Bose 901 Series 3 Repair and Refoaming

texasound.blogspot.com/p/speak...
We offer a complete speaker repair and restoration service. Our specialty is vintage speakers and the reversal of all age related issues. We can even restore your vintage speakers' performance to be good as new. Just take a look at some of our videos and the before and after shots of our work to see the results for yourself.
We are located in Austin Texas. In North Austin near Burnet, and West Koenig.
We meet by appointment, and can be reached
By phone: [phone]
By email: [e-mail]

[@theaveragesimmer4780]

ive refoamed a million 901 drivers, and to you out there reading this. One thing I highly recommend is taking a full, unopened, regular size bottle of water and setting it on top of the speaker as you refoam it. It will evenly compress the speaker and make it so that when you glue, the speaker will be even with the coil and not vibrate later on. The hardest part of refoaming these is getting the drivers aligned.

[@ethanbenson867]

Thank you for the advice I just scored a pair of these for free at a garage sale in exceptional shape and just got the repair kit in the mail and have been dreading how I'm gonna keep all these dang speakers aligned.

[@victoryfirst2878]

Job well done. Something I did I would say ten years ago. Keep up the good information and good work too.

[@RichieRouge206]

Really interesting job actually. Always liked the look of the 901

[@fuzzy8mike]

Great presentation and each step very clearly explained. Thankyou.

[@juliogudino4764]

Thanks for the Video, really nice explanation, excellent job!

[@Klystron33]

Thanks alot for sharing your knowledge with us! Great job indeed! Regards from Germany.

[@texasound1]

Was ist los?

[@merlesson1164]

Nice repair and demonstration.

[@Mattyschwa]

THANK YOU TEXAS SOUND!!! Got a kit that included the "White Glue" and, on your reccomendation found some of the faster-setting Brown glue. Was able to do each one one by one and get them calibrated very easily....WITHOUT SHIMS!! Thanks for the helpful video. They sound GREAT! -Matt

[@srmrs]

Great job! The Bose 901 series I and II don’t have this problem cause the drive suspension are made by cloth.

[@stevefirth725]

Wow I will now rethink my plan to restore my 901 pair.

[@BEERLIGHTBROKER]

Bob Ross of speaker repair!!!

[@MichelLinschoten]

BARLIGHTBROKER and here we will, fix the woofer ....... and .... make it a happy woofer

[@chanakyacheloor3155]

Super bro . From india i salute u. Well bose owner amer bose indian origion

[@logotrikes]

Don't like Bose, but this was an interesting how-to for other drivers. Thanks for sharing....

[@TheWGLOVER]

I really enjoyed that.

[@TomJohnson121]

Many thanks for spening so much time to show how this procedure is done - just eventually got a pair - of 901s - I'm guessing when I pick them up -or / before I bought them iI thought -what if the foam has gone - /really good to see a repair kit - and -many thanks for showing all he tips on how to restore them - / I know its going be a patient job to do - but wanted a pair of these for 20 years now - just never had the money to buy 2 nd hand - and always wonered about repairs -to the foam -coils and so on - -out of interest are there any components inside the cabinett that can come lose eg wires - terminal - any resistors on a crossover - -is there one inside -.I f you make a mistake centring them can it be re done or is the glue too strong ? .this is great help -10.ot of 10 ! :)

[@texasound1]

Thanks

[@leokroll328]

Well done. I found a pair of old 901's and the foams were deteriorated. I bought the foam kit for 50 bucks which included the caps. I agree that shims are imperative when re-foaming. The Bose 901's sound is very clear at mid and high range. However, they do lack the solid bottom end. If you know the sub that is the accompaniment, please let me know.

[@theaveragesimmer4780]

You dont need shims. just a bottle of water and a steady hand. Oh! and really decent glue

[@joselacera8716]

THANK YOU SIR VERY NICE WORK

[@Robert8455]

Nice job. Should be good for another 40 years or so.

[@emfarfan]

Thanks for the instructions, nicely done! Did you glue the back cloth cover using the rubber cement or reattach otherwise?

[@pcno2832]

Nice video. I've always wondered how many DIY attempts at this are successful. Just a bit of grit, a slight misalignment from uneven shrinkage or a shim that didn't make it all the way in, or a little too much force could spoil any one of the 9 drivers. I'm sure replacing one that is scuffing would be simple, but finding it after slowly admitting that it wasn't going to get any better would be excruciating.

[@texasound1]

You got to love the DIY's Buy some $5. speakers at the thrift shop and practice on them

[@tausha46]

GREAT VIDEO THANKS

[@TomJohnson121]

Wheer can you get the brown glue -or does that come with the pack - is there a link to that glue -thank you :)

[@alejandromoreno8509]

Increible!, este hombre me ha inspirado

[@camelazo]

Inspirado a que? son una cochinada!!

[@alejandromoreno8509]

@@camelazo a que te refieres? si es un gran trabajo el que hizo

[@puntarocka]

@@alejandromoreno8509 hay qué ignorar a este frustrado y tomar en cuenta sólo los comentarios positivos.

[@laerciocosta201]

very important video

[@rossbarrett9103]

Does anyone know what the internal wire gauge is? I think it's just aluminum wire. Would be a benefit to upgrading the wire or would it change the sound too much?

[@beverlyleano-bascos4051]

thankyou verry much sir for this video

[@rbjazzman]

Love the video! Are your plastic shims the same thickness as a piece of standard copy paper?

[@rvtraveler1537]

What do I do if I accidentally cut the speaker paper?

[@ronaldarchibald2506]

I had a set of these at one time. They were loud. Like three doors down hear them clearly. But as stated they lack sub frequency bass we hear in all modern speakers. I am considering refurbishing a cheap pair and using them as my side surrounds since the lows are unnecessary for that channel. Plus my current setup has 175w going to each of the 7 channels. Not that I ever use that high of listening level but nice to have the capacity for the odd movie that has abundant sound on the side channels.

[@charlesmarques8954]

I wouldn't advise using 901s as surround speakers. Bose's active equalizer was specifically designed for 901 speakers only. Take away the active equalizer and the 901s sound flat and awful. When in a surround system getting the speaker to sound as intended active equalization will be required. Conversely, the non 901 speakers in the system, not designed for use with active equalization and will sound harsh when subjected to 901 equalization. You can verify negative impact to the sound quality (flat and lacking dynamic range) by playing 901s without the active equalizer and the harshness when using the active equalizer with non 901 speakers. Either way you won't be happy with the sound.

[@gerardcatalano5405]

Hey Texasound, great vid on the 901 restoration. I'm doing it now.... series 1. Any chance you are near Austin? I'm in Cedar Park, but my real question is do you know where to get the most original looking fabric to reupholster the grills?

[@emorykearns2073]

Anyone know where I can find that same speaker fabric

[@edwardolson1454]

I have a pair of these and I’m wondering what company actually repairs 901’s series 3

[@ronnykjaer9126]

hur funkar det om 20-25 år att byta foamringar om man använder ett sådant lim får man väck det limmet då och hur är det elastik vanligt trälim blir ju endå mjukt tror ljubilden blir en annan om använder fel lim

[@MatthewSmith-pn2ro]

What do you charge for this service

[@michaelpukmel4776]

Thanks!

[@bcu567obzx]

How cheap can you get using staples, some extra thought would have been valuable

[@samtakahashi52]

Great tips. Thank you. Do you recommend cloth or form repair kit?

[@texasound1]

foam

[@markbaptiste1869]

Awesome

[@jetsontheair]

Very interesting and important video. Just for curiosity: could those drivers be replaced?

[@GradyWhite2007]

If you want to do that.....buy a new set if they make em anymore. Honestly...I've had the 4's since 89..I'm thinking about refoaming and selling them...There's better speakers out there...I already have some on my other sound system...Incredible sound..

[@MichelLinschoten]

Howard Mora there are aftermarket ones you can get... tbh I wouldn’t, many haters seems to believe these are junk little drivers. I beg the differ , they were 0.9 ohm each and had a proprietary voice coil. I am sure the aftermarket ones do not

[@princecharmonpoirtoi]

But great job, thanks!

[@daytonwoodford4386]

U the man

[@waterlife.1905]

Why does Bose still sell foam for the 901s? I was hoping they had butyl or cloth surrounds for the repair of them. Would last longer.

[@k4adz]

There is a place that sells cloth simply speakers

[@danielandrews8858]

I have watched the video three times and still have been unable to figure out what the three plastic shims in the center of the cone are for. Why cut the three slots in the center cone and then put the shims in the slots only to remove them later and glue the slots closed if you're not going to use them, or need them, during the rebuild process?

[@Dixler683]

Ha too funny danny, you are kidding, right?

[@MrFrog265]

Yeah I'm with you mate. What is that all about? The arrogance it takes to respond, but not even answer the question is ridiculous too.

[@1967250s]

There is a gap between the cone coil and magnet. The shims ensure that the air gap is even all the way around the coil so the cone does not drag and distort the sound. Instead of cutting the dust cap, I put a drop of acetone on the dust cap glue. When it softens, you can lift off the cap, and insert the shims more easily. Then glue the cap back on when the foam is glued back on.

[@COLMWALSH07]

​@@Dixler683dickhead

[@sajiktm]

may i know what is the impedance of each speaker and how much is the net impedance whole speakers connected in the cabinet?

[@KSMike1]

Each driver is 0.9 Ohms. So each cabinet is 0.9 x 9 = 8.1 Ohms.

[@thomasdieter3883]

Thank you a lot for uploading this great video. Is it the same with all Series of the Bose 901?

[@giovannipg3000]

Yes they are all the same

[@meademorgan6614]

Why use foam surrounds,wouldn’t butyl rubber be longer lasting and better?

[@rbjazzman]

ALWAYS use the "cloth" impregnated surrounds!

[@RA-uj3nm]

👍👍🍺🍺

[@1sonyzz]

old vintage speakers , HUGE enclosure - small driver nice and good sound at low volume.... i mean in that enclosure they could put atleast 10'' driver thats why vintage radios and vinyl players was a space wasting - they do sound good but you buy today speakers which sound good or better and is 3-5 times smaller

[@user-hz8ml5sq4p]

BOSE901、わかりやすい名前。 101のユニットを9個付けています。 これのどこに価値があるか全くわかりません。 そもそも101のユニットも微妙ですし。 素人のアメリカンサウンドとか言ってBOSEとJBLを同列に比較なんてお笑いです。

[@wetsox278]

Good video but you took zero consideration for us people with OCD. You glue all around on one dust cap and don't do the other seven. I feel completely unbalanced now.

[@iliasgtirgtir2601]

WRONG sorry but this way is very wrong ,, you are destroying the dust for no reason while you can use a signal generator ,,, without tearing

[@princecharmonpoirtoi]

the glue added weight could vary the sensitivity on any driver too.

[@lucasbretels]

I do this also, using a generator to control the center of the conus!👌

[@jogmas12]

No highs no lows must be Bose

[@OscarGonzalez-yw4pp]

lmao

[@OscarGonzalez-yw4pp]

well the speaker doesn't have a tweeter or a dedicated woofer for low bass, His opinion is pretty accurate.[

[@johnr6168]

Why bother repairing it. Get some real hifi equipment. If it was better designed it would be much easier to remove the grill.

[@texasound1]

Many years ago I was a Bose warranty station. They told me they would pull my account if I ever said that to a customer again! They didn't think that was funny.

[@TheBushhammer]

@@texasound1 Too funny!

[@tom-iv6lc]

My god. Its been 50 years. If your speakers require an EQ they suck. ALL MIDS AND NO LOW, MUST BE BOSE. BOOMERS.....MOVE ON. SAme with the corvettes.

[@texasound1]

Why would you take the time to comment on something you don't care about? Why do care what kind of speaker or car someone likes? Find something you like and quit being a jerk,get a life!

[@buzzcrushtrendkill]

You hate Bose, but you watch a Bose video and decide you needed to be a jackass and leave the typical "audiophile-wanna-be" comment. You are seriously bored.

[@40bmorrow01]

Apparently you've never owned a pair of 901 I use them only when I use my turntable and the room I have them in is 12 ft High 16 ft wide and 35 ft long play sound amazing for my surround sound I actually have a 12.2 system that I use for that so everything has its place but yes I must be like a typical Corvette owner 1974 hardtop convertible