Bose 901 Review Well Done.

Russ69

I think the series 3 was the worst. Never hear a good word about them. Series 4 sounded good but foam surrounds went bad fast. Bose did a buyback program and put you into a pair of series 6 for I think $400. I bought a pair of junk 4's just to do the trade. I still have a pair of series I, 2 pair of series 2 and a pair of series 6. My favorites were always the 2's but 6's are pretty good and can sound good with less than 100 wpc as well as handle loads of power. These were the ones that they'd plug into a wall outlet, claiming they could handle 1200 watts. I have not tried this. :) The series 1's and 2's are power hungry and sound best with a minimum of 150wpc. Most who complained about the first two series were driving them with small receivers and they would not sound good at all this way. I had a 90wpc Yamaha integrated amp as a loaner before my Crown gear came in. It was not enough and I did not enjoy them until I got the Crown separates. They came to life with the added power.

I find the same thing with my AR9's. I only had one Parasound (HCA2200II) amp when I first got them and ran them with the single 250wpc. They didn't sound bad, they even sounded good but they truly came to life when I added the second Parasound amp and bi-amped them, the way they are designed. I can't imagine using them any other way. Just like I can't imagine listening to Bose 901's with not enough power and or not placed in perfect corners. They will absolutely not sound right if they are not used correctly and supplied with enough power. I first heard them driven by a large McIntosh amp and preamp. The clerk at the store said they had to have the power and he was right. 

I had a buddy who had DQ10's and he drove them was an Accuphase integrated amp, 110wpc. It sounded pretty good but I said he needed more power. I bought my Crown amp and preamp to his place and he could not believe the difference. He bought a Denon 200wpc amp after that and they came to life. His preamp was a CJ PV2, likely better than my Crown or at least different being tube vs SS. 

I know a lot of Maggie users have found the same. If they need power, give it to them or you will be very disappointed.

hsbrock

Yes, I still have the article in one of my stereo file folders. I was 16 at the time, myself. I did not hear them for another couple years but the article interested me.

As stated above, I also have my original receipt from 1976, when I bought my second stereo set up. I have a photo of my first stereo, which I bought right before getting drafted. I had a Pilot 65wpc receiver (considered powerful at the time), Realistic TT and Nova 8 speakers from Radio Shack. It wasn't terrible for a teenage kid and first stereo. Best in the barracks until I went to Germany. 

Yeah my first big buy...901s series 2 bought them used for $315  back in 1973 .I ran them with a Sony Str 7065.They were great ,I was just married 21 into Led Zeppelin and they could handle them,no problem. Had a Technics 1300 TT Shure V15 cart and my set up was great .I used them until 1995..had them stored and the speakers rings,all deteriorated..16 speakers are alot to redo...whan I move I thrashed them,sadly to say...I had no room for them in my new place.

Sorry I meant 18 speakers, lol.

Such a lively thread! My contribution has to do with not “what’s best”, but with what I like and find most interesting- which involves owning a bunch of very different systems, each with very different vintage speakers:

-Quad ESL 57’s

-Monitor Audio MA2’s

-Altec 604’s in 620 cabinets

-ADS 801’s

-Linn Kan’s

-Yamaha NS10’s

-Bose 901 series IV with equalizer

They all have their “place”. I don’t listen to the Yamahas for fun- they’re great tools for mixing and sound design, as befits their rep. The Quads get the best upstream gear I can afford, and have pride of place in my home living room- solo, couch-based listening at its best. The Monitor Audios are great in my art studio- well-balanced, forgiving, good off-axis in a large live space. Linn Kans are fine for film sound when projecting movies (w. sub). The ADS 810’s are comfy in a social/game playing space in my vacation home for mostly non-critical rock, r&b and jazz listening with family and friends. Finally, and most recently I bought a used pair of 901’s for my new screen porch, positioning them against a solid wall, hooked up an old Creek integrated I had lying around, and finally heard them in all their good, bad and ugly glory. Everything written above is true- except that the EQ is at best optional. No- it’s necessary. Unless you take the eq out of the signal chain as a “special effect” applied to stripped-down dub- the sort of trick-in-the-mix Lee Perry might have come up with . . . And yes, they still sound great heard from an annoyed neighbor’s house across the lake!