Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Bose 901 comparaison

Anyone out there able to give an honest opinion (!) on a comparaison between Axiom's (top of the line) M80s and the Bose 901s? Thanks.

You must be joking. There is no comparison.

The Bose 901s are built with the idea that reflected sound is just as important (or more so) than direct sound. This may be true in real, unrecorded, unamplified life, but it is completely bass-ackwards when it comes to speaker design. While they may sound appealing the Bose 901s are very inaccurate speakers with poor bass response. Any direct comparison between the two would put the Bose speakers to shame.

Peter, ever owned a pair?

I have had a few 901's in my day and although they are not my thing, they are nowhere near as bad as you make them sound.

I realize they are the best speaker Bose has ever made. I have not owned a pair, but I have heard them. I didn't say they sounded like a**. I said if yoyu were to play the M80s and the 901s side by side, there'd be no comparison.

I have owned a set of Bose 901s now I have a set of M80s. While the 901s are not as bad as most people think they are not in the same league as the Axiom M80s. When I moved to my present house I had one heck of a time trying to get the 901s into proper placement. While at the other house it was no big task, here it was just short of impossible. The 901s do not have any lows to speak of; I was running a MK sub to support the low end of the system. That was the thing I noticed when I first acquired them from a friend of mine. Secondly they do not have the extension in the upper frequencies the Axioms do. One other note, the 901s were as power hungry as any speaker I have ever seen. You really had to drive them with a fairly powerful amp.

Don't get me wrong here, I lived with the 901s for nearly ten years and was quite happy with them and the MK sub. It's when you switch to a different speaker that does so much so well that you will hear the shortcomings of the Bose. I ended up giving them away to a friend of mine. He is still using them today and is very happy with them. He has mentioned to me that one day he would like to get a set of speakers that have the detail and clarity of my M80s

In reply to:

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I realize they are the best speaker Bose has ever made.

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Honestly I have always thought that the 10.2 floorstanders were the best they made. Problem is they didn't make them for very long and most people have never seen them. I have owned two pairs of 10.2's and although not a great speaker by the standards of today, they were a great party speaker!

Would 901s work well as side surrounds?

The problem with using the 901s in an h/t configuration is their need to use the 901 equalizer. That has to be installed in the tape loop or in between an amp and preamp. I don't see how it could work.

We had a pair of Bose 901's in our little quonset hut bar/movie room way back in my Army (that would be U.S. of A. and very proud, BTW) days that I thought sounded mighty darn fine. Not the fine wine taste like 'some' folks maybe, but genuine fine for music, movies and relaxation for a bunch of guys in a foreign land doing our volunteered job.

Some things never change ... and thank God, neither have I.

Thanks everyone for your opinions. I've read a lot of experiences from people, but can anyone say anything about sound quality? Some of the posts have been informative, but I'm still trying to clarify the sound picture in my mind.......