Mitch,
Without comment (one way or the other) on the sound quality of Bose products:
It would seem that very wide dispersion speakers would make a ton of sense for that room - particularly for the sides, back, height, & rear positions. The 901 fits that bill, as do modestly priced omnidirectional speakers from Mirage (among others). While many (maybe most) side/surrounds are also designed for wide dispersion, few of the affordable models - that I know of, anyway - are both high sensitivity and suited to high SPL like the Bose.
Some time ago, there was a local gym/yoga place that I'd attend from time to time that had an array of six 901s in a space a bit larger than yours, and they worked very well in that high SPL application. He had a CD player into a modest distribution amp powering the set-up, but I don't recall the specifics. Not a theater set-up, per se, but similar requirements were involved, IMO. Uniform coverage of a large space at "get the blood pumping" levels.
If this is a dual purpose system for movies and music, you can always stick with more traditional high end speakers for the front L & R & CC, and go with the 901 for the other channels. In your case, I suspect that any "voicing" mismatch between the brands will be much less trouble than getting appropriate coverage without investing more $.
Note: I'm assuming that, even though these channels are typically well down in level from the mains, your space would require lots of power/power handling from lower sensitivity side/surrounds. Depending on your preferred listening levels, that could be wrong, so you might want to test that assumption before purchase. End of the day, my guess is that the Bose are one of a limited # of options out there that tick all of your boxes. I'm sure that there are other wide dispersion, high sensitivity, high output options available at modest cost, but I couldn't name any off the top of my head.
No first hand experience (beyond the commercial application, per above), but that's the way I'd think about it, were I in your shoes.
Marty
Without comment (one way or the other) on the sound quality of Bose products:
It would seem that very wide dispersion speakers would make a ton of sense for that room - particularly for the sides, back, height, & rear positions. The 901 fits that bill, as do modestly priced omnidirectional speakers from Mirage (among others). While many (maybe most) side/surrounds are also designed for wide dispersion, few of the affordable models - that I know of, anyway - are both high sensitivity and suited to high SPL like the Bose.
Some time ago, there was a local gym/yoga place that I'd attend from time to time that had an array of six 901s in a space a bit larger than yours, and they worked very well in that high SPL application. He had a CD player into a modest distribution amp powering the set-up, but I don't recall the specifics. Not a theater set-up, per se, but similar requirements were involved, IMO. Uniform coverage of a large space at "get the blood pumping" levels.
If this is a dual purpose system for movies and music, you can always stick with more traditional high end speakers for the front L & R & CC, and go with the 901 for the other channels. In your case, I suspect that any "voicing" mismatch between the brands will be much less trouble than getting appropriate coverage without investing more $.
Note: I'm assuming that, even though these channels are typically well down in level from the mains, your space would require lots of power/power handling from lower sensitivity side/surrounds. Depending on your preferred listening levels, that could be wrong, so you might want to test that assumption before purchase. End of the day, my guess is that the Bose are one of a limited # of options out there that tick all of your boxes. I'm sure that there are other wide dispersion, high sensitivity, high output options available at modest cost, but I couldn't name any off the top of my head.
No first hand experience (beyond the commercial application, per above), but that's the way I'd think about it, were I in your shoes.
Marty