Haha whats in knoxville?  What do you have up there?  And yes, to each his own and my ears are the only ones that matter.  But no one wants anything less than amazement when showing off their system..

Yeh. I think it would be fun to have a sound gallery with a pair of 901's.

clspruiell:

Haha whats in knoxville?  What do you have up there? 

Couple of these...  (be sure he brings his favorite speakers with him though....  we'd want to be sure & have a fair competition!

Thats beautiful.  I cant stop looking at that.  Where you people get Jubs from?  Are they all professional and some people make them into "home" speakers?  Did klipsch ever widely produce the jub for home?  Ive never seen them being sold or promoted by klipsch.  Never seen any literature on a home version of it. 

Where?  From Klipsch

How?  Send me $7,000 and I'll have them magically appear on your doorstep

They are 'professional' (but don't lose sight that they WERE originally designed to replace the Klipschorn in the home).  They're not widespread in the home environment...I think without looking, there are 13 or 14 people who now have them.  There is no promotion nor literature as a home version.  It's all assembled by Roy & his little elves and sold by some winks and nods.

I know you're several hours away but it's a serious invitation should you feel so compelled. (like it's a lot of work on my part??)

clspruiell:

I will agree that the 901 is by far Bose's best speaker

I would have to disagree with that... the old 601 series was probably their best sounding, and the old 501's were probably the best on the bottom-end. The old 301's did pretty good as bookshelf models also - but all 3 of these models required gobs of power, and sounded choked when pushed to high volume levels.  $.02 

Across the board though, nothing of theirs could ever really hang with just about any model of Klipsch over the years... not in clarity, accuracy, response curve, or volume, and I even had the misfortune of having to use some of their "pro" gear at a few gigs too (802s).

I do find their cannon a bit interesting, but I am also confident it could be done a lot better with some very nice Klipsch or JBL or EV drivers. 

I would like to report an anomaly. Although I am a Klipshorn fan through and through, probably would love the Jubes, have liked several of the big JBL systems, etc., AND have found most BOSE 901s, in most systems, to be muddy and inferior .....

Some VERY strange things can happen with the BOSE 901 ......

 Sometimes they are strange and beautiful.

From 1972 to 2003, I visited the best sounding BOSE 901 system in the world (I'll just bet) approximately once every 4 years. It was in Alphonso's Mercantile in Mendocino Village, CA, overlooking a finger of the sea (Alphonso seemed to be in ill health the last time I visited, so I don't know if he is still alive, or if his store is still there). What a store it is/was! He collected classical and contemporary orchestral music from all over the world, always had it playing, and presided over it all with the multi-volume Oxford Encyclopedia of Music and glass of wine. In his dumpy little "L" shaped store he had a pair of BOSE 901s c1972, and always supplied them with the best amplification, starting in 1972 with a Phase Linear 700 and a Marantz (one of Saul Marantz's!) pre-amp, on up through a 1,000 wt RMS McIntosh amp in 2003. He went through many sets of electronics and players, but never replaced his BOSE 901s. They survived the transition to CD in about 1984 very gracefully. Every time I went there I was struck by how great the sound was, and every time I returned home, with a large bunch of Lps or CDs that I had been introduced to by Alphonso, I failed to equal the sound at home! Often, while my Klipschorns would create greater and more exciting dynamic range, or a bit more detail and sheen in the brass, they never seemed to have the integrated, organic whole sound of Alphonso's 901s. Neither could the JBLs, or ADCs that preceded my Khorns.

Now, don't get me wrong, I've heard plenty of BOSE 901's that couldn't hold a candle to my Klipschorns, but Alphonso's always could do at least a bit better. Why did his BOSE system sound so much better than the other (maybe 7 or 8) BOSE 901 installations I've listened to carefully, for prolonged periods?

Speculation:

Over the years I've noticed that most 901's I've seen were installed farther out from the wall than Alphonso's are (his are, maybe, 1 foot out and there is a corner nearby). He always had at least 350 wpc RMS amplifier power -- none of the other installations did. He always played the music fairly loudly (real orchestra level), but so do I. The magic of the ocean lighting, the wine, and the general conviviality altered my perception of the music?

Alphonso played music no one else could find, including Mystery of Time during the hiatus when it was no longer on Lp, and not yet on CD. I hope he is alive, well, and raising his glass to the sea!

clspruiell:

Well i cant go to knoxville because of your extreme proximity to UT. However, if i decide to come up there and watch bama beat tenn this year then ill definitely let you know! haha. so who is roy? is he with klipsch? do they make the jubs to order? ive seen wood veneers etc.. so that was all by klipsch huh? how is the woofer section similar to the la scala or khorn?

Actually you have to learn the secret handshake and get the decoder ring to get this information. -This is largely a secret society that will advertise to get you interested, and then like skull and bones, will make you ask questions and frustrate you with obscure answers until you either lose interest or sell your soul to an unknown god to get a pair. 

hhaa yeah very true cut-throat. 

about the good sounding 901s above, i believe that atomosphere plays a HUGE roll in your perception of sound quality (note the word perception).  I think the 901s, that close to the wall, with that much power and a very high quality test disk can sound very interesting.  its so open and spacial that it actually sounds "good".  Its not that natural, not all that dynamic, but kinda fun and big sounding coming from something so small.  i have heard that bose uses enhanced cd's in their stores for demos also. 

Garyrc:

...Every time I went there I was struck by how great the sound was, and every time I returned home, with a large bunch of Lps or CDs that I had been introduced to by Alphonso, I failed to equal the sound at home! Often, while my Klipschorns would create greater and more exciting dynamic range, or a bit more detail and sheen in the brass, they never seemed to have the integrated, organic whole sound of Alphonso's 901s. Neither could the JBLs, or ADCs that preceded my Khorns...

One thing I've learned over the past 40 years or so of audio insanity is that there is, someplace in the world, a room and a system that will make any given pair of speakers sound magical and wonderful and beautiful, no matter how good/bad those same speakers might sound just about anyplace else.  The absolute best sounding system I have *ever* heard was a pair of Thiel CS 3.x (don't remember exact revision) at Take 5 Audio in New Haven in 1986.  They were in the perfect room, with perfect room treatments, with the perfect amplification (Think it was Levinson but might have been Audio Research).  To this day I have not heard the equal.  Aside from all the usual BS buzzwords, they just sounded so "real", so much like someone singing was there in... well, no, so much like I was someplace else, in a room where someone was singing or a band was playing... just incredible.  I bought a pair.  Got them home, set everything up, and they sounded *horrible*.  They would drill holes in your teeth if you got too close.  What a horrific disappointment.  Luckily, Take 5 took them back for full credit toward a used pair of the original series B&W 801f... which is a topic for another day...

I have no doubt that somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and little children shout;
That even Bose can play a tune, if the amplifier's stout.

Garyrc:

 

I would like to report an anomaly. Although I am a Klipshorn fan through and through, probably would love the Jubes, have liked several of the big JBL systems, etc., AND have found most BOSE 901s, in most systems, to be muddy and inferior .....

Some VERY strange things can happen with the BOSE 901 ......

 Sometimes they are strange and beautiful.

I had heard this Phenom as well!  - One thing that I have noticed with Bose 901's is the louder you crank them, the better they sound! - Especially if you have over 200 watts per channel - Preferably more a lot more!. When I was in my 20's, the classic mistake was choosing the louder system sounds better syndrome! - Most of us get over the 'loudness thing' - But I believe that is why the Bose 901 had such a following among truly 'amatuer audiophiles'. You could crank them up to concert levels and get a great clean room filling sound.  And the salesman that sold Bose 901s knew this - They would crank them up to ear splitting levels and leave the room. The deal was usually closed soon after as the people that remained in the room had their jaws dropping at a speaker so small producing incredible volume! When brought home to listen at 'reasonable' levels, that is where the disappointment came. - 901's only sound good loud - I mean really, really loud - Ear damaging levels! 

Before I discovered Klipsch speakers, when I was a little younger, I fell for the hype, advertisement, and salesmans overstating them as the best speakers on the planet saying you could never blow them they handle so much power, they are monster speakers and what a lucky guy I was to be able to afford them with their finan.terms.  I bought them with stands and greatly overpriced monster cable at the time (Monster Cable went bad in 8 years), they sounded good and I liked them but over the years I never listened to them much because I had another pair of speakers that I bought about six months later when I heard the Klipsch Forte speakers.  I never was completely happy with the Bose 901 sound for better sound!

All of my Klipsch speakers I have, the RF-3, RF-7, KLF-20, Klipschorns, Forte and some I used to own, have all been much greater in the presentation of sound and music enjoyment than I ever got out of my Bose 901 speakers.  Yes the Bose 901 sounded good in my setup but never to the degree of detail, resolution, excitement, and realism of the Klipsch speakers I have owned. 

I sold my Bose 901 speakers after many years of owning them realizing I would never use them much and I haven't missed them.  They are good for what small size they are but the Klipsch speakers really do it for me, and I never buy Bose anymore!  Just not the same clarity either but some LOVE BOSE and can't see anything else.  The foams also rot on the Bose 901 speakers over time and it's expensive to have the surrounds redone by a speaker repair place because it has 18 drivers (9 each speaker) to re-foam surrounds.  The much earlier Bose 901 (1960's) used cloth surrounds and those don't rot if well taken care of.

"One thing I've learned over the past 40 years or so of audio insanity is that there is, someplace in the world, a room and a system that will make any given pair of speakers sound magical and wonderful and beautiful, no matter how good/bad those same speakers might sound just about anyplace else."

This is so true.  And what if that someplace in the world happened to be your own listening room and the speaker happened to be the Bose 901?  There are those on this forum who have at first really disliked the sound of the Hertiage line, and then became 'broken-in'  (sorry, I'm of the view that people rather than components are what most often get broken in during 'break in') to their unique sound. 

It would be kind of neat, I think, if one's impression of the reproduction of music were devoid of associations with brands of capacitors, resistors, vacuum tubes, and everything else.  I admit there have been times in the past where I was a little shocked about what it was that I was actually listening to (meaning cost v.s. performance).  Based on what I had gone through back home to get the best sound I could, maybe even a little disappointed.

So. Bose blows, and I was once blown away.  Our listening area is probably not very well suited to the 901, but in the right place, with the right equipment, and in front of the person who happens to like them, they are probably just as good to that man/woman/girl/boy as the Klipschorns are to me.  You know, there may be Bose groups just like there are Klipsch tribes that invite friends over to laugh at the La Scala PA speaker compared to the 901. Or, maybe they don't worry about that at all and just enjoy what they have.  LOL!  Sorry, that's an amusing thought to me -- turning the table around.  I was a La Scala owner, by the way, and they sounded so good to me on the day I sold them that I almost regret it. They were easier to deal with at times than the Klipschorns.

Erik

"The foams also rot on the Bose 901 speakers over time and it's expensive to have the surrounds redone by a speaker repair place because it has 18 drivers (9 each speaker) to re-foam surrounds.  The much earlier Bose 901 (1960's) used cloth surrounds and those don't rot if well taken care of."

I looked, but I don't remember.  Do the new Bose drivers still use foam surrounds?  Our Lowthers (just the drivers cost about $500 more than the complete 901 system) use foam surrounds, and they are still in perfect shape after 10 years.

Erik