Seeing that Bose is a $2 billion-per-year company, it’s doubtful any manufacturer other than perhaps Vandersteen or Magnepan has produced more quantities of a same speaker model. Hence, there will be less historical data accompanying the review, which is unfortunate, as the speaker is now on its sixth iteration of development and changed somewhat since its introduction in 1968. I initially tried to contact Bose to see if we could get a review pair, but no one at the PR department would return my call. I bought a random pair of 901s via the Web for retail price. This multi-part article will be a standard review in the sense that we will listen to the Bose 901 speakers in a few different rooms and use a wide range of amplification- from a Pioneer SX-424 vintage receiver all the way up to a full stack of Audio Research Reference components-just as we would with any other speaker evaluation.Īnd conspiracy theorists, take note. Now, to further the conversation, ask such expert audiophiles if they have actually heard a pair of contemporary 901s. And don’t even get me started on single-driver Lowthers. Sure, I love my Maggie 1.7s, but they don’t produce a lot of bass, either, and really need a lot of juice to give their best performance. If you dig deep enough, chances are good at least one of these opinionated individuals owns either a pair of Rogers LS3/5as that don’t produce much bass or even a pair of smaller Magnepans. Good memories aside, if you ask any audiophile, they will unequivocally tell you how much Bose speakers suck, and give you a million reasons why the speakers they own are much, much better. Not to be outdone, another bar owner installed Magnepan MGIIs from the ceiling, which, coincidentally, ended up being destroyed by a ruckus started by the Milwaukee Rugby Club after a hearty victory. Another area venue had their ceiling-mounted 901s powered by a large stack of McIntosh gear. So that’s two strikes in Bose’s favor.Īs TONEAudio is currently running a contest to identify the biggest audiophile myths, I began pondering: How do Bose 901s actually sound? My last memory of the speakers harkens back to a jazz club in my hometown of Milwaukee that actually had the speakers installed into the ceiling by their pedestal bases and powered by a Marantz 4300 quad receiver. I’m thinking of investing in a pair before my next European trip. The ‘phones claimed decent sound quality and, compared to the little bit of ultimate fidelity they gave up to my $600 IEMs, were worth the noise-canceling effect. I must say, the noise-canceling effect works incredibly well the first six episodes of “Californication – Season 5” flew by. The latter experience came with a pair of Bose Noise Canceling headphones (another product I’d never actually used, but about which I heard plenty of scuttlebutt). I also experienced Bose on a recent trip home from Spain, where I sampled the new Burmester sound system in the latest Porsche 911 Cabriolet, and Porsche was kind enough to fly me home first class. My Fiat 500 Sport has a Bose sound system, and yes, it possesses admirable bass extension (so there!) and a wide stereo image from the driver’s seat. Lately, I’ve had several positive encounters with Bose products. Much like Bigfoot, have you even seen a pair of Bose 901 speakers or, better yet, heard them? Other than using a green sharpie to get better CD sound, or that guy that calls you on the phone and osmotically makes your system sound better, no greater myth exists in audio today than that of the Bose 901 speakers. “No highs, no lows, it must be Bose.” And so the story goes in the wubbulous world of high-end audio.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |