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Bose 901 Review
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. |
#2
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"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 |
#3
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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 |
#4
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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" |
#5
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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. |
#6
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