Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site alice.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!alice!ark From: ark@alice.UUCP (Andrew Koenig) Newsgroups: net.audio Subject: Why I own Bose 901's Message-ID: <3656@alice.UUCP> Date: Fri, 26-Apr-85 10:58:36 EST Article-I.D.: alice.3656 Posted: Fri Apr 26 10:58:36 1985 Date-Received: Sat, 27-Apr-85 05:18:14 EST Organization: Bell Labs, Murray Hill Lines: 75 Apparently, I buy loudspeakers for different reasons than some people. For instance, in a recent posting Herb Chong says he's looking for $3,000 speakers because he hasn't heard any $1500 speakers he really likes (these are Canadian dollars). While it may well be true that I might have been able to find speakers I liked better than the 901's for $3000, or even $1500, I paid less than $900 for the 901's, including the equalizer (well, the stands drove the price a little above $900) so I don't think the comparison is quite accurate. (at the time, the list price for 901's was $1400, and I think it's still $1400, so I don't think the selling price has changed much) In any event, even if I had found speakers I liked better for $600 more, it is very hard for me to imagine anything that would be so much better that I wouldn't rather spend the extra $600 on records or CDs! (This is not a joke. I'm now edging up on 14 shelf feet of records and am well past 100 CDs) That's what I mean when I say I seem to have different criteria from most people. Here are my speaker criteria: 1. The manufacturer must be likely to remain around for a long time. If a driver disintigrates ten years from now, I want to be able to replace it. 2. The speakers must be reliable and generally unfussy. Even though I can replace a driver if it breaks, I would rather not have to. 3. They must not dominate the living room. Being able to see over them out a window is a definite asset. 4. They must not be critical about room placement. I do not want to have to remodel every house I buy to make a place that they can live. 5. They must be highly cat-resistant. 6. They must sound good. These criteria are NOT listed in order of importance -- they are ALL important and I didn't want to buy anything that didn't meet all six. Out of these six criteria, the 901s clearly meet 1 through 5. Some may quibble about (4), but while finding a wall for them to reflect from is a bit of a pain, it is more than compensated for by the fact that people can sit much closer to them than to most other speakers without getting their ears blown off. (yes, I know this is far from the best place to sit, but at a crowded party SOMEONE's got to sit there) Now, item 6 is a matter of taste. De gustibus non disputandum. However, if I shut my eyes while listening to any decent classical recording, I have no difficulty imagining that I am seated in a concert hall instead of in my living room. Some golden ear is surely going to point out that if I had just bought Superframmis XYZ speakers, for the price of a good used airplane, I would be able to imagine that I was sitting on the stage. Well, I don't normally use a microscope to look at photographs, either, though I won't fault those who take to that pastime. A few weeks ago, I sat down at the harpsichord and started playing a movement from a Bach partita. When I made my first mistake, Barb came running in from the other room with a look of alarm on her face. She was much relieved when she saw me at the harpsichord: she had thought I was playing a CD and something had gone wrong. That's good enough for me.