Opinions on the Bose 901


A friend of mine just gave me an old pair of Bose 901 Series IV. All the foam surrounds have crumbled, but the cabinets and the EQ are in decent shape. A foam surround kit plus the dust caps is less than $90 USD at ( www.partsexpress.com ).

I am pretty much set with my Swans M1 near field system--it rocks, especially after adding a 3000W ONEAC 220V isolation transformer. I am looking at using the Bose as HT speakers or as a background music system--I like to have music all over while I cook...

I am seeking unbiased opinions as to how I could use these speakers in a 2 channel HT setup:

The Series IV has a third contact between the (+)and the (-)(is it a ground?) which was used with the Bose Receiver's "spatial control". It allowed changing how much energy was sent towards the inside or outside reflecting surfaces--it was like a fader control, but from inside to outside.

If I use them for HT, I could use a homemade preamp that would allow such control and the 901's could become a "virtual center channel" by shifting the energy balance towards the area between the speakers. I think this could offer a neat movie viewing effect in the absense of a Pro Logic, THX, DTS, 5.1, 7.1, 10.2 or a 15.3 decoder.

A false gypsum wall could be constructed for having my 27" Sony WEGA flush and provide a good reflective surface for the 901's.

I will appreciate any constructive input.

Thanks,

P/A
psychicanimal

Showing 2 responses by sean

I grew up with a Father that was heavily into audio and as such, i spent a lot of my personal free time as a teenager hanging out at Musicraft, Pacific Stereo, Playback, Schaak Electronics, etc...

As such, yes, i remember the Bose receivers distinctly. Only the 100 wpc model had the spatial control, the smaller receiver didn't have it. The reason for this is that the 100 wpc model was really four 50 wpc amps tied together. The smaller receiver ( think it was 40 wpc ) did not have this type of internal construction, so they couldn't offer that type of feature.

All the spatializer did was to divide how much signal was fed to the inner panel vs the outer panel by swinging the amount of signal between the two 50 wpc amps driving that speaker. In effect, it was a balance control for each individual speaker. You could emphasize the two outer panels for greater width or the two inner panels for a more central image. This could probably be duplicated, but i would have to think that it would not be worth the effort.

I think that most "audiophiles" are embarrassed to say that they've owned Bose, let alone admit it publicly. THAT is why you haven't gotten very many responses. My thoughts are that if you haven't owned Bose, you are either way ahead of the learning curve or you've missed part of your "audiophile education" somewhere along the way. Personally, i would prefer learning first hand and exposure to skipping lessons and having to guess. Like anything else in this world though, to each their own.

As to trying to do a "homebrew spatializer", i would not bother. I think that most folks would use these as surrounds in an HT system, as they are best suited for that. If you were to use them as mains, i would turn them around so that you had 89% direct radiation and 11% reflected. This would not only aid in a smoother frequency response due to the lack of reflections, it should also improve apparent transient response and clarity. After all, what better to try and reproduce the multitude of spoken word passages that are found in movies than a multitude of direct radiating midrange drivers ???? This would also minimize beaming since the panels are splayed, making for a wider sweet spot and better audibility for those not sitting "front and center". You could always play with adding a tweeter and / or subs to fill things out, should you feel the need. Sean
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Albert, i just read your earlier post about "back when i was a kid". I didn't think they had electronics back when "you were a kid" : ) Sean ( still wet behind the ears )
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