Bose 901 Speaker Review

[Pure_Brew]

Joe: Wow, new 901s! What series are they up to now? Good thing you went with the stands. The retro look would have been macramé hangers attached to the roof. I hope the Pioneer will have the oats to properly drive them.

Nando.

The current version is VI, which has been in production for some time. The Pioneer should operate them, but it will likely run out of power before the 901's reach their limit. However, I'm guessing that my own limit will be reached even before that for any typical listening. Time will tell, and I can revisit amplification at a later date if needed. I'm curious what the Jolida tube amp will sound like on them too. I'm guessing ill favor the pioneer.

 

[Elite-ist]

That's quite exciting to hear the 901s will be part of your system, Joe. When do you expect them to arrive? Please give us a follow-up once you've had some time listening to them.

Nando.

 

[Pure_Brew]

That's quite exciting to hear the 901s will be part of your system, Joe. When do you expect them to arrive? Please give us a follow-up once you've had some time listening to them.

Nando.

Hopefully next week they should arrive. I'll stick to a "nuts and bolts" approach on what seems to work best with them, placement etc, as it would be difficult to give a completely unbiased review. To be fair.

 

[Pure_Brew]

Well they showed up Thursday! The stands are still in boxes as I didn't get them until I came home last night. So they are flipped upside down, placed on towels atop my snell EII's for the moment. Also for the moment, I've got the Apple Airport express plugged into the EQ -->Jolida 502brc tube integrated in bypass, using my phone for streaming/volume.

I'm from my phone right now so no pics at the moment- sorry.

I think I'm very fortunate to have an excellent room for these. Im a bit surprised by how smooth they sound, which was not expected. Perhaps the tube amplification is part of the equation too. However if a recording is somewhat harsh to begin with, with treble that appears over emphasized, they do not forgive. A good example would be selections from Diana Kralls debut album "stepping out" vs "love scenes". "Stepping out" has always sounded a bit more treble boosted where "love scenes" sounds much smoother and natural.

Ive already played a ton of other music on these, leaving the EQ flatly positioned. I'm a bit concerned that I will not like the stands, as I already like this - slightly above ear - position of the front driver. Time will tell.

On Bass, there is plenty of energy down to 30hz, but not much after that. I'm going to guess that these 901 VI's must be much more effecient then previous models, as this 55wpc tube amp is able to produce enough bass with low-gain preamplification to vibrate the entire house. Electronic music from Jessy Lanza an Lorde (royals) proved to be big fun.

Based on what I'm getting from these speakers, and where I'm at in my life, these will probably stay with me until I'm dead and buried.

 

[Elite-ist]

Thanks for the update, Joe. I would be stoked to have a new pair of speakers to last me a lifetime. Interesting to hear the tonal quality using these speakers through your tube amplifier. Placement of the Boses are subject to what you like best. If they do what you want best on top of the Snells, I would be satisfied with that. I would be hooking up both pairs for A & B. Or use a fader control to have all four speakers driven at the same time with the Boses up front on their stands and the Snells to the rear of your listening position.

Nando.

 

[laatsch55]

Coolness Joe!! I too know how it feels to have a speaker to last the rest of my life. A very comfortable and content position to be in. If I got rid of the K's Jani says to file for divorce the same day....

 

[NavLinear]

Nice score Joe! I've had the series VI since the mid 90's and I enjoy them very much. The bass is surprisingly good for these guys. I've had them hanging from the ceiling in years past but now they are on the pedestals that I purchased with the speakers - this is a wife factor though. I haven't dicked with them in placement in the vertical plane for a long time but I remember with the Series II getting them a little more elevated than the pedestal height was a good thing when they were "attached" to the floor.

I'm glad they rock the house!

If you ever do hang them the angle of the dangle can make a difference.

 

[BubbaH]

Are they noted anywhere that they are the MKII model? Im pretty sure they revamped the series VI a few years back with some improvements. I also believe Bose made 2 sets of stands with different heights.

 

[Pure_Brew]

I just bought them brand new from Bose so yes they are MKII. I'm pretty sure the main difference is basically the cone material, although I don't know exactly what that entails. There is one set of stands they make now, I've seen some a bit older that were 3pcs instead of 1.

I have full flex on any placement, but I'm not concidering hanging them at this point. The Snells will get put away for now. The tweeters are more or less hanging in there, ferro-fluid long since leaked out and dried. Doping on the domes is crusty/flakey. They should be replaced. I don't think I'd run 2 pairs of different kinds of speakers at the same time as I think it would mess with all kinds of things, like imaging stability for one.

The Snells will stay with me for sure tho. Another project for the back burner!

 

[Pure_Brew]

Here's a picture. The camera on my phone is horrid in this light, but it gives an idea of the layout.

 

[Elite-ist]

Thanks for the picture upload, Joe. Will you be trying the Pioneer SX-1280 receiver through the Bose 901s? My SX-1980 would love to make those speakers sing.

Nando.

 

[BubbaH]

Not sure what Image stability means, but my 901's operate quite well as an addition to my pro speakers.

 

[Pure_Brew]

Yes Nando I'm gonna fire up the pioneer on these pretty soon. The 1980 must be incredible.

when I mentioned image stability, I may have not chosen the best discription but here goes: when I sit and listen to a recording, I can hear instruments and voices placed at different points between the speakers as well as the depth of the placement of those individual sounds. I call this imaging, in reference to the these sounds being produced and played back in such a way that a 3 dimensional version of the recording is heard. So more or less a simple example might be from a vocalist appearing to be singing as if from right between the speakers, but of course, there is nothing actually there, even though it "sounds" that way. I could also be confusing my example with staging, but I tend to use them interchangeably, even if incorrectly as a description.

In any case, I don't think mixing manufactures of different loudspeakers is a good idea, as it is unlikely to enhance this effect. Might be louder though.

 

[BubbaH]

What I like about mixing different speakers is they each do what the others cant. Complimenting each other if you will. Higher volume interpretations of that come into play around here though.

 

[Elite-ist]

Got you on the stereo imaging, Joe. That's about the most important aspect of my listening pleasure, besides good quality playback. In my downstairs system (bedroom) I have a pair of Pioneer HPM-100 speakers furthest from my listening position and a pair of high quality Pioneer car audio surface mount speakers (TS-X15) as my satellites. I patch all my stereo components through a car audio receiver with modern electronic digital sound processing. I can tailor all sorts of audio functions, remotely, such as fader control (front/rear balance, left/right balance.) And by using the remote control I can adjust all sorts of audio functions. I can get a fuller sound by doing this and enhance stereo imaging.

Nando.

 

[Pure_Brew]

What I like about mixing different speakers is they each do what the others cant. Complimenting each other if you will. Higher volume interpretations of that come into play around here though.

I got ya. It's a matter of taste either way. On additional sound reinforcement for these, a pair of 18" subs would be interesting to me lol. I do remember being in a small club once that had some 901's on one side and some big box pro's on the other sounding pretty sweet in that setting.

Funny that while I was thinking about imaging and soundstage etc, I realized how ironic it is that those factors are one of the things that people hate on the 901's complain about. Especially as these are only point sourced from two drivers while there are 16 more throwing sound all over. Still sounding placed well to me here though, regardless. But indeed not as pinpoint as other typical front firing speakers.

 

[NavLinear]

In the 70's the soundstage of the 901's was one of the major selling points. I ran two sets driven by a Pioneer SA-9900 and later from a PL 400 - sometimes strapped together. These were great party speakers as we did a lot of it in those days. Some stories to tell but that would assume I could remember them.

 

[Pure_Brew]

Got you on the stereo imaging, Joe. That's about the most important aspect of my listening pleasure, besides good quality playback. In my downstairs system (bedroom) I have a pair of Pioneer HPM-100 speakers furthest from my listening position and a pair of high quality Pioneer car audio surface mount speakers (TS-X15) as my satellites. I patch all my stereo components through a car audio receiver with modern electronic digital sound processing. I can tailor all sorts of audio functions, remotely, such as fader control (front/rear balance, left/right balance.) And by using the remote control I can adjust all sorts of audio functions. I can get a fuller sound by doing this and enhance stereo imaging.

Nando.

Nando, that sounds like a lot of fun. I've followed a different path for a long time, in most cases, trying to whittle down my system approach to simple form. Honestly, that approach has its rewards, and is still a driving force behind the "high-end" audio industry, with efforts to trickle down to budget conscious high-fi enthusiasts. But there are plenty of other ways to enjoy this hobby, and mostly MUSIC. The 901's are defineatly out there as a different way of doing things.

 

[Pure_Brew]

In the 70's the soundstage of the 901's was one of the major selling points. I ran two sets driven by a Pioneer SA-9900 and later from a PL 400 - sometimes strapped together. These were great party speakers as we did a lot of it in those days. Some stories to tell but that would assume I could remember them.

Yes I think they do certainly enhance the soundstage, and how that is accomplished is a matter of taste. I personally think its fun to listen too. As a party speaker, these are the ones that I don't have to worry about my son blowing them up lol.

 

[Elite-ist]

Joe: Bose 901s and a Pioneer SX receiver would make a good match. I would be interested if there is a different or more pleasing sound using your SX-1280.

Nando.