Bose (gulp!) question (1 Viewer)

[GaryPete]

I'm the original owner of a set of Bose Series I 901s and would like a little information about repairing them. I just read somewhere, on eBay I think, that the series I speakers didn't have the rotting foam surrounds like all the subsequent models have and should last a 'lifetime'. Anyway I'd like to have a look and see but don't see how the grill cloth comes off. Any oldtimers here that may have some experience with these antiques?? Thanks, Pete

 

[Rory Buszka]

Well, it should be fairly obvious. When (and this is key) used with the Active Equalizer (which is responsible for the 901's powerful bass output), the speakers should produce bass. If instead you hear a rattling sound, then something's wrong.

And yes, those are antiques. For the price of a pair of new 901s, much, much better sound can be had.

 

[David Bikeman]

I owned the original 901's back in the early 70's. You could probably sell these to someone for a decent buck and buy a good pair of speakers with the money.
I was young so I can be forgiven for falling for the hype on the 901's.

David

 

[Kenneth Harden]

At least the 901's are somewhat neat speakers - not a Acoustamess system

 

[Oren Paul]

No Highs; No Lows: MUST BE BOSE!

Repair is best done with a sledgehammer.

 

[GaryPete]

I was prepared for the Bose Bashing but I still need to know if anyone has removed the grill cloth from an early Series I and how to go about it. I don't want to start prying and mess things up if I don't have to.
I'm not much of a Bose fan any longer but since I do own these I figure I'll spruce them up and maybe sell them since the market for them seem pretty strong yet. For my current HT I installed the Fluance EX's plus HSU sub. Everyone loves them so much I'll never tell how little they cost! Thanks for remarks...

 

[John Garcia]

If it ain't broke.....

 

[LanceJ]

IIRC the Bose 901s I've messed with had velcro fasteners on them which required a pretty firm pull to remove.

As far as the speakers themselves: I wonder if these are old enough to use the treated cloth surrounds which were popular back then with many speakers & take much longer to deteriorate than foam (though I think foam and rubber are more linear as far as their motion is concerned).

And I always thought the 901s sounded decent. Nothing awesome but not irritating either. IMO the bass was surprisingly good (for music); the highs seemed rather "soft" though. I personally wouldn't buy them new but if they were really cheap at a garage sale.............

FYI: somewhere I read (I think here--look in the "Aquarius" section) that omni-directional speakers like the 901s and DCM's globe speaker with 10(?) drivers, were popular in the 60s and 70s to offset the overly-discreet "ping-pong" sound of many of the early stereo recordings.

 

[GaryPete]

LanceJ, from what I understand now the Series I and II both had cloth surrounds that had a longer life. Series III and up went with the foam.
I haven't used these speakers in years now and with all the talk about rotting surrounds I wanted to have a peek before using or selling. I can't sell anything unless it works right first. I almost think the cloth covering the front and sides is tacked on like upholstery. I'll carefully tug at a corner or somewhere and see if I have velcro or not. It sure doesn't look like it, tho. Anyway, thanks for the shout, I appreciate it.

 

[GaryPete]

Bose sent me a pdf service manual for the series I 901 that shows exactly how to remove the grills even how to fashion a tool for clean removal of the staples. Pretty cool, they also mentioned what I already suspected..the series I and II have cloth surrounds and I should expect to find them in good shape unlike the foam types that would have certainly rotted away in these last 30+ years. Thanks again, I really enjoy this forum and appreciate the help.