I bought my Bose 901's several years ago. At that time, the Bose speakers seemed to have the most clarity of the speakers I tried. I was happy with the 901's until I moved into a small apartment. The direct/reflecting technology did not seem to work well. I just purchased a Yamaha RX-V995 and discovered that it will NOT work with the Bose 901's! What a shock. I have a pair of $1500 speakers that do not work with a modern receiver that does not have pre-outs or true Tape Monitor functionality. I would rather spend the money for a new pair of main speaker rather than pay DOUBLE for the receiver to get pre-outs. Because I have been listening to the Bose for so many years, I have no idea what new speakers to audition. I need to spend less that $1000 on the new speakers. Any suggestions?

9 4" wizzer cone woofers does not a speaker make.I feel sorry for those who actually believe these speakers are musical.
At this price point, look at Paradigm, Pinnacle, NHT, Energy, etc.

great full sound

placement limitations

Seems like most of the neg's here are from those who have never owned or properly auditioned this product. I owned twp pairs of these back in the late 70's that I used to rock my college frat parties. At thst time, they were unbeatable for rock/jazz/pop. Recently, I've mounted a new pair in my specially constructed listening room to Bose's specs. Driving them with a 375 watts/side Carver, I still find the sound outstanding for listening to a variety of music types. If you have the proper room, adequate amplification, and your tastes in music span a wide range of music types, you cannot beat these speakers. Best way to buy is to obtain a preowned pair of relatively new VI'a where you can be certain the drivers do not require reconing.

Open, spacious, full range sound. Expansive soundstage. Rock solid stereo imaging.

Bass bump that sounds great for a demo but wears with time.

Like BOSE or hate BOSE, everyone has to admit that they certainly do bring out the passion in a person. I'm more on the like side. I bought my first pair of 901s in 1979 for $800 w/stands. By 1995 the foam surrounds had deteriorated. In an example of customer service still unmatched in or out of the audio world, BOSE exchanged my 16 year old series IV speakers for a brand new pair of series VI 901s. Cost to me -- US$350 including shipping. Amazing. As I understand it new 901s cost somewhere around $1500 now.

Reading some of the reviews here makes me wonder why the BOSE bashers bother. Their arguments are so weak. "I listened to these for almost an hour in the store and...". "A friend of mine had these and...". "I bought a used pair on the street, reconed them myself and...". "Studios don't use them". "Musicians don't use them". "They sound better with the equalizer". "They look funny".

All in all some of the most idiotic "reviews" I have ever seen. What takes the cake though is those who include "needs active equalizer" in the "Weaknesses" section. ROTFLOL!! Do you put "needs crossover" in the "Weaknesses" section of three way speakers? BOSE was designed from the begining to be augmented by the EQ because old Amar knew that a single full range driver would roll off the bass and treble. It's called "physics", boys.

Another idiocy is those that claim to have owned the BOSE 901s and then regale us with stories of how disappointed they were with the sound or how overjoyed they were when they got rid of them. Knucklehead; didn't you listen to them in the store before you bought them? If you did, why were you so dumbfounded when you brought them home?

There is one kernel of truth in those BOSE bashing reviews though; studios and musicians do not use them. This has more to do with the fact that BOSE 901s were not designed for use as studio monitors or for sound reinforcement use. Plenty of musicians use commercial BOSE speakers for PA systems. I think the model is the 800 or 810. They look like ruggedized 901s with the "V" facing forward and are often placed high on large tripod stands. They are a top seller. A studio is hardly trying to produce the same kind of sound as a listener in a living room. A studio wants accurate *DIRECTIONAL* speakers. Basically big headphones that you don't have to wear.

My experience may be atypical but I got into audio at the ripe old age of 16 back in 1976. My first purchase was a Technics SL-1400 semi-automatic turntable (which I just gave to my own 16 year old son so he can scratch records on it). Next I went shopping for a preamp, power amp and speakers. I picked up a GAS Thalia, a used MARANTZ 250 (still in use powering my Dahlquist DQ-1W subwoofers) and the BOSE 901 Series IVs.

I wasn't a rich idiot taken in by the hype. I was a paperboy making $8 per week. Until I read the reviews here, I never knew Paul Harvey was pushing BOSE. Instead I was young and naive and I did something very strange. I walked into all the most expensive stereo stores in the Baltimore-Washington area and auditioned every speaker I could find regardless of price. Not because price wasn't an object but because I wanted to get a good read on what those $3500/pr ADS sounded like so I could gauge how little or how much of that sound I was retaining at the lower price points.

After about six months of three afternoons a week in the various audio stores of the day I narrowed my choice down to the KLIPSH corner horns, the JBL satellite subwoofer system and the BOSE 901 IVs. This was back in the day when BOSE was still sold in "audio salons" instead of K-Mart. For me the BOSE were the clear winner. The sound was (get this!) --- musical. No, I didn't gather a bevy of electronic test equipment or open them up with a screwdriver. I just listened to them with an open mind.

Now I have a home theater setup that boasts names like LEXICON and Nakamichi. The updated BOSE 901 VIs fit in perfect. I bought my latest house with an unfinished basement and built my home theater room around my requirements. Everything is wired with Monster Cable and all the speaker outlets are wall mounted dual banana plug connectors. The BOSE 901s are hanging about 18" from the ceiling and 12" from the back wall with sufficient room on either side for the direct/reflecting sound to develop. They flank my 60" front projection TV and a DAHLQUIST DQ-1W subwoofer is under each BOSE. For the rear I have a pair of MISSION 707s (very much overkill for DOLBY Pro-Logic because of the rolloff but they are great sounding speakers nonetheless). I even mounted the ADS L-10s that came with my old ADS Model 10 digital time delay on the side walls and wired them in parallel to the MISSIONS. All-in-all eight speakers but no center channel. That is my next purchase.

I have a YAMAHA M-4 driving the BOSE, my trusty old MARANTZ 250 driving the DAHLQUIST subs and a YAMAHA M-40 driving the four surrounds. Each amp rates about 120w/channel. DOLBY Pro-Logic processing is provided by my LEXICON CP-2 and the switching is done by a SONY TA-E77ESD preamp. Rounding out the ensemble is my YAMAHA T-1 tuner, YAMAHA PX3 turntable, Nakamichi 581 cassette, Nakamichi OMS-1A CD, a DBX 2BX dynamic range expander (for TV and FM) and mass market DVD and VCR.

There's not a KENWOOD, ONKYO or PIONEER in the bunch yet I still favor the 901s after 20 years of listening. Are they the best speakers on the face of the Earth? No. Do they suck? No. They are excellent speakers whose somewhat overzealous bass is tamed beautifully by subwoofers. They are great for home theater. Contrary to what the BOSE bashers say, the direct/reflecting aspect of the BOSE 901s only enhances home theater sound because it diffuses the sound to where you can't tell where it is coming from.

One of the best movie sounds for the BOSE is a dog barking off in the distance. It is totally eerie. I've had people get up and look out my back door to see where the dog was. The BOSE shine on rock music. I don't listen to classical, jazz, rap or blues so if they suck at that, then afficianados of those genres are of course free to purchase a different speaker.

I have an iffy right channel in my YAMAHA M-4 amp and now and then the in-line fuse for the right BOSE blows out. The left speaker does such a great job of diffusing the sound that it is often days before anyone notices that the right speaker isn't playing. Mostly it's me noticing that I'm not getting any DOLBY from a movie. Guests are generally stunned when I tell them that one speaker isn't playing.

All in all as a 20 year owner who has heard damn near everything, I would say that a properly configured set of BOSE 901s driven by quality electronics produce an excellent sound.

BOSE bashers take note: In the above all that is mentioned is the sound of the BOSE 901s. Who uses them, who hypes them, what they look like, what they cost like, and what they are made of is irrelevent to serious discussion of their efficacy.

Similar Products Used:

Not "similar" but POLK, INFINITY, ADS, JBL, KLIPSH, B&W, KEF, MAGNAPAN, OHM, YAMAHA, etc...

Fills a room with more sound than any speaker ever!

Somewhat muddy bass, less than crystal clear highs.

Hey now!
Let's face it, if you want to listen to wall-of-sound 1950's though 1070's rock and roll (try Bob Dylan's "Bringing it all Back Home") in a room full of people, there is no speaker in the world that can do what the Bose 901 does! If you're listening to chamber music all alone on a rainy evening, then forget it!! I've got three sets of speakers I listen to on a regualr basis, the KEF 102 in my office (through vintage Fisher tube 500c), the KEF 107 in my living room (through vintage McIntosh 60 mono-bocks) and the BOSE 901 in my rec room (through vintage Scott 299c amp). The Bose is by far the best LOUD ROCK AND ROLL speaker. They are 1983 models and I bought them used for about $300--I sold the Klipsh speakers they replaced for $500 and never looked back.

To trash the BOSE as everyone seems to enjoy doing is to miss the point of these things! Who wants a perfect reproduction of a really shitty original
recording? My advice: warm those old tubes up, plug in the 901's, throw your old copy of "Blonde on Blonde" on the turntable and get ready to ROCK!

Everyone is WAY too SERIOUS about this less than serious relic. Just don't buy these things NEW and don't pay more than $500 and you have a real bargain.

4-stars for rockin' the roof off of my house!

Similar Products Used:

Klipsh Heresey, Kef 107

Best speakers at any price

Require *very* sturdy (i.e. expensive) amplification

The 901s are easily the finest speaker ever manufactured. You can comparison shop all you want and you'll never find anything that matches their uniquely accurate and encompassing soundfield. The real reason that Bose sells through dedicated outlets is that a Rosicrucian-like conspiracy among so-called "high-end" audio vendors and manufacturers, worthy of examination from the Department of Justice, has barred them from conventional audio stores, simple because they blow away all comers.

As I stated above, they demand robust amplification. I was driving them with Krell FPB-600, and it was very nice sound, but after borrowing a friend's modified Silver Seven monoblocks, (4 blocks, bi-amped), I realized that the 901s really need tubes to show you the silky detail they're truly capable of.

Result? I trashed the Krell and picked up a pair of 300B single-ended triodes. They're rated at 9 watts, of course, but their high-current output transformers mean that the output Z is over 10,000 times less reactive than the Krell's nominal 600 watts, so the overall system sensitivity doubles. I had to upgrade my cables as a result (Ford LectroTube 700i), but it was well worth it. It's like Wagner is in the room!

Similar Products Used:

Dunlavy, Thiel, Magnepan, Martin-Logan

Sound follows you everywhere. Great balance.

A bit anemic,maybe it was the store amp.UGLY!

I was looking for a good pair of speakers that could handle some power and still sound great,the ones I`m running now are so harsh at volume, after 30 min your ears are fried and nothing sounds good.I listened to a pair of 901`s and was impressed,Then I went and listened to a pair of Cerwin vega E715`s. And was sold on the spot! The CV`s had a much warmer sound down low,And spank your ass turned up.Excellent balance for below $ 800.00.The 901,s are nice.But if your shopping for speaker`s and you listen to these first, go compare!!!you`ll be glad you did.

Similar Products Used:

Nothing similar,trying to step up.DCM kx12`s,Yamaha 12 incher`s that are cheap,but sound good.

Requires very careful installation.

First, call BOSE at 800-288-2673, and ask them to send you a sheet of paper called 901 SPEAKER CEILING SUSPENSION INSTRUCTIONS.

Second, purchase a 6 foot step ladder.

The only sure way to get the promised listening pleasure out of a pair of Bose 901's is to hang them from the ceiling.

The reason is simple. Because each of your Bose 901 speakers has 8 so-called drivers firing out the back -- 4 at one angle and 4 at another angle, and only 1 firing out the front, SO, they MUST BE MOUNTED IN FRONT OF A HARD REFLECTIVE SURFACE such as wood paneling and HUNG FROM THE CEILING in accordance with Bose specifications. (The guy who claimed his 901's started working properly when he moved into a BRICK HOUSE had a MAJOR good point... hard reflective surface, get it?)

(HANGING BOSE 901's FROM THE CEILING IS A TWO MAN JOB, AND THREE MEN WOULD BE EVEN BETTER. I WOULD GUESS THAT MY BOSE 901 SERIES II's weigh ABOUT 35 or 40 pounds EACH. I recommend that you hang the speakers from the ceiling when your wife isn't home, or she may hang YOU from the ceiling, that is, UNTIL SHE HEARS HER FAVORITE CD. After she hears her favorite CD, you will be out of mortal danger, and you may even get to take her back to Niagara Falls.)

In my opinion, THE BEST LISTENING ROOM HAS A FLOORPLAN LIKE A RECTANGLE. The long sides of the rectangle are to your right and left, and the short sides of the rectangle are in front of you and behind you. I chose a long rectangular room with fireplace at the front, wall-to-wall mantle, and vertically grooved hard (supposedly-wood) painted paneling wall-to-wall over the mantle. That is my reflective surface. AND I ALSO RELY ON THE CORNERS OF THE ROOM to complete the installation.

If you call BOSE at 1-800-288-2673, they will send you a sheet of paper which explains the specification/dimension on how to position/hang these speakers from the ceiling.

Now, you may think that the 901's sounded great in the audio showroom -- on speaker stands. WELL, FORGET IT, PAL. The Bose 901 is CERTAINLY NOT A BOOKSHELF SPEAKER and unless you have an empty listening room with no obstacles or overstuffed furniture, FORGET ABOUT THE SPEAKER STANDS ALSO. The Bose 901 speaker stands are just a risky marketing gimmick that if used in YOUR house will probably lead the way to listening disappointment, and eventually to an e-Bay listing where you will be selling your fine speakers at a major loss -- and your wife will probably be listing YOU on e-Bay the next day, for sale in the "Dummy" category.

Question: So how do I use the 6 foot ladder to mount the speakers in my listening room, living room, or den?

Answer: First off, you are going to be hanging them in one end of the room near EACH CORNER.

Question: This sounds kinda hairy, now that I think about it. How do I keep from messing up the job?

Answer: You will need to take a BILL OF MATERIALS to the hardware store, and in addition to your 6 FOOT STEP LADDER, this is going to cost you another thirty-five to fifty dollars.

Question: What is on the bill of materials?

Answer: 1. Electronic stud finder. Has a row of lights that show you where the ceiling rafter is located above your ceiling sheetrock. 2. 180 inches of decorative CLOSED WELDED LOOP lamp hanging chain MADE OUT OF STEEL (mine is brass colored). 3. Two each HEAVY screw-eyes for wood. Get big fat ones. you will be using them with s-hooks that are smaller in diameter, but each HEAVY screw-eye will have to have enough wood screw thread surface to support the weight of a Bose 901. (I want mine to be able to support 200-250 lb. as a safety margin.) 4. 2 each heavy S-hooks (note: the S-hooks have to be small enough in diameter to go through the links of the chain) 5. 6 each smaller screw-eyes for wood. (Note: you will have to use ViseGrip pliers and a heavy screwdriver to open up the smaller screw-eyes a bit, as the screw eye loops must be able to fit INSIDE the steel chain link. Get as big a size of screw eye as will fit through the links in the chain.)

Question: This sounds scary. I'm not good at this kind of stuff and I don't know anybody who can help me.

Answer: Well then, forget is, pal. If you are under one of these speakers and it comes down, YOU'RE A DEAD DUCK !!! But if you insist, you might consider going up into the attic and hooking up around or over the top of the rafter for an extra measure of security. When you call BOSE at 1-800-288-2673 and get their installation sheet for hanging the 901's, they give specific recommendations which include using 3 chains and three ceiling mounting points. My method uses three mounting points on each speaker, but only one mounting point on a ceiling rafter. The chains are positioned over each speaker like a pyramid, and this is more "elegant" and easier than the Bose method BUT YOU HAVE TO DO IT CORRECTLY. IF YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO LOCATE THE CENTER OF THE "CEILING STUD" properly with the electronic stud finder you my have to drill more than one hole, etc. etc. and you could make a mess.

Question: Okay, I think I can handle it. My brother-in-law is a good handyman and he'll help me. How do I position the two screw-eyes in the ceiling?

Answer: Each installation will be a little different. My ceiling screw-eyes are positioned about 31 inches from the side wall and about 16 inches from the reflective wall behind the speaker. The object here is to (a) find your stud, (b) have the best visual appearance, and (c) stay within the recommended Bose parameters. The net result is that my 901's have about a 9 inch space from the rear apex to the reflective wall, about 10 inches from the side of the speaker to the side wall, and are suspended about 19 1/2 inches from the ceiling.

Question: Using your method of having the three steel chain supports in a triangular formation, how do I hang the speakers once I've used the electronic stud finder, drilled my pilot holes into the rafter and screwed in the screw-eye anchors.

Answer: SAFETY FIRST. Test the screw-eyes. Have about three teenagers jump up and grasp a rope loop placed through the screw-eye anchor being tested, and them have them swing around like monkeys AT THE SAME TIME. If the screw-eye anchor doesn't pull out of the ceiling from the weight of three teenagers, it will support your speaker. (The teenagers should be wearing safety glasses and hard hats.) Second, turn your 901's over and find the three pilot holes in the top (bottom) of each one. Screw in your smaller screw-eyes from the hardware store, and use the ViceGrips to open them up if you need to. Third, determine your installation height from the ceiling. For mine, each chain is about 27 to 30 links long for the working length, with several links of excess on each end. I would guess that each of my six chains is about 40 links long total. Forth, for each speaker, place the s-hook in each ceiling anchor. Then place each chain (x3 for each anchor)with an upper link through the lower part of the s-hook. Fifth, with a couple more people, l-i-f-t a Bose 901 speaker up to meet the three chains and secure a lower link of each of the three chains into its respective screw-eye. Sixth, adjust to suit.


Congratulations, now you have installed the speakers properly per spec.

I purchased my two Bose 901's (Series II) at the Salvation Army for $95.00 for both. Of course, all you Bose-oohs might suspect that there was no equalizer, and you are quite correct.

THE TERRIBLE RESULTS I GOT when I connected the speakers at home were due to IMPROPER PLACEMENT and NO EQUALIZER. Yes, I tried turning the 901’s backwards, too.

I thought about it for a week or so, called Bose for the installation instructions, and later made MY trip to the hardware store. The properly mounted Bose's 901's were now quite impressive, at least for midrange material like some vocals and piano music. Learning that a rebuilt (Series IV) equalizer from Bose cost over $150, I opted for a different plan. 1. I changed my equalizer curve to resemble a bowl-shaped affair, generally increasing the bass boost, with mid-range valley, and high treble roll-up. 2. I connected my previous 15" Mach 1 speakers (placed in the dark corners of the room below the Bose speakers) as the "A" speaker system, connected the Bose 901's as the "B" system. 3. I carefully checked the PHASING of the speakers (ask an expert--I use a D-Cell and watch the in or out movements of the speaker cone). 4. I turned the speaker selector switch on my amp to “A plus B.”

Like magic, the dispersed midrange sound from the 901's did a perfect job of filling the "holes" in the Mach 1's, with beautiful dispersion that gives me a "wall of stereo" that I don't have to turn up loud to enjoy. I can hear every note clearly. The bass and the treble from the Mach 1's fills in the holes in the Bose.

These old 901's do suck a lot of power, and it's really nice that my amp has 120 watts per channel, although 60 would probably do okay most of the time.

Now, I can hear you laughing. The Radio Shack Mach 1 is from about 1979 (same as the Bose Series II), and is a knock-off of the old Altec Lansing "Voice of the Theater" speaker from the 1950's, with a 15" Woofer and a sectored horn midrange, but it is sealed with no bass reflex port but with the addition of a tweeter. The Mach 1 does feature a pretty good adjustable crossover. But I won’t try to defend it.

And I must say, in Dolby Surround, the Bose 201's ($160/pair open box at Sears) I have mounted off the rear wall do a fine job of completing the home theater experience. (I’m currently running Dolby ProLogic Surround in “phantom mode” with no center speaker.)

If there's a gunshot on the DVD, the bullet travels the full length of the room and scares the hell out of you.

With A plus B system using the Mach 1’s, the bass goes down to 20 Hz.

With classical music, true, I cannot pick my row and seat as well as I could with a $30,000 system, but I can easily suspend any disbelief that I am not actually inside the concert hall.

I don’t buy the technical arguments I’ve heard against using 901’s in a home theater system. A technical argument is theoretical. Listening is real.

These Bose 901 Series II speakers do not have base ports and are a little less efficient than the latest models, but they DO NOT have and foam speaker rings or cones, like some of the later models do. Experimentation will continue when my Bose Series III equalizer arrives from an e-Bay seller.

So, Bose-oohs, Good Luck with your system, get the damn 901’s off the back of your sofa, hang ‘em up where they belong in front of a hard surface and away from curtains, go for your stereo OR surround mode with some rear speakers, and ENJOY ! P.S. – Hey, if you’re running 5.1, why not put a subwoofer on your .1 channel, too (or hang on to your old 3-way speakers and power them up for subs)? Cherrio.

Similar Products Used:

Radioshack Mach I, Egglestonworks IVY

Beautiful midrage clarity, imaging, size.

Bass response(my 2 CV LW-15's do this well)
High end a little weak.

I wouldn't pay 1500 bucks for these because I think there are better values out there, but I can tell you, if you can get a pair for less than 500 snatch em up. I just got these
things set up, and wanted to hear them by themselves so I left the subs turned off. I was a little dissapointed in the overall performance as a stand-alone speaker. Then, I decided to experiment. I added my LW-15's for some bass, then added a pair of Dynatech A25's to beef up the highs. After a little tweaking, I can honestly say that
I have never heard anything quite so sweet period. Anywhere, any price.
For those of you who are reading these reviews to find out what to buy, please ignore all of the people hear that are saying these speakers suck. They don't. In fact, they sound GREAT. You really do need a sub, but the highs are great if the provided eq is used. Remember, it comes with them for a reason! I just love the sound of the Dynatechs, so I use them and leave the eq either off, or depending on the music source may tweak it a little( And this just involves the flick of a switch(or switches).
One other note. I am using them in my home theater setup
and anyone who says they won't work well in this application has not taken the time to set things up right.

My stuff:

Power amp: Rotel RMB-1095
Pre-amp, Dolby Pro-logic processor: Rotel RSP-980
Dobly Pro-logic processor: Rotel RDA-980
DVD/CD player: Sony DVP-560D
Turntable: Dual CS-607
Rear surrounds: Cerwin Vega RE-38's
Center channel: Dynatech A25

Similar Products Used:

There is no similar product.

Accurate and expansive three dimensional imaging similar to that achieved by interaural crosstalk processors.
Life like sound reproduction.
Unsurpassed midrange clarity and detail.
The only speaker that cannot "honk".

Difficult set up, You must dedicate your listening room for proper operation.
Not a speaker for bass freaks or for those who listen at loud volume levels.

I purchased the Bose 901 series 5 in 1985 for $600 less then the retail price. It should be noted that Bose has raised the price of the 901 system only $100 in the past 16 years. I admit that I was initially disapointed with the sound of the 901 and had to rearrange the furniture in the listening room and carefully position the speakers for proper dispersion and refection of the sound. I placed the speakers 8" from the rear wall and 18" from the sidewall. The walls were painted sheetrock. I placed the speakers on 24" stands. I removed all items between and at least 6' in front of each speaker. The listening sweet spot was centered excactly between the speakers and between 10' and 15' behind them. The equalizer tone controls were left in the flat position as were the receivers. The CD player was plugged directly into the equalizer. Typical amplifier power output during listening was between 0.1 to 0.5 watts. At this point the sound of the speakers had been transformed. The sound seemed to float above, behind, in front, and well off to the sides of the speakers. Vocalists and instruments had a clearly defined imaging area and the sound seemed to develop from that space rather then being beamed into your ears like conventional forward firing speakers. The imaging approached that of forward firing speakers using a modest level of interaural crosstalk processing. It took several criticaal listening sessions to grow accustomed to and appreciate the superiority of the 901 sound. All forward firing speaker systems that I have heard sound inferior in comparison. This is largely due to the rear firing nature of the 901. The higher frequencies are reflected and largely dispersed by the walls. In contrast all forward firing speakers suffer from a narrowing of their dispersion with increasing frequency. This results in an audible coloration and can make the sound "pinched", nasal or "honky" or otherwise unnatural. The midrange clarity of the 901 is unsurpassed. This is largely due to the finely wound helical voice coils used in the 18 full range drivers that allow the reproduction of treble frequencies. This allows for incredible smoothness and detail in the midrange. A correct Bose 901 set up will yield a typical frequency response of 50hz to 15khz +4 /- 4 db. The lower bass limit is about 35hz. This is not a speaker for bass freaks or for very loud listening levels as the speaker suffers from dynamic compression at high power levels. Additionally, with loud bass heavy program material, engaging the loudness control and/or turning up the bass may cause the small drivers to make a ticking noise as they bottom out.

I have on hand what may well be one of the most accurate and lowest distorting speakers ever made: the Polk RTA15.
This two way, multi woofer tower has a frequency response of 20hz to 20khz +1/-5 db with all of the deviation occuring under 27 hz and sounds as smooth as it measures. The distortion at 20hz with a 90db output level is 2 to 4%! The low end has to be heard to be believed and is superior to the 901. Additionally, the RTA15 is designed for ultra wide horizontal dispersion. Clearly the RTA15 is superior to the Bose 901 in every measurable way. Which speaker is currently in my listening room? the Bose 901. The 901 simply sounds more like music and is the most engaging speaker I have ever heard for critical listening.

Similar Products Used:

Many expensive and quality speakers over the years.