Well, I agree that the battered cabinet of my ill-fated Series II is trash. More to the point, yes, in the series I and II were Left and Right paired, not symmetrical, but the single front driver is deliberately off set in different heights. Probably makes little difference. It is notable that (as far as I know), in series III through VI the speakers are identical. Also, you can't buy Bose stock (it is a privately held company, or was...) Love them or hate them, Bose 901 are durable and cheap on Ebay.
BTW, even I dare not sell my sawdust pile on Ebay
Here is a snippet of the "three different drivers" cite: " But what about that 200Hz resonance? Dr. Bose contends that, if you use for the nine speakers ones whose resonances all occur at slightly different frequencies, the resonance of any one becomes "inaudible." We are not convinced of this, for a resonance causes a transducer to continue vibrating for a time after the signal that started it going. has ceased, and adding more resonances can only cause the system to "hang over" at more different frequencies. Thus, we do not feel it was purely coincidental that the 901 we tested seemed to have a tend toward upper-bass heaviness in the four rooms we set it up in."
http://www.stereophile.com/content/bose-901-loudspeaker-page-4
BTW, even I dare not sell my sawdust pile on Ebay
Here is a snippet of the "three different drivers" cite: " But what about that 200Hz resonance? Dr. Bose contends that, if you use for the nine speakers ones whose resonances all occur at slightly different frequencies, the resonance of any one becomes "inaudible." We are not convinced of this, for a resonance causes a transducer to continue vibrating for a time after the signal that started it going. has ceased, and adding more resonances can only cause the system to "hang over" at more different frequencies. Thus, we do not feel it was purely coincidental that the 901 we tested seemed to have a tend toward upper-bass heaviness in the four rooms we set it up in."
http://www.stereophile.com/content/bose-901-loudspeaker-page-4
Last edited:
I can confirm it because I have a pair of 301s in my auto shop. They are mirror images of each other.
They have to be set up just so to work properly. Mine are set up just like they were set up at the store display. They're hung from the ceiling, equidistant from the ceiling and the two walls. They provide a fake ambiance that is actually quite balanced. They provide "stereo everywhere" just like the marketing claims. Is it accurate? No. They provide a balanced and pleasing sound.
You will be hard pressed to find a set that is situated properly outside of a commercial display. They are quite impractical for domestic applications, especially considering the average Bose consumer mentality. People hear them and ask me why mine sound so much better than theirs. Well there's a lot of reasons (like custom hard wired equalisation I designed for them and the fact that they are driven by a Nakamichi Stasis amplifier), but the primary reason is because of the way I situated them.
When you go to the store, they sound fantastic. When you get them home, not so much. They require extraordinary effort to get them to sound decent.
I got them for $100 brand new in the box from the Bose outlet in Gurnee, Il because they were a six year old model, to answer your next question.
The 901s, with all their warts, are quite dynamic and powerful. When set up properly, the fake ambiance they provide can sound great with rock music.
Purists hate them with good reason. Acoustic music sounds jumbled and just fake.
Everybody's perception is very subjective, no matter how smart they think they are. I have set up home stereo systems with a graphic equaliser and a microphone for super flat response. Not a single person I did this for liked the way it sounded.
The absolute worst Bose product is their "acoustimass" system. I could rant about them but I won't. But this very popular system is truly awful in almost every way.
Dodecahedron Speaker from salvaged Bose 901 drivers
If you want to bash some more cabinets you can build a sound sphere as a 12 sided dodecahedron speaker with 12 drivers. It has been done and a nice study with simulations is available here:
http://www.wvier.de/texte/aes102.pdf
Replacement 1 ohm 901-like drivers are also available from PE. Replacement Speaker Driver for Bose 901 4-1/2" 1 Ohm 290-922
They are actually pretty decent drivers: 92 dB, fs of 83 Hz, Qts of 0.36 and go up to 15 kHz.
Here are photos of not Bose drivers, but you get the idea of what they look like...
If you want to bash some more cabinets you can build a sound sphere as a 12 sided dodecahedron speaker with 12 drivers. It has been done and a nice study with simulations is available here:
http://www.wvier.de/texte/aes102.pdf
Replacement 1 ohm 901-like drivers are also available from PE. Replacement Speaker Driver for Bose 901 4-1/2" 1 Ohm 290-922
They are actually pretty decent drivers: 92 dB, fs of 83 Hz, Qts of 0.36 and go up to 15 kHz.
Here are photos of not Bose drivers, but you get the idea of what they look like...
Last edited:
Yes the 901s are legendary.
An interesting fact is when Justin Hayes and John Lodge (of "Moody Blues" fame) debuted their "Blue Jays" album at NY City's Avery Fisher hall, (for music critics and other invited guests) they just used a single pair of 901s on the stage. It reportedly sounded fantastic ..
However the room and placement of these speakers is critical as 90% of the sound is emitted from the back of the speakers . They need to be placed a certain distance from a wall and away from corners. So, many people were not able to take full advantage of them and opted for other high end more placement friendly speakers of the day such as the "JBL L100" or Advent etc.
But, if one could now get a pair that are in good condition or worth repairing and have the right placement area for them, they are still great.
As stated, "Parts Express" in the US has direct replacement speakers for the 901s as they are still great by today's standard.
An interesting fact is when Justin Hayes and John Lodge (of "Moody Blues" fame) debuted their "Blue Jays" album at NY City's Avery Fisher hall, (for music critics and other invited guests) they just used a single pair of 901s on the stage. It reportedly sounded fantastic ..
However the room and placement of these speakers is critical as 90% of the sound is emitted from the back of the speakers . They need to be placed a certain distance from a wall and away from corners. So, many people were not able to take full advantage of them and opted for other high end more placement friendly speakers of the day such as the "JBL L100" or Advent etc.
But, if one could now get a pair that are in good condition or worth repairing and have the right placement area for them, they are still great.
As stated, "Parts Express" in the US has direct replacement speakers for the 901s as they are still great by today's standard
.
Last edited:
Any of them could sound great, for those of us who have fallen under the Bose spell. I have owned both major series, and I say the "original" (I, II) are better than the ported. Cheaper too. Real wood (albeit sawdust) cabinets, hardly any plastic to be seen. Of course with the ported ones you can blow out a candle at the rear, if you crank it up. If I put a candle at my rear, i can make a blue flame too 
I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to disagree here.
Go out and listen to one of their Soundlink portable speakers.
I was very very impressed with how much sound they got out of such a tiny little box. The bass went lower than it ought to, it went fairly loud, decent battery life, with features and finish that a DIYer could only dream of.
For what it is, and yes, even at that price, it is very very good.
Some of Bose's stuff has been terrible, I'll agree. But they've done some decent stuff too.
Chris
How about Bose 901 upgrades? I can see one where the individual drivers are given their own back volumes and crossed over to a downfiring woofer that exits through the stand to a gap at the bottom at the floor for dispersion. Smaller replacement drivers could be used since they wouldn't have to pretend to go down to 30 hz and could be allowed a little Xmax, too.
And there is plenty of room to add real tweeters between the mid drivers, too.
The result would be a speaker that doesn't need an amplifier power destroying eq box and does everything better than the original 901, response wise and without the 'no highs no lows, it's a Bose' syndrome.
And there is plenty of room to add real tweeters between the mid drivers, too.
The result would be a speaker that doesn't need an amplifier power destroying eq box and does everything better than the original 901, response wise and without the 'no highs no lows, it's a Bose' syndrome.
Last edited:
A tweeter would definitely help.
The stand post is pretty skinny, looking at photographs - nothing that couldn't be fixed with some black CPVC pipe that could be a port around 2" diameter to allow bass tones to use some floor gain, and your cat probably won't break the 901 off by jumping off it after that, either.
The stand post is pretty skinny, looking at photographs - nothing that couldn't be fixed with some black CPVC pipe that could be a port around 2" diameter to allow bass tones to use some floor gain, and your cat probably won't break the 901 off by jumping off it after that, either
.
Last edited:
People are always surprised by "how much" "how deep" etc tiny speakers go. Until they hear real speakers. You'd probably have the same reaction from any number of small portable setups popular nowadays, particularly as the drivers in many are actually getting rather decent. Lots of the underhung auras and small tang bands, etc.
While certainly I respect your opinion, I would be VERY surprised if this product, which I have no experience with, broke the bose mold of sizzle over substance. I also am a stickler for corporate ethics. Bose is on my stink list for their dishonest marketing practices, ridiculous patents, etc. My views on their products are certainly influenced by these sorts of things, and I'm quite comfortable with that, since their lack of integrity is mirrored by their typical lack of quality.
Chris,
Take a Bose product, any Bose product, apart. It might change your mind about quality. Maybe that's what badman was referring to. Be forewarned, your jaw may drop.
I've dismantled an original SoundDock. Nothing in there I would've done differently, for what it is.
Sure, the casing was plastic, but also around 2.5mm thick, so didn't flex much.
Most of the money though, had gone on the circuitry and drive units: there's rather a lot of signal processing in there, and the 2.5" drivers sound decent enough until driven past 3mm p/p of travel. They're slightly lacking in top end, but the corrugated surround (instead of a wide rubber one) was a nice touch.
I wouldn't've paid its original price (the unit was given to me as faulty), but it certainly sounded better (even when I put a generic battery-powered amplifier in there) than anything similar in size that I've heard.
IMO, Bose specialise on getting quite a lot of sound out of rather small boxes, at the expense of sound quality. For iPod docks and portable speakers, they're on home ground, and not much that'll touch them.
EDIT - reply to Badman
I agree, small portable units are getting better, but this one came out years ago, its taken everyone else a while to catch up.
I'd recommend a quick listen to one if you happen to be in a shopping centre with some time to kill. Sure, its probably overpriced for what it is, but when you consider the sound and size of the thing..
.. Well, I found it impressive.
Apart from that, I agree WRT their patents etc, and certainly wouldn't use anything of theirs for my primary stereo (he says, listening to some Behringer monitors).
Chris
Last edited:
Now Bose "cut some corners again" lol. on their new wave radio they ELIMINATED the bottoms on the top 
so if you loose, brake the RF remote...you MUST buy a new one from them
Have you seen the cubes now? they do not used screws to hold them to the cheap plastic enclosures...again to save money
so if you loose, brake the RF remote...you MUST buy a new one from themHave you seen the cubes now? they do not used screws to hold them to the cheap plastic enclosures...again to save money
Chris, I erred. I should have said take apart a Bose speaker. I am not familiar with their electronics. I have taken apart 301's, 601's and 901's and examined the cabinets and components. In each case the reaction was the same. I started out in disbelief. This turned to anger and by the end I was doing the ****s and giggles thing wondering how a company can find so many gullible people and why wasn't I smart enough to do the same thing? It finishes with me walking away thinking that there's no way in **** I could ever do that to someone's hard earned money.
on their new wave radio they ELIMINATED the bottoms on the top
I believe you meant to say they eliminated the buttons on the unit itself so if you lose or break the remote you're scr***d
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.