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Bose 901: Review

Posted to Speakers 2008-06-01

The Bose 901 freestanding speakers have been the flagship speaker system for Bose for years. They (along with many other Bose products) are built with Direct/ Reflecting speaker technology which uses individual speaker drivers configured to bounce or reflect the sound around your room with the idea to provide you with a life-like performance.

If you are trying to find out anything from the Bose website, don't bother. Bose has a long tradition of keeping people in the dark about their products. Not a surprise from a company that tries to sell the sizzle as the McDonalds of speakers. While most other manufacturers use sophisticated speaker compositions and materials, Bose still uses paper drivers on most models (don't live anywhere where the air is humid!).

Rating:

2.4 out of 5

Features

The Bose 901 freestanding speakers feature an Acoustic Matrix enclosure, allowing you to hear low frequencies clearly while significantly reducing chamber noise. The free standing active equalizer that comes with the speaker will help balance the sound from the speakers (note that you need to use the equalizer because they don't sound balanced without it).

Performance

The Bose 901 speaker has been on the market since 1968. Even though they boast of 350 enhancements over the years, the structure is mostly the same. The speakers can handle an amplifier of 10 to 150 watts. While the Stereo Everywhere concept tends to produce 'stereo nowhere', it does add a somewhat live sound to your music (more suited to classical or light jazz music using natural instruments). The problem with Stereo Everywhere is that all the work the musicians and sound engineers put in to the mastering is greatly reduced. It may make you feel like you are in the middle of the sound, but what if that wasn't the intention of the recording? More accurate imaging from speakers is vastly superior.

Ergonomics

The speakers come in two colors walnut and black ash and weigh 35 pounds each (the equalizer weighs 3.25 pounds). They are rectangular (wide with a wedge shape on the back where the bass ports are) and are attached to a pedestal style stand. The speakers are equipped with nine voice coil drivers in each speaker.

Summary

If you like classical or jazz, the 901 freestanding speakers will provide a unique sound. Like the Bose Acoustimass lifestyle speakers (cubes), the 901 uses stereo imaging to attempt to have the sound bounce around the room. These speakers (along with many Bose speakers) would not make effective home theater or surround speakers as they would mess up the specific sounds that are supposed to occur in a specific place.

Pros

Direct/ Reflecting
StereoEverywhere
active equalizer

Cons

paper drivers
hasn't changed much in years