Pelican Parts Forums - Bose 901 - Series 1 Keep or sell

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Bose 901 - Series 1 Keep or sell

Audiophile buddy gave me his Series 1 901's with equalizer in exchange for car work.

I do have the first release Bose Acoustimass speakers in play now at the shop. javadog likens then to intercom speakers. :D

The Series 1 have cloth speaker material unlike later paper.

I have not tried them. I have not opened them up to have a look see.

These are 45 years old. Is there a chance in hell they are functional?

If not, do I rebuild them along with the equalizer - I see component kits for the equalizer - just talking. Or just sell them to an audio nut who would appreciate them more than me? These are pretty cool.

Rebuilt, maybe several hundred dollars. As is, $200?

Pics in a few. PP not uploading now or something on my end.........

Man, I thought those were so cool hanging from the college party room ceiling in '78...couldn't blow 'em and they weren't swimming in beer. I'll give ya ...

Nevermind...thanks for the memories :)

Off the top of my head, I think the drivers are prone to foam/surround rot. I know parts express sells replacement drivers.

As much as I dislike bose products (and I do dislike them!), those are kinda cool. My guess is they arnt worth much however unless the driveres have been refoamed. Caps in the eq prob need attention as well.

Have a look inside and see whats up

901's were the ultimate in their day.

If you can place them correctly in the house, your occasional audiophile visitor will be verily impressed.

If you don't like their sound, sell them. I loved them when the guy across the hall would let me scrape my choice of vinyl LOUD. We both won.

Quote:

Originally Posted by peteremsley (Post 9307362)

Alternative to replacing the drivers is re-foaming. Looks like the project from hell to me though.

I have never tried it but we had a guy here at work that did a lot of re-foaming (huge fan of antique audio equipment) and he was not know for being the most delicate of our fellow technicians. Nick named 'sparky' because he tended to let the magic smoke out (RIP Carlos)

~20$ each

Replacement Speaker Driver for Bose 901 4-1/2" 1 Ohm

Im sure you could get a better pair of speakers for $400, but could be fun little project

if you do try to refoam, im sure you will be good by the 18th one!

Quote:

Originally Posted by peteremsley (Post 9307362)

Yes - I have a series 2 (I think) pair on the tulip stands. Look lovely but the foam is shot on almost every cone. Plug 'em in and turn the bass up. You should be able to tell how bad the foam is are without faffing with the equalizer. IIRC, the back comes off easily, but there are 4 small staples that hold the front on.

Alternative to replacing the drivers is re-foaming. Looks like the project from hell to me though.

Mine are basically stands for a pair of Paradigms's now. Since I don't have the equalizer either, I'm thinking of just ripping the guts out of the 901s and sitting the Paradigms inside the remaining cab.

If you have a known working equalizer and bad speakers, then that's that's worth some money. You could get a couple of hundred for each perhaps on ebay, but shipping would be a pain for the speakers. If you have the stands, they seem to sell pretty well too. Either way, I would separate them.

I'm no expert, but I do have a bit of ownership experience ;)

Good info. I did JUST read where the Series 1 has cloth surrounds, not the speaker material like I said. Said they last forever.

However, I think I will open them up now.

Are they just ok for "today" or are they better than ok for today? Internet beats them up badly. More so on the later ones. Power hogs, etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by aschen (Post 9307380)

~20$ each

Replacement Speaker Driver for Bose 901 4-1/2" 1 Ohm

Im sure you could get a better pair of speakers for $400, but could be fun little project

Doode! For $40 you can't go wrong!

Quote:

Originally Posted by peteremsley (Post 9307383)

I'll bet :D

One guy said he did the lot in two hours.

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottmandue (Post 9307385)

Doode! For $40 you can't go wrong!

Heh heh.

20 x $20, at least what I count. But consider the cussing and swearing putting in new surround x 20 little speakers.

You know new foam is $8 per.

Quote:

Originally Posted by peteremsley (Post 9307392)

Wow - I can't imagine getting all 18 out of the cabinets and separated in that amount of time. The series 1 has 9 per cab, right?

I am feeling 10. They say the series 2 has some sort of sound release port but the Series 1, no.

Oh, I think the guy was stretching it. Like, I can pull a 911 engine in three hours (or less)

Quote:

Originally Posted by peteremsley (Post 9307362)

IIRC, the back comes off easily, but there are 4 small staples that hold the front on.

I am searching but not finding. A touch daunting with no research.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak (Post 9307398)

I am feeling 10.

Noooo. One is a faux port on the flat side. Nine per.