Bose 901 compatible recievers ? - Page 2

Folks the official document from Bose

Just a quick idea. If your reciever has front preouts, buy a used 2 channel amp for about $200 or so and just run the EQ in-between the amp and the receiver. This way you can also run full 5.1-7.1 digital surround and use your analog EQ.

Also, if I remember correctly, the 901s are rated at 400+ watts, so it doesn't hurt to add more power. lol
Edited by UNICRON-WMD - 6/9/12 at 8:05am

I just bought Bose 901 series IV speakers with Equalizer
My existing system: Yamaha RX-V1800 (with 7.2 speakers heavily already-loaded), got 8 pre-outs jacks and zone2/zone3 allow to connect to another external amplifier.

I also got a Pioneer 120w / channel av receiver but NO pre amp features (Main-In and Pre-Out) which is spare, unused trown around in my garage.
Question:
Can i use this spare Pioneer receiver as a 2nd amp to connect the Bose 901 speakers, and how to cabling / connecting the EQ between the Yamaha and the Pioneer, and also how to cabling / connecting 2 receivers Yamaha vs Pioneer ?

Thank UNICRON-WMD and whoever concerns

While we're on the topic of receivers with "main in" jacks, here's a question: Some of them have what I'd call "full" RCA cables as jumpers, while others (like my dad's Carver 900) have only a bent metal rod that connects the centers of the RCA jacks. Why is this? Is there some internal connection that is made automatically when the center are connected?

I think that you would want to connect the Yamaha's front LR preouts to the Bose EQ's amp in, then the EQ's amp out to any source (other than phono) on the 2-channel amp, then speaker outs from the 2-channel to the 901s. The two potential issues that I see are that (1) adjusting the Yamaha's volume would adjust the Bose volume but it might not be proportionate to the rest of the system, and (2) the Yamaha might not work without front speakers connected. Number (2) might not be true in your case--I recall reading that my Yamaha RX-v473 won't work without front speakers connected, but hopefully that isn't true of a better amp like yours with pre outs.

You could also connect the Yamaha's tape monitor out to the Bose EQ, which would result in the Bose volume being controlled independently by the second receiver. However, the Yamaha might send more than just the front LR via that--it might mix all channels. So you'd be getting all three L and R channels from the fronts which you don't want. Or it might not send anything, if you're using a digital signal. You'll have to experiment.

Thanks for helping me out.
My Yamaha RX-V1800 got no Tape Monitor. Even if it has i also don't want to use it because i heard that if using Tape Monitor will be tied down to all analog which is nobody wants it in true HDDTS / 3D movies.

Currently my existing speakers connection to Yammy:
- Front: bi-wired Boston RV40 speakers with the Boston VR2000 Subwoofer
- Surrounds: Bose acoustima 15 with 5 cubic + its sub

I have my Bose 901 VI series speakers running my home system. My set up is Pioneer Elite SC-67 with a Monster 5150 amp. I run the Bose EQ thru the SC-67 with the speakers "hooked" up to the amp. My center is a Bose VC-10 with my Surround L/R both Bose 601's. My "back" or "rear" L/R are Bose 191 in walls. I have a Velodyne Sub. DVD player is the Denon 5813 and I use a 160 GB Playstation for Bluray.

I have a 60 inch JVC LED that finishes up the set up. The 901's are NOT some ancient sounding system as everyone states. I am in the position to purchase pretty much any front speaker system I wish, but I choose to stay with the 901 speaker system because...

1. They capture some of the best sounding jazz recordings I have ever heard!
2. I enjoy SACD and Hi-Def music formats and the 901's reproduce the sound image the best to me.
3. You can't beat "old school" technology when you crank the volume playing Peter Frampton "Baby I Love Your Way" and those 901's rock the entire house!!! New style speaker kind of reach a certain peak and "flatten out." Now before you serious audiophiles jump all over me, I'm a child of the 70's who loves me some Disco, soft rock and smooth jazz, so I'm not really up on all the techno data that comes with making a real argument about how well new speakers perform. I just know how 901's make my listening pleasure a excellent choice.
4. I've had my "new" set of 901's since 2001 and when they start to wear, I will contact Bose and ask for a replacement set, and a LIVE customer rep will thank me for choosing their product, ask me to box my 901's up (they pay for shipping) and replace them for about 400.00!!!! I know this procedure well because that's what I did with my 1984 pair of 901's that my Dad gave to me when I graduated from college. My Dad got his first pair in 1969, keep them until 1982 (he passed away) where my brother took them and still has them. He uses them in the traditional fashion stereo only with a Harman Kardon stereo receiver.

Folks bash the 901 speakers and why I don't know. 90% have never heard the speakers in a real home set up but jump on the band wagon any time they can, and you know what, that's fine. But I know they have brought my family great musical joy for over 40 years, and I'm not sure there are too many speaker company's that can make the same claim...

Ben

I heard them in both a home and in a shop back in the day. Comparing them to the AR-9s at the time revealed them to be poor sounding in comparison. Since then Bose has consistently used poor quality components in their speakers. You will find a few, very few, fans of them but audiophiles generally dismiss Bose as poor in quality and sound.

I heard some poor-sounding 901s back in the day, too, but generally due to lack of proper setup. The use of active equalization was poorly understood at the time (the 901 may have been the only example), and equally misunderstood was the importance of placement and the 901's dependence on its relationship with room boundaries to meet its design goals. Store owners understood this no better than many owners.

Set up properly, with sufficient power, in the right room, the 901 could provide a vivid, three-dimensional, realistic soundstage that sounded fantastic particularly with small-ensemble acoustic music and recorded-live orchestral tracks. A quality of sound that I never really heard again consistently until the advent of discrete multichannel on SACD and DVD-A.

Not for everyone, as I said before, and any system that works well only for some music is by definition inherently flawed.

But not to be lumped in with Bose's later stuff. It was a quality product backed by original and groundbreaking research. In fact, I think for some people the resentment of the Bose brand is at least in part due to what seemed like a betrayal of the promise of Amar Bose's original goals, which might have led to great things, given that the 901 was only the first design.
Edited by rdclark - 9/23/12 at 10:57am

Basic weakness of the 901s is low frequency bass..
A 5" driver even with multiple ones & EQ is not able to move the air like a larger driver..
And when adding the low EQ boost the distortion goes increases significantly..
This is very audible when attempting to deliver low frequencies <100Hz....
Some may debate about this.
But the laws of physics haven't changed for 100 years...

Just my $0.02...

These people complaining that the Bose 901's aren't any good either have never heard them set up properly, have a tin ear, or they prefer exaggerated bass such as that in rap "music". These speakers, when powered with a powerful enough amplifier, are unparalleled and were the industry standard for many years. The biggest problem with them is the amount of floor space and back wall that you need for them to perform to their best. Buy a Yamaha 2090 on ebay for $100 if you want a powerful amp - complete with a dedicated eq loop - and you will have an awesome home theater. You probably will want to add a subwoofer. If you are looking for HDMI, then this will not cut it for you.

What he said

Did you just dig up an old thread, make claims that 99% of AVS users will disagree with, and then agree with yourself?

I've had two pairs of 901's: Series IV's in the 70's and Series VI's today and I can assure you, Bose 901's have plenty of deep, full, warm bass. So while I would agree that the laws of physics have not changed, I would suggest that perhaps Amar Bose has a better understanding of them than you or I.

Ben,
Where do you have the EQ connected?
I have a SC-65 with a pair of 901 VI
Can you please forward a diagram.
Thanks,
Anders