Bose initially made their name with their “direct reflecting” speakers. They argued that in a concert hall, 90% of the sound to the listener is not from the instruments directly, but sound that is bouncing off the walls . Therefore, they designed their 901 speakers with eight speakers facing to the rear, and one facing front. (Totaling 9, for 90%, I think). This would redistribute the sound as if you were in a concert hall. Of course, if you really were in a concert hall, the sound being picked up by the microphones was already a mix of direct and reflected, so you would hear a concert hall inside a concert hall, so I never bought the argument.