~$550 (or more, 28 min. left in auction!) for a pair of series II, even with EQ and manuals? Even assuming in perfect condition, and photos do look nice, this is about 2x what a pair should sell for. Glad to see I'm not the only Bose ****** (here, probably I am) but at least I am sane 🙂 Give some credit to the (presumably) late owner. The listing notes the speakers were stored in the walk-in closet. This claim lends support to the possibility that (1) the speakers were hardly used and are as-new and (2) that the owner knew what Quality Sound was and thus did not listen to aforesaid speakers 🙄
*If they censor it again, it is a perfectly good (and not obscene) English word that rhymes with 'door' and means 'prostitute' 🙄
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bose-901-Se...473437?hash=item3f59334b1d:g:6f0AAOSw~otWcgsD
*If they censor it again, it is a perfectly good (and not obscene) English word that rhymes with 'door' and means 'prostitute' 🙄
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bose-901-Se...473437?hash=item3f59334b1d:g:6f0AAOSw~otWcgsD
Last edited:
2 of the 901's can fill a dance hall with great sounding music, no matter the type. One of my retired Navy bud's has a pair, and they sound wonderful, and have had a following for years! Back in the day they were not cheap, but to those who had the bucks, they were somewhat of the Holy Grail, along with the venerable JBL's. Thanks for the retrospect, and no I for one do not think you've lost your mind in buying these, enjoy the music! 🙂
Mac
Mac
With DSP and class D amps being as cheap as they are - would it be cool to make your own 901 but make it better? With drivers that actually reached 18k and have modern low distortion motors.
I think wiring 9 Dayton PS95-8's or RS100P's in series parallel, connect to a 250w IRS2092 amp and EQ and time delay rears vs fronts with miniDSP would be pretty cool.
I think wiring 9 Dayton PS95-8's or RS100P's in series parallel, connect to a 250w IRS2092 amp and EQ and time delay rears vs fronts with miniDSP would be pretty cool.
Anyone who doesn't realize they are antiques is, by definition, an antique himself. 🙂
Best,
Erik
An interesting philosophical question. Is the Bose 901 a full range speaker for having a single type of driver, or a multi way because it has 9? In any event, I already have three pair, so don't need any more. Xrk971, be thankful I don't know where you live lest I would beg a tour of your collection, for I am vacationing in the DC area the coming week.
Sent from my pc1162 using Tapatalk
Sent from my pc1162 using Tapatalk
I'd say it's full-range because the full frequency range of the audio signal is applied to each driver, as opposed to the frequency range being limited by a crossover.
Christmas [and/or other winter solstice celebration of your choice] is a good time of year to reminisce about the past (mainly because you're stuck indoors and there is ten feet of snow outside?). IN any case: I find it amusing that this thread already touches upon some of the Bose legends: One of them, military sales. I too was a GI (1980s) and bought my share of gear, some of it quite good (by my standards then!) but as noted above, the Bose 901 (series IV) then was out of my range. Yes, they had (have?) a mystique (not just a cute blue boobed action heroine 🙂 ) among young military. Blame the promotion skills and budget of Bose. Anyway, fast forward two decades and the very old, used 901 are much more affordable 🙂
Can they be modified to improve the sound? Of course. Is it worth doing so? Rarely does anyone actually claim to have done so 🙁
Are the originals "antiques"? Half way there. I think the "official" definition of antique is > 100 years. The original came out in 1968, I believe. As for myself, I am already 54 years old. I don't expect to become an antique, at least not a valuable one. I am enroute to visit my oldest relative (a 96-yo Aunt), that side of the family does well but by 96 one shouldn't be buying green bananas
I heartily second xrk971's idea of using Class D (and cheap EQ) which is precisely what I have done for years...and many others too probably. While few on diyaudio dare stoop so low as me (Behringer amps and EQ, MiniDSP = ok), paired with Bose it works fine.
I hope the buyer of the NJ pair of 901 II's enjoys them. They went for $588 (IIRC). Since the EQ is worth around $100 solo, perhaps not so bad after all. They will be antiques, some day. Probably not priceless, but think of how few pairs are saved for even five decades. In fifty years anything made of real wood will be rare (ok Bose is already disqualified.) In the meantime, hold onto Grandma's furniture 🙂
Happy holidays, all.
Sent from my NV570P using Tapatalk
Can they be modified to improve the sound? Of course. Is it worth doing so? Rarely does anyone actually claim to have done so 🙁
Are the originals "antiques"? Half way there. I think the "official" definition of antique is > 100 years. The original came out in 1968, I believe. As for myself, I am already 54 years old. I don't expect to become an antique, at least not a valuable one. I am enroute to visit my oldest relative (a 96-yo Aunt), that side of the family does well but by 96 one shouldn't be buying green bananas
I heartily second xrk971's idea of using Class D (and cheap EQ) which is precisely what I have done for years...and many others too probably. While few on diyaudio dare stoop so low as me (Behringer amps and EQ, MiniDSP = ok), paired with Bose it works fine.
I hope the buyer of the NJ pair of 901 II's enjoys them. They went for $588 (IIRC). Since the EQ is worth around $100 solo, perhaps not so bad after all. They will be antiques, some day. Probably not priceless, but think of how few pairs are saved for even five decades. In fifty years anything made of real wood will be rare (ok Bose is already disqualified.) In the meantime, hold onto Grandma's furniture 🙂
Happy holidays, all.
Sent from my NV570P using Tapatalk
I heard the 901's only once - at a friend's house and I was unimpressed. Were they just not set up properly or is it me? Is there a situation where the sound amazes and stuns you dead in your tracks? That was the case with my Trynergies.
They need a hard backwall and preferably a corner to do their best.
Plenty of commercial and hobby clones where made back in the day.
Alan Kay was/(is?) a big fan, so famously the guys at Xerox Parc did serveral hundred perfekt clones for friends and family, to prove how cheaply they could be made, without Bose's margin.
That was of course at the same time as inventing vertially all of modern computing, for good and bad.
Plenty of commercial and hobby clones where made back in the day.
Alan Kay was/(is?) a big fan, so famously the guys at Xerox Parc did serveral hundred perfekt clones for friends and family, to prove how cheaply they could be made, without Bose's margin.
That was of course at the same time as inventing vertially all of modern computing, for good and bad.
Reminds me of the time I wandered into an Audio King (a great little chain of HiFi outlets that was driven out of business a couple of decades ago by the likes of the "Big Box" stores) when I overheard a salesman telling a prospective customer that the 901's fantastic bass and treble were due to the high quality woofers and tweeters they used. 😱 I was tempted to intervene with the harsh truth, but decided not to. I left the store shaking my head.
Mike
they can sound alright imo - - despite 9 ~FR drivers, I think it was used by PWK as an illustration of high modulation distortion in one of his papers.
here's some data on my vintage 901 Series I - I need to seal the basket to baffle as the putty has completely dried - also a cap refresh on the EQ unit would help
the FR outdoors below is without any EQ then I show how the EQ measures
Outdoors in the middle of a yard sitting on a barrel then 18" from a house wall
Outdoors on the barrel data alone - look how the 8 drivers sum in the mids vs just the front driver
EQ shape
here's some data on my vintage 901 Series I - I need to seal the basket to baffle as the putty has completely dried - also a cap refresh on the EQ unit would help
the FR outdoors below is without any EQ then I show how the EQ measures
Outdoors in the middle of a yard sitting on a barrel then 18" from a house wall
Outdoors on the barrel data alone - look how the 8 drivers sum in the mids vs just the front driver
EQ shape
Last edited:
Wait for another one to come along.
I was after some Orange or Fane folded horn speakers.
They came along occasionally but people were wanting £500+ each for them.
Eventually a pair of Fane folded horn speakers came along and I got them for £100.
Everything comes to he who waits.
I was after some Orange or Fane folded horn speakers.
They came along occasionally but people were wanting £500+ each for them.
Eventually a pair of Fane folded horn speakers came along and I got them for £100.
Everything comes to he who waits.
Or he who builds his own. I was thinking the Dayton PA130-8 would be perfect for this. You would end up with like a 98dB sensitive speaker. Or a mini version with 18x$10 TC9FD's.
It was 72 degrees in NYC yesterday, should be 64 today. I went to a Christmas eve wine & cheese party at a friends wearing my Hawaiian shirt as a goof.
Surf's up!
The one time I heard Bose 901s was at my girlfriends ex-husband's house. It was weird enough being there, but then I thought those speakers just sounded strange. Full sound but no soundstage. They were his pride and joy. I believe he had them hanging from the ceiling in the proper alignment against a wall. I heard the 301s and 601s at the audio scam stores and these weren't impressive in the least. Those were just trying to cash in on the Bose name, as has everything since. My son is a pilot though, and they all use Bose headsets because they do a good job of eliminating the noise.
Last edited:
I owned a pair years ago and I did enjoy them until I heard a pair of Klipshorn. I bought a pair of LaScala's in 86 and never looked back. I am using a 1 watt amplifier at times with plenty of volume and it took 200 watts a channel to make the Bose 901's come to life. I said at times because right now I have 4 favorite amps with the most power being a Firstwatt 25 watt that I rotate in and out. I have never built a Open Baffle system but I think some of the same sound can be duplicated with the better OB speakers using a good woofer.
- Status
- Not open for further replies.