Bose 901

The most hilarious experience ever in my shop when I tried them.  We laughed so hard I still remember it.

Successful?  Sure, at marketing and taking out really "cool" ads.  These were the days of Hugh Hefner's TV show where pipes, smoking jackets, jazz on the stereo, and scantily-clad ladies discussing Heidegger and the politics of sex were successful, too.

It was a period in time where the company, which continues its ways, presented itself as based on total science--I think they had guys in white coats in some of their print ads--to cover the ridiculous products they tried to sell.

Never has there been a worse-sounding speaker MASQUERADING as a great scientific achievement.  Well, I take that back.  Some of today's charlatans charge infinitely more for their hoo-doo, and they get it just like bose did back then. 

Evidently, some of their stuff is once again popular for some reason.  I would not waste any of my time seeking to hear anything they made back then or today. 

But hey, have at it if you wish.  The world is a big place full of many people.

Cheers--and still laughing!

Ahhhhhh, the no highs no lows, Bose.  Always thought they would make the worlds best midrange speaker, add a Heil tweeter and subwoofer to complete the system.  However, in 1978 or so a friend and I went to an old fashioned audio salon in Tempe AZ.  It was a free Bose 901 demo.  The sound room was dead quiet, carpets, drapes, thick cloth couches and comfortable chairs.  All of the electronics were Mcintosh, big macs not small watt amps.  Number one cheat, a reel to reel playing at 15 or 30 ips.  And as MC mentioned the 8 drivers were facing the listeners-not the wall.  The soundstage was huge.  I had never heard Mick and bros Sympathy for the Devil sound this good, sounds popping out of everywhere, it was a great demo.  The sound lacked cymbal sheen/timbre. 

 I had to replace my then ESS Heil AMT4 10inch driver, went downtown Phoenix AZ to the local recon shop.  The owner suggested a pair of used Bose 10inch woofs, instead of repairing the cheap, cheap ESS woof.  He also explained crossovers in detail, especially the air chokes, showed me a huge 25lb copper choke.  3 hours later I left with a pair of Bose 10s.  They were way better than the stock woofs.  You never know til you try.

I remember watching a TV show a few years back - I think it was one of those CSI ones. Anyway, in the living room of a house were a pair of 901's installed backwards with the eight speakers firing into the room! I had to laugh at the obvious gaff but there were no visible wires, so what difference did it really make?
A buddy of mine had a pair back in the '70's. We used to play a game by turning on his system, then blindfolding ourselves and see who could find a speaker in the dark. 

Back in the late 80's while stationed in Germany, I went to a party in Shape, Belgium where the DJ was blasting a pair of 901's that sounded like crap because he was using an EQ other than the Bose EQ.  I asked him why; he said he did not need it and completely dismissed my suggestion that he get one.  Many people made that same mistake, and then complained about the 901 SQ; other's have one and still complain :-).  

For "critical" listening, I'd position my 901's facing and parallel to the back walls about 36" from the both the back and side walls.  The music filled the room and sounded great!  When partying, I'd turn the speakers around and blast away.  I got that idea from a friend who owned a club where he had a pair of Bose 802's sitting on the high stands.  The 802 speakers are designed to face the listener.  They were being pushed by a professional grade Peavy 500 wpc power amp and Peavy mixer, and this huge base speaker.  On the dance floor, the sound was awesome.  Loud enough to party to, but at a volume where you could have a conversation at the tables and bar area.

As i noted earlier in this thread, "... back in the 80's and 90's, I was in stereo heaven" with my 901's.  

I purchased the 901s in 1976.  They were my first good speakers.  I really liked them but the equalizer was confusing and I felt like I had to play them very loud to get all the music I wanted. They did look spiffy though.