I want to connect a pair of Bose 901 speakers to the VSX and use them as my front speakers powered by a separate amplifier but can't find an appropriate pre-out from the VSX.......what analog VSX output can be used? thanx.....

You can do this however you will need a separate power amplifier.

See notes here: https://deercreekaudio.com/blogs-%26-updates/f/connecting-your-eq901-to-an-audio-video-receiver-avr

1. Connect the pre-out main left and right to the EQ901 inputs 1 and 2, and the EQ901 outputs 1 and 2 to the power amplifier inputs left and right
2. Connect your 901 speaker to the power amplifier outputs

The equalized signal will now play through the front left and right speaker outputs in the stereo and home theater modes.

Option 1: Adding a Separate Power Amplifier - Best Option

https://deercreekaudio.com/blogs-%26-updates/f/connecting-your-eq901-to-an-audio-video-receiver-avr

This option requires that you add a separate power amplifier.

1) Connect the pre-out main left and right to the EQ901 inputs 1 and 2, and the EQ901 outputs 1 and 2 to the power amplifier inputs left and right
2) Connect your 901 speaker to the power amplifier outputs
3) The equalized signal will now play through the front left and right speaker outputs in the stereo and home theater modes.

You want them to be your Main Front speakers, right? The news is not good.

There will be some limitations because you can't extract a 'processed' Front L-R from this receiver. The following will give you good stereo and Front L-R from the 901's but it won't allow central volume control or send them any of the DSP effects you may select. Sorry. If it had a Front L-R Pre-Out you'd be good to go for all functions and listening modes.

You'll need a separate stereo amplifier WITH ITS OWN VOLUME CONTROL for the 901's to accommodate the need for the Active EQ. Modest amps would work but at very loud volumes may go into clipping, which is bad for any speaker. I'm using only 100W for mine and it has plenty of steam for the 901's.

With this receiver we have to cheat to get the Front L-R signal out to the 901's (but it's unprocessed and at a steady MAXIMUM volume level)...

For connection I would run a pair of RCA cables from the VCR/DVR Audio Out L-R OUT jacks (*) to the Active EQ's Line IN; then the EQ's Line OUT to a separate amp's Line IN. Attach the 901's to the new amp.

* You'll lose the ability to use these jacks for anything else, but few of us use them anyway. DO NOT select this function for monitoring or you lose all audio in the VSX.

Not knowing anything about your specific amplifier or if it correctly configured for the 901 Active Eq, the first thing I would say is these are designed for analog stereo sources ONLY and a multichannel digital-capable receiver will NOT work properly with any devcie in a Tape loop.

There is no way around this part. Get a separate power amp for the 901's if you want to use them in a multichannel way or alongside non-901 speakers.

Connect the Active EQ between the pre-outs and the amp input. Run speaker assignment, levels, etc and have fun.

Your instincts are correct. In fact, the only way the 901's can live in an A/V system is with dedicated amplification.

Put that old amp back to work.

This is exactly how mine are connected.

For connection I would run a pair of RCA cables from the Front L&R Audio Line OUT to the Active EQ's Line IN; then the EQ's Line OUT to a separate amp's Line IN. Attach the 901's to the new amp, run through the receiver's setup procedures for volume, etc and you're done.

By all-in-one amplifier that handles the surround I think you mean all-in-one receiver or preamp. Amps are just big dumb muscular power supplies for speakers.

The source control and digital decoding could be handled by a modern AV receiver with multichannel analog outputs for driving separate amps or you could get a digital AV preamplifier/control unit functionally like this Adcom. Prepare for sticker shock.

http://hdtvdreams.com/Adcom-GTP-870HD-7.1-Multi-Channel-Processor/Preamplifier-GTP870HD.aspx

Understand that EACH PAIR of Bose 901's will require its own DEDICATED two channels of amplification AND someplace to jack in its Active Equalizer - between the line level source and the power amp.

Conventional speakers can probably run off the receiver's amplifiers since they don't/can't/must not have the Bose Active EQ in line with them.

Having a single pair of 901's plus a passive subwoofer or two in the same room for accurate 6- or 7.1 surround would require at least four stereo amps or some combination that adds up to 8 channels.

In my own system I have a Pioneer VSX-36TX Receiver (with 5 potential channels of amplification for Left, Right, Center, two Surrounds) doing light duty as the control and routing center but ONLY driving the Center (two Kenwood 777's) and Surround speakers (Bose 301's). I have a Carver 5-channel amp pushing the Bose 901 Front speakers (100Wx2), two dbx Subwoofers (110Wx1) and the Bose 301 Rear Surround speakers (60Wx1).

You could probably get by with a powerful 2-, 3- or 4-channel amplifier to push the 901's and subwoofer(s) as I did. It's the cheapest way out if you get a decent AV receiver. Once you set up the levels and delays the receiver does all the thinking and controlling for you.

I have a VSX-36TX so this is how it's going to work...

You will need a separate stereo amplifier for the 901's to accomodate the need for the Active EQ. There is no way to separate your receiver's front L&R channel preamplifiers from their amplifiers.

I run a Carver AV-406 (5-channel amp) for my 901's in Front, 2 Subwoofers and the Rear Surround channel, with the Active EQ between the receiver and the 901's amp channels. My receiver controls everything and just drives the Center and Surrounds. You would probably just get a nice 2-channel amplier for the 901's. However, the VSX 47TX doesn't provide power for a Subwoofer, should you decide to get one, so you would need another amplifier channel for that, too. Therefore, you might look around for a powerful 3- or 4-channel amplifier so you could drive the Sub, too.

Modest amps would work but at very loud volumes may go into clipping, which is bad for any speaker. I'm using only 100W for mine and it has plenty of steam for the 901's.

For connection I would run a pair of RCA cables from the Front L&R Audio Line OUT to the Active EQ's Line IN; then the EQ's Line OUT to a separate amp's Line IN. Attach the 901's to the new amp, run through the receiver's setup procedures for volume, etc and you're done.

Not what you might want to hear but 901's have special requirements. I've had mine for 25 years and have no regrets.

A separate subwoofer channel on the amp could be used. Just run a single RCA channel from Sub OUT to one available channel IN on the amp and attach the subwoofer to it. Two would work, also. That's what I do. You could use a 1-2 RCA splitter to feed two avaailable channels on a 4-channel amp. The iterations are many. Have fun.

No. Active Equalization is required for the 901's and not to be used with any non-901 speakers.

just connect 2 speakers to each output.

Option 1: Adding a Separate Power Amplifier - Best Option

https://deercreekaudio.com/blogs-%26-updates/f/connecting-your-eq901-to-an-audio-video-receiver-avr

This option requires that you add a separate power amplifier.
1) Connect the pre-out main left and right to the EQ901 inputs 1 and 2, and the EQ901 outputs 1 and 2 to the power amplifier inputs left and right
2) Connect your 901 speaker to the power amplifier outputs
3) The equalized signal will now play through the front left and right speaker outputs in the stereo and home theater modes.