Re-foaming Bose 901's

[BCbud]

Rush2112

You must have posted while I was trying to type oul my last reply. I posted to you other post and know that you have a pair of 901's need the same thing. This will be my first try at this and as I said, I will post pics and comments to help out others like yourself.

[bfalls]

Back in the 70's the Bose 901 were all the rage. It sounded like a good concept being able to hear stereo anywhere in the room. I've seen many a coffee house with a pair or two hanging from the ceiling. Then I started to read and listen more seriously and their design make no sense.

Why have 8 - 4" drivers facing away from the "sweet spot" bouncing sound off rear and side walls and one 4" driver facing forward? The negative effect on imaging is undeniable. I can't imagine the effect of two pairs in a room or HT with 5 or 7 901s. It seems to undo what the sound engineer took time and effort create. If elevator/mall music, or vintage gear is your passion, more power to you. I think you'd do better purchasing a pair of vintage Advents or AR3s. I'd be interested in hearing the cost for your renovation. I've seriously heard new Bose 4" drivers are manufactured in China and can be had for $1.50/ea. You may want to investigate and save some money. I've also seen them on Overstock.com.

[BCbud]

bfalls, the sweet spot is what I dont like with other speakers. The 901's dont have a drastic sweet spot so I dont have to be stuck in one chair to get the best sound. I plan on mounting the 2nd set directly above the ones I have on the Bose stands. This will keep all the drivers on the same virtical axis and hopefully will not cause a mayhem of reflection.

[BCbud]

Good day!

I just got my vintage Bose 901 add that I bought off ebay and thuoght I would try to post some scans of it so I can learn how to post pictures.

[jtfoto]

Have you ever truly listened to 4 Bose 901's in one room of a decent size home? It's unreal. I've had Yamaha NS1000's, JBL L-166, Advents and Polk. Bose wins, hands down, every time. Pay attention to ebay and you can get a pair for under $400. I own three pairs, all different series and have NEVER had to re-foam a single speaker.

Just my humble ear's opinion.

Back in the 70's the Bose 901 were all the rage. It sounded like a good concept being able to hear stereo anywhere in the room. I've seen many a coffee house with a pair or two hanging from the ceiling. Then I started to read and listen more seriously and their design make no sense.

Why have 8 - 4" drivers facing away from the "sweet spot" bouncing sound off rear and side walls and one 4" driver facing forward? The negative effect on imaging is undeniable. I can't imagine the effect of two pairs in a room or HT with 5 or 7 901s. It seems to undo what the sound engineer took time and effort create. If elevator/mall music, or vintage gear is your passion, more power to you. I think you'd do better purchasing a pair of vintage Advents or AR3s. I'd be interested in hearing the cost for your renovation. I've seriously heard new Bose 4" drivers are manufactured in China and can be had for $1.50/ea. You may want to investigate and save some money. I've also seen them on Overstock.com.

[E-Stat]

Have you ever truly listened to 4 Bose 901's in one room of a decent size home? It's unreal.

That's the problem with them for many of us. They are unreal in their sonic presentation. I will say, however, that they share one very important aspect in common with my speakers - they are full range and thus highly coherent. Can be fun to hear at times, but depending on the recording the image can be cartoonish.

rw

[audio amateur]

That's the problem with them for many of us. They are unreal in their sonic presentation. I will say, however, that they share one very important aspect in common with my speakers - they are full range and thus highly coherent. Can be fun to hear at times, but depending on the recording the image can be cartoonish.

rw

They may run full range, doesn't mean they are

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

That's the problem with them for many of us. They are unreal in their sonic presentation. I will say, however, that they share one very important aspect in common with my speakers - they are full range and thus highly coherent. Can be fun to hear at times, but depending on the recording the image can be cartoonish.

rw

They are not quite full range. The output of these 4" drivers dives like a bombed airplane below 40hz. The upper frequencies are flat to 14khz with a pronounced roll off above that.

These speakers are quite difficult to measure as no matter where you set the mike, comb filter affected its response. These speakers also emphasized and excited room resonances with all of those drivers facing the front wall.