What if... ???

[Ajani]

So I had a bit too much to drink and started wondering:

What if Harmon Kardon bought Bose?

I'd love to see what the Speaker designers at Revel could do with the Bose 901s... I think it would be intriguing to see if they could take the same basic approach (sound bouncing off the walls and equalization) but use Revel's top of the line facilities and experience with Room Equalization to really turn the 901 into something amazing...

Anyway, what other cracked out audio scenarios would you like to see happen???

[audio amateur]

If that was to happen, it would be the other way around...

[Ajani]

If that was to happen, it would be the other way around...

[Auricauricle]

Sorry, they never promised you a Kardon Hose....

[audio amateur]

Actually given Harman owns several companies they may acutally be bigger than Bose.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

So I had a bit too much to drink and started wondering:

What if Harmon Kardon bought Bose?

I'd love to see what the Speaker designers at Revel could do with the Bose 901s... I think it would be intriguing to see if they could take the same basic approach (sound bouncing off the walls and equalization) but use Revel's top of the line facilities and experience with Room Equalization to really turn the 901 into something amazing...

Anyway, what other cracked out audio scenarios would you like to see happen???

I think the speaker designers would throw the 901 design in the trash and start from scratch. There is nothing better than can be done with it.

Room equalization on that speaker would take as much computing power as a super computer. Besides, who would want a speaker that turns everything into a gigantic sonic wash, with little to no ability to perceive an accurate soundstage? Who would want a speaker that excites a rooms modes and nodes fully without even being located near a corner?

[Ajani]

I think the speaker designers would throw the 901 design in the trash and start from scratch. There is nothing better than can be done with it.

Quite possibly... But I'm just curious if a talented team of speaker designers could do anything with the 901 (other than to toss it in the trash)...

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Quite possibly... But I'm just curious if a talented team of speaker designers could do anything with the 901 (other than to toss it in the trash)...

Elimate all of the rearward facing drivers, reshape the cabinet, use a conventional two or three way design, and install a tweeter. All this would change the fundamental design and goal of the speaker which still essentially trashes the original design. Based on the measurements of the speakers that I have personally done, this would be the only way to bring this speaker into the realm of accuracy, and a reasonably flat response.

[harley .guy07]

Sir Terrence you read my mind with what you have said on this one. The Bose 901 was basically a experiment in reflected sound that made a company a bunch of money in the 70's and 80's because the design was different and some people think different is cool. With the variables that exist room to room in today's households for a company to use reflected sound off of walls that are different in every room as their main output of their speakers and expect a cheap made bass and treble control that they call an equalizer to fix these variables is crazy at best. My main point is that this design has been measured in different rooms and has been proven to be a design that has had its day and needs to retire itself into audio history and let the up to date much better designs prove the weaknesses of designs from the past.

[Ajani]

Elimate all of the rearward facing drivers, reshape the cabinet, use a conventional two or three way design, and install a tweeter. All this would change the fundamental design and goal of the speaker which still essentially trashes the original design. Based on the measurements of the speakers that I have personally done, this would be the only way to bring this speaker into the realm of accuracy, and a reasonably flat response.

There probably is no way to bring the 901 towards Audiophile goals, without fundamentally altering/dumping the original design....

Though I don't like the sound of the 901, I find the concept intriguing (from a non-audiophile perspective)... Bose has aimed to produce large sound from very small speakers, which is very appealing to the masses... But has never been a priority among audiophiles... since if an audiophile wants bigger sound, he'll just buy a bigger speaker...