Bose 901

Thought they sounded good.
would I buy them, no, but they were a descent speaker.

i have my bose 901 series 2 that i bought back in the good old days. back then they were advertized as 'cadillac quality' in a volkswagon' space! they were said to need at least 100 watts per chanel because the 'eq' demanded 'power'!!! today bose is called ' no highs ,no lows must be bose'! that may be true but i still have my 4 901's series 2 powered by a mcintosh 600 watt per chanell amp that makes these speakers 'scream'!!!

The most hilarious experience ever in my shop when I tried them.  We laughed so hard I still remember it.

Successful?  Sure, at marketing and taking out really "cool" ads.  These were the days of Hugh Hefner's TV show where pipes, smoking jackets, jazz on the stereo, and scantily-clad ladies discussing Heidegger and the politics of sex were successful, too.

It was a period in time where the company, which continues its ways, presented itself as based on total science--I think they had guys in white coats in some of their print ads--to cover the ridiculous products they tried to sell.

Never has there been a worse-sounding speaker MASQUERADING as a great scientific achievement.  Well, I take that back.  Some of today's charlatans charge infinitely more for their hoo-doo, and they get it just like bose did back then. 

Evidently, some of their stuff is once again popular for some reason.  I would not waste any of my time seeking to hear anything they made back then or today. 

But hey, have at it if you wish.  The world is a big place full of many people.

Cheers--and still laughing!

Ahhhhhh, the no highs no lows, Bose.  Always thought they would make the worlds best midrange speaker, add a Heil tweeter and subwoofer to complete the system.  However, in 1978 or so a friend and I went to an old fashioned audio salon in Tempe AZ.  It was a free Bose 901 demo.  The sound room was dead quiet, carpets, drapes, thick cloth couches and comfortable chairs.  All of the electronics were Mcintosh, big macs not small watt amps.  Number one cheat, a reel to reel playing at 15 or 30 ips.  And as MC mentioned the 8 drivers were facing the listeners-not the wall.  The soundstage was huge.  I had never heard Mick and bros Sympathy for the Devil sound this good, sounds popping out of everywhere, it was a great demo.  The sound lacked cymbal sheen/timbre. 

 I had to replace my then ESS Heil AMT4 10inch driver, went downtown Phoenix AZ to the local recon shop.  The owner suggested a pair of used Bose 10inch woofs, instead of repairing the cheap, cheap ESS woof.  He also explained crossovers in detail, especially the air chokes, showed me a huge 25lb copper choke.  3 hours later I left with a pair of Bose 10s.  They were way better than the stock woofs.  You never know til you try.

I remember watching a TV show a few years back - I think it was one of those CSI ones. Anyway, in the living room of a house were a pair of 901's installed backwards with the eight speakers firing into the room! I had to laugh at the obvious gaff but there were no visible wires, so what difference did it really make?
A buddy of mine had a pair back in the '70's. We used to play a game by turning on his system, then blindfolding ourselves and see who could find a speaker in the dark.