901 series 2 speakers

hiici,
You are entitled to your opinion of Bose 901's, but realize that there are also many people who feel the same way about your Watt /Puppy 8's. Just a matter of perspective.

Lynn...*applause*  Well said, sir. *S*

When it was just our ears, and those of the people we read and trusted, it was a simpler time and the choices seemed more 'black & white'.  As the technology advanced and the means of measuring what was occurring, it all became shades of gray...or grey, if one prefers..

Bose is still the leader of making small 'act large', with their studies on the how and why a enclosure can accentuate the response of a driver.  It can be regarded as art and artifice, but they've certainly remained a Name in things audio...

Audiophile.  A description that can depend on POV and expectations, IMHO.  One persons' jewel is anothers' costume jewelry....

I gave up on chasing zeros to the right of the decimal point.  If I like the sounds I hear, I will call it Good and call it a day.  Others can cheer or jeer as desired; like me, HO....;)

g_nakamoto,

I owned a pair of 901V's.  I liked them, a lot.  They needed power which I had.  Phase Linear 400 was good, the McIntosh MC2300 was better.  They were the only pair of speakers that I had ever owned that could take everything the Mac good give.  (rated at 300wpc, output was a steady 475 when tested into 8ohms).

I used the Phase Linear parabolic equalizer in conjunction with the 901's as was happy with them.  When I began experimenting with systems and got into my Class A phase of life (Levinson ML2's, Krell KSA 50), I needed to change speakers as these wonderful Class A amps sounded terrible through the 901's.

When I did change speakers, I missed the sound of the 901's and the tremendous bass output. (solid, not thumpy)

If you like your 901's, then maybe use the tone control on your preamp to add some sparkle or like me add an equalizer and add a little in the treble area. 

I am curious though, if you think that your Mac amp sounds better than your Phase Linear 400 with the Bose?  My Mac had more power, but
it certainly didn't sound better with the Bose, just the opposite.  The Phase sounded better to me at lower volume listening  using the Bose than the Mac did.

Enjoy, they are classics and can be a blast depending on what you listen too.

Norman

I never liked them. They have horrible lower bass and no high end. Consider this: New replacement drivers are $6.00 each. You have 18. That is $98 worth of drivers. The good thing is that they make great PA speakers. Bar Bands used the carpet covered 802s, which used the same drivers. On midrange only music, such as Bose dealers used to demonstrate them 40 years ago, they really put out a lot of sound. If you want to impress someone, play conga and other drum music. In a comparison I saw in Jacksonville back then, 901's were compared to B&W DM14's, another speaker with sonic issues due to not having a midrange. The Bose were blown away, even on bongos and congas. I use my old DM14's on my TV. I could live with these speakers only.  I used stacked pairs, then electrostatics with them. If you want to test the actual theory of the 901 design, take any speaker and turn it at a 45 degree angle facing the wall behind them. BTW, I had a Phase Linear 400 for years. This amp deserves a good preamp and speakers.