Bose 901 Speaker Review

The new 901's are either black ash or walnut. What do you think about the colors, if given that choice? Match to gear etc?
 
I had a pair of 601's. They were ok but a bit muddy and loose when compared to my Yamaha NS1000M's. Speaker placement was the critical part.

I used them for a few years till I stumbled across some local Yammies;.
 
With all the good stuff out there, I may wait and hope to find a pair at a yard sale or flea market. I don't know that I would pay $200.00 for a pair, knowing that could almost buy a pair of woofers to finish the La Scala project. Come to think of it, I might use a pair ofthe Lambda 15" drivers I have for the woofer and Lee's parts for the rest. That would leave me only needing to buy or build a crossover and I'd be up an running.
 
Pure_Brew said:
The new 901's are either black ash or walnut. What do you think about the colors, if given that choice? Match to gear etc?
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I hate to say this but I'm not an interior decorator - but since you asked I prefer the walnut as it blends more with what we have in our house. Maybe Stuee can give you more help with this? :lol:
 
ksrigg said:
With all the good stuff out there, I may wait and hope to find a pair at a yard sale or flea market. I don't know that I would pay $200.00 for a pair, knowing that could almost buy a pair of woofers to finish the La Scala project. Come to think of it, I might use a pair ofthe Lambda 15" drivers I have for the woofer and Lee's parts for the rest. That would leave me only needing to buy or build a crossover and I'd be up an running.
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Right now Craigslist and the bay are way ovet the $200 price point for 901's - the La Scalas look like a nice system - I'd bite on those. Keep us posted as I'm in the mix for some new speaks!

Thanks - Dennis
 
Color schmuler. I have 1 criteria for my equipment sound good. LOL It could be a tissue box full of rocks. If it sounds good I'll keep it. LOL

Larry
 
speakerman1 said:
Color schmuler. I have 1 criteria for my equipment sound good. LOL It could be a tissue box full of rocks. If it sounds good I'll keep it. LOL

Larry
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You're still up?! It is late on this side of the continent.

Sounding good is what it is all about. Right now I'm still a toddler but I'm hoping to mature to an adolesent at the minimum - we'll see. :lol:

Dennis
 
NavLinear said:
Pure_Brew said:
The new 901's are either black ash or walnut. What do you think about the colors, if given that choice? Match to gear etc?
Click to expand...
I hate to say this but I'm not an interior decorator - but since you asked I prefer the walnut as it blends more with what we have in our house. Maybe Stuee can give you more help with this? :lol:
Click to expand...

Lol I've thought about getting them and if I did it would be a decision I would have to make. I've seen them both and the wood is a covering but it doesn't look as nice as the veneer I have on other things.
 
I originally had the beige colored cloth with whatever wood comes with that. I think I looked a little like oak...This time around I would go with the darker cloth and walnut, is it? I know the darker cloth would be more forgiving of dirt and dust..plus I think they look cooler. Just my take. I might even build a pair as I have a bunch of MDF..
I'd go with the original Series I design with no curves to cut..and may port them ala the later series, but maybe not as you would have to have a sub no matter the design. As I remember there were some Bose 901 driver clones available from Parts Express or MCM... I think MCM will be the best place as Parts Express has really gotten very proud of their products...Pricing has gone through the roof. Does anyone have the T/S parameters for the Bose 901 drivers? Or even better yet, know the MCM part number, or another source for inexpensive drivers that would fit the bill? I think it would be smart to see what you could find and improve on the originals...Using a Barringer active crossover.
 
The driver at parts express:

Fits Series III, IV, V and VI models, and more

Specifications: • Power handling: 30 watts RMS/60 watts max • VCdia: 1" • Le: 0.11 mH • Impedance: 1 ohms • Re: 0.76 ohms • Frequency response: 83-15,000 Hz • Fs: 83 Hz • SPL: 91.5 dB 1W/1m • Vas: 0.24 cu. ft. • Qms: 2.41 • Qes: 0.43 • Qts: 0.36 • Xmax: 0 mm (full range driver) • Dimensions: Overall diameter: 5.20" (circle drawn around the three points), Cutout diameter: 4.02", Depth: 2.17".

Unless there is another more exclusive source that I don't see, the $18-$19 looks about normal per driver. I saw some other sellers like simply-speakers asking almost $40 for those. Then there is refoam kits.
 
What about this driver? If I were going to do a redesign of the originals and add a tweeter to the mix...What do you think about this idea? I'll include a link to the two drivers I'm looking at..

http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/55-1855#reviews
http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/53-800

I'm thinking of basically doing the same physical design as the 901 with a few tweeters in the mix. I haven't calculated how many would need to be used yet, but doing the same number of "full range drivers in the same physical layout..
 
speakerman1 said:
Color schmuler. I have 1 criteria for my equipment sound good. LOL It could be a tissue box full of rocks. If it sounds good I'll keep it. LOL

Larry
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My thoughts exactly Larrt.
 
Seriously? You never concider the looks of gear? If you had two identical amps, one came with meters and one version didn't, I would think likely you'd want the one with meters.

Or if all your gear was silver and a new piece came in silver or black you'd choose the silver!
 
Depends on if the black sounded better.

Or if all your gear was silver and a new piece came in silver or black you'd choose the silver!
In that case , yes, I would.
 
Color never enters my mind. Right now I have a red phonoamp, a silver CDP, whatever the Carys are rosewood TT and black speakers and black racks. Sounds good to me. As far as meters go. I'm doing fine w/o them at the moment. LOL Now I do like the glow of tubes though. LOL

Larry
 
Ah yes, I like the tube glow. I'm not liking it too much in this heat though lol.

I wonder how a 60wpc tube amp would sound/work on 901's. High power SS with some damping might be the best match on 9x2 drivers.
 
Not read all of this but how can a speaker that has to have an EQ device to work right and a sub to get the low end be considered "good"?
 
Rex Everything said:
Not read all of this but how can a speaker that has to have an EQ device to work right and a sub to get the low end be considered "good"?
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I thought there would be some controversy over these but I've owned a pair for the last 40 years and when I read a positive review I decided to post the URL link that is located at the beginning of this thread. Sometimes it's kinda fun to stir the pot. The reviewer stated his concerns going in but he actually liked the sound with some reservations such as the bass.

I am looking for some new speaks but I thought this would be an interesting topic. 8-)
 
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