Echoing Cal, welcome to the forum, Mike.
Avoiding the usual vitriol
Amar Bose was actually a rather good researcher -it was the bean counters that took Bose in the direction it subsequently went. The 901 was actually a good, compact example of the dispersed radiation type that had a popular fad in the late '60s - early '70s in particular, after smaller scale on / off fans prior to that (and since, for that matter). Since it was compact, EQ was necessary given Hoffman's Iron Law, irrespective of the other implementation details -it just depended on the quantity. Those 1ohm units are actually, believe it or not, quite good examples of the compact wideband type. It's not a favourite speaker of mine by any stretch of the imagination, but it's valid enough for what it is.
Back on topic, I can picture a couple of scenarios where that rewiring might do something -if the original wiring was of insufficient gague, increasing should improve LF dynamic range somewhat as a fair bit of power is often being fed to that driver array. And if that silver plated wire is teflon coated -the HF may well appear to come up as that triboelectric combination can cause some ringing if mechanical vibration gets into them, as is quite likely inside a cabinet. Not something I'd usually recommend but could appear to add a bit of a 'sheen' to the top end. More likely, the recapping of tired components in the EQ will likely remove some contact resistance & possibly bring it back to spec. if the old electrolytics have started to dry out.
Avoiding the usual vitriol
Amar Bose was actually a rather good researcher -it was the bean counters that took Bose in the direction it subsequently went. The 901 was actually a good, compact example of the dispersed radiation type that had a popular fad in the late '60s - early '70s in particular, after smaller scale on / off fans prior to that (and since, for that matter). Since it was compact, EQ was necessary given Hoffman's Iron Law, irrespective of the other implementation details -it just depended on the quantity. Those 1ohm units are actually, believe it or not, quite good examples of the compact wideband type. It's not a favourite speaker of mine by any stretch of the imagination, but it's valid enough for what it is.Back on topic, I can picture a couple of scenarios where that rewiring might do something -if the original wiring was of insufficient gague, increasing should improve LF dynamic range somewhat as a fair bit of power is often being fed to that driver array. And if that silver plated wire is teflon coated -the HF may well appear to come up as that triboelectric combination can cause some ringing if mechanical vibration gets into them, as is quite likely inside a cabinet. Not something I'd usually recommend but could appear to add a bit of a 'sheen' to the top end. More likely, the recapping of tired components in the EQ will likely remove some contact resistance & possibly bring it back to spec. if the old electrolytics have started to dry out.
I am sorry I am not trying to sound like a jerk but saying you improved A pair of Bose 901's to the point they sound unbelievable sounds unbelievable !!! Do you know what Bose stands for ? Buy. other. sound. equipment. To be honest the only way to improve Bose 901's is with gasoline and a lighter. All jokes aside Bose 901's are really a terrible speaker and speaker wire / cable will not make a audible improvement. Saying that is like saying I am going to go upgrade a McDonald's hamburger with better condiments and bun and it will make it unbelievable it's not it's still going to be a terrible McDonald's hamburger !!!! Disclaimer this post was not meant to make fun of any adults that actually still eat McDonald's !!!
Except -they aren't. No, the 901 isn't the best speaker that ever graced the world, and they certainly aren't to my taste, but they're not that bad if you happen to like a moderately compact semi-omni -especially if you're big on orchestral recordings. The 901 tends to get clobbered with the Wave Radio and other assorted dross, but it's reasonable enough for what it is.
Bose 901's can certainly be improved with newer full range/coaxial drivers. Better internal wiring helps to. I did that during Covid lockdown... What is fun is the direct/reflected aspect of the 901. Where they need help is in the bass. The cabinet is simply to small... And a super tweeter helps as well.
The challenge is 9X2 drivers. So low cost drivers are needed (unless you have deep pockets). So I rolled the dice with these: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2251832705480088.html
Ended OK result - but at the end of the day you still have some simple plywood cabinets with the direct/reflected 1:8 driver ratio.
Fun, but a redesign of the idea with modern parts would work fine. One could still have a 120 degree reflective set of rear panels and a small front-firing set of drivers. Padded down for the 8:1 ratio. I would use small inexpensive dome tweeters in combination with 4" midrage drivers and then a fat woofer in the base. Crossed over at say 150 hz. The midrange/dome setup can be crossed over at say 2.5kHz. So: retain the 120 degree geometry. 3 midrange drivers. 3 dome tweeters and one 12" Bass and we would have a fun DIY project.
The challenge is 9X2 drivers. So low cost drivers are needed (unless you have deep pockets). So I rolled the dice with these: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2251832705480088.html
Ended OK result - but at the end of the day you still have some simple plywood cabinets with the direct/reflected 1:8 driver ratio.
Fun, but a redesign of the idea with modern parts would work fine. One could still have a 120 degree reflective set of rear panels and a small front-firing set of drivers. Padded down for the 8:1 ratio. I would use small inexpensive dome tweeters in combination with 4" midrage drivers and then a fat woofer in the base. Crossed over at say 150 hz. The midrange/dome setup can be crossed over at say 2.5kHz. So: retain the 120 degree geometry. 3 midrange drivers. 3 dome tweeters and one 12" Bass and we would have a fun DIY project.
The basic flaw on Bose (or advantage) is that the sound is delivered slightly out of phase, as all the drivers are not the same distance from your ears.
That can reduce the sharpness of the sound, as the peaks and lows clash among themselves.
Like above, good for only some types of music, like Western Classical.
But they were sold very well, FWIW...everybody was made to think it was the best speaker ever when it was released.
I do not think the sales figures reflect the hype.
In any case, Bose is not a top rated brand in the world market, and is mainly a trading company now, selling products developed mostly by the suppliers to a fairly generic specification, not innovative stuff like the noise cancelling headphones.
Actually, that Teflon insulated wire was a high specification wire, there was no need to replace it.
That can reduce the sharpness of the sound, as the peaks and lows clash among themselves.
Like above, good for only some types of music, like Western Classical.
But they were sold very well, FWIW...everybody was made to think it was the best speaker ever when it was released.
I do not think the sales figures reflect the hype.
In any case, Bose is not a top rated brand in the world market, and is mainly a trading company now, selling products developed mostly by the suppliers to a fairly generic specification, not innovative stuff like the noise cancelling headphones.
Actually, that Teflon insulated wire was a high specification wire, there was no need to replace it.
For someone who has been in here since '04... why don't you put your money where your mouth is? I don't see that blue shield next to your name.
Besides, difficulty of building is not a valid reason for dismissing the validity of any design.
The D12 is a very interesting design, similar designs are used in metrology for measuring the acoustics of live spaces because they generate an uniform wave front. Often a single speaker is coupled with an amp, signal generation, a calibrated microphone(s) and measuring equipment to document the modes of a room.
Using a couple of them for audio, or indeed a bunch of them for surround, present an interesting proposition. Because they are truly omnidirectional speakers.
The Bose 901 sort of tried of using a guided room energy loading... it is more of a "rear ambienced biased" design. It's main failure, IMHO, is the poor quality of its drivers. They had to cut back on the BOM to make it a marketable viability.
Indeed, putting together such a speaker is a marketing difficulty because of cost. The current metrology designs go for $3500 each, and that's for relatively small metrology speakers. Building a pair of such speakers that are full range will kick in a BOM in the high four digits, per pair, when using high quality drivers.
The Cone of Silence, as I described, with the speakers facing inwards and the head inside is actually the ultimate "headphone", providing a uniform acoustic pressure about the head. Furthermore, with multiple drivers it provides the means to implement sound vectoring techniques.
Now, about your dismissal about "typical trolling".... Just because you may not understand the physics behind something, are unwilling to think through the possibilities of a given design or simply because you dismiss something off hand on account of the complexity of the design and/or difficulty of building it, does not give you any credence to dismiss it as "trolling".
BTW, modern dipoles and monopoles achieve what the 901 could never do. I run a pair of Maggie 1.7s in my living room and years ago I did some experiments with two pairs of Acoustic Energy AE1s. As it turns out, a controlled narrow directivity is better than an spherical wave front from the speaker because controlling the reflections from the side walls, ceiling and floor are very important to create a stereo "image".
There... that's trolling enough for you?
I ought to note that there is a lot of dumping on the OP.
I know that many of us believe that it's "Bose Stereo Nowhere" but the fellow is just documenting some stuff he did to his speakers and it did change the quality of the sound. We all know that Bose had to cut corners on the BOM to make that speaker a commercial possibility.
I know that many of us believe that it's "Bose Stereo Nowhere" but the fellow is just documenting some stuff he did to his speakers and it did change the quality of the sound. We all know that Bose had to cut corners on the BOM to make that speaker a commercial possibility.
Have you actually heard a 901 set up correctly in a room wrt boundaries with the EQ and powered by real high power / high current ( like 300 wpc ) amp and turned up . If so, which series and amplification chain ?
They suck with lower power (even 100 wpc is marginal) and without the EQ (heard of so many folks running these without EQ or with faulty EQ modules or with winoy home theater receivers).
IMHO, the Bose 901 series 1 and 2 established the company as a force and it went downhill from there (esp after series 4 or so)
Nowadays, audiophiles love to bash anything produced by the company. I have little or no respect for 99 % of products produced by Bose .. but the 901 were ahead of their time when first introduced .
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We demoed a pair (not sure what series) at an audio store back in the '70s when we were buying our first stereo system (my 2 brothers and I). Can't remember what amp the store was using, maybe a Phase Linear (it was pretty big). Demo material was the Solti/CSO Mahler 8 recording (LP). Salesperson started it out fairly loud (but reasonable) volume level, on a lower level portion. We kept watching him to make sure he didn't turn it down. By the end, the speakers were squealing and physically hopping up and down on their stands. That pretty much ruled them out. It came down to the original Infinity Monitors (Walsh tweeter) or the AMT 1s. We went with the Infinity.
My music theory prof bought a pair of 901s. Didn't like them in his system either.
My music theory prof bought a pair of 901s. Didn't like them in his system either.
It would be easier to read your posts if the content contained more truth and knowledge. Naresh, please consider this before posting again on this subject.
No doubt about it.
They are also the reason we don't have them on the regular market.