[LAMKLM]

I have an old Dolby ProLogic surround system I would like to upgrade to use with my HD and Blu Ray. The system I have consists of Bose 901 (please hold the bashing) front L&R channel, Polk center channel and small Bose (101?) rear channels. My tuner is a Yamaha RX-V870 - which does not support a subwoofer but provides the pre-in and pre-out for the Bose 901 equalizer. All bought in 1994 when this new fad called home theater wasn't a big priority for me. For budget reasons I would like to re-use my existing speakers. I am having a hard time finding a surround receiver with the pre-out and pre-in but there seems to be some available with a pre-out only. I'm thinking I could take the pre-out from a new receiver, go to the equalizer and then go from the equalizer to the pre-in on my old receiver to drive the Bose 901 front channels. The rest of the system, including a new sub would be driven by the new receiver (Yamaha RX-V1065?). Any body see any reason why this might not work? Is the volume control between the pre-out and pre-in? If so, I can see there could be problems keeping the volume in the front channels at the right level.

 

[SoundChex]



Quote:
Originally Posted by LAMKLM /forum/post/16971631


I have an old Dolby ProLogic surround system I would like to upgrade to use with my HD and Blu Ray. The system I have consists of Bose 901 (please hold the bashing) front L&R channel, Polk center channel and small Bose (101?) rear channels. My tuner is a Yamaha RX-V870 - which does not support a subwoofer but provides the pre-in and pre-out for the Bose 901 equalizer. All bought in 1994 when this new fad called home theater wasn't a big priority for me. For budget reasons I would like to re-use my existing speakers. I am having a hard time finding a surround receiver with the pre-out and pre-in but there seems to be some available with a pre-out only. I'm thinking I could take the pre-out from a new receiver, go to the equalizer and then go from the equalizer to the pre-in on my old receiver to drive the Bose 901 front channels. The rest of the system, including a new sub would be driven by the new receiver (Yamaha RX-V1065?). Any body see any reason why this might not work? Is the volume control between the pre-out and pre-in? If so, I can see there could be problems keeping the volume in the front channels at the right level.

You should be fine; I did something similar [to reuse the main power amps from my old receiver to drive the surrounds from a new preamp.] Note that if you are not intending to use the front L+R power amps from your new [maybe 1065] receiver, you might consider something with less power than the 1065; the 765 or even the 665 should be able to drive a center channel plus surrounds/presence speakers, if not also asked to drive the L+R main amps.

 

[MichaelJHuman]

Pre outs are post volume control. They have to be, or they would not work properly with external amps.


I assume your scheme will work fine.

 

[LAMKLM]

See Yamaha's reply:
Larry,

It would be possible but you would run into volume control issues. The receivers would

either have the same codes or different ones. Both hard to control. The best way would

be a 2 channel amp that lets the 1065 be the volume control.


I don't understand what "Codes" he is talking about. I figured the amplification would be analog.

Any comments?

 

[ChrisWiggles]

He's saying that if you have two yamaha receivers and you're shooting IR volume commands at one and they use the same volume commands, they will both change volume. You need the second one driving the bose to stay at a fixed volume always. You can test this easily enough when you get your new receiver to see if the new remote changes the volume on the old receiver. If it does, just tape over the IR receiver on the old unit so it can't see any of your IR commands if the receiver is exposed, etc.

 

[MichaelJHuman]

That's what I think. You can cover the IR window on the receiver being used as an amp if needed.

 

[LAMKLM]

Thanks. Why didn't he just say what he was referring to?! I had tunnel vision thinking about how these 2 amplifiers are going to work with each other with the audio signals. Best Buy has a return policy - I think I'll buy a reciever, hook it and see how it works - I've kicked this around enough.

 

[mborner]



Quote:
Originally Posted by LAMKLM /forum/post/16971631


I have an old Dolby ProLogic surround system I would like to upgrade to use with my HD and Blu Ray. The system I have consists of Bose 901 (please hold the bashing) front L&R channel, Polk center channel and small Bose (101?) rear channels. My tuner is a Yamaha RX-V870 - which does not support a subwoofer but provides the pre-in and pre-out for the Bose 901 equalizer. All bought in 1994 when this new fad called home theater wasn't a big priority for me. For budget reasons I would like to re-use my existing speakers. I am having a hard time finding a surround receiver with the pre-out and pre-in but there seems to be some available with a pre-out only. I'm thinking I could take the pre-out from a new receiver, go to the equalizer and then go from the equalizer to the pre-in on my old receiver to drive the Bose 901 front channels. The rest of the system, including a new sub would be driven by the new receiver (Yamaha RX-V1065?). Any body see any reason why this might not work? Is the volume control between the pre-out and pre-in? If so, I can see there could be problems keeping the volume in the front channels at the right level.

No bashing, here. Most people here hate Bose, but also understand that the 901 was one of the best speakers they ever made.

 

[SeeHfour5]

I have a similar issue to the OP. My dad has a pair of Bose 901's (of course with the required sound processor) connected to a Yamaha RX-V2092 receiver that he bought around 12-13 years ago. I am currently in the process of attempting to upgrade his home theater/surround sound system. The 901's are currently setup as the front L&R speakers. My father would like to upgrade our current receiver to a Yamaha RX-V3900, unfortunately, the newer Yamaha receiver does not have the necessary pre-in/pre-out connections to properly hook up the Bose sound processor. I am holding a Yamaha RX-V1900 for my uncle which, after some testing, showed the built-in DSP is able to properly process the audio for the 901 speakers. They sound crisp and show quite a bit of range (played scenes 20-23 of The Dark Knight on BD-DVD). The problem is, putting the system in stereo mode (which disables the DSP) reduces the speakers to utter mediocrity (my logitech Z5500's sound cleaner). There are "enhancements" and DTS/CSII/Dolby decoders that can be enabled that help, but these decoders do little to bring these monster speakers to their known glory. While I am not exactly a fan of Bose's products, I do know how good these speakers sound and this does not do them justice. Anyone know of any good setups that can properly utilize these behemoths preferably without replacing the speakers?

 

[ChrisWiggles]



Quote:
Originally Posted by SeeHfour5 /forum/post/17019439


I have a similar issue to the OP. My dad has a pair of Bose 901's (of course with the required sound processor) connected to a Yamaha RX-V2092 receiver that he bought around 12-13 years ago. I am currently in the process of attempting to upgrade his home theater/surround sound system. The 901's are currently setup as the front L&R speakers. My father would like to upgrade our current receiver to a Yamaha RX-V3900, unfortunately, the newer Yamaha receiver does not have the necessary pre-in/pre-out connections to properly hook up the Bose sound processor. I am holding a Yamaha RX-V1900 for my uncle which, after some testing, showed the built-in DSP is able to properly process the audio for the 901 speakers. They sound crisp and show quite a bit of range (played scenes 20-23 of The Dark Knight on BD-DVD). The problem is, putting the system in stereo mode (which disables the DSP) reduces the speakers to utter mediocrity (my logitech Z5500's sound cleaner). There are "enhancements" and DTS/CSII/Dolby decoders that can be enabled that help, but these decoders do little to bring these monster speakers to their known glory. While I am not exactly a fan of Bose's products, I do know how good these speakers sound and this does not do them justice. Anyone know of any good setups that can properly utilize these behemoths preferably without replacing the speakers?

Just do the same thing the OP is trying to do, keep using the old receiver as the amplifier, and use the new receiver as the processor and perhaps the amp for the other speakers as needed.


Better yet, sell the 901s and buy some real speakers, then you don't have this problem.

 

[SeeHfour5]



Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisWiggles /forum/post/17020067


Just do the same thing the OP is trying to do, keep using the old receiver as the amplifier, and use the new receiver as the processor and perhaps the amp for the other speakers as needed.


Better yet, sell the 901s and buy some real speakers, then you don't have this problem.

Personally, I would prefer my father sell the 901s, seeing as Bose engineered a flaw into the speakers 40 years ago that they have yet to fix/eliminate. Especially knowing that the companies who make the receivers are not going to cater to 1% of the market. Bose sounds like the Apple of the audio circuit.


Unfortunately, I do not believe the solution for the OP is going to cut it for me. I do not see the point in keeping 2 receivers in the same place just to drive 2 speakers. Not to mention that is a sort of band-aid fix. It is not a proper solution (I don't believe in doing things half-arsed)... Thanks for the input though. Any other ideas, thoughts?

 

[LAMKLM]

I finally hooked up a Yamaha RX-V665 pre-outs to the Bose equalizer then to my old Yamaha RX-V870 pre-ins. It works the way I wanted. The volume control is the same remote code for both tuners so I'll have to cover the 870 IR window with tape. I'm getting very good sound but I don't think it is as good as straight through the RX-V870 was - but I'm still tinkering. I have no doubt the surround will be better because of the new decoding technology and the ability to add a subwoofer. I might rig up a way to switch back easily if I just want to listen to music. This should turn out to be a very economical way to get a good sounding surround system.

 

[infoman7]

re: Bose 901 Speakers


There are just too many incorrect statements about Bose 901 or 901s. The Bose 901 Speakers are fantastic speakers. True there are many other good speakers too. Yes, the Bose 901s do require a special EQ. The EQ is not hard to hook up but does require a Pre-In/Out or a Tape Monitor. Most older recerivers have these but many newer ones do not. The best newer ones do and you can find newer receivers that have them.


All models of the Bose 901s are good but MY personal preference is the 901 Series II or the 901 Series I (Series 2 or Series 1). These speakers do not require maintenance because they have cloth surrounds instead of foam.


There is a hugh Myth about the power needed for Bose 901s. You do need power but the amount of power needed is not as much as many claim. I have run my Series 1 and 2s (which require the MOSt power) ... I have run them using a Marantz 2285 2285b or 70 Kenwood 85 wpc receivers and they will flat out crank. Yes the more power the better but with my Marantz 2285 I can get them to Scream loud enought to shake the walls and feel the music. Near deafining sound volume. They sound great. Even a 75 wpc receiver can make them sound good but at 85 wpc they will scream. Yes, if you go over 120 WPC you can really get them loud. As for the highs and lows, they sound just great for most music. I also use them for TV and Movies and you really don't need sound sound if you are using the BOSE 901s. You if you want to get is exact to movie theatre then you need 7.1 etc... But my two Bose 901 make moovies sounds GREAT and really don't want all those little speakers of wall speakers you can't take when you move. The new FOOL your EARS systems are cool but you can't feel the music like you can with the 901s. So I hope this has answered some questions. There are always Bose bashers out there and they are those that say you MUSt have 250 wpc of power But I have found they sound great with a vintage 85 wpc receiver and will cause you to need a hearing aid if you go to a 185 wpc receiver. As for a receiver to go with the 901s ... Harmon kardon makes one with tape monitor ... the new BIG receivers usually have pre-out/in. For Vintage Marantz, Kenwood, Poineer ... is FINE.


ENJOY

 

[LAMKLM]

I have thoroughly enjoyed my 901's. There seems to be a lot of Bose bashers. I agree they are expensive but the sound is great. I have series 6 901's. I bought them in 1994. What maintenance is required? I think they still sound fine.