Bose 901 - Series 1 Keep or sell

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by Don Ro

It looks like you have a set of "new" 901's. How sweet is that?

Could be worse. The sun is shining today!

Had to pull off the vertical edge wood. Speaker kept a bit of the wood. Will glue back nicely.

Downloaded the user manual. Use tape monitor plug-ins? This will be interesting. I never understood that function from the get go.

What am I going to do with my Tandberg?

Servostatic is a different speaker. Unique. Skinny panels. I do like the look.

[aschen]

sweet! surely They have been rebuilt / refoamed at some point? Im not sure those look like 40 year old screws.

If you use a single source you can put the eq between the source and the amp as well. Probably the eq is in good shape as well if the speakers are any indication

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by aschen

sweet! surely They have been rebuilt / refoamed at some point? Im not sure those look like 40 year old screws.

If you use a single source you can put the eq between the source and the amp as well. Probably the eq is in good shape as well if the speakers are any indication

I have read the Series 1's have fabric surrounds and they are robust. But these simply look too new. Agree on the screws. Just too spiffy. There should be some patina on them if original.

I do use a single source at the shop. This is getting better all the time.

Originally Posted by RKDinOKC

Have some really nice dbx, Soundfield Model SF250s.

I can't find reference to these on the internet. I only see a very few soundfield units. Interested in what they look like.

[Bob Kontak]

Got them going. Not bad at all for six inches apart and one firing right into the sawzall box and the other into a gallon can of PB blaster.

Way more oomph than the Acoustimass. Lots of work to do to clean up contacts and switches, etc. e.g, I can hear cooties in the tape monitor switch.

When these are dialed in, they will be super.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by Don Ro

When I got my Infinity Servo Statik (Electrostatic panels & bass commode) system and we heard such marvelous ..............

OMG. Thanks so much for mentioning these. Called my pal and brought them up. Just kill me. 1/2 hour of Infinity yak. He called them pieso-electric (heh heh - hey, chemo two days ago, still beat up).

Now what he did say when I said the 901's get beat up vs any high end set (he's well aware of the heat they get) he said "It depends". He said roughly what KC911 says, they are awesome in the right venue.

Anyhoo, WD-40'd from inside the eq Tape (normal vs monitor) switch and clarity doubled. Round caps did not look puffy but have viewed websites that say there is more to it to rival brand new.

These bury my Acoustimass "reference" speakers. They literally sound like intercom speakers in comparison. The 901's have stones and they are on the ground now right next to each other.

Some casual advice requested. My garage is 50 foot deep and 14' high.

I have an open canvas for placement save they must be 8' off the ground. How far apart you guys think?

[enzo1]

Someone can chime in, seems like they required a lot of power....nice ! Placement is critical to good sound. My buddy messed with his for 2 months before he got them just right. Humidity is the killer...

[enzo1]

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by enzo1

Someone can chime in, seems like they required a lot of power....nice ! Placement is critical to good sound. My buddy messed with his for 2 months before he got them just right. Humidity is the killer...

Yep, lots of power....a wimpy receiver/amp won't do them justice...you can NEVER have too much power for speakers like these...several hundred watts minimum.
Two bi-amped Carvers at 1000 watts each would be mo' better . Disagree about room placement however...you can use them "backwards" (with the drivers facing the listener) and they will still rock your world...YMMV.

[enzo1]

http://products.bose.com/pdf/customer_service/owners/og_901.pdf

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by KC911

Disagree about room placement however...you can use them "backwards" (with the drivers facing the listener) and they will still rock your world...YMMV.

Both are to my right on the floor, snuggling. I am vitally impressed with where they sit right now but I am no audiophile and have what I thought (yesterday) kick ass speakers to compare them to.

There clearly is (must be) a step change benefit from separation and bouncing off the wall as designed.

However, owner's manual basically says do what you want. Point at the wall and keep them at least six feet apart. Sounds like fuss around until you are happiest.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by enzo1

http://products.bose.com/pdf/customer_service/owners/og_901.pdf

Thanks. The link is Series 6. Mine is Series 1, A dinosaur.

Drivers have no foam in the original. Fabric. Plus no air ports.

Check out the type written instructions from the original. Old.

http://worldwide.bose.com/axa/assets/pdf/owner_guides/StereoSpeakers/901_guide.pdf

[Don Ro]

You're having fun!!!
Yes, do with them as you wish...as far as placement.
My buddy hung his from a sound room ceiling about 12" or so down & about 8 - 10' apart. Pointed them at the wall for great dispersion.
One thing I do remember that impressed me about them was organ music...E. Power Biggs, as I recall. When Biggs hit a "pedal" note, our chest and nasal cavities rattled.
Don't bother looking for watts, look for horsepower...they'll love it. My buddy borrowed my two Crown DC300's and those little babies danced.

[motion]

Cool old speakers! I remember when I thought the 901's were about as good as it could possibly get. Waaaayyyyyy beyond anything I could dream of having. I had AR48's back in those days. The 901s and Klipschorns were my dream speakers. I think Cornwall's and La Scalas, too. I could afford them easily now, but they would take up valuable space in the garage otherwise known as motorbike space. I have a couple sets of Klipsch towers now but its not really the same.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by Don Ro

You're having fun!!!

This has been a good day. I am genuinely tickled. Thank you to all.

I think this Sony ES receiver has only 100 watts. Old power is sooo affordable with respect to upgrades as well.

I also hear big, big variations in source material but it's all from my desktop. Youtube, CD's, etc.