Bose 901 project

[brian darflinger 13]

  I know!, I know   you HATE Bose.. whatever , .. I have a ton of great equipment and other speakers- .

 Now,, I picked-up a set of 901 series iv and I'm in process of refoaming them. If I pick-up another set of the same, will I need 2 EQs for both sets? or can I use one- if I use a splitter off the outputs will it mess up the gain or something?? 

Can I also use my ADC equalizer  ALONG (inline)with the Bose EQ??? 

 

BTW  I bought them because I've always been curious of the HUGE rift between lovers and haters. I'll do a unbias comparo between my Klipsh Forte and the 901's and get to the bottom of it all.

 I have :

(6)  M-1.0 ts  - (4 MKII)

 (2) M-500t

 Crown XLS 2000

Sunfire Theater Grand 

M-4.0t

 

 

 Not sure which amps would be best to power them either .. Thinking 1.0T's in mono?

Probably use my Cerwin vega EL 36 for a sub.. The neighborhood should appreciate that

[pindrop 330]

Hey Brian don't come rollin' up in here with that defensive posture calling me an elitist, it breaks me away from talking a lot of trash an' having some fun while doing so. Dang can't have fun anymore.......Hey I love the 901s and would still love to do exactly what you're doing for the same reason and probably will one day if I live through my brides beatings for buying them too  Relax man, this isn't one of THOSE forums, we all enjoy anything audio but especially all things Carver, which you seem to have a plenty and those 901s ought to sing with the mk ll' s . Enjoy yourself and welcome .

[brian darflinger 13]

Oh,,,,Re reading that- I guess that did sound a touch defensive..my bad.. I was just stopping the lynching before it starts..901's aren't a 'typical' Bose product. If they dont impress me, I'll sell them, or use them for rear speakers in my theater room..

[pindrop 330]

That's cool as long as you don't turn them around and play them in a Party Barn...

[fill35U 1,846]

We don't *all* hate *everything* about Bose!  Like any other entity, they didn't do everything right, but they didn't do everything wrong, either!

 

If you mean what I think you mean (running more than one pair of 901's for front left & right), then yes, you will only need one Active EQ. You should be able to split the signal, a Series IV EQ can drive down to a 5K impedance. Keep in mind that the Series III and Series IV shared the same EQ curve, as did the Series V and Series VI. But there's not *that* much difference between III&IV and V&VI that I'd lose sleep over mixing, matching, or sharing EQ's between those models. Heck, I knew a guy who used a Series VI EQ with his Series II, and we thought they sounded great!

 

You can add any other EQ's or processors that you like. I would put the Bose EQ *after* anything that does dynamic adjustments based on frequency content. You can even try replacing the Bose EQ with your own, but it's a surprisingly tricky curve to replicate, and I think the phasing of all the filters Amar daisy-chained may be significant. 

 

Amps choice? Whatever you want! I don't think you can hurt them. Heck, I plugged one into the wall socket once. Here's your warning: it was *LOUD*. An M-1.0t MkII Opt 2 for each speaker would be sweet! With no passive crossover, and 8 ohms per speaker, they're a relatively easy load. Put the Crown to work on a pair of sub's and the 901's won't have to work so hard. I've read that the cones break up (acoustically) around 55 Hz, and Bose is already forcing them to work well below their Fs. There's that headroom advantage to biamping, too...

 

BTW, you've got a serious collection of serious amps there!  

 

The Klipsch Forte's are very nice, but the 901's are a completely different approach. Each has their pros and cons. Have fun! 

[Gene C 1,748]

Nice acquisition Brian. How bout posting some photos when you get a chance?

[CT-Seven 764]

From a Bryan to a Brian welcome aboard

[dcl 3,276]

The 901 IV were a big leap for me when I bought them new, traded in a pair of 501s in the deal & added the Spatial Control Receiver, model 550 I think. The cone surrounds need reforming, they have not been played for a very long time but I bet I would enjoy them as much now as back then. Do not have the Bose receiver nowadays so would have to look for an EQ. The 901s with Spatial Control Receiver is a stylish combination. Enjoy the project!

[B-Man 4,780]

While you still have the ability to edit your post, you should consider removing everything before "Now,, I picked-up a set of 901 series iv..."

 

BTW - Welcome back to the site and post some dang pictures !!!!    Some "in process" pics of the restore, refoaming, etc. would be awesome.

[srinath 34]

I have owned 6's 5's 1's and still own a 1 in sorry sorry sorry shape, but its awaiting a cabinet swap with speakerlab 901 copies.

 

I like 6's best of all. The 1's come close actually they sound better and I am looking forward to the cabinet swap (need to make covers, cos the bose 1 cabinet is smaller than the speakerlab copy) so covers dont fit.

 

6's are good, the stands etc etc are nice for it too.

 

Cool.

Srinath.

[dcl 3,276]

This is tangential & hopefully not construed as a hijack but there are others amongst us in audio land that appreciate the 901s (link) despite the smart aleck rhyming myth. 

[brian darflinger 13]

Thanks guys!- I'd love to post pictures, except they're all too big apparently..still trying to figure out how to decrease photo file size..

[Gene C 1,748]

 

 

Thanks guys!- I'd love to post pictures, except they're all too big apparently..still trying to figure out how to decrease photo file size..

Set up a photobucket account and use Firefox when uploading to the site. In the editor you can adjust the size of the photo (By clicking and holding with the mouse on one corner of the photo draging diagnaly) once you upload the photobucket link of your picture. 

[zumbini 6,147]

Thanks guys!- I'd love to post pictures, except they're all too big apparently..still trying to figure out how to decrease photo file size..

 

Instead of using the "Attach files to this post?" option, try the Insert Image applet.

It allows you to upload files as large as 14 MB and automatically resizes them to 800 x 600.

 

 

From there you can insert a public link or browse to a file on your hard drive.

 

 

Once the file has uploaded click OK, then click INSERT.

 

[jldeni 439]

 

 

  I know!, I know   you HATE Bose.. whatever , .. 

 

Stop it!!     I still have a couple sets of Bose speakers. They certainly have their place both in history and in my home.

 

GREAT list of equipment by the way... my two favorite amps: M-4.0T and M-500T   

 

 

[brian darflinger 13]

[brian darflinger 13]

[brian darflinger 13]

[zumbini 6,147]

Thanks for the pix Brian. Good luck with your project.

[fill35U 1,846]

Thanks for posting pics, Brian! 

 

18 drivers to refoam- your task lies ahead of you!

 

BTW, the Series III and IV were most susceptible to foam rot. V's and VI's are much more resistant. And of course I's and II's used cloth surrounds.

[Belvedere2 232]

I'd use the 1.0t. They'll sound great!

[srinath 34]

 

 

Thanks for posting pics, Brian! 

 

18 drivers to refoam- your task lies ahead of you!

 

BTW, the Series III and IV were most susceptible to foam rot. V's and VI's are much more resistant. And of course I's and II's used cloth surrounds.

 

5's rot. In fact some early 6 I have heard also rot.

They used to trade a rotted out 4, 5 or 6 in the first many years of the improved 6 - like pre 87 or 88 6's used to rot too. But sometime in the 90's Bose would swap your 4/5/6 with bad foam for new 6's.

 

Someone who I sold my 6's to told me he swapped a 4 for a 6 in the mid 90's.

 

Cool.

Srinath.

[brian darflinger 13]

Well, I have one speaker that's blown... All scratchy, no matter how hard I try to center the cone. Anyone here know where I can get ahold of a factory 901 speaker or two?? I imagine Ill run into another bad one...I know I could buy a replacement from parts express or Dayton, but I'd rather keep them all bose for resale purposes...

[pindrop 330]

Hey Brian when you're getting the drivers ready to put the new surround on, are you supposed to remove the rotted surround and all the old glue or what? I've never done it before but was thinking the old glue would need to come off before applying new glue. 

[Maddmaster 1,001]

Brian my best friend has a set of 901 VI's he wants to sell. Hit me up with a PM with an offer and I will let him know. They are in good shape. Black cabinets.  I had 901 VI's for years.