Having owned both Bose 901 and now Magnepan speakers I don't see how anyone can compare the two. Magnepan is everything Bose is not, great sound, realistic, fantastic imaging, definition, everything thing an audiophile could want if you have the proper power and set up. Maggies have lightening fast realistic bass down to their limits so if you have one of the smaller models a sub is needed if you enjoy music with deep bass content.
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Part 1: The Bose Phenomenon
Love them. Or hate them. Bose 901s were (and remain) a phenomenon. Whether they are more impactful as a cultural phenomenon, or an audio phenomenon is a good topic for debate, but 901s were and are a phenomenon.
The timing was just right. Swarms of music lovers were coming into their own with a little disposable income left at the end of their paychecks. What better way to dispose of it than on HiFi gear? They’d graduated from mundane, single branded systems and chomping at the bit to invest in some serious HiFi component hardware. There was already a presence of highly credible, high value rectangular boxes out there at the time that had earned the right to become part of the local audio dealer’s “real speaker” inventory. But were we ready for something different? Really different?
Different was not new to HiFi industry. We were shown decades ago that you can put a speaker in a corner and use the sidewalls of the room to extend the size of the bass horns. We learned you can stretch a piece of plastic over a frame and when you applied an ample supply of very high voltage it will respond quite nicely to musical signals. You can squeeze pleats together to make “good noises”. A year later we discovered that you can take a dynamic speaker and mount it vertically on top of a cabinet. It may take on the appearance of an ice cream cone but produce high fidelity omni-directional sound. So, here’s this brand-new concept from a completely unknown entity. Small cabinet, packed with lots of 4 ½” full range drivers that bounced 89% of the sound off the back and side walls after an aggressive application of equalization from a custom outboard eq. What could possibly go wrong? We didn’t have Internet (or, forums) back then, so our quest to discover hidden gems was nurtured only when we visited the HiFi stores or talked to our buddies (after they visited the Hifi stores). So, most likely, we were introduced to 901s when we crossed the threshold of a HiFi store and were approached by an enthusiast audio sales guy (or, proprietor) anxious for us to hear the latest and greatest thing in speaker technology.
My first Bose 901 experience was during a normal visit to the local HiFi store that “carried all the good stuff.” I walked in, took a sharp left, entered Listening Room #4, and there they were!!! No, not the 901s. A pair of Bozak Concert Grands. THESE were the speakers I wanted to own when I grew up. Massive. Intimidating. With the grills removed I just couldn’t take my eyeballs off the arsenal of impressive hardware that had one purpose in life; to project massive quantities of sound waves of various frequencies into the room. I was awarded the privilege of a formal demonstration. To my young ears (and, brain) the sonics were every bit as impactful as the visual I had received moments earlier. But then the dealer diverted my attention to some little speakers sitting on pedestals. Yes, Dr. Bose’s creation. After a very brief introduction to what made the speakers unique, the music started. When you set low expectations, it’s not difficult to exceed them. What I suspected would be the musical equivalent of a listening to a pair of Clarion coaxial car speakers compared to the Concert Grands was, to the contrary, room filling … surprising … impressive. It was the little speaker that could. Could, in fact, not embarrass itself when played in the same room as the formidable Concert Grands. Dr. Bose had, no doubt, created “something.” It just took a few years to my sensitivities to evolve to a degree where I knew what that “something” actually was.
In dealer showrooms, budding audiophiles were treated to a demo unlike anything they’d heard before. They were invited to set in the preferred listening position and take in the enormity of the size of the performance. Then, the dealer had the audacity to invite them to stand up and walk around the room. What!? Amazing!!! They were awestruck with this new audio revelation. They were usually accompanied by their best HiFi buddy who quickly came to the realization: “My new <rectangular box direct radiating> speakers can’t do that! ^&#(@*!!!” The battle for one-up-man-ship was just won. MY new speakers can beat up YOUR new speakers.
Budding audiophiles are quick learners. And, they have a network of friends. This combination resulted in new owners providing flawless Bose 901 presentations in homes around America with attentive audiences eager to learn what’s cool, and what’s not in the world of audio. So, those visiting friends would assign a large chunk of their remaining disposable income to procuring a new set of 901s, and a real amp with “the boys under the hood” to drive them. These Bose owners were having parties. Having fun. Genuinely enjoying the musical experience. As the wise philosopher Clark Griswold once noted: “It’s going to take plastic surgery to take the smiles off your faces.”
Meanwhile, back at the ranch of the Hifi inquisitive, we (we call ourselves the REAL audiophiles) were noting that things were trending in the direction of LESS reflection/refraction. Our sacred cows/speaker manufacturers were recessing mounting screws, cutting back or smoothing cabinet edge details, putting sound absorption materials around drivers, cutting back the size (or, eliminating) speaker baffles, and redesigning (or completely removing) speaker grilles. And, of course, filtering out the range of a speaker when it reached its useful point and handing it off to a driver specifically designed to handle the range – NOT eq’ing it and tossing the highly modified signal back into the room. This created a direct (no pun intended) conflict with the direct/reflecting 901 concepts, which was quite upsetting to us (REAL audiophiles). And we were making more noise than a firecracker in a chicken coop about it.
Well, the HiFi gods must have been listening to us. The low reflection/refraction camp eventually won out, and Bose 901 sales tapered down to a laser point. So, we don’t have to be bothered by budding audiophiles throwing their hard-earned money at new Bose 901s anymore.
Okay, but what do we do about those wildly enthusiastic existing 901 owners who still think their 901s are the greatest thing to ever have a speaker cable attached to them?
Here’s my take:
Bose 901 owners probably had more fun with their systems than we had with ours. And probably still do. They were cooler than us back then. And, probably cooler than us now. Way back when, we celebrated when we got FINALLY got Joni Mitchell’s voice positioned neatly in the phantom space between our (audiophile) speakers where we wanted it. The 901 owner celebrated when he FINALLY got Joann’s torso positioned on the Lazy Boy where he wanted it. It ruins our evening when we’re listening to Vivaldi and the guy next door pulls his Tesla into the driveway and opens the (noisy) garage door. The 901 owner listens to the Stones while working out on his Total Gym and/or wresting a dog toy away from his Great Daneadoodle. We lose our freakin’ minds when we realize we missed the sleeve when reinserting the naked LP into the album cover. The 901 guy notices that his record player is starting to sound like a cat just coughed up a fur ball on the end of his stylus tip, takes a deep breath, blows it off, flicks the stylus with his finger for good measure and flips his Moody Blues album over to Side B. When we discover someone actually attended Woodstock, we’ll asked questions like: “How were the acoustics of the venue?” Or: “Did the sound engineer overdrive the board?” And probably: “Was the catered food healthy?” Or: “Were the bathrooms clean?” The 901 owner would ask them if he could take a sample of their hair, frame it and display it above their album collection. Our “sweet spot” (for one person), where things are perfectly articulated, extends 17 cm on either side of the “optimal” location. The 901 owner’s “semi-sweet acre”, where things sound “almost perfect”, engulfs the entire listening space (and, maybe into the next room?) -- equally enjoyed by ALL participants.
Music, hardware and experiences are intertwined. There is no separating how people felt when they were listening, what they were listening to, who was there, and the stuff that made it happen. Those strange little speakers that toss sound at the walls and around the room do more than present musical information into the space. They reconnect the past experiences that rank pretty high on their list of “best of the best” experiences that ever happened to them. When we invalidate and mock someone’s equipment as “not really HiFi”, we’re just not invalidating their choice of HiFi gear. We’re invalidating their experiences as well. Some of those 901s being listened to today were “dad’s”. Or big “brother’s”. And the aggregate those experiences may explain why the push back we receive when we trounce on them is “highly energetic” at times. How about we cut the 901 guys a little slack?
Let’s validate and celebrate this thing I refer to as “shared indulgences”. Something special happened. Somewhere. Sometime. And we can resurrect those experiences for a brief moment. These are “good problems” to have. |
My first adventure with Bose was before I became an audiophile. My wife and I heard a pair when we entered our now long gone local “Circuit City” back in the day. When anyone entered that particular CC store, they had the Bose + subwoofer playing so loud at the entrance that my wife made a quick exit and refused to ever enter that store again. It was apparently their tactic for attracting potential customers who liked music. Sadly it backfired on them and the store closed not long after that “Bose stunt”. |
I guess I missed something here. Am I supposed to be impressed? I’m not. I wasn’t. I had a pair of 901 Series IV back in 1983-1986. Just ok speakers. I powered them to ear-blistering levels with my Sherwood S9600-CP receiver. Then my SAE Two A14 integrated. (I still both of those, but not the 901s. I sold those in 1986. Actually, traded for a pair of KEF 105.2s. Guy wanted them back after 2 months. Nope!!) I find this more impressive, 1956 recording played back using a 1958 GE VRII mono cart. Recorded using my phone above and behind my speakers, so not ideal. But better than those 901s!
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1973, 18 year old Marine stationed on Okinawa. I had disposable income and determined to bring home a Kick Ass Stereo because components were cheap being in Japan and in the military. Back then, speaker sound was correlated with speaker size; bigger was better, so I went in looking for BIG speakers. Listened to a bunch and then I was pointed toward some speakers that just got in the store. They were "small" [and heavy] but MAN could they push some sound!!! I was in love and bought them immediately: Bose 901 [before there was a "series"]. I paired them with a Sansui receiver, Akai cassette player, and Gerrard Zero One-Hundred turntable. NOW I was playing with the stereo big boys :) 1974, small college fraternity bedroom with my stereo gear set-up. I was the crazy ex-Marine and KING of sound in my frat! I LOVED my Bose's and so did everyone else [what else could they say :)] !! I will say, one of my frat brothers bought some ESS Heil's and I did like them a lot [maybe better than my speakers, but I kept that to myself]. Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon, turned up to 25 at 1AM was awesome. Surprised not a lot of people complained. 2022, my Bose are hanging from my great room ceiling as one part of a 9.2 home theater system. This is probably their best use :)
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Back in the mid-80's, I had two pair of Bose 901 series IV's in my 10x12 college dorm room (one in each corner). driven by 4 Carver M-500 amplifiers (bridged to mono). no imaging, but gobs of sound! the Drom parties were epic. :) great memories. 2022, B&W 802d in one room and Magnepan 1.7i's in another. been through too many iterations to count. it's been a wonderful journey through the years. thanks for the post that brought it all back! Cheers. |
Well I owned them in the 70s bought them used 901s Series 2 for $350 and when properly set up they were excellent. I hear fatiguing No,I listened to Rock,Jazz and Classical. They always sounded Great...even with DISCO,lol.I had a Sony Str 7065 which put out 70 watts and it was plenty of power to drive them...There are still people here who are POWER crazy... I now use a Caryin 50th tubes 20 wpc.and drive Polk lsim707 and every body saids you need over 350 wpc to drive them.....Smoke another joint or relax on the Zantac. I have all kinds of SS power Amps...my all different manufacturers..and I don't know but the tubes amps are killer.im 70 and been buying audio equipment since the late 60s. |
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to answer poster Roxy's question, i also have a pair of thiel cs.5 speakers that are my main music listening speakers, along with a pair of omni 50s for the rear channels, a universal surround box sourcing their sound feed. have maggies in another room, and the person who said they don't image well must have problems with his, mine are like a sonic hologram [not to be confused with the colored-sounding carver gizmo]. |
this video shows the 901's positioned wrong. they were desighned to be against the wall. back in the day they were siad to have cadillac quality in a volkswagon space! i have 4 901 series 2 powered by a mcintosh 600 watt per chanell amp! when i crank up the volume at maybe 400 watts they sound dam good to me! sometimes at a high volume even bad speakers sounds good!! |
I love that guys YouTube channel. I don’t know what microphone he uses, but his videos always sound good considering it’s YouTube. Nothing wrong with using Bose 901s if that’s what you like. Play the hell out them. I agree with the earlier poster that the owners of these speakers probably enjoy listening to music a lot more than the majority of people on this forum. I am not surprised to see another discussion for you “equipment snobs” to bash others for enjoying something that brings them happiness. You’re a sad lot that only seem to get enjoyment by ridiculing others and because if what they own. I’m still waiting for some of you to post what you actually own and listen to at home. Although at this point I wouldn’t believe anything you actually list or show. |
I will ask again, as I did in a previous thread, how is saying that you do not like the sound some equipment makes or its style ridiculing the owners? This is an absurd connection to make. I have heard people say they do not like class D or they do not like active speakers. That does not mean they are ridiculing either; it means they DO NOT LIKE THEM. It is not snobbish either. Where that idea comes from is beyond me. We do not all own Borresson 05s and Audionet Heisenbergs, though I wish I did. It just means for me McIntosh , (and Bose), would be at the very end of a long list. |
@laoman Because this is a very personal hobby. People purchase what sounds good to them. I have no problem if someone doesn’t like a product, but why is there a need to post that you dislike it and say nothing else of value? What’s the point of even posting that comment. If you don’t like the speakers, why not provide some constructive criticism as to why they don’t work for you and why? If you think someone is wasting their money and a different product would be better, then suggest it. Everyone knows you don’t like McIntosh products. You’ve made that abundantly clear. Instead of knocking what someone owns, suggest something that you think would be better. That’s what this whole place is supposed to be about. Sharing our experiences. |
Grew up with Bose 301’s, 601’s, and then 901’s. Still use my 301’s for front surround and my 901’s are in storage. The 901 should go down as the best party speaker of all time. Small foot print could be hung from the celling and with a Sansui 9090 receiver driving them you could achieve volumes that would shake items off a shelf. Stereo everywhere with no soundstage which worked for a party speaker. I did try them in my reference system and they were terrible, the 301’s sounded better. My plan is when I retire an move to warm climate they will be set up in garage. |
Ever stand in front of a drummer, and listen to the immediacy, the impact and those dynamics, while at the same time, feeling it too. You can get this with the 901s. Hang them down from the ceiling; a flat, solid wall behind them; follow every set up parameter; run them with a great system ( they loved high wattage amplifiers, and displayed a craving for high current as well ). Very early in my audio career, I professionally installed 901s in many high end homes....I too owned a pair ( actually, three sets ( series ) of them. Running them with Crown, BGW and their own model 1800 amps, really made those 18 drivers move. The use of the matching eq ( to whatever series was used ), was critical in achieving the expected performance. I always placed the eq after the preamp and before the power amp, assuming the 901s were the only speakers connected to the amp. This also eliminates a 2nd set of cables needed if going through a tape loop. And yes, cables mattered back then too. Anyway, enough of my history ( more of my 901 stories are on another Bose 901 thread here ). With so much " single speaker " excitement and popularity going on right now, it reminds me of how, Dr. Amar Bose, was truly ahead of his time back then. No crossover. Drivers that sounded good, were " rugged ", and handles gobs of power. Used eq as part of the signal chain ( every recording we owned and listened to, incorporated the use of eq ). To anyone who has never heard a proper 901 set up, too bad. Playing the Sheffield Drum Record on my Linn LP 12 / Ittok ( using a number of cartridges in my collection ), without a question, reminded me every time, of my experience with drummers. And for what they cost back then, they were fun and enjoyable....... |
@roxy54 Top right is a 1972 Series II Sealed Box (it used to be my Center Channel). On the left is a Continental also a sealed box design. The other Continental has a bad driver or two inside. The bottom 901's are from 1968 Series I. |
Back in the day, I worked for dealers that carried Bose. Never had the slightest desire to own a pair of 901's, or any Bose speaker for that matter. I also never recommended them, but was careful not to speak ill of the 901's to prospective clients. In those days, there were very few speakers other than electrostatics, planar magnetics, and Bose that didn't sound boxy, so the Bose sold pretty well on their own. If I tried to gently nudge clients toward speakers I thought imaged better, but that wasn't a priority for them, I'd certainly take their money for a pair of 901's. All God's chillen gots to eat! |
thank You @waytoomuchstuff I needed a very good smile put on my face today You were kind and on certainly on point Bose 901 owners probably had more fun with their systems than we had with ours. And probably still do. They were cooler than us back then. And, probably cooler than us now. Way back when, we celebrated when we got FINALLY got Joni Mitchell’s voice positioned neatly in the phantom space between our (audiophile) speakers where we wanted it. The 901 owner celebrated when he FINALLY got Joann’s torso positioned on the Lazy Boy where he wanted it. It ruins our evening when we’re listening to Vivaldi and the guy next door pulls his Tesla into the driveway and opens the (noisy) garage door. The 901 owner listens to the Stones while working out on his Total Gym and/or wresting a dog toy away from his Great Daneadoodle. We lose our freakin’ minds when we realize we missed the sleeve when reinserting the naked LP into the album cover. The 901 guy notices that his record player is starting to sound like a cat just coughed up a fur ball on the end of his stylus tip, takes a deep breath, blows it off, flicks the stylus with his finger for good measure and flips his Moody Blues album over to Side B. When we discover someone actually attended Woodstock, we’ll asked questions like: “How were the acoustics of the venue?” Or: “Did the sound engineer overdrive the board?” And probably: “Was the catered food healthy?” Or: “Were the bathrooms clean?” The 901 owner would ask them if he could take a sample of their hair, frame it and display it above their album collection. Our “sweet spot” (for one person), where things are perfectly articulated, extends 17 cm on either side of the “optimal” location. The 901 owner’s “semi-sweet acre”, where things sound “almost perfect”, engulfs the entire listening space (and, maybe into the next room?) -- equally enjoyed by ALL participants. The 901's certainly put on a great show for the parties. I briefly owned a pair of 901's SAE Godzillas and a SABA TT . Bought them from a R&R Musician who was moving on. Had them for a year refinished the speakers and sold them for a profit and moved on to some Mission Speakers driven by Luxman equipment . The 901's were perfect at the time. |
@firberger Glad to put a smile on your face. I never owned a pair of 901s. Then again, I never owned a Volkswagen Bus. But, I can certainly appreciate whey they had a strong appeal and emotional attachment to their owners. |
:) ^^^ so sorry @mrdecibel . Being 40 years ago I certainly am unable to be 100% accurate on the name. So, Ampzilla seems to be closer .....and no I was not a fan of the movie . Hmm... I didnt even spell GAS correctly . My memory and my hearing are showing their age. then I looked for SAE AMPS and found a few. So lets just say my Amplifier was solid State with a lot of horsepower for the time. History lesson needed. |
@firberger ...Never a need to apologize. All is good ! I am just " that way ". I am enjoying your posts. As far as memory, I only remember audio related stuff, and as an almost 68 year old, my ears are still working, which is a surprise. Was the tt a SOTA ? No worries. Enjoy ! |
@mrdecibel Unfortunately I will unfortunately need to take the 5th . I remember the "SABA" name and know there was a German MFG of the same name. However looking at images on-line none look familiar . It was a very solid and basic wood plinth which had some weight to it . Much nice than the BIC which I had at the time . I only had the table for a year and don't remember much else.
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It cracks me up to hear a couple of people bring up Advent speakers in this post. I had those when I was in grade school, and coincidentally hung them from my ceiling. Unfortunately, I fed them too much power from a crap stereo and blew the midrange out. In college, I knew a guy who got his first job out of school at Bose and got me 301s for $99 a pair. I connected two sets to a Sony ES stereo as a single 4 ohm speaker, and they could hammer in that configuration, which again coincidentally is what people say you should do with the Advents. Half the fun of audio is to play around and see what sounds good to you. |
Not to be my picky self again, but the Advent was a two way speaker and did not have a 3rd driver for those mid frequency bands. I am certain it was the tweeters that crapped out. All good ! BTW, I also played around with stacked Advents, and although good, my stacked Klipsch Heresy's presented me with a lot more enjoyment ( it really all sounded good with flower, lol ). |
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