Bose 901 Series II or KLH Model 3?

[n0exit]

I found a pair of mint looking Bose 901 Series II complete with equalizer and stands today. I didn't pull the covers off to look at the surrounds, but and foam surround speakers of this age are going to need them, so 18 surrounds? Asking price is $200.

At home, I have a pair of KLH Model 3 that I rebuilt the crossovers on, but have water stains and chips in the veneer. They sound great, but the Bose look amazing. How's the sound? Should I jump on the Bose or stick with the KLH?

 

[Billboard]

I have always wanted to try a set of 901s, the EQ is worth $100 all day long, good buy.

 

[swechsler]

Don't 901 series II drivers have cloth surrounds?

 

[n0exit]

Don't 901 series II drivers have cloth surrounds?

I think so. I was wrong in my initial post.

Turned out that the equalizer wasn't included in the asking price. He wanted $100 for that. He took my offer of $250 for everything.

 

[jberger]

Read up on placement, use the equalizer, provide them with stupendous amounts of power, put on some hiphop that has the real infrasonic bass, and be amazed at what they really can do.

 

[n0exit]

Read up on placement, use the equalizer, provide them with stupendous amounts of power, put on some hiphop that has the real infrasonic bass, and be amazed at what they really can do.

I have an NAD 3140, which is rated at 40 watts, but according to http://www.hifi-classic.net/review/nad-3140-291.html

Anyone familiar with NAD amplifiers wid recognize that a "NAD watt" is substantially more effective in-the real world than most other manufacturers'. The NAD 3140 is called a "40-watt" amplifier, but measurements and listening leave no doubt that it can easily hold its own against most conventional "100-watt" amplifiers.

Think of it instead as an 80- to 100-watt amplifier of exceptional quality and with versatility and features found nowhere else, including an ability to drive low-impedance speaker loads that would confound most other amplifiers on the market, even some rated at many times its power. In that light, it seems to be as much a bargain as the 3020. Dare we wonder what a still more powerful NAD amplifier might be like?

Unfortunately, I'll have to fix the power switch on my NAD before I can try it out.

 

[dshoaf]

Yep, that one sample looks like a bog-standard 901 Series II with the proper equalizer. There are plenty of threads here at AK for you to spend at least a few cases of beer stepping through.

If your NAD is about 40 watts, run the EQ with the Below 40 switch engaged. This will limit the bass power it can call for until you find a bigger amp. When I say, bigger amp, I'm talking 200+ WPC.

Test all the speaker seals for air leaks, as that directly affects bass output regardless of how they're positioned.

Cheers,

David

 

[tarior]

KLH 3 are nice enough little speakers. KLH-1 with the "Bass Computer" rock in a big way.
If you have the power, the 901s will smoke the KLH-3 in every aspect other than precision imaging and tonal accuracy.

 

[n0exit]

Here's the haul. Really good shape overall. My phone is dying, so I couldn't get better pictures, but there are only a couple tiny nicks. The stands could use a repaint, but the equalizer is in perfect shape. I will have to glue the cloth back to the front of the other one, but the front is just stuck on with double back tape, so that will be easy.

 

[tarior]

Continentals. In nice shape. Cool.

 

[gdmoore28]

Not Continentals. I bought a set of Series II Continentals brand new in 1975. Continentals had the rounded cabinets, like these:

From the interweb: Bose 901-II Continentals

I actually preferred the regular cabinets over the Continentals, but when I purchased mine, Continentals were all the dealer had, so I had to settle.

I drove mine with a new Pioneer receiver, 65 watts per channel, and never felt the need for more power, though having an excess would have obvious benefits. As others have stated, placement is absolutely critical, and placing them on tulip stands turned out to be one of the worst solutions unless one had adjacent walls with absolutely no furniture to interfere with sound dispersion. I ended up suspending mine from the ceiling following the recommendations to the letter. I was finally able to hear what the 901s could really do!

Since you were fortunate to find the cloth surround models, the only possible weak link now is the equalizer, which was constructed with minimal quality capacitors. Do a little searching on the internet and you will find that the eqs begin to deteriorate with age, with a commensurate deterioration of sound quality, drifting eq values, etc.. Fortunately, there's not a lot of components that are hard to find or to replace. So, if you get anything other than pristine performance from your Series IIs, look to the eq rather than to the speakers. Your's may be fine, but just be aware.

Congrats on a good buy. I'll bet you are in for many years of pleasurable listening.

GeeDeeEmm

 

[n0exit]

Not Continentals. I bought a set of Series II Continentals brand new in 1975. Continentals had the rounded cabinets, like these:

Since you were fortunate to find the cloth surround models, the only possible weak link now is the equalizer, which was constructed with minimal quality capacitors. Do a little searching on the internet and you will find that the eqs begin to deteriorate with age, with a commensurate deterioration of sound quality, drifting eq values, etc.. Fortunately, there's not a lot of components that are hard to find or to replace. So, if you get anything other than pristine performance from your Series IIs, look to the eq rather than to the speakers. Your's may be fine, but just be aware.

Congrats on a good buy. I'll bet you are in for many years of pleasurable listening.

GeeDeeEmm

I think the walnut front was just an option on the standard 901s in place of the cloth? The walnut plates seem like they're just held in place with double back foam tape.

I'll have to open up the equalizer and order some new caps. I completely re-capped my NAD and KLH 3s a few years ago.

 

[dshoaf]

I think the walnut front was just an option on the standard 901s in place of the cloth? The walnut plates seem like they're just held in place with double back foam tape.

I'll have to open up the equalizer and order some new caps. I completely re-capped my NAD and KLH 3s a few years ago.

Both GDMoore28 and N0exit are correct.

The flat-front 901s with the walnut fronts and sides were the original incarnation of the Continental packaging. When Bose retooled in preparation for the Series III introduction, they switched to the rounded front 901 cabinet ahead of time to create the 2nd generation of Continental. This means that you'll find the rounded front 901s with Series II drivers in the non-vented cabinet but the cabinet carries over into the Series III and later versions. The flat-front version, however, was unique to the Series II.

From a sales standpoint, the Continental 901s were more expensive and many dealers did not stock them - special order only. They were usually marketed with the chrome stands, too, as were the all-white version. This will make them a bit more rare in either form due to the low sales volume. Bose did keep the Continental type of cabinetry in the line up for years, though.

Cheers,

David

 

[jberger]

The EQ is an easy recap; ten caps, one easily accessible board. I found a benefit in resealing the cloth surrounds with the same sealant sold for cloth surrounds on vintage AR speakers. After sealing the bass went deeper.

 

[BilboBaggins]

Those are really nice. 901 series 2 are the only speakers I’ve had that could peg my 1801 meters. But I didn’t have that version. I might have kept them just for the looks.

 

[n0exit]

Kudos! You might wish to give your klh a bit of a 'resto'. Some plastic wood, sand paper and some nice stain - then either some bees wax or danish oil and you'll be golden!

I've thought about doing that. I can pick up some real walnut veneer strips at the local woodworking store that would match up well.

 

[SiliconTi]

I do not believe the extra wood panels are the Continentals (I've never seen any Bose literature that states it) - just an option. I had a pair and they look great! You did well at that price.

I ran mine on 50 watts of power and they sounded great - you'll be OK unless you want to have a block party.

 

[n0exit]

I do not believe the extra wood panels are the Continentals (I've never seen any Bose literature that states it) - just an option. I had a pair and they look great! You did well at that price.

I ran mine on 50 watts of power and they sounded great - you'll be OK unless you want to have a block party.

The manual on the bose website lists Walnut Facings under Accessories and Options.

The Bose 901 is available with walnut facings, to provide the rich look of walnut grain around the entire cabinet. The small grille panel on each speaker front allows a choice of fabrics. Walnut facings are available as a separate add-on it and are not intended for use with the 901 Continental.

Under Power Handling is says:

Continuous sine wave power at any frequency: 50 watts
Minimum recommended amplifier power: 25 watts rms per channel into 8 ohms
Peak power handling ability (less than five seconds): 400 watts
Maximum recommended amplifier power for speech and music: 270 watts rms into 8 ohms.

So I'm probably fine until I want to throw a block party.