Conecting Bose 901's to Onkyo SR800 (1 Viewer)

[Jeff6917]

I have an Onkyo SR800 receiver and Bose 901 series 6 speakers i'm currently using for the front channels. Does anyone know how i can connect the 901's to the SR800 through the equalizer. In the past i was able to use the tape monitor in/out's of the amp with no problem but with the Onkyo this does not work. I know the Bose suck but it's all i have for the time being.

 

[Dave>h]

NOt sure how to help you but those speakers don't suck.

OK, they are not the best speakers in the world but they are actually a lot better than a lot of speakers out there too. Don't be so hard on them! I owned a set for years and really liked the sound they created. Yes, expensive for the level of quality but they do not suck. They suck even less if you didn't pay full price for them. I really liked the bass response you got when they were set up correctly in corners.

I owned series IV version of the 901 and I used to hook them up on my Yamaha through the external decoder in but this would negate the use of 5.1 etc. The only other alternative I found was using a seperate amplifier specifically for the Bose and hooking them up via the front out hook ups thus by passing the effect o fhte EQ on the other speakers. In this config, you can use 5.1 and your other speakers are not eq'd.

Hope that helps

 

[Jeff6917]

Ok thanks Dave i know they don't suck that bad and i should not complain as i did get them as a gift, my mom retired from Bose and got killer deals.

At this point i would just like to get descent sound out of them and not the tinny sound that im experiencing now, little to no base response. I will give it a try.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

Unless you can do the tape-loop solution, I would ditch them and buy real speakers. The cost of buying an external amplifier simply to power these absolutely horrid speakers is a poor economic choice.

 

[Dave>h]

Nice thread crap Chris!

The guy's Mom got him the speakers so give him a break. He didn't ask you to rate his speakers and for free, those 901's are a lot better than many cheap speakers he could have ended up with.

Jeff, enjoy your speakers but do hook up the EQ, it is a very necessary piece of equipment to get the most out of those speakers.

If you can find a good deal on a used power amp, it is a good alternative too. Check www.audiogon.com or someplace like that - even e-bay. If you don't spend too much, you can have yourself a decent set up that will sound pretty good.

Hooking them up for surround sound requires a seperate amp. I was never able to get it to work without it. the 901 eq always screwed up the sound from the rest of the speakers if it was in the signal path.

Dave

 

[ChrisWiggles]

It's not a thread crap, it's serious advice. IT would be worth it to purchase an external amplifier if the value provided overall in terms of sound quality justified such an expensive purchase. It will cost, at minimum, a couple hundred bucks likely for a decent amp. Such an outlay is not justified given the poor quality of the speakers, when you could purchase significantly superior speakers and use the current amplifier, for the same price. That would be a superior choice.

The 901s are acceptable where critical listening is of no concern, for instance in a shop or somewhere where you just need some background music. And if you can utilize them correctly with the EQ(which you must), without significant added costs, it's perfectly reasonable to use the 901s. But where you may need to spend a hundred dollars or more on an external amp just to be able to use them, it is simply a poor economic choice when you can attain significantly better sound quality buy simply buying new speakers and using them with the current amplifier.

 

[LanceJ]

Anyway.............

If the Onkyo has a set of preamp-out/preamp-in jacks for the front main channels, IMO those should allow you to hook up & use that equalizer properly.

BTW: there is no other set of speakers I know of that - when located properly - generate such a huge soundstage, and though it's not exactly what was heard in the studio it is still fun to listen to (a movie's side to side directional effects will be impacted though). And for such small speakers, they actually have good bass for music and the highs from those 9 built-like-a-tank fullrange drivers, while not ultra detailed, are pleasantly warm and easy on the ears i.e. you can listen for hours without listener's fatigue.