@@Simon-dn9kv As young Audio Engineers go, Darren is the one to watch out for. Ted Smith was as usual a Fountain of Knowledge as is Paul Barton (just waiting on approval from him, and then I'll upload that Video he did with the Club). Thanks Simon. The Video's were long and I get in Shit every time but they are ENGINEER's ! Not TH-camr's (no offense Thomas - you know what I mean). If it takes them 20min. to answer a question...Let Them, I say ! As an Eng. Tech., I devour every minute of these Video's and you see my excitement even after two hours in ! They too relish in the fact that I don't interrupt them (they are our Guests after all) and I want to educate the crowd. I try to get the Guests to reveal stuff that's not on any other TH-cam Video or in print online or on paper. I do lots of prep with the Guest via phone & email.
I have great admiration for this kind of passion...to have the conviction and audacity to go against the grain, and the enthusiasm to share his wonderful experience with others...awesome!
Whether or not I like Bose isn’t what’s important. But that this man takes something and changes it and works it to his enjoyment is what really matters. This hobby is all about experimenting tweaking and making something sound better.The best system in the world is in your house right now.
@@ThomasAndStereo - I visited a speaker repairer's house last year and he recently repaired and upgraded a pair of Bose 901 [+ equalizer] for a customer and he gave me a demonstration and it took my breath away, the clarity and width of the soundstage was astounding. In Australia there is a hunt on for the Bose 901 speakers and they are selling for high prices, from what I heard that day I can understand why. I am not sure exactly what was upgraded on the pair of Bose 901 that I heard but it left a lasting impression on me. In the past I owned a pair of Bose 401 and they were very very good for surround speakers in a home theatre setup. I know Bose generally don't have a good reputation but each to there own I guess.
Flies never settle on an audio enthusiasts! Unfortunately, there are always improvements to be had. When one thinks there isn't, that's when the game is over for you! But sometimes a respite is needed!!! Education is the key, not chasing after the new shiny box. There is no generic brand label set up that will fit 10,000 different listening environments and listing preferences. To think there is simply nonsense. Customisation is the key! *5 Enclosures You've Never Heard Of* th-cam.com/video/CZaRQT3Rvaw/w-d-xo.html This is where education wins over buying power!
I was about 13 yrs old and used to go to my friend Shawns house after school sometimes, his father had a stereo system in a separate room and he had these speakers on pedestals that had these 3 exhaust pipes coming out the back. Well some how these 2 speakers made it sound like the music came from all around me like in Jackson Browns live version of The Loadout, which is one of the songs he would blast when his parents weren't home. One of the experiences in my youth that instilled this audiophile interest. Here we are 35 yrs later
@@ThomasAndStereo the moral of the story appears to be that if you spend enough on electronics and do the right room treatments and work etc, you can make any speaker sound ok. I wonder though if he'll go back to the Bose....if he heard a Tekton Moab, GR research nx otica, N-Xtreme, Elac Adante, etc etc in his exact same setup for a day.
@@ThomasAndStereo This was not an easy Journey for me by any means. I almost threw in the Towel several times (and the money alongside it). But to be honest. What the Engineers at Bose over 50 years ago did was unheard of, laughed at, and of course scorned throughout the decades in the trade Rags. They had a failure on their hands prior to the 901's called the 2250. A very honest article on the Ohm Speakers page : ohmspeaker.com/news/all-speakers-are-not-created-equal-ized/
I 've been an audiophile for 50+ years. I had listened to my friend's first series 901's back in the day, with a high quality top of the line Sony receiver, with the Bose equalizer in his relatively hard but echo chamber like room. He was a musician and understood room acoustics better than most people at that time. His wife was in the room and smiled as he turned the system on and played a perfect vinyl recording of the Beetles "White Album." I have to say I could hear every nuance crystal clear and the Beetles sounded as though they were in the room playing just for us. Those 1st series were good but required gobs of power and the correct equipment, equalization and room acoustics and program material and placement and they could then really shine through. The 2nd series had an improved equalizer, required less critical power and more forgiving placement but when all these requirements were met, you were rewarded with a rich and full sound. These speakers were quite the rage back in the day. Proper equipment, equalization and sound source material are tantamount before these full range drivers can really shine through the material and dissappear as they were designed to do, only revealing the original sound source or recording. Good review.
Joe going through the process of understanding the original EQ of the 901's, then tweaking their EQ to an audiophile standard and bringing them to a level that meets his expectations is something I've never heard of or would ever think of, I think that's pretty damn amazing - - - thanks for another great video Thomas.
There are products available that are engineered to do just what Joe's cheater equalizer box does. Mini DSP boards digitally tuned to bring out the best of those 901s. It doesn't hurt to have all of that equipment in front of those 901s, though.
Think you Sir I’ve had my Bose 901 series 5 since the 80s when I was in Germany serving in the Army and they still sound great. I’m glad you stood your ground and didn’t fall for the audiophile fluff and created your OWN sound that suited you and no one else.
@@juststuff5216 Thomas & I had this conversation when I pitched him the idea of doing a Bose Video. I do go to friends homes and listen to their Focal Kanta No.2's, Thiel 2.3's, Tannoy's with TWO 12" Drivers (one Concentric, the other a Woofer), and try to visit Audio Showrooms whenever possible. His question to me was "what is/was your reference" when listening to the 901's. To be honest, my Homebrew's with Aluminum domes, Paper Woofers, 2nd Order X-Over's were my only reference the time. I did not belong to the Audio Club at that time. I have heard Klipsch, Polk's, JBL's, PSB's, Para-Dig-Em's, Energy's (ahhh...The Veritas was a special Speaker wasn't it ?). Mirage M Series come to mind with their identical front and back drivers. I almost bought a pair of M7's 27 years ago. They had a Woofer/Tweeter on the front and a full range Driver on the back wheras the higher up models had in phase WMT on the front and back. I always preferred the wider baffled Mirage M's over the Definitive/Golden Ear Skinny Towers. I'd listened to the ML Motion 60's last year at an event held by a local Dealer. I should have been impressed but wasn't. Poor Acoustics were to blame and maybe the amplification they used (can't remember it though).
Joe going through the process of understanding the EQ of the original 901's, then tweaking that EQ to an audiophile standard that meets his expectations is amazing to me. Thanks for an excellent video Thomas and I pass my appreciation along to Joe for pulling off what I'm sure a lot of audiophiles, including myself, would consider "not doable"!
Again, I almost gave up on this 901 Journey at one point. But stuffing 3 Series 2 EQ's into a Pizza Box rebuilt by me with SoniCaps, Vishay Dale 1% resistors, and a beffy Toroidal Power Supply was a trip, man. I even built a Surface Mount (0603) version using an original printed circuit board. I had grand plans to spin my own modular PCB's which could be configured for True Balanced mode (which I did with the original EQ's - L channel was the -ve pin, R channel was the +ve pin, & chassis GND). Still had GND loop issues even after start GNDing everything. A fellow on the FB Bose pages actually did this with two Series 6 EQ's he had on my recommendation. He stacked the 901's and he said the 6dB of gain and the reduced noise floor was astonishing !
@@joeygsaudiochannel3972 Joe, thanks for your comments sighting some of the details and challenges you faced - really cool employing the Vishays & Soni Caps and then topping it off with a Toroidal - obviously you took the EQ box to a level the Bose engineers never had in mind, not even to mention a better frequency response curve - - - I appreciate you sharing some of the issues you faced and to say the least it's very impressive that you managed to get it all worked to your final finished product.
Hey, Thomas this was a good timing for me cuz I just repaired my Bose 901 III”s and I was thrilled enjoying the new sound of my speaker glad that posted Bose 901. Also I lived here in Arizona. Thanks.
I own 6 901's. 2 pairs of series IV and a pair of original 901 series I. All fully restored. Powering them with a Bose 1800, and using a Bose Spatial receiver as a pre-amp. People can talk. Most of those people talking have never heard this setup in person. With the speakers measured against the corners exactly as they should be. Most "audiophiles" have never experienced the super system. I am maybe 1 in 100 people in the world who have one.
Great video thank you Thomas. I was out listening to my maximum budget active speakers LS50 actives and Acoustic research ae1's active and boy were thos disapointing! Listed to non actives, a few different ones but the 901's s2 are still better which I can't believe as I own them for 30 years! What I would be interested in is your friends rebuilt dsp equaliser he uses with the 901's, is that in place of the original 901 equaliser? Where could I find one? Many thanks
The only thing that matters is how they sound to you ~ I wish I lived close by I'd love to bring my records over and give them a spin just to see how they sound on your system ~
12 years ago I bought my 2nd set of Bose 901 Series VIs, and connected them through the 4-channel tape monitors of my Sansui QRX-9001 receiver. The sound was amazing... but, I hated the fact that I lost the ability to play back any 4-channel sources. OK, I did connect my rare Monoprice Blu-ray player's analog outputs to the tape monitors of the Bose equalizers, but my 4-channel tape deck remains 2-channel only.. I came here hoping to find a way to connect the 901's to a conventional HT 5.1 receiver since I removed the Bose speakers in favor of some vintage Sansui speakers. Still searching...
Does your AVR have Pre-Out's. If so, then you can connect the equalizer there but you'll need to dedicate only of of the Analog inputs or buy a stereo amplifier and connect it to the pre-out's with the BOSE EQ in between. I had a similar problem with a Marantz SR5011.
I heard my first bose when I was maybe 8 or 9 yrs old it was the 301 an was taken away by the sound. I had told my self once i start work will save up an bye my own bose home_theater so i saved up an bought a bose accoustimass 10. I would say they our not the best but the do an excellent job of filling the room with sound an my soul is satisfied.
MORE JOE.... Great Dude!!! 1976... Freshman year of college... one friend had a Marantz receiver, turntable,and Bose 301's... and another friend had Earth, Wind, and Fire's.. "Gratitude"... I thought I was in Heaven... Thanks Joe
And that's what this Video was all about.Thomas & I weren't out to be controversial but start a conversation about people's 901 memories both good and bad. Even though they get poo pooed on by various audio press folks. They are an icon just like the Klipchorns, L100's, Rogers LS3/5a, LS3/6, Harbeths, and a few other "Classics" I'm sure people here will remember.
Thanks Thomas, I live in Scottsdale and I had no clue this gentleman lived here. I too grew up drooling over 901's but could never afford them. By the time I could, I was drawn into Polk SDA, then NHT and now my new love is Legacy Audio. I would love to hear his set up though. Thanks for coving though I'm 2 year late to this video LOL.
Hi Joe! I just bouth the speakers in a vintge shop in Mexico, any recs on how to make them work amateur style? Would love to include them with other Bose bluetooth speakers that I have, thanks!
excellent.. GREAT GREAT memories with my 901 series 4 as a high school kid bought new and packed all over the usa for 15 years.. so portable... mine always blew everyone away when they heard mine as well.. its all about the setup... which i RARELY seen done correctly.. one of my all time top systems heard was my friends who had ^ 901s stacked 3 each... each pair powered by 3 pioneer series 20 m25 amps... wow to hear montrose' ROCK CANDY with the drum intro was just sheer AWESOME!!!!! i have moved on now as he has as well, but oh man!!!!! we had a ton of audio fun in our youth... Thank you Amar...
@@joeygsaudiochannel3972 yes, that was done back in the day and was called the "double bose" my same friend had that with the 2 on the stands and the other 2 hanging from the ceiling for a hellacious soundstage. then he bought another pair and just stacked each channel 3 high. ALL on the original stands.. they could hold them... however with minimal cosmetic damage luckily, he had a party one time and some DWEEB accidently knocked a stack over!! again VERY minimal damage and they played perfectly after that as well.. great build quality!!! enjoy yours
I wanted the 901s a few years back, mainly for the uniqueness of the design and the nostalgia. When I finally made up my mind to buy them, I went to the Bose store and found out they had been discontinued the year before and the last pair was sold a few weeks before. That always bummed me out a bit. I still probably by a them if they made them again, but not a used pair. I was impressed as a kid listening to these in my friends dad's house and we rocked those super loud. You had to run them through the Bose crossover. When you cranked them, they would reflect off the walls and make a big sound stage. Good full range. True not the highs from an aluminum dome tweeter or the bass from a subwoofer, but just sounded cool and punchy. Glad to see someone has embraced the 901s as worthwhile speakers.
LOL, same story, brother had a pair when I was a kid, always thought they sounded great. Finally ready to order a pair only to find out they were discontinued the year before.
I'm constantly scanning my local ebay for 901s, honestly just for the design. I move into a big two story apartment at the end of the month, finally have my first real job with real money, so I decided to get the 901s for downstairs, which will match my mid century retro furniture and take my good old klipsch reference, which I love dearly, upstairs.
Oddly enough having built my share and heard my share of Fabric Dome (still my fav.) and metal domes. These things will go that high. This is where perception takes over your auditory limits (many studies have proved this). My Son @ 19 years can hear a 17kHz tone out of my DSP EQ'd 901's. I can only get to 13kHz (I'm 50). Problem is you need you need a Shit Ton of power not only for the Bass, but for the Top End as well. Watts are cheap these days but good clean Watts is preferred on the ild Sealed Box 901's (my favourite).
What I find really commendable is that this is a modified system made to work the way the owner wants. No turntable. Just high quality digital music with some cool old school speakers. Bose gets a bad rap. We all really love them we just wont say it in public. Saying Bose is horrible make it seem that you know what you are talking about. Great video. Nice to see someone thinking out of the box.
Great to hear from this music lover 901 speaker I wanted to get a pair years ago there is something about reflected sound I like away from bass levels,vocals seem real ,a different way to listen.
I still have my Bose “towers” (4 Bose 901, one on top of the other) improved with 2 topZ tweeters build just for the Bose 901. The sound is AMAZING!! There is just one Company in the world who rebuilds the Bose 901, improving them so they are even better than the original Bose.The comp. is: Klang-Stark HiFi, in Pohlheim Grueningen. Germany. Dont know anybody who is so strongly working in this 901 loudspeaker field. THX Joe for your outstanding presentation.
@@2555950 I will try it. But the easiest way is just to go into the internet to Klang-Stark HIFI. There you will find besides the Thulinn tweeters all the developement done by Mr. Stark with the Bose 901. You can read it in english. Claudio
I have 4 of these in storage and a factory eq. I have not set them up yet. But I'm closing b on a house this week. I have less than $400 into all of the gear. So I will be experimenting with these very soon.
Have my father's set back from the 70 era then I purchased my own set from 2018 also purchased a good sub 350 watts but in regards I have an beautiful sound system and everything is Boss the grand children come over for Halloween they are very cautious about all that screaming in the house love my 901 good one
He is such a cool guy! I would probably never got to that much trouble, but it’s great to know there is someone in this world who had the passion to do so!
Well done. I love the perfect mid-century modern design vibe of the pair with original stands. Using modern DSP to implement the EQ is a great experiment, congratulations on your success.
Thank you Norman. It wasn't easy and I've found the Tulip more WAF and purposeful for better sound. I have my main L & R Speakers on 27" high Speaker stands and my Center/Surrounds on the original 18" high Tulip stands. More and more Audiophiles are using DSP/Room Correction/Digital EQ on their very high end systems. I too was of the flat no tone controls crowd for many years. This too will achieve excellent results on equipment that's "synergistic" to each other. For years I ran a two channel Adcom Preamp/Amp combo (not integrated). The Preamp had no tone controls (GFP-345).
As an OG audio guys from the 70's - I have to say I am impressed. Yes, we hated the 901's and I was even in the Audio Biz (not much video back then), I even have met Dr. Bose but we hated the sound and even more so the lack of profitability. But I will admit I LOVE this story and how you made them overachieve. Awesome.
I dig this guys passion and enthusiasm and the ability to think outside the box. Thanks for the feel good video and for an alternative perspective on audio, I like free thinking and the breaking of the norm when it’s comes to audio!
Funny how here in the year 2020 Bose 901s are still relevant to talk about . And just why ,because they had a certain sound that was very dynamic in the mid range ,which for the music of the day mainly heavy rock ,which made the 901 sound extremely good .It's hard not reminisce about a speaker that can put you in a time and place in your life ,like the 901s can. Joe you did a great job for convincing some old audio purist ,that the 901s live on even in a retro form even in today's over bloated expensive World of speakers .Thanks Thomas for sharing the video.
I find the 901's best for Classical and Jazz. For Prog Rock/Synth Music, they are lots of fun. Some Rock stuff they can be too revealing on crap recordings/remastering to which there are many. On good Rock recordings, they are amazing.
Great video, great guy and nice setup! Some pretty cool experience stories in the comment sections too - this is what being an audiophile should be about. Cheers!
What a trip down memory lane!!! Thanks a million Joe and Thomas - what a blast. I hate BOSE, but what the heck, if these 5 modded 901's sound great - bless you. Cheers!
I used to hate Bose too. When they were still in production WhoTF would want to pay $1400 for 18 full range drivers and an EQ ? Not me. I never liked their soundbars or the Acoustimass stuff. I do like their Soundtouch products and their Wave Radios for what they are. A one box extremely simple "Stereo" System. Their Headphones are the best for noise cancelling. Dr. Bose came up with idea (check out the Video I linked at the top of the comments section) and created a commercial product. In his words, a publicly traded Company would have fired his Ass for spending Millions upon Millions of Dollars on a pair of Headphone for F's sake. But he did it and commercial noise cancelling headphones were born. And now it's a must have by ALL commercial Headphone manufacturers. I love "The Gift" Video.
I love BOSE I love BOSE I love BOSE 💕🌹👍 as a starter set it’s great. My wife just asked this morning why do we need expensive speakers when the stereo acoustimass system sounds so good when powered by my slimline Marantz 1609. I cried inside, and said to her “not quite”. Lol 😝 She actually loves my Horn speakers, and PassLabs XA25. So I’m saved...
JingoLoBa57 An AZAVClub member recently bought a gently used XA25 to power his 12” Dual driver (1 Concentric/1 Woofer) Tannoy Cabinets. I’m not a fan of the AM-5s but as I said in an earlier comment, they served their purposes and woke up the Sat/Sub Speaker market.
Hi neighbor Joe, greetings from Scottsdale. I never had 901's but went to a demonstration at "Mad Jack's Sound Center" in El Cajon Ca (in the 70's). Very dramatic! I am running a pair of 6.2's as L & R front overhead speakers in my home theater system. They still sound warm & full unlike some of what's available today.
Well done. I envied 901s as a young man, partly because of the mythical allure of Bose and partly because and the sound. In 1981 when I first heard them, audio was different.Speaker were 3 way, with big woofers and all paper drivers. Doug at the local audio shop would let us hang out for hours and play with his gear ( days gone by). The 901 had an openness and spacious sound that no Advent, LBL or Boston could match. They were $999 a pair at the time, so I bought Polk Audio 7cs
Wait till you see what we are cooking up next Jesse. But I promised no Spoilers ! I've always wanted a pair and the Sealed box Series 1 & 2 which are their best IMHO. Not a fan of the Ported Blunders Series 3 - 6.
I do like the Bose's , own 301's back in the day ,BUT to me my Advent's , rules over Bose , I have friends in college one had Bose,901, one 601. 😅🤣. And everybody Wonder How those Advent"s with 2drivers , sounds So Good. And I'll say Look up Henry Kloss!!🔊🎶🎵
Never been a 'fan' of Bose but then again, I never had a pair in my living room to evaluate. Joe's obviously happy with what he's listening too so, one has to congratulate him for finding his audio "Nirvana". ...now, back to our Harbeths, Cantons, Focals, Rockports etc. etc. He has found what he wants. We're still searching Thomas! LOL! Thanks for the "alternative" videos you treat us with, it's always interesting to see / hear other people's experiences.
Thomas not hitting the "like" button so as not to piss off his JBL/KJlipsch loving fans...hehe. And they are damn good Speakers too ! So I'll do it for him. I'm having way too much fun here in the comments section here and in New Record Day Ron's Discussion tab. Yes, I do have a life and a job.
I’ve had various Bose speakers and very impressed at the price point. Now using Australian made KRIX for my small HT setup. Thanks for this vid. Very enjoyable content
I have the bose 901's 2011 model. For the money my favorite speakers. I have them connected to a qsc amplifier 500 watt at 8ohm per ch, with a Numark m6 mixer,plus a vintage Teac 2340r reel to reel in mint condition. The sound is pure and powerful. Thank you.
This is a great post Thomas. I have a pair of 901 Series 1 from my late uncle and I don't want to part with them. I think the miniDSP will really bring life into them again....that and a big ass AMP! :)
I have 6 pairs of Bose 901 speakers and many other Bose speakers and products, the best sound as far as I am concerned after 25 years of Audiophile and Home theatre enjoyment
My Dad has a pair of 901 s2, and we always jokes around about putting them in a quad system. Well, he bought a bunch of quad equipment and set it up with some Infinity speakers that sound amazing. Last month I found a pair of 901 s2 with the different front for $190, at my favorite record store. So that was his xmas present this year! He's currently in the process of setting it all up. I'm looking forward to hearing how it sounds!
@hurkamur1 I haven't helped him out with it so far, so he doesn't have the eq setup correctly yet. He did a quick test run, and it sounded cool. But it is nowhere near the potential it has so far.
A Buddy of mine in the late 1970's had a pair of 901 speakers. Got them from his dad, when his dad got a pair Klipshorns. We spent a lot of time listening to those 901's. Joe you have got some great speakers, and some great gear! I always liked classical, and jazz (bebop) played on the 901's. Great video Joe!
I’ve had a lot of systems over the decades. Times have changed. Equipment has changed but one of the most enjoyable systems I’ve owned was a Marantz 500 driving 4 series 1 901’s.
Joey G's Audio Channel Sometimes depending on the room. Smaller room, stacked. Larger room, two on the front wall and two on the side walls. Regardless of what anyone says, the imaging and staging was really good...
Imagine an MC 901 driving a Series 1 or 2 Bose 901. Way overkill and you can’t bi amp a 901 😂. Although you could use the tube section to drive only the front Speaker 😂. Now where’s that Lottery ticket Eh ! 🇨🇦
My Bose 901s V sound very muddy when playing in stereo and using only the Bose EQ. However, using a pink noise generator from a Technics SH-8600 computer graphic equalizer mated to a Kenwood Ultra 2 stereo power amp, and playing DSD from SACDs, oh man! Crystal clear, highs and lows. I’m blown away! In fact, thanks to that stereo amplifier and computer EQ, which allows me to isolate the Bose EQ from the other speakers, the 901s are used as my main front L and R speakers in my home theater. I love the sound!! Thanks for the video!
Get a miniDSP and everything will sound awesome. I've been doing DSD for 20 years now. Discs are so cheap on the used market and don't do Vinyl anymore because of SACD's.
I owned 4 Bose 901s and the Bose 1801 power amp back in 1974 when Bose introduced the new 1801 amp (400wpc@4ohms) as Bose had an introductory deal where if you bought 2 Bose 901s and the new amp, they would give you 2 more 901s for free. So I traded in my AR 2ax speakers, AR turntable and Sherwood receiver and went for the big time. I have to say that I did enjoy the large soundstage but especially I enjoyed the bass which was just amazing. It was fast because it did not have a large bass driver cone to control and very strong which was great for my taste in R&R music. As I became more familiar with the system, I realized that the huge soundstage did not work well for other types of music as it would make a female vocalist like Linda Ronstadt for example sound like she had a mouth 10 feet wide. So I departed from the Bose setup criteria and set one 901 on its side standing up and pointed into the room rather than at the front wall and placed the other 901 horizontally also with the backside pointed into the room and resting on top of the vertical 901 which was now acting like a speaker stand. By playing around with the angles of the 901s, I was able to get a much more realistic soundstage and image which worked quite well overall. But I later found out that even with the massive 82 pound Bose 1801 amp which had massive meters and led peak reading displays, it was not enough power to keep some bass kick drum sounds from clipping this beastly amplifier even playing at just moderate levels due to the 18dB peak boost at 35Hz. So after awhile I ended up selling everything and recovered all the cost of the system because of the promotional deal I got and then went to the other extreme in loudspeakers which were Altec 604s which were used in many recording studios for decades but needed equalized to smooth them out. I built a Dynaco Stereo 400 power amp which had no problem powering the 101dB sensitive Altec 604s. I added some Altec 416 bass drivers to get all the bass I wanted, but the shear speed of the Bose 901s were way ahead of their time, which today can only be matched with open baffle servo driven subs.
That's an awesome story. Unfortunately on the NCORE (Hypex) Kit Amps gave me the 10 ft. tall vocals with the 20ft. wide Drum Kit. The PS Audio Amps would undo all that and bring the imaging, depth, & soundstage back into focus again.
@@joeygsaudiochannel3972 I find it very interesting that you found that the imaging and soundstage was so different with the Hypex amp. I wonder if you have the expertise and equipment to look at the left and right channel difference (L-R) waveform when putting a mono 20Hz-20kHz sweep signal into the amplifier. A perfect amplifier would have no L-R signal when passing a mono signal, if the L and R channel levels were the same. I am suspicious about the amplifier having a significant L-R output which could introduce excessive ambience information in the musical reproduction and blur the acoustic representation.
@@StewartMarkley Sadly, I don't have a Sig. Gen, Spec. An, or Oscilloscope (I really need to get a Scope one of these days). You are correct about the L - R mono which on a Scope would look "flat" or nulled out (equal amplitude and phase both channels). Been an RF Tech for 25 years but originally wanted to pursue a career in Audio Manufacturing/Engineering.
@@joeygsaudiochannel3972 Oh well. I have the test equipment but not the amp modules at the moment. I'm planning to build an ICE Power amp for myself pretty soon so I will like to do that test eventually. I would like to build a Hypex amp later and make some sound comparisons and measurements.
Wonderful presentation and modifications, Joe! My first speakers were 901s. Each of your mods are excellent. One additional option might be subwoofers, not primarily for more bass, but to reduce intermodulation distortion which I believe clouds my 901 experience. (The long excursion of a driver producing low notes alters the high notes produced by the same driver. The wide frequency range of 901 drivers make them particularly susceptible.) I think I can find the formulae for calculating IMD from cone area and excursion and the related psychoacoustic data. Although, with multiple 901's and reasonable levels of cone travel you may have already solved the problem. Thomas, thanks again for such great work!
Thank you Bruce. Not shown is the Bose F1 Subwoofer. I can't use it in the Apartment. Neighbour's complained. It's a P.A. Sub that spec'd to 40Hz but I can hit 20Hz with in room gain with just a bit of attenuation (hence the complaints). When we do Purchase a home, I'll give the Stacked 10's/"1000W" amp inside another chance before I'd sell it for two smaller Sub's (REL's, SVS maybe).
I own the original series and they were great. Set up and having a hard wall in the back (behind them) was critical but set up right they sounded great. Those PS audio amps are perfect!
How great to see a mans passion, turned into something really unique. I don't know....? I just love these crazy crafted DIY people out there, so here's my respect :-) Cheers from Denmark
Superb shared experience, loved it, and yes the laws of electroacoustics somtimes don't confirm the soundexperience , but who cares, love this out of the box open minded approach, congratz
If you put them in a place where they can function as intended, preferably a room longer than wide, but still LARGE, with hard walls to reflect the sound (they are CALLED Direct Reflection speakers, and need a reflection surface to perform), you'll find out that they work really well, depending on what you like to listen to. A buddy of mine got some when he got out of the army and had them setup in his dad's finished out garage. A good size room, and they were fine, but I wouldn't consider them impressive. He had them hooked up to one of those old Sansui monster recievers just for reference. Later, he put the same setup in the back of the work room where he did computer repair. A large place that was probably 100 feet long and at least 50 foot wide with flat hard walls at the back of the speakers. He put on some Jethro Tull which was a favorite of ours, and I was flabbergasted. Fine audiophile experience? Probably not, but we weren't listening to Mozart. That setup seriously sounded great for rock and roll. Sounded great as loud as we could stand it, which was pretty loud, and sounded good at lower levels as well. I asked him why he had it there instead of at his house, and he explained that because they needed a large reflection surface, this was where they sounded best. Since he was almost always the only person in the place, he could listen to it the way it was intended to be listened to. He bought a smaller setup for his house. So, 901 Bose speakers are probably not the greatest speakers in the world, but if you can get a deal on some with good driver surrounds, you have an appropriate place to put them, and an amplifier that can properly push them, you can do a lot worse. Especially if you like loud music. Trust me, the average room will NOT do them justice. Regardless of what Bose (Or audiophile Bose haters) will tell you. In the right place, they can peel paint off the wall and sound great doing it! 🤯👀
This is what I can say about the BOSE 901s speakers: This is my first loudspeakers I purchased in the 80s and I' still using it here in my home theater room as my main front speaker. This speakers are meant to be loud and need lots of power. But I do not listen to loud music anymore unless I am watching movies. They are pretty good on classical music and for my rock and soul and jazz oldies too. I really enjoyed this speakers until now. You just need to install this the right way. I hang mine from my ceiling and follow the measurement instructions. I powered this speaker to my Carver Power Amp 200 watts per channel 400 watts total. Not listening loud and the sound is so amazing to my ears. Maybe not for some people but to my listening ears, I am very happy until now. I recone all the drivers to a shop here in my area and now it looks brand new again. You will need a descent power amplifier with lots of wattage to run this speakers or else you will never enjoy the sound coming out from the drivers. I lower the volume of my preamp and still sound great to my ears. Different people have different hearing of sound on their ears. I loved my BOSE 901s and I will keep this as long as I'm still alive. Thank you for reading my comments on BOSE 901s
OK. So here's what really think of Bose. I love their Headphones for what they do but not for how they sound. Same goes for their portable electronics with little Speaker Thingy's. I A NOT A FAN of the Series 3 - 6 901's or the 301, 501, 601, 701's, and the Acoustimass stuff is heavily overpriced since 1987. What those crappy little cubes and "Woofer Box" did was piss off the "good brand's" into thinking about Satellite/Subwoofer systems. Henry Kloss actually beat Bose to the Punch in 1986w hen he launched Cambridge Soundworks. The Sealed Box 901's that I have require an Amplifier with at least 300WPC@8ohms. Jason, trash the 301's, find a decent set of 901 Series 1 or 2 without the original EQ, get a miniDSP ($100) Balanced or RCA without the Bose curve programmed (I'll email you my miniDSP file) for free. If you are on a budget please look at Thomas' Crown Amp Video (He should have called it the "Thomas Crown Affair")...LOL ! Please see Andrew Robinson's Video on the AM-5 catching 30% of the Speaker Market in 1988 ! th-cam.com/video/7zJQxY99kwo/w-d-xo.html
I’d love to get my hands on a pair of 601s. Use real Tweeters/small midwoof”s, and a replace the big wooofers with real Subs and use DSP Electronic Crossovers. Not a fan of the 501s, 301s, 701s though.
Back in the late 70s my cousin owned a pair of Bose 901 I thought they sound very good very spacious room feeling sound Thomas keep up the good work The best system is the one that sounds good to you
I grew up with my Dad’s 901’s driven by two Phase Linear amps, and a Dual 1229 turntable. His system was “tuned” by an audio engineer and it sounded pretty damn good to me. He also had a Teac reel to reel and a Marantz tuner and pre-amp. Now I own B & W’s driven by a Denon receiver.
kudos to Joe. That's impressive. I got a pair of 901 series II for nothing because the owner said they were shot. And they were. But I reworked the speaker surrounds with a compound from KLH and tung oil for the cabinets themselves. Then I had the equalizer rebuilt using quality components. All for about the same price as a used equalizer off eBay today and the sound out of them is amazing. Listening to Andy Summers Green Chimneys album, his guitar is right there, Peter Erskine's drums are right there and Dave Carpenter's base is right there in the room. Bobby McFerrin, Sheila Chandra. Real voices. None of that "No highs, No lows" crap.
Nice. Having the ablity to take something older and to bring out it's potenial is great. To do the tweaks that make a difference. Iv'e done some tweaks in a older system (cyrus 2 & 781's ) somewhere's in the 90's. Power cord, speaker wires and RCA cables. Just doing that was finding out that those compents has more life in them. Kudos
My Bose moment was listening to Santana’s Abraxas in a 4 ch configuration. Discreet tape playback. Wow. Those wind chimes on track one rotated all around the room. Very dark room in an altered state. I think of Bose very fondly.
I love videos like these, when people are proven wrong of what they assume. I would love to listen to this setup. I also think they are attractive looking in their own right. I would not purchase these, just for the very fact on what it would take for them to sound their best. But kudos to this person for the effort he put into these!
Thanks Louis. There are Audiophile Rabbit Holes but this was an Audiophile Rat Hole ! I almost threw in the Towel several times. The PS Audio equipment was a large part in how good these Speakers sound. The miniDSP actually was mentioned to me by a retired Bose Engineer before I started messing around rebuilding the old Analog EQ's ($$$ & time). I wouldn't listen and after about $1k in Bose EQ's, expensive Audiophile Grade components, GND loops, the miniDSP was the route I should have taken 2 years ago. Audyssey sucks and so does there support. Which is a shame because you can replicate the same EQ curve in Audyssey $20 iOS but their software won't allow it. I emailed them and asked about sending me a patch that would allow the necessary 18dB boost below 100Hz and above 10kHz and they said NO ! You can hack your way in by opening the Audessey app as a raw text file and if you are clever/savvy enough, find the freq. vs. amplitude settings and change. But I'm not that clever. Wound up selling the Marantz SR5011 but still have the woefully underpowered (for Sealed Box 901's) McIntosh MC50's.
If you want to hear overbloated Bass and Mushy high's, throw these things in a corner of any Vintage/Series. I did follow the Bose guidelines for distance between and behind the Speakers. Due to my Apartment's Layout, using the long walls away from any room boundaries worked the best. I mimicked my apartment setup at the Tucson show as well.
Agreed, it's ALL about the room. It is very simple; Speaker location determines which modes are excited. Listener location determines which modes are heard. Room dimensions determine the room's modes.
That is so awesome that you "fixed" the 901s . I always thought Bose had a great concept with the drivers on the back wall side of the speaker , but they lacked the implementation. I bet the sound is enveloping and you feel in the middle of the music. Great work and creativity.
Hey Thomas can you give me a link to your friend on the 901 video. Loved his review and approach. My audiophile journey started with 901s(no applause needed😀). Still have original vi’s in new condition.
I was recently picking up a pair of Boston Acoustics t830s and while there I saw a set of Bose 301 series II sitting on the curb. The cabinets were water damaged but the drivers looked perfect and he told me to take them. I was cringing as I hooked them up but they sang. I mean they were syrupy sweet and outside an enclosed space had no bass but I can see why people who are casual occasional listeners would think they sounded good. Joe obviously knows what he is doing so if he says the 901s sound good he isn't lying. Funny he mentioned PSB as my mains right now are the PSB New Stratus 👍
This man reminds us. Especially the snobby lovers of audio. that it’s not about the brand or the money. It comes down to the passion and the art of the love of sound and music. He invested not only a lot of money and time but knowledge, research and constant improvement. Which is what we all do isn’t it? Find new gear, new music, new ways to listen and improve the same music. New ways to improve either by upgrades or by tweeking positions or wires or stands or whatever we can. He’s just emulating his passion in something we all do!! I have 5 different setups. My wife says they all sound the same, but I will tell you. It all goes back to my first system which was a Bose lifestyle 35. Go figure! Bose seems to have played a big roll in many of us audiophiles past, in this expensive hobby.
Thanks Sebastian for the kind words. Not saying that my Audio Journey has ended with the 901's (I want Maggies LRS or .7 - one day), but I started out 35 years ago with a pair of High School Homebrews with a Radio Shack 12" Woofer (no crossover), and a Radio Shack "BiRadial" Horn Tweeter with a supplied single Capacitor with a inline "Tweeter Protector" in series.
Anyone who’s passionate about HiFi is ok in my book, and Joe is obviously one of em. HiFi is such a personal thing, and to each his own. He loves his system, and that’s all that matters. Thank you for this vid, Joe, and thank you Thomas!
Thank you Nick for the nice comments. Thomas & I hatched this plan out a while back but kept it under wraps for over two months. He's a great person to get good TH-cam Video advise from. There were several edits and a Ton of footage and photos. He did an awesome job editing the footage and adding the voice overs. I really liked the intro and yes, I am as crazy as he says I am in Video ! LOL !
The 6th channel is not used but one day, I’d like to incorporate with my Bose F1 Sub. The LPF in the miniDSP works wonders ! Because the 24/96 doesn’t come Balanced, I had to use 3 Balanced 2x4 24/48 boards for my rig. Does not mess up the audio coming out from the PS Audio DirectStream Sr. DAC.
Hi MrBonger88 I am learning about stereo gear as fast as I can, but the "big picture" of Joe's systems tweaks escaped me. I recently bought a pair of Series 1, the series I have wanted for 40 years! Finally got them. The EQ was dead and is in the shop. Hopefully, I'll get it back soon. Is Joe saying that all you need is a mini-DSP and that's it? Is that used in place of the EQ or in combination? Is also a part of the secret sauce have an odd number of speakers? I apologize for my ignorance, but would be grateful if you could summarize what he was saying. You successfully implemented the tweaks already, so I could follow youe lead. :-)
@@robertmarshall6638 That is correct Robert. I remember you posted something on the Bose FB pages. Lets make your life easy. Send me an email to rajugsw@gmail.com and I'll send you for free my Series 1 EQ profile for free of course for the miniDSP. Sound quality is way more detailed and accurate than the Factory Series 2 EQ. What Amplifier/Integrated Amp or Preamplifier are you running ? If it's RCA jacks only on the back, the Amazon link I provide early on in the comments will work. We can even do a remote desktop session via Skype or Zoom. I always enjoy helping new people to the Bose Experience. I want your Dream Speakers not to sound like a NIghtmare. All the Best Joe
When I was in college and living in a dormitory there was a guy by the name of Jim who owned a pair of these. He powered them with a 130 wpc Carver receiver and his system got just unbelievably loud. It was certainly too loud for a tiny dorm room. When it comes to Bose it may or may not be my preferred sound but in the end you only need to find something that YOU enjoy so do that and long as your are pleased with them treat your ears to music rather than chase down perfection according to what negative folks tell you about Bose. Now, go turn it up and rock out Joe!
Check out Joe's youtube channel : th-cam.com/channels/8wmH4nYeW3kcSktOOUFDuQ.htmlvideos
Great channel, he just got a new subscriber
Thanks, man.
Thanks for sharing his channel. I'm very looking forward watching the interviews with Ted and Daren.
@@Simon-dn9kv As young Audio Engineers go, Darren is the one to watch out for. Ted Smith was as usual a Fountain of Knowledge as is Paul Barton (just waiting on approval from him, and then I'll upload that Video he did with the Club). Thanks Simon.
The Video's were long and I get in Shit every time but they are ENGINEER's ! Not TH-camr's (no offense Thomas - you know what I mean). If it takes them 20min. to answer a question...Let Them, I say ! As an Eng. Tech., I devour every minute of these Video's and you see my excitement even after two hours in ! They too relish in the fact that I don't interrupt them (they are our Guests after all) and I want to educate the crowd. I try to get the Guests to reveal stuff that's not on any other TH-cam Video or in print online or on paper. I do lots of prep with the Guest via phone & email.
I have great admiration for this kind of passion...to have the conviction and audacity to go against the grain, and the enthusiasm to share his wonderful experience with others...awesome!
Whether or not I like Bose isn’t what’s important. But that this man takes something and changes it and works it to his enjoyment is what really matters. This hobby is all about experimenting tweaking and making something sound better.The best system in the world is in your house right now.
Yeah, completely agree and we all enjoy different things. I am curious how they sound though.
Spot on!!!
@@ThomasAndStereo - I visited a speaker repairer's house last year and he recently repaired and upgraded a pair of Bose 901 [+ equalizer] for a customer and he gave me a demonstration and it took my breath away, the clarity and width of the soundstage was astounding. In Australia there is a hunt on for the Bose 901 speakers and they are selling for high prices, from what I heard that day I can understand why. I am not sure exactly what was upgraded on the pair of Bose 901 that I heard but it left a lasting impression on me. In the past I owned a pair of Bose 401 and they were very very good for surround speakers in a home theatre setup. I know Bose generally don't have a good reputation but each to there own I guess.
Flies never settle on an audio enthusiasts! Unfortunately, there are always improvements to be had. When one thinks there isn't, that's when the game is over for you! But sometimes a respite is needed!!! Education is the key, not chasing after the new shiny box. There is no generic brand label set up that will fit 10,000 different listening environments and listing preferences. To think there is simply nonsense. Customisation is the key! *5 Enclosures You've Never Heard Of* th-cam.com/video/CZaRQT3Rvaw/w-d-xo.html
This is where education wins over buying power!
You're Right to the Point, and a Amen to the rest, Jam On 🔊🎶🎵 🔊
I bought my 901’s in college, 1968. I’m still using them along with a 7-T preamp. I’m a fan.
That's amazing. Have you gotten the Bose EQ rebuilt as well ? Original owner Series 1 and Series 2 are a rare thing. Thanks William !
I was about 13 yrs old and used to go to my friend Shawns house after school sometimes, his father had a stereo system in a separate room and he had these speakers on pedestals that had these 3 exhaust pipes coming out the back. Well some how these 2 speakers made it sound like the music came from all around me like in Jackson Browns live version of The Loadout, which is one of the songs he would blast when his parents weren't home. One of the experiences in my youth that instilled this audiophile interest. Here we are 35 yrs later
Thanks for sharing your story. Really enjoyed it.
Sorry to say but what you describe sounds more like booze destilation aparatus ;)
This man is truly living up to the spirit of an audiophile. Kudos!!
Thank you Ray. Appreciate the kind words.
Wy in the world would someone downvote this video🧐, This guy loves his stuff and audio😄. LOVE IT.
Jealous types
I respect everything that sounds good, regardless of what type of system you have, if you know how to cook you will get the taste buds going.
Yeah, I have a lot of fun in trying to get a system to sound amazing.
@@ThomasAndStereo i totally agree, it's fun but dangerous for the bank account. lol
@Jingle Nuts lol
@@ThomasAndStereo the moral of the story appears to be that if you spend enough on electronics and do the right room treatments and work etc, you can make any speaker sound ok. I wonder though if he'll go back to the Bose....if he heard a Tekton Moab, GR research nx otica, N-Xtreme, Elac Adante, etc etc in his exact same setup for a day.
@@ThomasAndStereo This was not an easy Journey for me by any means. I almost threw in the Towel several times (and the money alongside it). But to be honest. What the Engineers at Bose over 50 years ago did was unheard of, laughed at, and of course scorned throughout the decades in the trade Rags. They had a failure on their hands prior to the 901's called the 2250.
A very honest article on the Ohm Speakers page :
ohmspeaker.com/news/all-speakers-are-not-created-equal-ized/
I 've been an audiophile for 50+ years. I had listened to my friend's first series 901's back in the day, with a high quality top of the line Sony receiver, with the Bose equalizer in his relatively hard but echo chamber like room. He was a musician and understood room acoustics better than most people at that time. His wife was in the room and smiled as he turned the system on and played a perfect vinyl recording of the Beetles "White Album." I have to say I could hear every nuance crystal clear and the Beetles sounded as though they were in the room playing just for us. Those 1st series were good but required gobs of power and the correct equipment, equalization and room acoustics and program material and placement and they could then really shine through. The 2nd series had an improved equalizer, required less critical power and more forgiving placement but when all these requirements were met, you were rewarded with a rich and full sound. These speakers were quite the rage back in the day. Proper equipment, equalization and sound source material are tantamount before these full range drivers can really shine through the material and dissappear as they were designed to do, only revealing the original sound source or recording. Good review.
That is a Beautiful Story Gregory. I experience the same even more on a daily basis.
"Thanks for the memories"
I really wish Bose starts manufacturing of these speakers again. Good things don't last long 😭
The main concept though minimal direct sound and mainly reflected sound waves seem to also add an element to what you hear with the mid and high end.
I’m a Bose fan and glad you have shown that anyone who cares bout music can dial these in to perfect operation. Bravo!
Good job man. I have a pair. It's all about your passion for music and audio.
Thanks Chad
901's are amazing speakers. They are simply amazing, and fun to listen to.
Joe going through the process of understanding the original EQ of the 901's, then tweaking their EQ to an audiophile standard and bringing them to a level that meets his expectations is something I've never heard of or would ever think of, I think that's pretty damn amazing - - - thanks for another great video Thomas.
There's a reason that Thomas wrote "Crazy Joe" stayed in the Video. Because It'S tRuE ! loL
Thank you Skip for the wonderful comment.
There are products available that are engineered to do just what Joe's cheater equalizer box does. Mini DSP boards digitally tuned to bring out the best of those 901s. It doesn't hurt to have all of that equipment in front of those 901s, though.
Thomas, love your videos, thanks for sharing. Bose 901’s were my first speakers back in 1980!
Think you Sir
I’ve had my Bose 901 series 5 since the 80s when I was in Germany serving in the Army and they still sound great.
I’m glad you stood your ground and didn’t fall for the audiophile fluff and created your OWN sound that suited you and no one else.
Thank you for your Service @errolallen4499. My Son did 4 years in the U.S. Army Reserves. He's out now. ❤
A high-end system is a system that sounds right to you.
AGREE!!! and a good wine... one that tastes good to you... simple as that...
But how do you know what sounds good to you (not you personally) without some sort of comparison? Education has been the key for me.
Why don't you do something to help me? Doh!
@@juststuff5216 Thomas & I had this conversation when I pitched him the idea of doing a Bose Video. I do go to friends homes and listen to their Focal Kanta No.2's, Thiel 2.3's, Tannoy's with TWO 12" Drivers (one Concentric, the other a Woofer), and try to visit Audio Showrooms whenever possible.
His question to me was "what is/was your reference" when listening to the 901's. To be honest, my Homebrew's with Aluminum domes, Paper Woofers, 2nd Order X-Over's were my only reference the time. I did not belong to the Audio Club at that time. I have heard Klipsch, Polk's, JBL's, PSB's, Para-Dig-Em's, Energy's (ahhh...The Veritas was a special Speaker wasn't it ?). Mirage M Series come to mind with their identical front and back drivers. I almost bought a pair of M7's 27 years ago. They had a Woofer/Tweeter on the front and a full range Driver on the back wheras the higher up models had in phase WMT on the front and back. I always preferred the wider baffled Mirage M's over the Definitive/Golden Ear Skinny Towers.
I'd listened to the ML Motion 60's last year at an event held by a local Dealer. I should have been impressed but wasn't. Poor Acoustics were to blame and maybe the amplification they used (can't remember it though).
@@johnanderson8096 I had three glasses of Zinfandel this afternoon while going through the comments section. Thanks John !
Joe going through the process of understanding the EQ of the original 901's, then tweaking that EQ to an audiophile standard that meets his expectations is amazing to me. Thanks for an excellent video Thomas and I pass my appreciation along to Joe for pulling off what I'm sure a lot of audiophiles, including myself, would consider "not doable"!
sorry, I'm an idiot - - thought I hit cancel by mistake on the first comment, my apologies.
Again, I almost gave up on this 901 Journey at one point. But stuffing 3 Series 2 EQ's into a Pizza Box rebuilt by me with SoniCaps, Vishay Dale 1% resistors, and a beffy Toroidal Power Supply was a trip, man. I even built a Surface Mount (0603) version using an original printed circuit board. I had grand plans to spin my own modular PCB's which could be configured for True Balanced mode (which I did with the original EQ's - L channel was the -ve pin, R channel was the +ve pin, & chassis GND). Still had GND loop issues even after start GNDing everything. A fellow on the FB Bose pages actually did this with two Series 6 EQ's he had on my recommendation. He stacked the 901's and he said the 6dB of gain and the reduced noise floor was astonishing !
@@joeygsaudiochannel3972 Joe, thanks for your comments sighting some of the details and challenges you faced - really cool employing the Vishays & Soni Caps and then topping it off with a Toroidal - obviously you took the EQ box to a level the Bose engineers never had in mind, not even to mention a better frequency response curve - - - I appreciate you sharing some of the issues you faced and to say the least it's very impressive that you managed to get it all worked to your final finished product.
Hey, Thomas this was a good timing for me cuz I just repaired my Bose 901 III”s and I was thrilled enjoying the new sound of my speaker glad that posted Bose 901. Also I lived here in Arizona. Thanks.
Whereabouts Frank ? Are you a member of our azavclub.com/ ? I'm in South Scottsdale.
I own 6 901's. 2 pairs of series IV and a pair of original 901 series I. All fully restored. Powering them with a Bose 1800, and using a Bose Spatial receiver as a pre-amp. People can talk. Most of those people talking have never heard this setup in person. With the speakers measured against the corners exactly as they should be. Most "audiophiles" have never experienced the super system. I am maybe 1 in 100 people in the world who have one.
Thanks for sharing.
Very like the Subscriber's videos.
Glad you like them!
Thanks itoosh
I've got all types of speakers and yes, I still keep my 901's and I like them...it's a different sound in a different room.
Very nice. Bose deserves some love too.
Great video thank you Thomas. I was out listening to my maximum budget active speakers LS50 actives and Acoustic research ae1's active and boy were thos disapointing! Listed to non actives, a few different ones but the 901's s2 are still better which I can't believe as I own them for 30 years! What I would be interested in is your friends rebuilt dsp equaliser he uses with the 901's, is that in place of the original 901 equaliser? Where could I find one?
Many thanks
The only thing that matters is how they sound to you ~ I wish I lived close by I'd love to bring my records over and give them a spin just to see how they sound on your system ~
12 years ago I bought my 2nd set of Bose 901 Series VIs, and connected them through the 4-channel tape monitors of my Sansui QRX-9001 receiver. The sound was amazing... but, I hated the fact that I lost the ability to play back any 4-channel sources. OK, I did connect my rare Monoprice Blu-ray player's analog outputs to the tape monitors of the Bose equalizers, but my 4-channel tape deck remains 2-channel only.. I came here hoping to find a way to connect the 901's to a conventional HT 5.1 receiver since I removed the Bose speakers in favor of some vintage Sansui speakers. Still searching...
Does your AVR have Pre-Out's. If so, then you can connect the equalizer there but you'll need to dedicate only of of the Analog inputs or buy a stereo amplifier and connect it to the pre-out's with the BOSE EQ in between.
I had a similar problem with a Marantz SR5011.
I heard my first bose when I was maybe 8 or 9 yrs old it was the 301 an was taken away by the sound. I had told my self once i start work will save up an bye my own bose home_theater so i saved up an bought a bose accoustimass 10. I would say they our not the best but the do an excellent job of filling the room with sound an my soul is satisfied.
MORE JOE.... Great Dude!!! 1976... Freshman year of college... one friend had a Marantz receiver, turntable,and Bose 301's... and another friend had Earth, Wind, and Fire's.. "Gratitude"... I thought I was in Heaven... Thanks Joe
and thank you Thomas!!!
And that's what this Video was all about.Thomas & I weren't out to be controversial but start a conversation about people's 901 memories both good and bad. Even though they get poo pooed on by various audio press folks. They are an icon just like the Klipchorns, L100's, Rogers LS3/5a, LS3/6, Harbeths, and a few other "Classics" I'm sure people here will remember.
Thanks Thomas, I live in Scottsdale and I had no clue this gentleman lived here. I too grew up drooling over 901's but could never afford them. By the time I could, I was drawn into Polk SDA, then NHT and now my new love is Legacy Audio. I would love to hear his set up though. Thanks for coving though I'm 2 year late to this video LOL.
Super nice setup and explanation of mods.
Thank you.
Hi Joe! I just bouth the speakers in a vintge shop in Mexico, any recs on how to make them work amateur style? Would love to include them with other Bose bluetooth speakers that I have, thanks!
Nice to see someone prepared to stand proud of his personal preference and not be afraid of negative criticism.
Story of my Life...LOL ! Thanks Howard. Much appreciated.
excellent.. GREAT GREAT memories with my 901 series 4 as a high school kid bought new and packed all over the usa for 15 years.. so portable... mine always blew everyone away when they heard mine as well.. its all about the setup... which i RARELY seen done correctly.. one of my all time top systems heard was my friends who had ^ 901s stacked 3 each... each pair powered by 3 pioneer series 20 m25 amps... wow to hear montrose' ROCK CANDY with the drum intro was just sheer AWESOME!!!!! i have moved on now as he has as well, but oh man!!!!! we had a ton of audio fun in our youth... Thank you Amar...
One day, I”d to try stacking the L and R sides 2 high just to see what its all about. Awesome story Chris !
@@joeygsaudiochannel3972 yes, that was done back in the day and was called the "double bose" my same friend had that with the 2 on the stands and the other 2 hanging from the ceiling for a hellacious soundstage. then he bought another pair and just stacked each channel 3 high. ALL on the original stands.. they could hold them... however with minimal cosmetic damage luckily, he had a party one time and some DWEEB accidently knocked a stack over!! again VERY minimal damage and they played perfectly after that as well.. great build quality!!! enjoy yours
@@chrisbarnhart2032 I so wanna try stacking just to see how they sound.
I wanted the 901s a few years back, mainly for the uniqueness of the design and the nostalgia. When I finally made up my mind to buy them, I went to the Bose store and found out they had been discontinued the year before and the last pair was sold a few weeks before. That always bummed me out a bit. I still probably by a them if they made them again, but not a used pair. I was impressed as a kid listening to these in my friends dad's house and we rocked those super loud. You had to run them through the Bose crossover. When you cranked them, they would reflect off the walls and make a big sound stage. Good full range. True not the highs from an aluminum dome tweeter or the bass from a subwoofer, but just sounded cool and punchy. Glad to see someone has embraced the 901s as worthwhile speakers.
As I stated earlier. Get yourself a pair of Sealed Box 901's, a miniDSP, Crown Amp, and call me in the morning 😊
LOL, same story, brother had a pair when I was a kid, always thought they sounded great. Finally ready to order a pair only to find out they were discontinued the year before.
I'm constantly scanning my local ebay for 901s, honestly just for the design. I move into a big two story apartment at the end of the month, finally have my first real job with real money, so I decided to get the 901s for downstairs, which will match my mid century retro furniture and take my good old klipsch reference, which I love dearly, upstairs.
@@supersmoothify What Series are they ? Get a miniDSP and I can help you set the curve up for free. rajugsw@gmail.com
Oddly enough having built my share and heard my share of Fabric Dome (still my fav.) and metal domes. These things will go that high. This is where perception takes over your auditory limits (many studies have proved this). My Son @ 19 years can hear a 17kHz tone out of my DSP EQ'd 901's. I can only get to 13kHz (I'm 50).
Problem is you need you need a Shit Ton of power not only for the Bass, but for the Top End as well. Watts are cheap these days but good clean Watts is preferred on the ild Sealed Box 901's (my favourite).
What I find really commendable is that this is a modified system made to work the way the owner wants. No turntable. Just high quality digital music with some cool old school speakers. Bose gets a bad rap. We all really love them we just wont say it in public. Saying Bose is horrible make it seem that you know what you are talking about. Great video. Nice to see someone thinking out of the box.
Thank you Aristotle. Your words are exactly how I feel about the Series 1 & 2 901's. Much appreciated.
Great to hear from this music lover 901 speaker I wanted to get a pair years ago there is something about reflected sound I like away from bass levels,vocals seem real ,a different way to listen.
Thanks to the gentleman with the Bose. That took guts. I have a soft spot for Bose.
Again, thanks and be well.
Thank you @mauriceparhamovich. It was a lot of hard work to do for both Thomas & I.
I still have my Bose “towers” (4 Bose 901, one on top of the other) improved with 2 topZ tweeters build just for the Bose 901. The sound is AMAZING!! There is just one Company in the world who rebuilds the Bose 901, improving them so they are even better than the original Bose.The comp. is: Klang-Stark HiFi, in Pohlheim Grueningen. Germany. Dont know anybody who is so strongly working in this 901 loudspeaker field.
THX Joe for your outstanding presentation.
Can you post picks of your tweeter improvements
@@2555950 I will try it. But the easiest way is just to go into the internet to Klang-Stark HIFI. There you will find besides the Thulinn tweeters all the developement done by Mr. Stark with the Bose 901. You can read it in english.
Claudio
Nice you are having fun.
I have 4 of these in storage and a factory eq. I have not set them up yet. But I'm closing b on a house this week. I have less than $400 into all of the gear. So I will be experimenting with these very soon.
Have my father's set back from the 70 era then I purchased my own set from 2018 also purchased a good sub 350 watts but in regards I have an beautiful sound system and everything is Boss the grand children come over for Halloween they are very cautious about all that screaming in the house love my 901 good one
He is such a cool guy! I would probably never got to that much trouble, but it’s great to know there is someone in this world who had the passion to do so!
Well done. I love the perfect mid-century modern design vibe of the pair with original stands. Using modern DSP to implement the EQ is a great experiment, congratulations on your success.
Thank you Norman. It wasn't easy and I've found the Tulip more WAF and purposeful for better sound. I have my main L & R Speakers on 27" high Speaker stands and my Center/Surrounds on the original 18" high Tulip stands.
More and more Audiophiles are using DSP/Room Correction/Digital EQ on their very high end systems. I too was of the flat no tone controls crowd for many years. This too will achieve excellent results on equipment that's "synergistic" to each other. For years I ran a two channel Adcom Preamp/Amp combo (not integrated). The Preamp had no tone controls (GFP-345).
As an OG audio guys from the 70's - I have to say I am impressed. Yes, we hated the 901's and I was even in the Audio Biz (not much video back then), I even have met Dr. Bose but we hated the sound and even more so the lack of profitability. But I will admit I LOVE this story and how you made them overachieve. Awesome.
Thank you.
I dig this guys passion and enthusiasm and the ability to think outside the box. Thanks for the feel good video and for an alternative perspective on audio, I like free thinking and the breaking of the norm when it’s comes to audio!
Thanks Nathan.
Funny how here in the year 2020 Bose 901s are still relevant to talk about . And just why ,because they had a certain sound that was very dynamic in the mid range ,which for the music of the day mainly heavy rock ,which made the 901 sound extremely good .It's hard not reminisce about a speaker that can put you in a time and place in your life ,like the 901s can. Joe you did a great job for convincing some old audio purist ,that the 901s live on even in a retro form even in today's over bloated expensive World of speakers .Thanks Thomas for sharing the video.
I find the 901's best for Classical and Jazz. For Prog Rock/Synth Music, they are lots of fun. Some Rock stuff they can be too revealing on crap recordings/remastering to which there are many. On good Rock recordings, they are amazing.
Great video, great guy and nice setup!
Some pretty cool experience stories in the comment sections too - this is what being an audiophile should be about.
Cheers!
Great video, even greater ingenuity. I am extremely impressed...and motivated!!
Yeah, he is quite passionate .
@@ThomasAndStereo And "committed" ! LOL
Thanks for posting that. I’ll n bet forget the first time I heard the 901’s. It was like an entire wall of sound.
What a trip down memory lane!!! Thanks a million Joe and Thomas - what a blast. I hate BOSE, but what the heck, if these 5 modded 901's sound great - bless you. Cheers!
I used to hate Bose too. When they were still in production WhoTF would want to pay $1400 for 18 full range drivers and an EQ ? Not me. I never liked their soundbars or the Acoustimass stuff. I do like their Soundtouch products and their Wave Radios for what they are. A one box extremely simple "Stereo" System. Their Headphones are the best for noise cancelling. Dr. Bose came up with idea (check out the Video I linked at the top of the comments section) and created a commercial product. In his words, a publicly traded Company would have fired his Ass for spending Millions upon Millions of Dollars on a pair of Headphone for F's sake. But he did it and commercial noise cancelling headphones were born. And now it's a must have by ALL commercial Headphone manufacturers.
I love "The Gift" Video.
It's a matter of treating your listening room as another "component" in your system, and the results may surprise you.
Interesting video.
I love BOSE I love BOSE I love BOSE 💕🌹👍 as a starter set it’s great. My wife just asked this morning why do we need expensive speakers when the stereo acoustimass system sounds so good when powered by my slimline Marantz 1609. I cried inside, and said to her “not quite”. Lol 😝 She actually loves my Horn speakers, and PassLabs XA25. So I’m saved...
JingoLoBa57 An AZAVClub member recently bought a gently used XA25 to power his 12” Dual driver (1 Concentric/1 Woofer) Tannoy Cabinets. I’m not a fan of the AM-5s but as I said in an earlier comment, they served their purposes and woke up the Sat/Sub Speaker market.
Thomas I’m so glad I found your channel! Very informative and to the point, thank you sir!
Welcome!
Hi neighbor Joe, greetings from Scottsdale.
I never had 901's but went to a demonstration at "Mad Jack's Sound Center" in El Cajon Ca (in the 70's). Very dramatic!
I am running a pair of 6.2's as L & R front overhead speakers in my home theater system. They still sound warm & full unlike some of what's available today.
Well done. I envied 901s as a young man, partly because of the mythical allure of Bose and partly because and the sound.
In 1981 when I first heard them, audio was different.Speaker were 3 way, with big woofers and all paper drivers. Doug at the local audio shop would let us hang out for hours and play with his gear ( days gone by).
The 901 had an openness and spacious sound that no Advent, LBL or Boston could match. They were $999 a pair at the time, so I bought Polk Audio 7cs
Wait till you see what we are cooking up next Jesse. But I promised no Spoilers !
I've always wanted a pair and the Sealed box Series 1 & 2 which are their best IMHO. Not a fan of the Ported Blunders Series 3 - 6.
I do like the Bose's , own 301's back in the day ,BUT to me my Advent's , rules over Bose , I have friends in college one had Bose,901, one 601. 😅🤣. And everybody Wonder How those Advent"s with 2drivers , sounds So Good. And I'll say Look up Henry Kloss!!🔊🎶🎵
Never been a 'fan' of Bose but then again, I never had a pair in my living room to evaluate.
Joe's obviously happy with what he's listening too so, one has to congratulate him for finding his audio "Nirvana".
...now, back to our Harbeths, Cantons, Focals, Rockports etc. etc.
He has found what he wants. We're still searching Thomas! LOL!
Thanks for the "alternative" videos you treat us with, it's always interesting to see / hear other people's experiences.
How fun! I've never heard these and I truly enjoyed the history lesson as well as his testimonial
Thanks Adam. I'll put these Speakers up against a pair of L100's, Heresy's. and even Forte's any day !
Thomas not hitting the "like" button so as not to piss off his JBL/KJlipsch loving fans...hehe. And they are damn good Speakers too ! So I'll do it for him. I'm having way too much fun here in the comments section here and in New Record Day Ron's Discussion tab. Yes, I do have a life and a job.
I’ve had various Bose speakers and very impressed at the price point. Now using Australian made KRIX for my small HT setup. Thanks for this vid. Very enjoyable content
I have the bose 901's 2011 model. For the money my favorite speakers. I have them connected to a qsc amplifier 500 watt at 8ohm per ch, with a Numark m6 mixer,plus a vintage Teac 2340r reel to reel in mint condition. The sound is pure and powerful. Thank you.
This is a great post Thomas. I have a pair of 901 Series 1 from my late uncle and I don't want to part with them. I think the miniDSP will really bring life into them again....that and a big ass AMP! :)
I have 6 pairs of Bose 901 speakers and many other Bose speakers and products, the best sound as far as I am concerned after 25 years of Audiophile and Home theatre enjoyment
My Dad has a pair of 901 s2, and we always jokes around about putting them in a quad system. Well, he bought a bunch of quad equipment and set it up with some Infinity speakers that sound amazing. Last month I found a pair of 901 s2 with the different front for $190, at my favorite record store. So that was his xmas present this year! He's currently in the process of setting it all up. I'm looking forward to hearing how it sounds!
How did it go?
@hurkamur1 I haven't helped him out with it so far, so he doesn't have the eq setup correctly yet. He did a quick test run, and it sounded cool. But it is nowhere near the potential it has so far.
A Buddy of mine in the late 1970's had a pair of 901 speakers. Got them from his dad, when his dad got a pair Klipshorns. We spent a lot of time listening to those 901's. Joe you have got some great speakers, and some great gear! I always liked classical, and jazz (bebop) played on the 901's. Great video Joe!
Thank you for the kind words and your trip down memory lane Hi-Fi Haven.
I’ve had a lot of systems over the decades. Times have changed. Equipment has changed but one of the most enjoyable systems I’ve owned was a Marantz 500 driving 4 series 1 901’s.
Very cool. Were they stacked ?
That is the exact set up my dad had with the real to reel from I believe is cousin got for him in Vietnam
Joey G's Audio Channel Sometimes depending on the room. Smaller room, stacked. Larger room, two on the front wall and two on the side walls. Regardless of what anyone says, the imaging and staging was really good...
Very clean and simple. Your Bose is in immaculate shape. If I didn't have a Mac system I would be venturing into PS Audio.
Imagine an MC 901 driving a Series 1 or 2 Bose 901. Way overkill and you can’t bi amp a 901 😂. Although you could use the tube section to drive only the front Speaker 😂. Now where’s that Lottery ticket Eh ! 🇨🇦
If Joe likes that's audiophile plenty for all.. Thanks Joe
I live Bose. I own 401’s, 6.2’s and others. I’ve had all types over the years and I keep coming back to Bose.
My Bose 901s V sound very muddy when playing in stereo and using only the Bose EQ. However, using a pink noise generator from a Technics SH-8600 computer graphic equalizer mated to a Kenwood Ultra 2 stereo power amp, and playing DSD from SACDs, oh man! Crystal clear, highs and lows. I’m blown away! In fact, thanks to that stereo amplifier and computer EQ, which allows me to isolate the Bose EQ from the other speakers, the 901s are used as my main front L and R speakers in my home theater. I love the sound!! Thanks for the video!
Get a miniDSP and everything will sound awesome. I've been doing DSD for 20 years now. Discs are so cheap on the used market and don't do Vinyl anymore because of SACD's.
I owned 4 Bose 901s and the Bose 1801 power amp back in 1974 when Bose introduced the new 1801 amp (400wpc@4ohms) as Bose had an introductory deal where if you bought 2 Bose 901s and the new amp, they would give you 2 more 901s for free. So I traded in my AR 2ax speakers, AR turntable and Sherwood receiver and went for the big time. I have to say that I did enjoy the large soundstage but especially I enjoyed the bass which was just amazing. It was fast because it did not have a large bass driver cone to control and very strong which was great for my taste in R&R music. As I became more familiar with the system, I realized that the huge soundstage did not work well for other types of music as it would make a female vocalist like Linda Ronstadt for example sound like she had a mouth 10 feet wide. So I departed from the Bose setup criteria and set one 901 on its side standing up and pointed into the room rather than at the front wall and placed the other 901 horizontally also with the backside pointed into the room and resting on top of the vertical 901 which was now acting like a speaker stand. By playing around with the angles of the 901s, I was able to get a much more realistic soundstage and image which worked quite well overall.
But I later found out that even with the massive 82 pound Bose 1801 amp which had massive meters and led peak reading displays, it was not enough power to keep some bass kick drum sounds from clipping this beastly amplifier even playing at just moderate levels due to the 18dB peak boost at 35Hz. So after awhile I ended up selling everything and recovered all the cost of the system because of the promotional deal I got and then went to the other extreme in loudspeakers which were Altec 604s which were used in many recording studios for decades but needed equalized to smooth them out. I built a Dynaco Stereo 400 power amp which had no problem powering the 101dB sensitive Altec 604s. I added some Altec 416 bass drivers to get all the bass I wanted, but the shear speed of the Bose 901s were way ahead of their time, which today can only be matched with open baffle servo driven subs.
Thanks, great story!
That's an awesome story. Unfortunately on the NCORE (Hypex) Kit Amps gave me the 10 ft. tall vocals with the 20ft. wide Drum Kit. The PS Audio Amps would undo all that and bring the imaging, depth, & soundstage back into focus again.
@@joeygsaudiochannel3972 I find it very interesting that you found that the imaging and soundstage was so different with the Hypex amp. I wonder if you have the expertise and equipment to look at the left and right channel difference (L-R) waveform when putting a mono 20Hz-20kHz sweep signal into the amplifier. A perfect amplifier would have no L-R signal when passing a mono signal, if the L and R channel levels were the same. I am suspicious about the amplifier having a significant L-R output which could introduce excessive ambience information in the musical reproduction and blur the acoustic representation.
@@StewartMarkley Sadly, I don't have a Sig. Gen, Spec. An, or Oscilloscope (I really need to get a Scope one of these days). You are correct about the L - R mono which on a Scope would look "flat" or nulled out (equal amplitude and phase both channels).
Been an RF Tech for 25 years but originally wanted to pursue a career in Audio Manufacturing/Engineering.
@@joeygsaudiochannel3972 Oh well. I have the test equipment but not the amp modules at the moment. I'm planning to build an ICE Power amp for myself pretty soon so I will like to do that test eventually. I would like to build a Hypex amp later and make some sound comparisons and measurements.
genial!!
Love this! Great job guys!
Wonderful presentation and modifications, Joe! My first speakers were 901s. Each of your mods are excellent. One additional option might be subwoofers, not primarily for more bass, but to reduce intermodulation distortion which I believe clouds my 901 experience. (The long excursion of a driver producing low notes alters the high notes produced by the same driver. The wide frequency range of 901 drivers make them particularly susceptible.) I think I can find the formulae for calculating IMD from cone area and excursion and the related psychoacoustic data. Although, with multiple 901's and reasonable levels of cone travel you may have already solved the problem. Thomas, thanks again for such great work!
Thank you Bruce.
Not shown is the Bose F1 Subwoofer. I can't use it in the Apartment. Neighbour's complained. It's a P.A. Sub that spec'd to 40Hz but I can hit 20Hz with in room gain with just a bit of attenuation (hence the complaints). When we do Purchase a home, I'll give the Stacked 10's/"1000W" amp inside another chance before I'd sell it for two smaller Sub's (REL's, SVS maybe).
@@joeygsaudiochannel3972 Excellent! I hope to hear it at one of your meetings sometime. I also just subscribed to your channel. Thanks!
new and improved 901s with a remote ontrol equalizer and a bose subwoofer...that all we need
I love these speakers - my first love was Bose 201.
I own the original series and they were great. Set up and having a hard wall in the back (behind them) was critical but set up right they sounded great. Those PS audio amps are perfect!
How great to see a mans passion, turned into something really unique. I don't know....? I just love these crazy crafted DIY people out there, so here's my respect :-) Cheers from Denmark
Thank you for the kind words Thomas.
@@joeygsaudiochannel3972 Ur welcome & keep up doing what you love.
You are a legend Joe, really enjoyed hearing about your system.
In my own “fragile little mind”. Thanks Antoine for the compliment.
Superb shared experience, loved it, and yes the laws of electroacoustics somtimes don't confirm the soundexperience , but who cares, love this out of the box open minded approach, congratz
bart van ransbeeck Thanks Bart !
If you put them in a place where they can function as intended, preferably a room longer than wide, but still LARGE, with hard walls to reflect the sound (they are CALLED Direct Reflection speakers, and need a reflection surface to perform), you'll find out that they work really well, depending on what you like to listen to.
A buddy of mine got some when he got out of the army and had them setup in his dad's finished out garage. A good size room, and they were fine, but I wouldn't consider them impressive. He had them hooked up to one of those old Sansui monster recievers just for reference. Later, he put the same setup in the back of the work room where he did computer repair. A large place that was probably 100 feet long and at least 50 foot wide with flat hard walls at the back of the speakers. He put on some Jethro Tull which was a favorite of ours, and I was flabbergasted.
Fine audiophile experience? Probably not, but we weren't listening to Mozart. That setup seriously sounded great for rock and roll. Sounded great as loud as we could stand it, which was pretty loud, and sounded good at lower levels as well. I asked him why he had it there instead of at his house, and he explained that because they needed a large reflection surface, this was where they sounded best. Since he was almost always the only person in the place, he could listen to it the way it was intended to be listened to. He bought a smaller setup for his house.
So, 901 Bose speakers are probably not the greatest speakers in the world, but if you can get a deal on some with good driver surrounds, you have an appropriate place to put them, and an amplifier that can properly push them, you can do a lot worse. Especially if you like loud music. Trust me, the average room will NOT do them justice.
Regardless of what Bose (Or audiophile Bose haters) will tell you. In the right place, they can peel paint off the wall and sound great doing it! 🤯👀
Thanks man. I could not agree with you more. They ain't perfect but setup correctly. They do blow minds.
It’s all about the grind, I always wanted a pair of 901’s just could not afford them as a kid!!!! Great setup, You do You!!!!
Sounds like fun!!!
The 901's always are ! Thx Man !
That mini dsp must really do some magic
They are good tools to have , I room corrected my massive magnepan tympani I ...
And it makes a huge difference
Yeap I wouldn't mind hearing his set up,🧐
This is what I can say about the BOSE 901s speakers: This is my first loudspeakers I purchased in the 80s and I' still using it here in my home theater room as my main front speaker. This speakers are meant to be loud and need lots of power. But I do not listen to loud music anymore unless I am watching movies. They are pretty good on classical music and for my rock and soul and jazz oldies too. I really enjoyed this speakers until now. You just need to install this the right way. I hang mine from my ceiling and follow the measurement instructions. I powered this speaker to my Carver Power Amp 200 watts per channel 400 watts total. Not listening loud and the sound is so amazing to my ears. Maybe not for some people but to my listening ears, I am very happy until now. I recone all the drivers to a shop here in my area and now it looks brand new again. You will need a descent power amplifier with lots of wattage to run this speakers or else you will never enjoy the sound coming out from the drivers. I lower the volume of my preamp and still sound great to my ears. Different people have different hearing of sound on their ears. I loved my BOSE 901s and I will keep this as long as I'm still alive. Thank you for reading my comments on BOSE 901s
Been rocking pair of 301-V for a ling while... and been upgradeing everything else.. I enjoy the music they make.
OK. So here's what really think of Bose. I love their Headphones for what they do but not for how they sound. Same goes for their portable electronics with little Speaker Thingy's. I A NOT A FAN of the Series 3 - 6 901's or the 301, 501, 601, 701's, and the Acoustimass stuff is heavily overpriced since 1987. What those crappy little cubes and "Woofer Box" did was piss off the "good brand's" into thinking about Satellite/Subwoofer systems. Henry Kloss actually beat Bose to the Punch in 1986w hen he launched Cambridge Soundworks.
The Sealed Box 901's that I have require an Amplifier with at least 300WPC@8ohms. Jason, trash the 301's, find a decent set of 901 Series 1 or 2 without the original EQ, get a miniDSP ($100) Balanced or RCA without the Bose curve programmed (I'll email you my miniDSP file) for free. If you are on a budget please look at Thomas' Crown Amp Video (He should have called it the "Thomas Crown Affair")...LOL !
Please see Andrew Robinson's Video on the AM-5 catching 30% of the Speaker Market in 1988 !
th-cam.com/video/7zJQxY99kwo/w-d-xo.html
Always wanted 901 back in the 70’s but couldn’t afford them so I bought 601 and loved them just as much
I’d love to get my hands on a pair of 601s. Use real Tweeters/small midwoof”s, and a replace the big wooofers with real Subs and use DSP Electronic Crossovers. Not a fan of the 501s, 301s, 701s though.
Back in the late 70s my cousin owned a pair of Bose 901 I thought they sound very good very spacious room feeling sound Thomas keep up the good work The best system is the one that sounds good to you
True words. Thanks Larry.
I grew up with my Dad’s 901’s driven by two Phase Linear amps, and a Dual 1229 turntable. His system was “tuned” by an audio engineer and it sounded pretty damn good to me. He also had a Teac reel to reel and a Marantz tuner and pre-amp. Now I own B & W’s driven by a Denon receiver.
kudos to Joe. That's impressive. I got a pair of 901 series II for nothing because the owner said they were shot. And they were. But I reworked the speaker surrounds with a compound from KLH and tung oil for the cabinets themselves. Then I had the equalizer rebuilt using quality components. All for about the same price as a used equalizer off eBay today and the sound out of them is amazing. Listening to Andy Summers Green Chimneys album, his guitar is right there, Peter Erskine's drums are right there and Dave Carpenter's base is right there in the room. Bobby McFerrin, Sheila Chandra. Real voices. None of that "No highs, No lows" crap.
That's an awesome story @sPi71
Nice. Having the ablity to take something older and to bring out it's potenial is great. To do the tweaks that make a difference. Iv'e done some tweaks in a older system (cyrus 2 & 781's ) somewhere's in the 90's. Power cord, speaker wires and RCA cables. Just doing that was finding out that those compents has more life in them. Kudos
Thomas I love your program! Keep up the great work!
Glad you enjoy it!
Me too !
My Bose moment was listening to Santana’s Abraxas in a 4 ch configuration. Discreet tape playback. Wow. Those wind chimes on track one rotated all around the room. Very dark room in an altered state. I think of Bose very fondly.
In this hobby, passion is everything! Good on you mate!
Thank you Charles. Passion in this Hobby is $$$, time, and a VERY understanding Wife.
I love videos like these, when people are proven wrong of what they assume. I would love to listen to this setup. I also think they are attractive looking in their own right. I would not purchase these, just for the very fact on what it would take for them to sound their best. But kudos to this person for the effort he put into these!
Thanks Louis. There are Audiophile Rabbit Holes but this was an Audiophile Rat Hole ! I almost threw in the Towel several times. The PS Audio equipment was a large part in how good these Speakers sound. The miniDSP actually was mentioned to me by a retired Bose Engineer before I started messing around rebuilding the old Analog EQ's ($$$ & time). I wouldn't listen and after about $1k in Bose EQ's, expensive Audiophile Grade components, GND loops, the miniDSP was the route I should have taken 2 years ago. Audyssey sucks and so does there support. Which is a shame because you can replicate the same EQ curve in Audyssey $20 iOS but their software won't allow it. I emailed them and asked about sending me a patch that would allow the necessary 18dB boost below 100Hz and above 10kHz and they said NO ! You can hack your way in by opening the Audessey app as a raw text file and if you are clever/savvy enough, find the freq. vs. amplitude settings and change. But I'm not that clever.
Wound up selling the Marantz SR5011 but still have the woefully underpowered (for Sealed Box 901's) McIntosh MC50's.
Speaker placement is HUGE
If you want to hear overbloated Bass and Mushy high's, throw these things in a corner of any Vintage/Series. I did follow the Bose guidelines for distance between and behind the Speakers. Due to my Apartment's Layout, using the long walls away from any room boundaries worked the best. I mimicked my apartment setup at the Tucson show as well.
Agreed, it's ALL about the room.
It is very simple;
Speaker location determines which modes are excited.
Listener location determines which modes are heard.
Room dimensions determine the room's modes.
I can't stress that enough to my friends.
That is so awesome that you "fixed" the 901s . I always thought Bose had a great concept with the drivers on the back wall side of the speaker , but they lacked the implementation. I bet the sound is enveloping and you feel in the middle of the music. Great work and creativity.
Turning a Turd into a Treasure was not easy and I almost gave up a few times. Thanks for the kind words.
Hey Thomas can you give me a link to your friend on the 901 video. Loved his review and approach. My audiophile journey started with 901s(no applause needed😀). Still have original vi’s in new condition.
Not sure I understand, his channel is th-cam.com/channels/8wmH4nYeW3kcSktOOUFDuQ.htmlvideos
@@ThomasAndStereo Thx Man.
I was recently picking up a pair of Boston Acoustics t830s and while there I saw a set of Bose 301 series II sitting on the curb. The cabinets were water damaged but the drivers looked perfect and he told me to take them. I was cringing as I hooked them up but they sang. I mean they were syrupy sweet and outside an enclosed space had no bass but I can see why people who are casual occasional listeners would think they sounded good.
Joe obviously knows what he is doing so if he says the 901s sound good he isn't lying. Funny he mentioned PSB as my mains right now are the PSB New Stratus 👍
This man reminds us. Especially the snobby lovers of audio. that it’s not about the brand or the money. It comes down to the passion and the art of the love of sound and music. He invested not only a lot of money and time but knowledge, research and constant improvement. Which is what we all do isn’t it? Find new gear, new music, new ways to listen and improve the same music. New ways to improve either by upgrades or by tweeking positions or wires or stands or whatever we can. He’s just emulating his passion in something we all do!! I have 5 different setups. My wife says they all sound the same, but I will tell you. It all goes back to my first system which was a Bose lifestyle 35. Go figure! Bose seems to have played a big roll in many of us audiophiles past, in this expensive hobby.
Thanks Sebastian for the kind words. Not saying that my Audio Journey has ended with the 901's (I want Maggies LRS or .7 - one day), but I started out 35 years ago with a pair of High School Homebrews with a Radio Shack 12" Woofer (no crossover), and a Radio Shack "BiRadial" Horn Tweeter with a supplied single Capacitor with a inline "Tweeter Protector" in series.
listening to music what and how you like listening to is up to you so enjoy your bose piece man
Anyone who’s passionate about HiFi is ok in my book, and Joe is obviously one of em. HiFi is such a personal thing, and to each his own. He loves his system, and that’s all that matters.
Thank you for this vid, Joe, and thank you Thomas!
Thank you Nick for the nice comments. Thomas & I hatched this plan out a while back but kept it under wraps for over two months. He's a great person to get good TH-cam Video advise from. There were several edits and a Ton of footage and photos. He did an awesome job editing the footage and adding the voice overs. I really liked the intro and yes, I am as crazy as he says I am in Video ! LOL !
It’s amazing what the little minidsp can do. I bought the 2x4hd a few months ago to eq my subs. The difference is night and day.
The 6th channel is not used but one day, I’d like to incorporate with my Bose F1 Sub. The LPF in the miniDSP works wonders ! Because the 24/96 doesn’t come Balanced, I had to use 3 Balanced 2x4 24/48 boards for my rig. Does not mess up the audio coming out from the PS Audio DirectStream Sr. DAC.
Hi MrBonger88 I am learning about stereo gear as fast as I can, but the "big picture" of Joe's systems tweaks escaped me. I recently bought a pair of Series 1, the series I have wanted for 40 years! Finally got them. The EQ was dead and is in the shop. Hopefully, I'll get it back soon. Is Joe saying that all you need is a mini-DSP and that's it? Is that used in place of the EQ or in combination? Is also a part of the secret sauce have an odd number of speakers? I apologize for my ignorance, but would be grateful if you could summarize what he was saying. You successfully implemented the tweaks already, so I could follow youe lead. :-)
@@robertmarshall6638 That is correct Robert. I remember you posted something on the Bose FB pages. Lets make your life easy. Send me an email to rajugsw@gmail.com and I'll send you for free my Series 1 EQ profile for free of course for the miniDSP. Sound quality is way more detailed and accurate than the Factory Series 2 EQ.
What Amplifier/Integrated Amp or Preamplifier are you running ?
If it's RCA jacks only on the back, the Amazon link I provide early on in the comments will work. We can even do a remote desktop session via Skype or Zoom. I always enjoy helping new people to the Bose Experience. I want your Dream Speakers not to sound like a NIghtmare.
All the Best
Joe
When I was in college and living in a dormitory there was a guy by the name of Jim who owned a pair of these. He powered them with a 130 wpc Carver receiver and his system got just unbelievably loud. It was certainly too loud for a tiny dorm room. When it comes to Bose it may or may not be my preferred sound but in the end you only need to find something that YOU enjoy so do that and long as your are pleased with them treat your ears to music rather than chase down perfection according to what negative folks tell you about Bose. Now, go turn it up and rock out Joe!