Have Bose speakers ALWAYS been garbage?

[muncybob]

It's been many years...but I remember really enjoying a set up a friend had...Crown amp driving 4 Bose 901 speakers(he may have had other equipment but these are all I remember). At that time I thought I would even enjoy opera(I hate opera) on that set up. I have not heard Bose speakers since then except in the usual box stores where you really cannot do any serious speaker auditioning in most cases. It seems that Bose equipment is really trashed in all the forums these days...are they really that bad now or were my ears that untrained then?

 

[mulester7]

It's been many years...but I remember really enjoying a set up a friend had...Crown amp driving 4 Bose 901 speakers(he may have had other equipment but these are all I remember). At that time I thought I would even enjoy opera(I hate opera) on that set up. I have not heard Bose speakers since then except in the usual box stores where you really cannot do any serious speaker auditioning in most cases. It seems that Bose equipment is really trashed in all the forums these days...are they really that bad now or were my ears that untrained then?

.....nothing wrong with your hearing back then, MuncyBob....four 901's with the 1801 amp, or a strong Crown amp I'm sure, with the right equalization on the speakers, was indeed good stuff.....901's don't seem to be the thrust of Bose marketing these days though....it would seem Bose has grown rather content to sell cubes and small subs, and to continue to hold business meetings in The Bahamas.....

.....MuncyBob, are you anywhere close to Harrisburg?.....

 

[muncybob]

mulester...about 1.5 hours north of Harrisburg...near Williamsport, you know,,,the home of Little League Baseball and all that. It was that guy's 901 system that really got me interested in home sound systems and just how good they could sound. My first Polk SDA speakers, while not the same type as the 901 were a great imporovement over what we had at the time...made us want to listen to all our LP's(now you know how long ago it was) like we were hearing them for the first time!

 

[Rob Babcock]

I think they were never particularly good, but they came closer to holder their own decades ago. The problem is that they never really evolved. Perhaps if you gutted a pair of new 901s and a pair made in the 70's there'd be some difference, but I'd be surprised if you could tell by looking which was the new ones. Technology has advanced greatly in the last few decades, as has the state of the art. B(l)ose, however, really has not.

 

[mulester7]

mulester...about 1.5 hours north of Harrisburg...near Williamsport, you know,,,the home of Little League Baseball and all that. It was that guy's 901 system that really got me interested in home sound systems and just how good they could sound. My first Polk SDA speakers, while not the same type as the 901 were a great imporovement over what we had at the time...made us want to listen to all our LP's(now you know how long ago it was) like we were hearing them for the first time!

.....I spent almost five months in Harrisburg back in '99, MuncyBob....I was a Union Pacific freight conductor voluntarily borrowed-out to the Norfolk Southern with home terminal in Harrisburg....I ran East for a couple of months about 130 miles to Allentown and back, and then West 261 miles to Pittsburg and back....there was a mainline out of Harrisburg going North, but I never ran that way....prettiest country I've ever spent time in....

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Nice town. I worked in State College - speaking of, why aren't you watching the game? I had dealers in Williamsport when I did financing work. Rural. I lived in Tyrone as well as Milesburg. That's so different than Columbus, Oh. Man, the semi accidents on rt 80 - brutal. The snow you guys get up there is unreal.

 

[ScottMayo]

It seems that Bose equipment is really trashed in all the forums these days...are they really that bad now or were my ears that untrained then?

They never exactly sucked. I remember years ago my aunt got one of their wave radios. It had little bass and no treble to speak of, but the midrange was pretty impressive. If you like warm, full sound out of a small box, they had your ticket.

People trash them - rightfully - because they claim to have high end sound, and they don't. Having heard a Bose installation in a brand new auditorium recently, I can only wonder what they were thinking. My aunt's wave radio sounded better.

 

[mtrycrafts]

901's don't seem to be the thrust of Bose marketing these days though....it would seem Bose has grown rather content to sell cubes and small subs, and to continue to hold business meetings in The Bahamas.....

The reason is the marketplace. Their clientele want invisible speakers so that is what they got.

 

[muncybob]

the game!!!....yawn!!...I was up way too late last night!! Between that stupid tomahawk chop music and the missed fg's I was going out of my mind!! Good game if you don't need a lot of offense to be entertained though.


Anyhow......the Bose speakers were from the mid 70's... thought they were the 901 models...they each(or maybe each pair) had their own equalizer of some sort??? Too bad the company went downhill like they have but there must be a good market for that stuff!!


Yep.....I also think this part of the country is beautiful as long as you like the 4 seasons though....snow has melted here with some unusual warm weather and we are now actually walking on the ground again!

Thanks to all for their 2 cents worth on this subject.

 

[jeffsg4mac]

I have repaired many, many bose speakers of all models. In the 70's they were OK and I mean just OK. With the exception of the 901's all the models had the same cheap paper cone 8in woofer, and 2in paper tweeter. All the models were just different configurations with one or more tweeters or and/or woofers. The early models did have nice cabinets with real wood veneer.

The 901's had multiple 3 1/2in paper cone drivers I believe they were. Some in front and some in back. They had no tweeters and they used an active eq to boost the lows and highs. In a proper room with a decent amp the early bose stuff sounded ok, sound stage on them was huge but imaging and placement was awful. This wide sound stage with a huge sweet spot is what attracted a lot of customers. There was worse stuff out but there was also a lot better stuff out as well. They never evolved past the cheap paper drivers and over time they just became a company of gadgets and gimmicks rather than a speaker company.

 

[markw]

The 901 can...

... when properly placed in the proper environment, with proper amplification play ceretain types of music with fairly good results. On the whole though, they lack

The 301's are about the best of the bunch, IMNSHO, and even then they do not own their price brackes.

Their little "AMS" systems are overpriced and sell more on style, hype and brand recognition rather tham sound. They do have pretty good human interfaces but people pay dearly for these, and they don't seem to mind.

 

[Sheep]

I have repaired many, many bose speakers of all models. In the 70's they were OK and I mean just OK. With the exception of the 901's all the models had the same cheap paper cone 8in woofer, and 2in paper tweeter. All the models were just different configurations with one or more tweeters or and/or woofers. The early models did have nice cabinets with real wood veneer.

The 901's had multiple 3 1/2in paper cone drivers I believe they were. Some in front and some in back. They had no tweeters and they used an active eq to boost the lows and highs. In a proper room with a decent amp the early bose stuff sounded ok, sound stage on them was huge but imaging and placement was awful. This wide sound stage with a huge sweet spot is what attracted a lot of customers. There was worse stuff out but there was also a lot better stuff out as well. They never evolved past the cheap paper drivers and over time they just became a company of gadgets and gimmicks rather than a speaker company.

Actually, the 901's had 4 inch cones, with 8 on the back, and 1 on the front. Very odd design indeed.

SheepStar

 

[jeffsg4mac]

Here are the tweeters, woofers and type of xovers that bose used throughout their line. Pretty sub par.

http://www.oaktreeent.com/web_photos/Speaker_Parts/Bose_501_116088_Tweeter_web.jpg

http://www.oaktreeent.com/web_photos/Speaker_Parts/Bose_601-Series-3_Woofer_salvage.jpg

http://www.oaktreeent.com/web_photos/Speaker_Parts/Bose_601-Series-2_Woofer-Mount_Crossover_web.jpg

 

[jeffsg4mac]

Actually, the 901's had 4 inch cones, with 8 on the back, and 1 on the front. Very odd design indeed.

SheepStar

Yes That's right! eight on back and only one on the front, I was not sure of the size, it's been a while since I took a pair of those apart. It's all comming back now

Here is an interesting read, little nostalgia for you buffs

http://stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/425/

 

[mulester7]

.....that would be 9, "four and 1/2 inch drivers", in the 901....four 901's positioned correctly, using two Bose 901 equalizers and the Bose 1801 amp sounded great, trust me....the problem with that setup this day and time would be no surrounds....Bose began with the 901, added the 301's, 501's, 601's, 701's, and others....then, Bose woke up, and began the Accoustimass cubes....the rest is history....women will see to it that Bose stays solvent with the cube sales.....

 

[Sheep]

.....that would be 9, "four and 1/2 inch drivers", in the 901....four 901's positioned correctly, using two Bose 901 equalizers and the Bose 1801 amp sounded great, trust me....the problem with that setup this day and time would be no surrounds....Bose began with the 901, added the 301's, 501's, 601's, 701's, and others....then, Bose woke up, and began the Accoustimass cubes....the rest is history....women will see to it that Bose stays solvent with the cube sales.....

Even their full range speakers were not big. I remember standing next to the 601's, and thinking my bookshelfs were taller. Very odd design on those speakers. The 701's are only 32inches tall. But they atleast had some bass to them.

My brothers friends dad has 901's, and they are blown. Who knew paper drivers and foam surrounded broke down...

SheepStar

 

[dponeill]

They never exactly sucked. I remember years ago my aunt got one of their wave radios. It had little bass and no treble to speak of, but the midrange was pretty impressive. If you like warm, full sound out of a small box, they had your ticket.

People trash them - rightfully - because they claim to have high end sound, and they don't. Having heard a Bose installation in a brand new auditorium recently, I can only wonder what they were thinking. My aunt's wave radio sounded better.

Have you seen the TV ads for the their new 2 speaker "surround" system? They have an "expert" testimonial and he basically says that they sound better than your TV.

 

[Sheep]

Have you seen the TV ads for the their new 2 speaker "surround" system? They have an "expert" testimonial and he basically says that the sound better than your TV.

Hahah, I watch those when I stay up late. They're priceless.

SheepStar

 

[markw]

"...they sound better than your tv."

Have you seen the TV ads for the their new 2 speaker "surround" system? They have an "expert" testimonial and he basically says that they sound better than your TV.

Well, that's saying a lot, isn't it?

 

[dponeill]

Well, that's saying a lot, isn't it?

Well, for Bose I guess it is!