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Need Advice On My 901's, Your .02 Appreciated!

Ragnar51

Ragnar51

Member
I have a set of 901 series V that, once I got them hooked up correctly, sound fine to me. It's been recommended that due to their age, the speaker surrounds should be replaced, sounds more than reasonable to me. Been talking with a gentleman in MA who will replace the driver surrounds with cloth and will also do an upgrade/update to the active EQ module. Now, for the dilemma, BOSE has offered me to swap for a new set for 599.00 which is somewhat more than the rebuild(s) would cost.

Guess the question to all is, prices notwithstanding, would you rather have the rebuilds or the new set?

Thanks as always!! Kevin in CT
 
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When you talk about a swap, I take it Bose is offering a new set of drivers for $599 plus your old drivers? How much for new drivers without the exchange? Are you sure your old drivers need refoamed?

I can't help with the answer to your question, I was just curious as I have a pair of VI that I have not hooked up yet, so your thread intrigued me.
 
I'd just get the refoamed..or refoam them yourself..if they need to be done. How about popping the grilles off and having a look?
 
Apparently the 901 series VI don't have the foam rot. Do you like the way the VI's look compared to the V's?
 
Ragnar51 said:
I have a set of 901 series V that, once I got them hooked up correctly, sound fine to me. It's been recommended that due to their age, the speaker surrounds should be replaced, sounds more than reasonable to me.
Click to expand...
What is the condition of your surrounds? Are they coming apart? I'd base the decision on that, not somebody's recommendation sight unseen. As the old adage goes, "if it works, don't fix it". You could create a problem.
Been talking with a gentleman in MA who will replace the driver surrounds with cloth and will also do an upgrade/update to the active EQ module.
Click to expand...
How much is he asking for his service?
 
Hi again guys, doing them myself is not an option for me. Not mechanically oriented at ALL :) My understanding is that the grilles are stapled on and again I refer you to point #1. The total for the re-edging + overhaul of the active EQ is less than the upgrade offer & actually, I probably don't qualify for the upgrade as i'm not the original owner. What is sounding strange to me now is most likely best described as "imaging", IOW the vocalist is clearly predominant on the left channel (this is borne out by meter deflection on amp & tape deck) yet spatially it's sounding like it's on the right. Hope I've been clear :)

Kevin in CT
 
Ragnar51 said:
I have a set of 901 series V that, once I got them hooked up correctly, sound fine to me. It's been recommended that due to their age, the speaker surrounds should be replaced, sounds more than reasonable to me. Been talking with a gentleman in MA who will replace the driver surrounds with cloth and will also do an upgrade/update to the active EQ module. Now, for the dilemma, BOSE has offered me to swap for a new set for 599.00 which is somewhat more than the rebuild(s) would cost.

Guess the question to all is, prices notwithstanding, would you rather have the rebuilds or the new set?

Thanks as always!! Kevin in CT
Click to expand...
Sad truth is with "leave well enough alone" doesn't work with foam surrounds, and the only exception I'm aware of are early Radio Shack speakers which had non-rot foams (mine are all 30+ years old and no rot so far).

Play them with foams going bad and you'll damage drivers before you know it, and given the cost of 901's that's one roll of dice I wouldn't play with.

I'd check again with Bose about the exchange making it positively clear you are not the original owner. I don't honestly recall, from other posts, that it matters. They likely rebuild them and resell them or exchange them anyway so they're making money no matter what.

If you go the rebuild there had better be a guarantee with it. And you had better be able to test BEFORE paying and taking them home.

Oh, my guess is you'll likely get some kind of warranty with the exchanged speakers, and possibly better than what you'll get with the re-foam. If you can spare the coin the Bose route may be the better long term solution.
 
Bose has had a trade-in program for 901s since the 80s. It isn't advertised but is available to those who purchased 901s over the years. Say what you will about Bose, how many other companies offer such an arrangement for speakers that can be 10+ years old?

I exercised this program with my 901 Series IIIs back in the 80s. At the time, they even provided boxes to ship my old ones back in, too.

My suggestion is to got for the upgrade program, if you can spare the change. While a number of us here can - and have - refoamed old drivers, consider that the speakers will still remain older speakers. At least you'll have a new set to work with.

I'd say go for the upgrade if you can.

Cheers,

David
 
Evidence of foam rot should be obvious. Remove the grill cloth and run your fingers gently around the surrounds. If they are rotted they will easily crumble and fall away. If there is no sign of this they are fine and do not need to be replaced. Do not replace foam surrounds with cloth, they will change the entire design, the speakers will not perform as intended. I would also not allow anyone to "upgrade" the equalizer. That would be a mistake. Whoever is giving you this bad advice doesn't know what he is talking about and might ruin your speakers. If the speakers have foam rot Bose's offer should be very attractive. If you like the sound of 901 take it. For the difference you will be getting a brand new product that represents their best effort in this product to date. If there is nothing wrong with them, leave well enough alone and don't trust them to a stranger, at least not until you've seen and heard evidence of work he has done on the same product.
 
Ragnar51 said:
What is sounding strange to me now is most likely best described as "imaging", IOW the vocalist is clearly predominant on the left channel (this is borne out by meter deflection on amp & tape deck) yet spatially it's sounding like it's on the right. Hope I've been clear :)

Kevin in CT
Click to expand...

Are you sure your speaker wires didn't get crossed from left to right by chance?

As a former non-original owner I took advantage of Bose's upgrade offer from a pair of IV to V series. They had no problem and never asked if I was an original owner that I recall.

$600.00 is pretty cheap for a new pair of speakers if you like what the 901s do.:yes:
 
Bose replaced my Series IV with rotted foam with an unused Series VI system. If they are still offering the same deal, then:

• They don't care if you are the original owner

• They will replace the speakers and the EQ. You keep your old pedestals. You pay for shipping one-way to Bose.

• They will only do this if the old surrounds were bad, which you haven't determined.

AFAIK, there is no such thing as upgrading a Bose equalizer. There are minor differences between the Series V and Series VI.

When the foam surrounds start to go bad, you can't tell by looking at them. Play this disc: http://www2.concordmusicgroup.com/albums/Tchaikovsky-1812-Overture-Beethoven-Wellingtons-Vi/ If one of the cannon shots freaks out your speakers, then the surrounds are bad. If so, I recommend you go for Bose's trade-in, as once did myself. I would rather have the brand new Bose 901 Series VI version 2 for $600—less than half price! They have new cloth surrounds.
 
Bose did the same thing for me with my 301 series II's

They sent me brand new speakers,
I sent my old bose back in their prepackaged stuff IIRC.


There are many things I dislike about BOSE, but their support for their older lines aren't one of them.

It all started when I called for a replacement tweeter, and the rep asked me if the woofer was damaged, when I replied negatively, she asked me to check again, as they no longer made the driver, and would rather replace the entire set of speakers. I checked, the woofer was fine, ten years later, the woofer failed, and they swapped them out. I think it cost me a couple hundred dollars at most.

I say get the new bose. But you will NEED to verify that the surrounds have failed, so you'll have to open them up to look.

Now that I think of it, I wonder if they'll replace my 151s.

jaz
 
Thanks!

Thanks guys for all your considered advice it is much appreciated. The third party "upgrade" to the active EQ is essentially a recap and deoxit of the unit (should've made that more clear in my first post.) Is its any easier to open the rear of the cabinets than the fronts?

I've got an email in to tech support to see if I can deliver the speakers to MA instead of doing the whole pack/ship/pray they get there in one piece thing.

Again, many thanks guys!!

Kevin in CT
 
Yes, in later model 901's it's easy to remove the rear grills. They're attached only with a repositionable glue. Rub your finger across the bottom edge and just pull them out, gently. When you're done, just put them back on.

jazzmans, how did the sound of your new 301's compare with the earlier model?
 
Hoho said:
Yes, in later model 901's it's easy to remove the rear grills. They're attached only with a repositionable glue. Rub your finger across the bottom edge and just pull them out, gently. When you're done, just put them back on.

jazzmans, how did the sound of your new 301's compare with the earlier model?
Click to expand...

About the same, actually. One more tweeter, but all drivers were the same size. The only other thing changed was the funky deflector (looked like a single fan blade that I could turn 90 deg) was gone, and instead the other tweeter was angled more.


I called bose about my 151's and unfortunately, bose does NOT sell replacement drivers at all any longer, :no: but 75$ and free shipping and they'll totally recondition my speakers (with new 10 year warrenty). Can't decide if I want to do that or not.

One thing I"ve always liked about bose is that 3 1/2 ' driver. It just has such a nice sound, especially in the midrange. same driver in the 901's, just .... 9 of them. It was also the same driver they used in the eighties-nineties, dunno bout now, in all their car audio systems. It was always a poor mans 901 to strip enough out of cars that were junked, and fab cabinets.

jaz
 
Bose replacements

My $0.02 here, if you can I would definetly go for the deal that Bose has offered you. On the 901s there is much more than just replacing/refoaming the drivers (or any "speaker" for that matter). It takes test and measurements to achieve a speakers original specifications as the way it was designed and intented to re-produce true sounds. Same holds true to the Bose Active Equalizer.
With this deal that Bose is offering you on the 901's, think of it like this, not only will you be getting new updated 901's at half the cost (as someone already pointed out) but you would also be getting a brand new pair that are at their peak specification performance wise as well as a brand new Active Equalizer. Keep this in mind, you can always refoam used speakers and they will probably sound decent but nothing beats a "brand new" pair of speakers!:scratch2:
Good Luck at whatever direction you persue.:D
 
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