Separate amp for Bose 901

[captbill]

Would it be possible to use a unit like Yamaha HTR 5890 and use the front speaker outlets to a separate amp like my old and good Yamaha a720 to power my Bose 901's in a home theater set up. Thanks, Bill

 

[jcPanny]

Amp for bose

Probably not advised. Since Bose does not post specs on their speakers, I am not sure what the power rating is for the Bose 901s but your Yamaha should be more than enough. If you want to improve the audio quality of your setup, speakers would be the best investment.

 

[DaveOCP]

Considering the 4" paper drivers involved, I'm guessing the 901s are not fond of a whole lot of power. Consider other speakers, any other speakers.

You can now buy speakers very cheaply that incorporate multiple drivers specifically designed for different frequency ranges! Apparently its all the rage these days.

 

[Resident Loser]

Using the speaker outputs...

Would it be possible to use a unit like Yamaha HTR 5890 and use the front speaker outlets to a separate amp like my old and good Yamaha a720 to power my Bose 901's in a home theater set up. Thanks, Bill

...from one amp to feed the inputs of another is not a good idea...it's not that it can't be done, it will require choosing the correct values for a voltage dividing network, it's just not a particularly good idea...although auto-sound system installers use them for head units not equipped with pre-outs to feed outboard amps.

I assume the Yammie doesn't have "pre-outs" nor is it equipped with a true "tape mon" circuit to accomodate the 901s EQ.

Just a bit of info for all the know-it-alls re: the Bose 901s...Series I and II(acoustic suspension design) could handle 270 RMSWpc and worked best with amps rated @min of 100Wpc...the later vintages can still handle the top number, I believe, but require only a min of 10Wpc due to their ported design. They have nine 4.5 inch fullrange drivers per cabinet...each has a max excursion of +/-1/4 in. and a total radiating area of a 12in. woofer...when properly set-up they can kick butt in the bass dept.

jimHJJ(...of course they may not be to everyone's liking...)

 

[Blundaar]

Considering the 4" paper drivers involved, I'm guessing the 901s are not fond of a whole lot of power. Consider other speakers, any other speakers.

You can now buy speakers very cheaply that incorporate multiple drivers specifically designed for different frequency ranges! Apparently its all the rage these days.

That's a good one!

 

[Resident Loser]

Ahoy captain!...

Would it be possible to use a unit like Yamaha HTR 5890 and use the front speaker outlets to a separate amp like my old and good Yamaha a720 to power my Bose 901's in a home theater set up. Thanks, Bill

...got the opportunity to check the Yamaha website this AM and, good news...you are good to go...you do have pre-outs...simply feed the receivers front "pre-out" to the 901s EQ "in" jacks(NOT the ones labeled "tape mon") and the EQs "out" jacks to your outboard amplifiers inputs. There is a downside, you cannot connect a tape deck to the EQs "tape mon" ckt since the signal here will not be at a fixed line level and using 'phones or others loudspeakers connected to your A720 is also no-no. The EQ will always be in the circuit and the bass increase might damage them.

Couldn't find any specs on the 720 so I'm not sure of it's power rating compared to the advertised 140Wpc of the HT unit. IMHO, having an outboard 2/ch amp with it's own power supply, chassis, etc. (as opposed to sharing it in a multi-channel unit) couldn't hurt...I have no concrete reason to support this, it's just a personal preference.

jimHJJ(...hope that helps...P.S. ignore the comments of the uneducated...)

 

[captbill]

Boy, this is interesting, Bose sent thier compatability chart and they say the Yammie 5890 would not work with my 901/IV series, so in the meantime I picked up a Yamaha DSP-A1000 that has pre in an outs. I bought it off EBay, something I rarely do. This should work until I get things sorted out. All the Bose recommended receivers for 901's are 2 and 3 thou. I know a lot of people don't like 901's, but properly set up they can give very good sound.I am used to a separate unit set up so researching this all in one is new to me, Starting to see post's about the Yammie 5890 overheating. The wife decided we need to replace the 46" Hitachi, so I'm going to go with a 50" Panny plasma that does'nt have speakers. This site is very informative, didn't know it existed till the other day. I still have some Mcintosh stuff, but being retired it's to exspenve for me now. The Marantz stuff has been downgraded into the garage, still plays good though. I've had Yamaha stuff for years now that works great. The Yamaha A720 is 105 watts per channel at .005THD or150 watts DIN/ channel , the recommended power for the Bose/901/IV, 10 watts/channel at 8 ohms, no power restrictions for max power.Thanks to all who have taken the time to answer. Ciao, Bill

 

[highfihoney]

hello,i agree with bose 901's being able to sound good,obviously placement is a factor but amplification play's the largest role with 901's,you know what i find very odd about bose is that they used to make 2 different model amplifier's for specific use with the 901's but for some reason they decided to stop making amp's with enough wattage & current to effectivly drive their reference speaker system.

the 2 bose solid state amp's were the model 1800 & model 1801,both would work fine but are a little hard to find in decent shape plus they are very old,it would be easier to reccomend proper amplifiaction if you gave us a budget.

what i found to be most important with the 901's i had was not only enough wattage to push them but the higher the current the better,bose also under rated maximum wattage capabilitie's drasticly with the 901's,they can easily handel twice the power as long as it stay's clean or if the amp has a soft clip feature.

out of curiosity what mac gear do you have,if your mac gear isnt powerfull enough to drive the 901's you may want to think about selling the mac stuff & reinvesting the fund's into your new amp's allowing you a larger budget.

the resale price's on most mac gear is very good & on select model's such as the mc240 & mr78 they have gone through the roof,if you list the model's & their condition i can give you a ball park resale value if your interested.

 

[Resident Loser]

By itself...

Boy, this is interesting, Bose sent thier compatability chart and they say the Yammie 5890 would not work with my 901/IV series

...it won't as it has neither "tape mon" facilities or a corresponding "power in" to go with the "pre-out" jacks...

Using it strictly as a pre-amp to your A720 it's OK...

jimHJJ(...no problemo...)

 

[captbill]

The Yamaha DSP-A1000 has pre main in and out jacks so I'll be able to hook up the 901's. The Mcintosh C225 amp I used to use on the 901's had a tube go out and I was outside the U.S. at the time so I picked up the Yamaha and used it to drive the Bose's. The Mcintosh stuff is in a Barzilay cabinet, with the Barzilay speaker cabinets using SP 12" speakers. that's the living room gear. I used to blow speakers all the time in the old days with the Mcintosh.The Yammie has all the class "A" switch's and stuff and has been a fine unit. My tuner is an Mcintosh MX110, which I don't want to sell at his time. I also have Marantz gear, a 120B tuner that has a scope, and in the garage Marantz 1070 amp with a Sansui tuner with Sony speakers and woofer. I had huge Akai speakers in the garage but they started to have that base burr at times so hence the Sonys.Also in my den with the 901's there are 201's in the rear with a Bose VCS-110 center channel speaker in front. Set up correctly, with "power" the Bose 901's are OK. With all this new stuff out here it is facinating sifting thru the usual salesman hype etc. Good learning experience. Have to figure out how you people list all that equipment under your monicker. I'm drooling over that Mcintosh stuff, must keeps things in balance though, although I just remembered I have to spend money out of my IRA, finding this site, hmmm, Thanks again, Bill

 

[highfihoney]

hi bill,wow you have some pretty desirable mac gear,if your mx-110's serial # end's with the letter Z then it's considered to be a z model & worth a considerable amount more than a standard mx-110.

your mc 225 is also in high demand,the mc 225 is a fine amp but at 25 wpc it's easy to see how you could blow speaker's easily with it,it's easier to blow speaker's from pushing an underpowered amplifier to it's limit's trying to reach acceptable volume level's as oposed to a high powered amp that is able to stay within it's boundrie's & continuously produce clean wattage.

im not familuar with your marantz tuner but all vintage marantz tuner's with the oscilascope feature are in extremely high demand with the model # 10b being the holy grail & selling up into the multi thousand dollar range,it's worth looking into the value of that unit

if you do choose to sell your vintage mac gear to fund an upgrade the mc 225should bring between $1,200 & $2,500 depending on condition, the mx-110 should bring between $700 & $1,200 also depending on condition & serial #

the 901 is actually a pretty good speaker,it's design is very simple,all the driver's are mid bass driver's(8 driver's) that's why they have the active eq to adjust tone,most people have never heard a properly amplified & properly set up set of 901's plus all the ht in a box crap they tout as being state of the art help's give the 901's a bad rap but they can sound excellent & extremly dynamic.

it's been year's since i owned 901's but if i remember correctly bose used to rate the 901 for a maximun wattage of 350 wpc @ 8 ohm's which is obscenely low for that type of speaker but as so many other speaker manufacturer's do they choose to under rate them for warranty issue's instead of optimum performance,now they dont even rate them at all

ive allready mentioned wattage & high current in my previous post & when i had mine the more power i threw at them the more they came alive at all listening level's,the bigger the amp & more current the more dynamic they will become,they can go from sounding weak & thin to extremely dynamic depending on the amp,i wouldnt worry about blowing a driver from over powering either,as long as your not pushing your amp way too hard the 901's will take lot's of power & you will be able to hear when they are being driven beyond their capabilitie's.

here are a few amp's that will drive the crap out of the 901's.

crown ce-4000 600 wpc @ 8 ohms,pro amp, $1,000 to $1200

crown ce-2000 400 wpc @ 8 ohm's,pro amp, $400 to $600

carver silver 7 t monoblock's, 575 wpc @ 8 ohm's,home audio amp's, $1,000 to $1,300.

carver tfm 55x,380 wpc @ 8 ohm's,thx certified home audio,$500 to $800.

ive owned & used all of the amp's i listed with the crown ce-4000 probably being the best sounding amp not to mention a killer value,ive also compared the ce-4000 directly against a mcintosh mc500 500 wpc amp i used to own & both were very close in performance,in fact they were so close in performance that it came down to price, being that the crown was $2,500 cheaper than the mac it was the better amp of the two.

i'd be curious as to what amp you end up deciding on & how it work's out for you.

have a good day.

 

[captbill]

Here we go again, the quest for the "Holy Grail"(that I can afford) you've certainly piqued the old Hi-Fi part of my brain. Yes ,the MX110 has a Z4 in the last part of the number. I probaly won't sell it. The tuner situation is that I live in a private community and cannot have an ant., plus I'm in an arroyo with bad reception, so the tuners haven't been used in years, I have XM instead. Going to look at the crown and carver stuff as soon as I end this post. Then of course I'll have to look at the Mcintosh stuff too. Setting up a Home theater using the 901's etc., being out of the loop means I have to do some research. I appreciate your information and will let you know what's happening, Ciao, Bill

 

[mulester7]

Here we go again, the quest for the "Holy Grail"(that I can afford) you've certainly piqued the old Hi-Fi part of my brain. Yes ,the MX110 has a Z4 in the last part of the number. I probaly won't sell it. The tuner situation is that I live in a private community and cannot have an ant., plus I'm in an arroyo with bad reception, so the tuners haven't been used in years, I have XM instead. Going to look at the crown and carver stuff as soon as I end this post. Then of course I'll have to look at the Mcintosh stuff too. Setting up a Home theater using the 901's etc., being out of the loop means I have to do some research. I appreciate your information and will let you know what's happening, Ciao, Bill

.....CaptainBill, McIntosh sure does make some good pre-amps and tuners......

 

[captbill]

In my short travels around the net I saw the Mcintosh MHT200,that is one that Bose said would work with the 901's, or a Mc MX 134&MC206 set-up. The Yamaha RX-Z9 seems to have all kinds of stuff and would work. I like that crown ce 4000,even the 200, have to find what units to put with it for my HT set-up.(suggestions welcomed)Ciao, Bill

 

[captbill]

In my short travels around the net I saw the Mcintosh MHT200,that is one that Bose said would work with the 901's, or a Mc MX 134&MC206 set-up. The Yamaha RX-Z9 seems to have all kinds of stuff and would work. Didn't know Carver was kaput. I like that crown ce 4000, even the ce200, have to find what units to put with it for my HT set-up.(suggestions welcomed)Ciao, Bill

 

[highfihoney]

In my short travels around the net I saw the Mcintosh MHT200,that is one that Bose said would work with the 901's, or a Mc MX 134&MC206 set-up. The Yamaha RX-Z9 seems to have all kinds of stuff and would work. Didn't know Carver was kaput. I like that crown ce 4000, even the ce200, have to find what units to put with it for my HT set-up.(suggestions welcomed)Ciao, Bill

hi bill,i cant speak from personal experience on the mht 200 reciever or the mx134 pre/pro but i have tried the mc206 amplifier you mentioned,nice amp.

if your thinking about buying mac gear used is the only way to go as far as im concerned,if you buy gear that is just a few year's old you can score deal's for 50% of retail or less from guy's with upgrade fever.

a killer site for trading mcintosh gear is www.audiogon.com,lot's of excellent mac gear there & the site is nothing like ebay,audiogon is also the best place to sell any unwanted mac gear.

http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/srch_fs.pl

 

[captbill]

Hifihoney, thanks for the info on Audiogon, one is always tempted by Mac stuff. They are all new numbers to me, so to set up a home theater etc. using Mac stuff, it's going to take lots of looking. Not afraid of Mac stuff used,I like that crown amp. Have to go out now to a dinner, sure would rather be looking at more...Thanks, Bill

 

[captbill]

Wondering about an MC206 amp, connected to a MX134, any opinions.Ciao, Bill

 

[sierrasurf]

building system around bose 901's

Hi all,
Due to economics I am slowly piecing together a home ent. system and only have the first set of speakers: bose 901's series VI. Now I am at the point of choosing a amp/pre-amp. Can anyone recommend some amps and any other components that would be a good fit for these keeping in mind that the system would grow. I would like the end results being something that I can truly 'crank' up yet as noted I am watching the dollars and cents. The amps listed in the thread(s) are a good starting point but what other components would match up.

Any and all help will be appreciated.

thanks in advance
R.

 

[wire]

...Just a bit of info for all the know-it-alls re: the Bose 901s...Series I and II(acoustic suspension design) could handle 270 RMSWpc and worked best with amps rated @min of 100Wpc...the later vintages can still handle the top number, I believe, but require only a min of 10Wpc due to their ported design. They have nine 4.5 inch fullrange drivers per cabinet...each has a max excursion of +/-1/4 in. and a total radiating area of a 12in. woofer...when properly set-up they can kick butt in the bass dept.

jimHJJ(...of course they may not be to everyone's liking...)

Now this is good advise .
I would go as high as 250 rms to make those 901's sound good . Dont even think about using Yammy reciever ( no Balls ) power to power 901's , you give the speaker no justice . 901's are a good sounding speaker , you just have to setup and power them properly .