Bose 901Series III Speaker restoration - Worth the time and expense?

[squeegy200]

A friend of mine asked me about a used set of Bose 901 Series III speakers she's kept in storage.

When I examined them closely, they were not in good operating condition.

Virtually all of the drivers have deteriorated and will require refoaming or replacement. When I hooked up the equalizer, it sounded like a bad internal ground. It generated a low buzzing sound thru my amplifiers.

So I believe these speakers will require extensive TLC before they are useable. They're not really good for parts since all of the parts are bad. In addition, they are heavy so shipping costs would easily exceed the net value of the speakers.

Since the Series IIIs sell for ~$300-400 in good operating condition on the used markets I've explored, are these worth the effort to restore?

Are there equalizer repair services or would replacement from eBay or some other used forums be required. Any additional communities or forums dedicated to the Bose trademark?

Anyone with experience with these speakers, please advise.

Thanks in advance.

[Invader3k]

Unless she's really sentimentally attached to them, I would advise her to junk them. Speakers that badly gone generally aren't worth repairing, IMO. Chances are, you can call Bose's customer service line for more answers, though. Quite possibly might be able to order parts, too...might even be able to send them directly to Bose for repair, though I'm not sure on that.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

I wouldn't spend a dime on these speakers even if they were in excellent condition. With it in such disrepair as it is, it is not even worth thinking about. Walk away very fast man.

[Florian]

Personally i would not restore them but as i have learned from this forum it all depends on personal taste. Some people even like B&W speakers, something i will never understand. Give the BOSE a listen when new and see you/she likes it. If you guys like them, then restore them.

[topspeed]

Good lord, unless you're a masochist, why would you ever want to do this to yourself? All of the foam rolls are rotted (aren't there like 16 speakers?!) and the eq is tweaked, yet the street price for a working pair is all of $300?!? Are you mad? You'll have more invested in time and parts than the speaker is worth. This would be the equivalent of restoring a BMW Isetta: Just because you can doesn't necessarily mean you should.

There are better projects than this one.

[BEETLEMAN]

i have a set i got off ebay a while ago. needed all new foam surrounds and paint and polish. was it worth it? well ill tell you it was alot of work and am happy with the out come. BUT for the overall work put into these things, not worth it. ( must have been bored). IMO i would have been better off getting something different to spend my time on. JUNK EM.

[bbrunswick]

I would call Bose. Several years ago they had a replacement program which I took advantage of at the time. They upgraded me to the VI series for a fee.

[drseid]

Sounds like a lot of work for not a lot of reward. IMO, let the rest in peace.