Comments on: Bose 901 Speaker Restoration http://solid-orange.com Twistedsymphony's Playground Sun, 29 Jan 2012 05:13:52 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: pramiryx http://solid-orange.com/hacks/bose-901-speaker-restoration/comment-page-1#comment-16455 pramiryx Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:29:03 +0000 http://solid-orange.com/?page_id=510#comment-16455 Excelent article. You did a very nice job. I happen to have an almost identical series III pair my father gave me which I repaired. The internal wiring was wrong though. Thanks to your diagrams I could fix it and now they sound great. The only strange thing I found is that the wiring on my pair matches your series VI diagram. Thanks for sharing!! Excelent article. You did a very nice job. I happen to have an almost identical series III pair my father gave me which I repaired. The internal wiring was wrong though. Thanks to your diagrams I could fix it and now they sound great. The only strange thing I found is that the wiring on my pair matches your series VI diagram.

Thanks for sharing!!

]]> By: TTRIMBLE http://solid-orange.com/hacks/bose-901-speaker-restoration/comment-page-1#comment-16454 TTRIMBLE Sun, 11 Dec 2011 18:18:53 +0000 http://solid-orange.com/?page_id=510#comment-16454 Just finished this project on my 901s and could not be happier. Your instructions & pictures were spot-on. First driver was a little rough until I got my routine down but then it was smooth to the end. I found it easy to do numbers 1,3,6,8 and then reinstall and do 2,4,5,7 reinstall and then to 9. I also found a note to use a 1.5V battery to connect to the driver to extend and retract(reversing polarity)the cone which was apparently suppose to aid in centering the driver. There was also another U Tube video that showed the use of a Dremel wheel to remove old glue from the paper cone which worked very well. There is a need to be cautious but a light touch made it very effective. Thanks to all for the education and instruction!! Just finished this project on my 901s and could not be happier. Your instructions & pictures were spot-on. First driver was a little rough until I got my routine down but then it was smooth to the end. I found it easy to do numbers 1,3,6,8 and then reinstall and do 2,4,5,7 reinstall and then to 9. I also found a note to use a 1.5V battery to connect to the driver to extend and retract(reversing polarity)the cone which was apparently suppose to aid in centering the driver. There was also another U Tube video that showed the use of a Dremel wheel to remove old glue from the paper cone which worked very well. There is a need to be cautious but a light touch made it very effective. Thanks to all for the education and instruction!!

]]> By: Daniel Shaffer http://solid-orange.com/hacks/bose-901-speaker-restoration/comment-page-1#comment-16216 Daniel Shaffer Wed, 29 Jun 2011 20:20:42 +0000 http://solid-orange.com/?page_id=510#comment-16216 Its not to hard to center the driver . You can use a soda can and cut several strips out. 1/4"x 1 1/4" Carefully remove dust caps, the hardest part. Slide 4 strips evenly spaced in-between magnet and voice coil. You can adjust the height of the cone ,if it is sitting to low ,slide the cone up so even with the rim . just make sure the spider isn't pushed down to far or pulled up to high . It needs to be flat . Keep the spacers in and glue in the replacement surrounds., Let dry then take the spacers out. Replace dust cap. Its not to hard to center the driver . You can use a soda can and cut several strips out. 1/4″x 1 1/4″ Carefully remove dust caps, the hardest part. Slide 4 strips evenly spaced in-between magnet and voice coil. You can adjust the height of the cone ,if it is sitting to low ,slide the cone up so even with the rim . just make sure the spider isn’t pushed down to far or pulled up to high . It needs to be flat . Keep the spacers in and glue in the replacement surrounds., Let dry then take the spacers out. Replace dust cap.

]]> By: DJWalsh http://solid-orange.com/hacks/bose-901-speaker-restoration/comment-page-1#comment-16215 DJWalsh Mon, 27 Jun 2011 22:25:44 +0000 http://solid-orange.com/?page_id=510#comment-16215 Very nice job. Also your article is well written and informative. Great pictures too. This is very helpful. A friend at work just gave me two 901's from his attic and they have no surrounds left either. Looking for surround kits, I came across your article. Similar to you, I was never a huge fan of these speakers because I'm kind of a 3-way / 4-way speaker cabinet guy but it seems worth a try as a constructive or frustrating alternative to watching TV, time will tell. I will learn SOMETHING because I have done lots of amp and speaker work (stereos, guitars, PAs)but never "repaired" a speaker by replacing the surrounds. Eighteen will be "a lot" of them. This may make you cringe, (sorry) but back-in-the-day (late 70's) we used to use similar Bose PA speakers with the Fender Rhodes or Whurlitzer electric pianos because the "attack" from the hammers striking the tone rods or reeds was brutal and big guitar amp speakers couldn't "track" it without breaking up, at least a little. Lots and lots of little drivers did a much better job at it with a big Peavey 200 watt per channel PA head. These may end up in the same service. My concern is the re-centering of the cone(s)which I always though must have been a crap shoot when I saw surround repair kits. The 901's my friend gave me are in very good shape (cabinet and grills) so that part is "already done" and I can concentrate on repairing (and not ruining) the speakers. I just repaired a set of JBL L-100s and they sound great (and I have another set also) but that was only cleaning crossover L-pads, making new grills and replacing the foam do-nut around the tweeters (and their function eludes me but JBL liked them). The do-nuts were only $ 12 a pair two, so "why not"? Skipped the foam speaker grill and made picture-frames of 3/4" quarter round ripped to 1/2" deep, stretched the grill fabric over it and installed it in the JBL frame for the grill. Looks like it came that way. Thanks for the hint about the grill fabric at JoAnn's because I have been buying it at "You-Do-It" Electronics and it is very expensive ($30 - $ 40 a linear yard) I'll certainly go look at JoAnn's "next time". Very nice job and I'm sure your Father will appreciate them. My best regards, DJW Very nice job. Also your article is well written and informative. Great pictures too. This is very helpful.
A friend at work just gave me two 901′s from his attic and they have no surrounds left either. Looking for surround kits, I came across your article. Similar to you, I was never a huge fan of these speakers because I’m kind of a 3-way / 4-way speaker cabinet guy but it seems worth a try as a constructive or frustrating alternative to watching TV, time will tell. I will learn SOMETHING because I have done lots of amp and speaker work (stereos, guitars, PAs)but never “repaired” a speaker by replacing the surrounds. Eighteen will be “a lot” of them. This may make you cringe, (sorry) but back-in-the-day (late 70′s) we used to use similar Bose PA speakers with the Fender Rhodes or Whurlitzer electric pianos because the “attack” from the hammers striking the tone rods or reeds was brutal and big guitar amp speakers couldn’t “track” it without breaking up, at least a little. Lots and lots of little drivers did a much better job at it with a big Peavey 200 watt per channel PA head. These may end up in the same service.
My concern is the re-centering of the cone(s)which I always though must have been a crap shoot when I saw surround repair kits. The 901′s my friend gave me are in very good shape (cabinet and grills) so that part is “already done” and I can concentrate on repairing (and not ruining) the speakers.
I just repaired a set of JBL L-100s and they sound great (and I have another set also) but that was only cleaning crossover L-pads, making new grills and replacing the foam do-nut around the tweeters (and their function eludes me but JBL liked them). The do-nuts were only $ 12 a pair two, so “why not”? Skipped the foam speaker grill and made picture-frames of 3/4″ quarter round ripped to 1/2″ deep, stretched the grill fabric over it and installed it in the JBL frame for the grill. Looks like it came that way. Thanks for the hint about the grill fabric at JoAnn’s because I have been buying it at “You-Do-It” Electronics and it is very expensive ($30 – $ 40 a linear yard) I’ll certainly go look at JoAnn’s “next time”.

Very nice job and I’m sure your Father will appreciate them.
My best regards, DJW

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