Had it not been for Dr. Amar Bose and this speaker, who would
have caused so many speaker designers to even give stereo
imaging the slightest consideration!????

The one thing the Bose 901s do NOT do is "image" what is on the recording. They
create their own ersatz soundstage.


When the salesman put on an album by a band called Chase,
the 901's that were suspended from the ceiling immediately
shook the room and the clarity was awesome! Stereo everywhere
yet I could distinctly identify each trumpet, guitar, percussion and
voices with better separation than I had ever experienced!

The fact is that the 901s are distinctly LACKING in detail and clarity.

I bought 901s (and the necessary amp, tuner, 'table, etc.) in 1973. They
replaced a KLH Model 11 FM, which used similar 4" full-range drivers. When I put
on a familiar recording, I was startled to discover that the 901 did not provide
ANY improvement in detail, clarity, etc, over the KLH. And even in 1973, the KLH
Model 11 was NOT considered true "high fidelity."

About a year later, I sold the 901s and replaced them with Dahlquist DQ-10s, a
speaker which sounded far more like "live sound" than the 901s. (My current
speakers are Apogee Divas.)


Thus the reason for the model #...9 drivers total with 1 in front. The
design is appropriately designated as direct/reflecting with 89% of the
sound projected from the rear and the remaining 11% coming out of the
front. This proportion was the finding of Dr. Bose's MIT team when
studying various halls where LIVE PERFORMANCES were featured.

A small recital hall does not have the same ratio of direct-to-reflected sound
as a concert hall, which in turn is different from a cathedral. And the ratio
varies within a particular venue, as well. Even assuming one would want to
superimpose artificial ambience on a recording, there is no single "correct"
ratio.

The reason the 901s sound so spacious is that they generate comb-filter effects,
of the same sort that once were used to convert mono recordings into fake
stereo.


Because of the use of small full-range drivers, an active equalizer
which is absolutely essential to the system is used in place of the
normal CROSSOVERS that introduce distortion no matter how well
engineered. The 901 EQ simply smooths out any bumps or
irregularities in the system's power response.

What sort of distortion? Even picky audiophiles do not feel that a properly
engineered crossover significantly degrades the sound.

In fact, one of the arguments against the use of full-range dynamic drivers is
that you get far more IM distortion than when using drivers specifically
designed for a specific part of the sound spectrum. Using separte woofers,
midranges, tweeters, etc, REDUCES system distortion.


THE 901 IS NOT FOR EVERYONE.

Correct. It's only for people who don't know what live sound sounds like.


The speaker has an uncanny ability to reveal eveything!

You've obviously never heard electrostatic or ribbon/orthodynamic speakers.


But don't just take my word for it... listen for yourself! You may
or may not agree. That is how controversial this speaker is!

There is nothing controversial about the 901. Everything about its design is
both theoretically and practically incorrect.


This silliness began in 1971 when J Gordon Holt gave the original Bose
901 a somewhat negative review. He did however bring up some good
points but was off the mark on the 901's sounding "fat" in the bass as
they are anything but that! However, the battle lines were drawn. This review
sparked the "Love/Hate" of the Bose 901 speaker system and you can link
to the entire review from my profile page. Just so you have an idea of where
Mr. Holt is at...he loves the sound of the B&W 801. I thought that this was
rather ironic as this model [although great] has been tagged by myself
and others as a bit overwhelming and "fat sounding" in the bass
frequencies...again...room acoustics like it or not will affect various
speaker models more than we sometimes are willing to admit!

JGH has been a friend for over 25 years. His review was the only one in the
audio magazines that showed any sense in analyzing the design and sound of the
901s. 30 years later, it remains a fundamentally correct analysis.


The Bose 901s were designed by an ignorant, deluded, incompetent engineer. His
company has done absolutely nothing to advance the art of sound reproduction.
(In fairness, the same could be said about most other audio companies.) It's a
shame you've aligned yourself with them for so many years, because, never having
heard A REALLY GOOD SPEAKER, you simply don't know what you're missing.

I'm a degreed EE and have made many live recordings of full orchestra, chamber
music, etc. If the Bose 901s accurately reproduced what was on the recording
better than any other speaker, I would own them. They don't, and I don't.

"William Sommerwerck"


(snip lots of good stuff)

The Bose 901s were designed by an ignorant, deluded, incompetent engineer.
His
company has done absolutely nothing to advance the art of sound
reproduction.


** Well said Bill.

Bose is not a brand of speaker - it is a religious cult.




........... Phil

William Sommerwerck wrote:

The one thing the Bose 901s do NOT do is "image" what is on the recording. They
create their own ersatz soundstage.


There was once a really great club in Mpls called Boyds On The River. At
the time it was my favorite hangout. They had 901's all over the place.
Usually playing the live band so you could hear them clearly anywhere in
the club.

I always thought they sounded pretty good. Oh, wait a minute, I was
really drunk at the time... g

On Thu, 5 Feb 2004 16:30:09 -0800, "William Sommerwerck"
wrote:

Had it not been for Dr. Amar Bose and this speaker, who would
have caused so many speaker designers to even give stereo
imaging the slightest consideration!????

The one thing the Bose 901s do NOT do is "image" what is on the recording. They
create their own ersatz soundstage.

Mr Klipsch and Dr Bose are walking down opposite sides of the street,
approaching each other.
Klipsch cups his hands around his mouth, faces Bose and calls out :
"Hey, Bose, you still making those speakers"
Bose turns his head away, stuffs his scarf in his mouth and mutters :
"yep"

I was once a salesman at a 86 store chain, Tech Hifi. All the salesmen hated
the Bose sound, but people would want to hear them anyways. The profit margin
on Bose was very high. I made people listen to Advent, AR, infinity, JBL, and
Celestion, but some still bought the Bose. Based on Bose's reputation, I
guess.

h (me) wrote in
:


Mr Klipsch and Dr Bose are walking down opposite sides of
the street, approaching each other.
Klipsch cups his hands around his mouth, faces Bose and
calls out : "Hey, Bose, you still making those speakers"
Bose turns his head away, stuffs his scarf in his mouth and
mutters : "yep"

Now THAT's funny.