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Bose AM-5 series 1 crossover frequency?

AudioGMan

AudioGMan

Well-Known Member
I found a seller of a Bose AM-5 series 1 subwoofer/satellite speaker set that I’m interested in buying. I’m not a Bose fan by any means. The only reason I’m interested in buying the three piece set is so I can use the bass module in the trunk of my car(1999 Honda Civic coupe) to add some extra bass. I’m currently using a pair of 6-1/2” coaxial door speakers powered by a 50Wx2 amplifier and was considering connecting the coaxials to the bass module outputs. Does anyone know what the crossover frequency is on the bass module outputs? Not much information online about the AM-5 series 1.
 
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if you do that, you are going backwards with your system.

use your money to buy a proper amp and sub or upgrade your coax's or your 50Wx2 amp or all of those but don't put that bose sub in your car.
 
painttoad said:
if you do that, you are going backwards with your system.

use your money to buy a proper amp and sub or upgrade your coax's or your 50Wx2 amp or all of those but don't put that bose sub in your car.
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Unless he is getting it as really great price.....Not sure....;)
 
kevintomb said:
Unless he is getting it as really great price.....Not sure....;)
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even so. it's going backwards. i've heard those "subs" they don't sound good at all and that's in a room in which they are kind of "designed" for, not a trunk. there is no way that "sub" can sound good anywhere. :no:
 
painttoad said:
if you do that, you are going backwards with your system.

use your money to buy a proper amp and sub or upgrade your coax's or your 50Wx2 amp or all of those but don't put that bose sub in your car.
Click to expand...
My objective is to use a two channel amplifier with a bandpass subwoofer to keep it simple. I just want to add a little bit more bass than what the two 6-1/2” door coaxials can provide. The Bose AM-5 bass module is rated at 4 ohms and has a left/right inout and doesn’t take up too much room. I can lay it on it’s side behind my back seat. I’m not going for the best bass in my car. I have plenty of 8”-15” car subwoofers that I can use but the Bose would be plug and play. Size is really the determining factor. And it would have to be a stereo bandpass to eliminate the need for a low pass crossover.
 
painttoad said:
even so. it's going backwards. i've heard those "subs" they don't sound good at all and that's in a room in which they are kind of "designed" for, not a trunk. there is no way that "sub" can sound good anywhere. :no:
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But have you heard the AM-5 series 1? The original AM-5? I remember hearing it when it came out in 1986 and being impressed that so much bass was coming out of a box containing two 6” woofers. I’ve also heard many other Bose “subwoofers” since and none sound like the original.
 
good luck to you.

Bose AM5 series 1 modification

I know, I know, not worth it... But, it is very easy and cheap to do. Original crossover schematic reveals parallel RLC circuit in unsuccessful attempt to linearize the frequency response of the double-cube satellite. The first low value resistor actually is a lamp for protection. Two 33 microF...
www.diyaudio.com www.diyaudio.com
 
painttoad said:
good luck to you.

Bose AM5 series 1 modification

I know, I know, not worth it... But, it is very easy and cheap to do. Original crossover schematic reveals parallel RLC circuit in unsuccessful attempt to linearize the frequency response of the double-cube satellite. The first low value resistor actually is a lamp for protection. Two 33 microF...
www.diyaudio.com www.diyaudio.com
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Thanks. I already read that yesterday.
 
I ask a simple question that the answer to should be a fact and all I get is opinions. All I asked was “Does anyone know what the crossover frequency is on the bass module outputs?”
 
i was just trying to help you out. i stated that i had heard them before.

but i thought that the link i provided, which you said that you read,. answered the question.

Annotation 2023-08-26 080914.png

so, my guess is the xover is about 210hz.
 
painttoad said:
i was just trying to help you out. i stated that i had heard them before.

but i thought that the link i provided, which you said that you read,. answered the question.

View attachment 2969091

so, my guess is the xover is about 210hz.
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I appreciate you trying to help. The article explains how to improve the response of the satellites but it doesn’t state what the high pass output of the bass module is. It shows a frequency response graph but apparently that is the system as a whole. I don’t see a dip centered at 210Hz as stated. All I see is the one at 2500Hz. I think around 200Hz would be my guess too. I was just wondering if maybe it was closer to 100Hz.
 
It's not a subwoofer, it's a "bass module." Complete waste of time, money, and effort. It has a hard enough time with mid bass, it can't do bass.
I don't recall exactly, but there is a hole around 200-400Hz or so. The bass module has a "camelback" response with peaks at 150ish and 80ish. Past 80Hz, output drops like a rock.
 
hopeless said:
It's not a subwoofer, it's a "bass module." Complete waste of time, money, and effort. It has a hard enough time with mid bass, it can't do bass.
I don't recall exactly, but there is a hole around 200-400Hz or so. The bass module has a "camelback" response with peaks at 150ish and 80ish. Past 80Hz, output drops like a rock.
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Again. I asked if anyone knows what the high pass crossover frequency of the bass module outputs is. You either know or you don’t. I didn’t ask what your opinion of it is or if it’s worth the time, money, or effort. And I know it’s a bass module. That’s why I’ve been referring to it as a bass module.
 
AudioGMan said:
Again. I asked if anyone knows what the high pass crossover frequency of the bass module outputs is. You either know or you don’t. I didn’t ask what your opinion of it is or if it’s worth the time, money, or effort. And I know it’s a bass module. That’s why I’ve been referring to it as a bass module.
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200-250 as stated. Have fun.
 
Since you aren't going to believe what people tell you, why ask? You won't believe this, but the low pass crossover isn't anywhere near 100Hz. Bose tunes the crossover to result in a real frequency near 210Hz, +/- 3dB. It's tuned to try to match the frequency response (approx 280-13500Hz) of their useless cube speakers.
 
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