9 Legendary Speakers Hated by Audiophiles
Bose 901s. Never had a pair, but they had a greater effect on my family than any other speaker. My father worked for Consumer Reports magazine and did the test of the original 901s back in 1970. They judged the sound of the 901s to be so different, that when they published the article they put the Bose in a separate section explaining they had an unconventional sound that some people might like but was not really high fidelity. Dr. Bose was upset that the 901s weren’t declared the greatest speakers ever and sued Consumers Union (publisher of Consumer Reports) for libel. Bose won the first trial, lost the appeal and took the case to the Supreme Court where he lost. Ten years of heartburn for my dad. When my father retired his co-workers gave him a pair of Bose outdoor speakers as a humorous gift (I still use them in my garage).
I can honestly say without a doubt that I never would have been interested in HiFi were it not for my dad’s old Cerwin-Vega HED U351s driven by a gorgeous Sansui receiver. Those speakers were bigger than I was for half my childhood and they shook the whole damn house with very little effort. One of my dad’s favorite sayings was “when I listen to music, so do my neighbors” haha! They even inspired me to get my first-ever pair of speakers as a teen: some baby Cerwin-Vegas (VS-80s) that I still use today. Never once did I really care that they were too “shouty” or “bright” cause man they got loud and they had no business making as much bass as they did for their size. What more could I ask for as a 90s teen?!?! So yeah, even though I’m also in the market for a more…refined sound nowadays, I’ll still fight anyone who says Cerwin-Vegas aren’t amazing speakers and I’ll never get rid of mine! Audiophile quality? Not even remotely close. Does anybody who owns them care? Not even a little bit!!! They’re just pure unadulterated fun!
