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Bose 901's with "highend ancillaries"??

I STILL see Bose 901's are available here and maybe new after umpteen years in existence and yet I have still never hear a pair (unless you count the occasional high school concert which used the professional version).

Has anyone ever used these with "highend" gear, and if so what was the result??

Just curious if there is actually something good about the speaker other than the marketing the Bose Corporation has done over the years as they have never been inexpensive and even now hold their value pretty well.

And while I ma sure one can do better for the $$$ etc etc I am only looking for comments on how they actually SOUND - strengths and weaknesses
jrinkerptdnet
mofimadness's avatar
mofimadness
5,812 posts
 
Here's a pretty decent review of them from Tone Audio.
schubert
7,386 posts
 
They are better than Audiophiles want to give them credit for.
If they were all I had to listen music to I wouldn't cry over it.
mapman's avatar
mapman
23,042 posts
 
Seems like a rasonable review.

I usually enjoy them when I hear them in well set up pro/public venues.

Like any speakers at the price point, they will have strengths and weaknesses that may fit some and not others.

Bragging rights with audiophiles will not be a benefit though for sure. Maybe with most others though who are way more plentiful.
brauser
532 posts
 
I have heard them multiple times with a range of gear. They are not even close to being a high-end speaker. In fact, I would say they are some of the worst speakers I have ever heard in the context of audiophile products. Artificial highs, bloated bass and maybe a decent midrange (being kind). The design of the product is flawed from the start and no amount of tweaking/modification can bring them into an acceptable range of performance.
almarg's avatar
almarg
9,670 posts
 
You'll probably find this thread to be of interest. My comments in it were as follows:
01-07-12: Almarg
01-07-12: Johnnyb53
There are other things I don't agree with. For example, Amar Bose arrived at an 11/89% ratio of direct-to-reflected sound based on his measurements of Boston's Symphony Hall. The thing is, Symphony Hall is one of the most reverberant concert venues in the world.
I would add that there are problems with the 11/89% ratio in at least two other respects:

1)A recording of a performance in a hall will already have captured both direct and reflected sound. And if the recording is well engineered, that will have been done in a reasonably proper ratio.

2)A given ratio of direct to reflected sound that is produced by the speakers and the listening room will be perceived completely differently than the same ratio would be perceived in a concert hall, because the delay times between direct and reflected sound arrivals are vastly different in the two cases.

Putting aside issues related to quality of implementation, the basic concept itself is fundamentally flawed IMO.

Disclaimer: I have never heard a Bose speaker. I also have no desire to.
Regards,
-- Al
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