901 drivers for line array

epifanatic

epifanatic

acoustically suspended
Any one ever try this? I have a friend who has a pair of 901's (series II, AFAIK) that he will let go of for a song. I would think these drivers might sound nice for such an application. The only bad thing would be the re-foam:scratch2:
 
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Interesting notion, you should give it a shot if for no other reason than to be contrary. I've often wondered how the Bose 901 drivers would sound in different applications. They need EQ of course but so do many other drivers. One wonders why the single-driver fans never defend Bose.

I'd like to hear the 901 driver converted to a field coil and used in an "open baffle".
 
Epi fanatic, I've been considering the same project.

Over the years I bought two pairs of 901's, the first set arrived trashed. I got a full set of drivers in my closet, and have been considering a line array myself.



I got a pair of bottlehead strait 8's that I love. I think the 901 array may sound similar, if fortified with potentially a tweeter.
 
It seems to me that Roger Russell (of McIntosh speaker designs) published a series of articles in AudioXpress on his implementation of a 4" full range line array. Of course, he used the McIntosh Customizable Equalizer to get the best from them. In his case, however, he used Tang Band/TB drivers. You might want to invest in those back issues as he did address some of the design tradeoffs he encountered.

BTW, I knew a guy back in the 70s who used to build 901 knockoff cabinets but used the then-common 6"x9" coaxial auto speakers for drivers. They worked pretty well with a full 10-band parametric equalizer to get quite a whallop out of them - and a lot of power. They worked well for disco back then.

Cheers,

David
 
I think you have already answered your question -- the drivers in the 901s are not so great that a line array made with them would be better than one made with other readily available and inexpensive drivers. And you have to go to the considerable effort of refoaming all of those damn drivers, and the net result would be something worth less than a pair of refoamed 901s.
But if you have time on your hands, and the desire, that changes the equation, if only for you.
 
If they're 901 Series I or II drivers, then refoaming would not apply as they were cloth surrounds. Considerations for line array work are a different challenge. I, too, would tend to leave old 901s alone and opt for newer line array options.

Cheers,

David
 
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