The End of an Era, Pt. 2

Inkara1's claim about the Bose 901 driver size is based on info obtained at eBay. Gato_Solo's claim on driver size is based on a guy down the hall from him in Panama.

Umm...Now, people, why do you suppose nobody posted Bose's own specs for their product?

I'll tell you why: Because Bose doesn't tell you. That's one of the big problems that I and a lot of other people have with Bose. They tell you that you don't need to know the numbers, judge with your ears only. But this makes some people wonder what they're hiding, and a lot of people have judged with their ears, and decided to go with other better products that cost less.

The only information I could find at the www.bose.com website on the 901 drivers is that there are nine full-range drivers". Now come on...There is a certain advantage to having only one driver produce the entire frequency range, but no driver technology known to man can allow for one driver to produce the entire audible frequency range efficiently and accurately. Full range drivers, what the hell...Mention full range drivers (or Bose, for that matter) at any respectable home-theater or audiophile message board and see how fast you get put in their equivalent of the Kiddie Korner.
 
Yeah, just don't put it in one of those audiophile forums that claim that a USD$200 or more expensive power cord yields richer and more natural sound :rofl4:
 
JJR512 said:
Inkara1's claim about the Bose 901 driver size is based on info obtained at eBay. Gato_Solo's claim on driver size is based on a guy down the hall from him in Panama.

Umm...Now, people, why do you suppose nobody posted Bose's own specs for their product?

I'll tell you why: Because Bose doesn't tell you. That's one of the big problems that I and a lot of other people have with Bose. They tell you that you don't need to know the numbers, judge with your ears only. But this makes some people wonder what they're hiding, and a lot of people have judged with their ears, and decided to go with other better products that cost less.

The only information I could find at the www.bose.com website on the 901 drivers is that there are nine full-range drivers". Now come on...There is a certain advantage to having only one driver produce the entire frequency range, but no driver technology known to man can allow for one driver to produce the entire audible frequency range efficiently and accurately. Full range drivers, what the hell...Mention full range drivers (or Bose, for that matter) at any respectable home-theater or audiophile message board and see how fast you get put in their equivalent of the Kiddie Korner.
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Your ears are full-range receptors, so what's your point? The eardrum is also quite small. Again...what's your point? Bottom line is that you do judge with your ears, and I liked what I heard with the 301's I bought. Better than the Cerwin Vegas with the 14" woofers. They were in the same room...and I listened to the same music through both those, and a set of Polk Audios before I made my choice. At the time I bought, I had a very discerning ear, too, being a classically trained trombonist. Just because the audiophile websites don't like Bose, and actively deride their product line, doesn't make them superior. You buy what you like, and that, my friend, is the bottom line. If you let other people make your decision for you because they were stupid enough to buy the most expensive rig on the planet, then, by all means, go ahead, and let their air of superiority make your purchase decision for you. Then you can enjoy the sounds that the human ear can't reproduce because they told you they were there. ;)
 
Gato_Solo said:
Your ears are full-range receptors, so what's your point? The eardrum is also quite small.
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The fact that the perceived loudness varies with frequency doesn't mean that we can not detect if the full spectrum is being played back properly or not. We can not change the way we hear, but we can change what we hear. ;)
 
Luis G said:
The fact that the perceived loudness varies with frequency doesn't mean that we can not detect if the full spectrum is being played back properly or not. We can not change the way we hear, but we can change what we hear. ;)
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Not the point I was trying to make. I was talking about the actual range of human hearing, not the decibels. Speakers can put out ranges that cannot be heard by the human ear. That doesn't mean that that speaker, as opposed to one that can only reach the limits of the range of human hearing, is superior. It only means that you can more effectively tease your family pet.
 
Gato_Solo said:
Not the point I was trying to make. I was talking about the actual range of human hearing, not the decibels. Speakers can put out ranges that cannot be heard by the human ear. That doesn't mean that that speaker, as opposed to one that can only reach the limits of the range of human hearing, is superior. It only means that you can more effectively tease your family pet.
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Now, is a full-range driver able to produce the same ammount of dB for each frequency our ears can hear?

I doubt that plot looks flat.
 
Gato_Solo said:
...Bottom line is that you do judge with your ears...You buy what you like, and that, my friend, is the bottom line...
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Very similar to a statement I made much earlier.

Luis G said:
Now, is a full-range driver able to produce the same ammount of dB for each frequency our ears can hear?

I doubt that plot looks flat.
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No, a full-range driver can't produce a flat frequency response for the entire audible range. No combination of drivers can do that, either, but multiple drivers can produce a frequency response that is much flatter on average. For "perfect" reproduction, a microphone is put at the listening spot, a noise signal is evaluated, and an equalizer is used to adjust the response to as close to flat as possible. The fewer drivers that can be used, the better, to avoid timing and phasing problems, but it's generally accepted that one (a full-range) is not enough. Two can be quite fine.

However, especially when listening to popular music (rap, country, rock, pop, etc.), most people do not prefer a perfectly flat frequency response. Most people prefer a boost to the highs and lows, and a full-range driver's best response is in the middle frequencies, with relative volume (dB) level dropping off at the high and low ends, making full-range drivers even worse for this type of music. Those who enjoy classical music tend to prefer a more even response, but this type of music typically includes higher highs and sometimes lower, and more complex, lows--again, making it difficult for a full-range driver to do the music justice.
 
I'm aware that no speaker can have a flat frequency response, but you just hit the nail. 2-way or 3-way can do much flatter than 1-way. Which I think was the whole point of this discussion.

IMO, flat is better, equalizing bass and treble should be applied to compensate for the low frequency response of the speaker set at low and hight freqs.

The best speakers are the ones you can't hear.
 
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