus Golds

can buy anywhere
maybe good for background sound, since speakers put muddy sound "everywhere"

sound like mud
if you like clean sound, accurate sound, accurate stereo imagine, don't buy these
cost about 10 times what they are worth

basically sounds like mud. no distinct soundstage, no highs, no lows, must be bose. built cheaply, small drivers. I can see why nobody likes these, bad design. bose can keep their design because better sounding speakers don't use it. lower speakers in the line are even cheaper, like bose 301, 501. They are made with cheap paper tweeters that look like TV speakers. just plain crap, avoid these like a sharp stick in the eye.

Similar Products Used:

have Infinity Kappa 6.2's now

Open soundstage

Muddy bass and no treble

I think the Bose staff started reading this site and found all the negative critism on the 901s. Nice try to bring up the ratings, but lets here from the real consumers, like me.

I have owned the Bose 901s, VI for over 10 years. I bought them while in the military, being not much more than 18. All I knew back about speakers was the name "Bose" and that they were the most expensive speaker at the PX (the only store authorized to do business on a base with no sales tax).

Over the years, the realization of the quality of these speakers kept chipping away at me, until I finally wised up. If anyone wants proof, just do a side-by-side comparison with any speaker over $500.

Now, that is not to say 901s are all bad. They are not. What they do well is create a "simulated" open soundstage by bouncing sound waves off of walls. With the sound waves bouncing in several directions, it appears like the sound is all around you. However, by bouncing the sound waves off of the wall, the wall absorbs part of the sound waves causing the sound to become muddy.

In many reviews posted below, you hear about muddy bass. The reason, all bass is produced by bouncing sound off of walls.

Again, I don't think these speakers are all bad, but if you do a price comparison, then they are horrific. My suggestion is that they make a good basement speaker where you don't care about the quality of the sound, all you want is for the sound to carry throughout the room. Of course, today, I wouldn't pay more than $450 for these speakers and you can probably get them for less. Don't pay retail $1400!

Sound

None

This is simply the best sounding pair of speakers ever made. There is no question that the Bose 901s are CLEARLY superior to ALL of the speakers that some morons think are audiophile quality.

Here are a few of the speakers I saw and heard before concluding that the Bose 901 is the one to buy. Also, some comments:

Realistic

Radio Shack makes them and thus has no middleman. Pretty good for the price as a result.

Kenwood

The pair that come with the 100 watts system that comes with the rack with CD player, receiver and tape deck.

Sherwood

The ones in the 75 watts setup.

Yorx

An excellent company that sells mostly boomboxes. On there top of the line boombox, they have a pair of speakers that will blow you away. Although Bose 901 is better, the outstanding sound quality of the best Yorx boombox should be considered. I am just not sure if you can hook the rear speakers and a center speaker to it. If they do, this boombox will be an AWESOME home theater with great surround sound. It's portable too, which makes it a steal.

Who is dumb enough to pay $3,000 for a pair of B&W speakers that weigh so much you can't even lift them off the floor? Plus, the sound of the YorX beats the B&W.

Similar Products Used:

None

What amazes me here is the incredible disparity of comments regarding the Bose 901s. It seems to be a real love/hate situation. The fact that some people seem to love these speakers is certainly a position they are intitled to, just as I'm sure there are those who love McDonald's hamburgers. But to say this is a "good" speaker and that it acurately reproduces music is about as far from the truth as one could come. The total design approach defies accuracy. First and foremost, to face the majority of your drivers away from the listener detracts from both the presence of the music as well as the ability of the speaker to impart maiximum detail. Don't believe me? Have someone stand near a wall, one to two feet let's say, and begin talking to you. Then have them turn and face the wall as they continue to speak. Need I point out the loss in sound quality? And this is just a simple human voice. Bose does this, of course, to recreate the "concert hall realism" of dominant reflected sound....ie. a bad seat at a live concert. A good seat gives you mainly direct sound, not reflected. Where would you like to sit?Secondly, trying to coax low and high frequencies from 4 1/2 inch drivers is something they are not capable of without excessive distortion, no matter how much you may equalize them. Anyone know of another manufacturer in the history of audio that has used a 4 1/2 inch tweeter? I don't think so. Can't work. Stupid. Good low bass from a 4 1/2 driver? Again, the limited throw capabilities of a woofer that small prohibits high quality, undistorted bass...again no matter how much you boost it with an equalizer.
Bose has been very successful marketing improperly designed loudspeakers for many years. They appeal to the uneducated, unknowing average person with speakers that ARE different and look different, their Acoustimas line garnering sales due SOLELY to it's small size. For that they should be given 10 stars. But they have never made a speaker which is even in the running with competitively priced models from others when it comes to sound quality. To believe anything else is just a delusion that someday you may rise above.
If you like your 901's, fine....but that does not make them deserve 5 stars. They are a 1/2 star speaker. no matter who the "listener" may be.

Power handling of course,stagey presence it gives you with the reflected sound. Plenty of bass if you have the power to bring forth such.

If you demand stereo separation stick with the direct radiators;if you lose a driver you may not notice,even a few before you may audibly notice it but your amp would notice it.It may feel a different impedence as it looses a driver.I'm no technician but this seems like a logical thought.

In summary gentlemen;at least that should address those that matter and I think that applies to at most half of the responders.I,as another mentioned,simply wanted a review of an audio product and find attacks on mideasterners and jews with references to half-breeding and racial slurs.I was entertained by the ignorance of these writers and wondered why their silly "review"was even posted.This site might want to consider their credibility as a reliable source when posting such crap.Now on to the speakers!!It seems the most frequent complaint is the lack of bass and treble.Well first of all are you using the equalizer;one that is spec'ed for your series speaker.Is it connected properly.I had mine connected improperly and it sounded just like the bashers say-a loud transister radio-pathetic.That's what the equalizer fixes.Now about that muddled bass.Is your amp strong enough for your bass demands or are you adding it with tone controls.Excessive tonal input colors the sound and gives a muddled increase because you increase such a broad range of lows.It also throws the music way out of tonal balance(the way it was meant to sound).Do what I'm doing right now.Get yourself more power and bring out the bass the right way-with wattage!!I have a 110 watt reciever and the 901s sound fine to me.I to have to add some bass with the reciever tone control as well as the mid-bass control of the equalizer.This does give my sound a little muddier bass but I should cure that with the 200 watt per channel phase linear 400 I'm getting soon.I don't know why they don't hear highs.If I'm hearing them maybe there the ones who are tone deaf.Granted there not as tingly as the JBLs but they only stayed tingly as long as you were online with them.Their tweeters had such a narrow angle of dispersion if you walked of to the side you lost most of those nice highs.I always had mine on their sides so I stayed in their treble dispersion range better.Not with the bose setup.You can truly walk around the room with less change than with radiating speakers.Stereo imaging.SO WHAT!!When I'm at the bar or at the concert hall is there any stereo imaging.Hell no!!If your sitting on one side of the club and you have to get up to relieve yourself of that first pitcher and you walk across to the other side does the music change from one channel to the other as you walk across the room.HELL NO!!Point being I want my music to sound as though I'm at the show.Have you so called audiophiles ever been to a show.Are you old enough for the bar.The sound IS reflected as is proven by the fact that some halls sound so much better than others.There's certainly some sound coming from the stage amps but the PA is what fills the arena with sound.Sound that is dispersed at super wide angles so the audience is bathed in both direct sound as well as a great deal of reflected sound.It's a sound that I feel is demonstrated accurately in your living room with these speakers.Now if you audiophiles want to sit around and try and decide which guitar is coming out of which channel go ahead and get some direct radiators cause these suck for that type of audiophilness.But if you want to go to the show--Bose 901s,but get a strong amp!!

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JBL L100 (Everything they say)

Everything in life is a compromise. The Bose 901 series is no exception. My first pair were 901 series III powered by a Phase Linear model 400 amp.

Before I get too far into this let me state that in my opinion the entire Bose line is excellent. I can cite weaknesses on most of the models - however the strengths far outweigh the weaknesses inherent in his designs.

An example of a weakness in a Bose design is in the AM 5 system. The mid bass is weak, if not nonexistent. The 2 1/2" midrange speakers don't do squat at 150hz and even Dr. Amar Bose has not been able to warp physics far enough to get more that 150 hz out of the ported band pass type of subwoofer. However, in some applications this is a reasonable tradeoff. Personally, I am using my AM 5 subwoofer on my PC. I changed out the top end for a pair of Lineaum 5" mids with soft dome tweeters and hit the system with 200 watts of Carver power. My PC flat ass rocks!!!! In time I will use the original Bose AM 5 cubes for the rear channels of this system.

To sit and beat up Bose for shortcomings is crap. They aren't for everybody (the entire line) - if you don't like them get rid of them. I guess we are all entitled to our opinions. I spent 10 years in professional audio before moving to aerospace. During that time I designed/installed/maintained several club sound systems. I'm talking high powered playback systems in Disco's & roller rinks. I also got heavy into sound reinforcement in fixed and portable touring type systems. As such, I came in contact with all kinds of audio components - amps, speakers, signal processing, mixing consoles, etc. Worked in all kinds of environments, indoors, outdoors - dance halls, churchs, banquet rooms - you name it. As well as the variety of venues there are there are as many applications, wireless mics on the minister for Sunday mass, music tracks for mimes, drum tracks for ensembles, theatre, rock and roll, politicians...

My point is as I stated earlier - everything is a trade off. Dr. Bose, like any other designer makes trade offs in his designs. When I built up professional touring systems I designed for transportability, ease of set up, modular design (will it expand?), price, size, weight, performance, etc. These same concepts apply to designing for home audio use.

If your IQ is under 100, or you have a family history of in-breeding, I strongly recommend for you NOT to purchase ANY Bose product. If however, you are intelligent enough to audition an audio product (particularly speakers) prior to purchase and like the Bose line in the store, you will very likely be pleased with them at home.

My 901 series III's I used at home were mounted on the pedestals that Bose provided. The Phase Linear 400 drove them well - they sucked up every watt of power the amp would deliver! I often consider another pair of bose 901's in my living room as I have long since parted ways with my original pair. This time around they would be flying in a bi-amped or tri-amped configuration with 18" bottom end.

I used to borrow a pair of Cerwin Vega 18" subwoofers from one friend, a pair of Bose 901 Pro series from another back in the 80's. I ran the system bi-amped in mono with a Phase Linear 700 driving the CV 18's with ch A and the Bose 901's with ch B. When I really wanted to rock I used a pair of JBL 2445 compression drivers and JBL 2390 horn/lens driven by a Phase Linear model 300 for top end. An Ashley SC-80 4-way 18 db/octave electronic crossover was used in a tri-amped configuration along with an SC-50 compressor limiter. This was for a mobile DJ system. It flat ass rocked!!!! AND, it was VERY PORTABLE. I can tell you that the Bose 901's were AT HOME in a stack of Cerwin Vega and JBL Professional series drivers. Now, what does that tell you?

I have installed Bose 901's in night clubs for use as the house system for background music during off hours and paging (DJ talk-over reinforcement) when the disco was pumped up full tilt. (When I say disco - 2x JBL E-155 18" subs in 1/8 wave JBL W-horns that were stacked in mono, 4 McCauley 12" low mids, 4x JBL 2425 compression drivers on McCauley acoustic lens horns - powered by a Biamp 2500 for lows, Phase Linear 400 for mids and a BGW 250 for highs).

Bose 901's are versatile enough for professional audio applications as well as home use. This is something that 98% of the components sold for home audio can not boast. Most home hi-fi gear would fry in commercial service - not to mention that it would fall miserably short in terms of performance.

Listen very critically before you buy. Especially with your speakers. Decide what you want the system to do, how much money you want to spend. HOW MUCH AMPLIFIER POWER YOU CAN AFFORD - BOSE 901'S NEED A BUNCH! Do a bit of research. In many cases the Bose 901 line will do an exemplary job in a home audio application. They are, and always have been one of the finest consumer loudspeaker systems available.

This review is for the BOSE 901 Classic Series VI. The other site is filled up.
I’ve owned BOSE 901 Series IV (yes, that’s series 4) speakers since 1978, and have always been pleased with them. When I changed over to CDs in the late 80s, I noticed that the speakers sounded a bit harsh, so I upgraded the Series IV equalizer to a Series VI model, although against the recommendations of BOSE. But for me, the new EQ enabled my Series IVs to handle the increased dynamic range and frequency response of digital music.

Well, after a total of 20 years of hard use, I recently started hearing some slight distortion from one of the speakers. A new pair (now 901 Series VI) would cost me $1500, so I started to audition other speakers in the same price range. Some were nice, others were not. It was hard to decide. One outstanding brand I heard would require me to invest $$$$ in high-end power (amp/preamp) to drive them right. Too much expense.

So I called BOSE to ask some questions. According to BOSE, the distortion was because the Series IV drivers’ foam surrounds were finally beginning to deteriorate. BUT, they also told me about a program BOSE is offering in which they replace 901 Series IV speakers with brand new Series VI models (which do not use foam surrounds), plus a new Series VI equalizer, for $590 including shipping from the BOSE factory. A savings of $910 over the retail price before tax. So I went for it. I sent BOSE my old Series IVs, and just last week received the new Series VIs, a new Series VI EQ, plus a 5-year warranty, altogether taking less than two weeks.

I set them up, listened, and am pleased once again. The new ones sound a bit different – more detailed. I’m eager to spend some time with them and my favorite CDs. But let me share a very important fact about BOSE 901 speakers. Placement is critical. No question about it, whatsoever. The owner’s manual explains it all in full detail, but in a nutshell, unless these speakers are at least 4 feet apart, at least 18 inches from a side wall, large object, or sound-absorbing furniture, and somewhere between 8-16 inches in front of an unobstructed wall, they will not sound good. Period. In fact, there’s a good chance they might sound like most of the reviews you’ll read in this or the other 901 section.

I strongly suspect that many listeners with the best of intentions have unfortunately heard the 901 Series VI speakers improperly set up, as have I on more than one occasion. I’ve seen these speakers sandwiched between other speakers, or suspended from the ceiling way too far from a back wall. The BOSE 901s radiate 89% of their sound at angles from the back. So, IF you interfere with the back wall and/or the space around each speaker, or jam them up tight against each side of a giant-screen TV, you’ve rendered them quite inefficient. And quite disappointing.

Anyway, I’ve always enjoyed the spacious and well-balanced sound of my 901s (excellent timbre, really low and articulate bass, intricate detail, and nothing boomy at all), and I can now say the same about the Series VI. Every time I’ve auditioned speakers over the last twenty years, (and I have on occasion, just to hear what’s out there), my judgment criteria has been my BOSE 901 sound, or live music (I play guitars and basses, have played with other musicians on occasion, and heard many live performances.) When properly set up (and this may take a bit of experimentation and even minute adjustments), BOSE 901 Series VI speakers can certainly hold their own against the competition, and dust many of them without question. Everyone who has heard my setup including professional musicians has always been very impressed, as am I. And I’m running them off of a very good quality 60W per channel receiver.

Of course, the 901 Series VI speakers are not perfect, but then again, nothing else I’ve heard is, either. Like other very good speakers, the source material has a lot to do with their performance. The computer phrase “garbage in, garbage out” very much applies