rfg@hound.UUCP (R.GRANTGES) (10/14/85)
[]
Bose PA speakers don't look much like the 901's. They have two models:
the 402, which looks sort of like a column speaker 8"wide x 23" tall,
and the 802, which maybe looks like the <back side> of a 901 with two
large cylindrical ports in the middle of each half of the front side
whick look sort of like eyes, or a stereo camera, or jet engine exhausts.
You sure it was Bose?
Could it have been positioned backwards?
If it was a Bose 802 and it sounded awful, I can think of several possibilit-
ies - other than outright malfunction:
1) Not driven by Bose amps
a. Not using Bose spec equalizer .
b. and or overdriven (not so easy to do - would take over 100 watts
(Bose says 240)) More likely you were listening to a light amp
itself being overdriven)
2) Driven by Bose amps with equalizer.
a. Horribly overdriven on the amp input?
b. Can't think of anything else.
Like I said before, the ones I have heard were excellent. A might "sweet",
perhaps, whatever that means, it just comes to mind when I hear them.
They are really exceptional on voice and acoustic instruments, like
small bands. My daughter recently bought one for the Illinois
Community College where she is Audio-Visual Person. They use it mostly
in what was a very problem room and everyone says its great.
Like someone said,"It isn't what I don't know that's the problem, its
what I <do> know that isn't so."
--
"It's the thought, if any, that counts!" Dick Grantges hound!rfgdjb@riccb.UUCP (Dave J. Burris ) (10/14/85)
> If it was a Bose 802 and it sounded awful, I can think of several possibilit- > ies - other than outright malfunction: > 1) Not driven by Bose amps > a. Not using Bose spec equalizer . > b. and or overdriven (not so easy to do - would take over 100 watts > (Bose says 240)) More likely you were listening to a light amp > itself being overdriven) > 2) Driven by Bose amps with equalizer. > a. Horribly overdriven on the amp input? > b. Can't think of anything else. > > Like I said before, the ones I have heard were excellent. A might "sweet", > perhaps, whatever that means, it just comes to mind when I hear them. > They are really exceptional on voice and acoustic instruments, like > small bands. My daughter recently bought one for the Illinois > Community College where she is Audio-Visual Person. They use it mostly > in what was a very problem room and everyone says its great. > > > "It's the thought, if any, that counts!" Dick Grantges hound!rfg I really wanted to stay out of this Bose discussion but I can no longer resist. The bose P.A. speakers are glorified to even be used for P.A. speakers for anything other than speech. Their frequency range is far from adequate to satisfy my conscience if I am to charge an admittance. They roll off drastically on both ends of the frequency spectrum. Their dispersion characteristics and the Bose crossover combination create extreme inefficiency which requires an impractical amount of power for all but the smallest of rooms. They are "peaky" within their frequency range, particularly in the mid-bass ( 200-500 Hz. ) range. So what about their advantages? Giving credit where credit is due they do have some advantages (none that I would consider in the audio quality). Some advantages are: 1. They are small and relatively lightweight allowing those with limited transportation to transport them easily. 2. Given enough power they will get extremely loud. 3. Their response characteristics all but eliminate feedback problems in most small room environments, especially high frequency feedback. 4. Their dispersion characteristics allow a wide coverage at the expense of efficiency allowing two of them do reasonably well covering small spaces. The limitations of the Bose speakers can easily be demonstated in both listening and testing but for someone who needs loud reproduction at a minimal cost and maximum portability the Bose may be a workable compromise. -- Dave Burris ..!ihnp4!ihopa!riccb!djb Rockwell Switching Systems, Downers Grove, Il.
seifert@hammer.UUCP (Snoopy) (10/16/85)
In article <1408@hound.UUCP> rfg@hound.UUCP (R.GRANTGES) writes: >[] >Bose PA speakers don't look much like the 901's. They have two models: >the 402, which looks sort of like a column speaker 8"wide x 23" tall, >and the 802, which maybe looks like the <back side> of a 901 with two >large cylindrical ports in the middle of each half of the front side >whick look sort of like eyes, or a stereo camera, or jet engine exhausts. > >You sure it was Bose? Yes it was Bose, they had their name plastered all over Navy Pier as the official speaker of Chicagofest. (Along with Jane, natch) They looked like 901s backwards, with to two holes, thus they were presumable the 802s. >Could it have been positioned backwards? There's an idea! They probably would have sounded better that way! >If it was a Bose 802 and it sounded awful, I can think of several possibilit- >ies - other than outright malfunction: >1) Not driven by Bose amps > a. Not using Bose spec equalizer . Could be, I don't know what they were driving it with. > b. and or overdriven (not so easy to do - would take over 100 watts > (Bose says 240)) More likely you were listening to a light amp > itself being overdriven) They had huge stacks of these things, and they were blowing them up left and right. You figure out how many Watts they had. (do the 802s have seperate tweeters that would get killed by clipping, or a full-range driver like the 901s? They appear to just have a single driver and a bass reflex port, but I didn't look too close.) This was an outdoor concert thing, with various bands (rock, jazz, country, etc..) scattered around. Each stage had a large number of speakers. They ALL sounded terrible. (even when they weren't in "let's blow them up" mode) To be fair to Bose, PA systems in general usually reek. Appariently it takes a LOT of talent to set one up properly, and most bands are sadly lacking in that sort of talent. Even with good equipment, it has to be adjusted for the place you're playing. Went to a Seals and Crofts concert once. Sounded horrible, they were twisting knobs like crazy. Half way through the concert they finally got it right. The second half was wonderful. Perhaps the trick is to go to unamplified concerts. Snoopy tektronix!tekecs!doghouse.TEK!snoopy