I know this is an old thread, but I'm posting my 2 cents. BOSE 901 series is actually a decent pair of speakers. I currently own a pair of 901 Series VI. They hang in my dining room/kitchen area and reproduce music very musically with their unique ability to create a massive soundstage. I've also owned a pair of Series V's previously.
I also own a complete Klipsch KSP series for my living room home theater with a pair of KSP 400's for mains (with two 400W 15" built-in subs), dual KSP C6's for the centers and quad KSP S6's for the rears, as well as S3's for sides and 4 x RSX4's and 2 x SS .5's for ambiance channels and a rear channel sub as well. That makes for 3 subwoofers in my Klipsch Home Theater system. I love Klipsch's rendering of gut-wrenching rumbling and head smacking thunderclaps in movies.
I also own a pair of 6 Foot Carver Ribbons - The ALS III+ which are in my large master bedroom. I listen to those to please my ears with jazzy and instrumental music.
And I have a system in my garage with a pair of JBL CF120's to please my ears with garage jammin' music when I'm involved in my hobbies.
I purchased each type of speakers for the sound I wanted - not to appease the lame critics, most of which I don't care to please.
The 901's were not designed to be exceptionally accurate to the discerning listener, rather they were designed to be musical. And musical they are... exceptionally.
The 901's MUST be used with the matching and accompanied active equalizer, as the speakers do not have any internal crossover circuitry, which can limit its power-handling capacity. The voice coil circuitry can handle in excess of 35,000 watts, but of course the speaker cones themselves would be blown to smithereens with that kind of wattage.
The 9 drivers in each 901 are series-wired to handle enormous amounts of current. The crossover/active equalization circuit was placed out of the speaker box in an active equalizer format to affect and modulate the electronic signal BEFORE the signal entered the speakers. Very ingenious design, if you ask me.
Dr. Amar G. Bose made the 901's to fit within a specific dollar budget and at the same time to sound musical in its overall presentation, not necessarily tonally accurate as in a lab-environment.
Dr. Bose was a professor at MIT and he was also an avid musician when he embarked on his quest to manufacture a pair of speakers that reproduced music that sounded better than what their specifications would indicate. This was a direct result of him purchasing a pair of speakers based on lab-perfect specifications and finding they sounded terrible and not-at-all musical in the real-world environment.
After receiving a grant for the research of disparity in how speakers sound in a real-world environment as opposed to a lab-perfect environment, he learned that approximately 89% of all the music that reaches a listener's ears at a live performance were REFLECTED sound and only approximately 11% were comprised of direct-radiated sound. Hence, the 901's primary design parameters of 89% to 11% ratio of reflected to direct radiated audio from the enclosures.
As for the sound... let me just say that I have listened to MANY, MANY different types of set ups and I have found NONE yet, that quite match the 901's in the sheer SOUNDSTAGE they are capable of creating when set up properly.
The ENTIRE WALL behind the 901's become the soundstage, which I have yet to hear another pair of speakers in its price range (even up to 3X) to duplicate. And my friends, that is why I own a pair of 901's.
