Best way to hookup Bose 901s into my H/T setup

[lovinthehd]

I'll confirm what others have mentioned. You can't integrate the 901s into a 5.1 setup with that AVR as it lacks pre-outs. Using the Zone-2 pre-outs is the only option for 2-channel source material. I would not try and use the other speakers with the 901s due to timing issues. If you are set on using the 901s, run the Zone-2 out to the Pioneer or another integrated amp or receiver and connect the Bose EQ to the tape loop and just enjoy it as a 2-channel setup. The most I would invest in would be a used integrated amp. I have a Marantz SR-4023 for example that has 80W/ch and pre-out / main-in jacks that accommodate an equalizer and those can be found for a couple hundred dollars. You could also run the Pioneer stand-alone for just the 901s and maybe connect a CD player or streamer to it. If you really want to use the Zone-2 for another room, note that the pre-outs and the analogue inputs are high impedance so you can get away with a Y-splitter on the Zone-2 out and connect to two components.

Zone B has line-outs, not pre-outs, so even if you do use them adjusting volume in the second receiver would be a constant thing to deal with.

(corrected, said zone 2 originally)

 

[Trebdp83]

To complicate matters more, the 595 has just the Zone B Line Out, not the Zone 2/Zone B combo like other models. Zone B Line Out cannot be used while sending audio to Zone 2. And, when using Zone B Line Out, audio in Zone A is restricted to just Stereo or All Channel Stereo mode. Again, I'd leave the Onkyo alone. If the Pioneer has the ports needed to accommodate the equalizer and run the speakers on its own, I'd keep the 901 IV speakers in their own system if they are a working pair. I'd use the Sonos Port connected to the Pioneer. If all of the Sonos devices support Airplay 2, an iOS device or Mac could send music to any one of them or all of them simultaneously. This would also include the folks in the Onkyo's Zone 2 room as Airplay does not have Zone restrictions. Results will vary, of course.

 

[Eppie]

Zone B has line-outs, not pre-outs, so even if you do use them adjusting volume in the second receiver would be a constant thing to deal with.

(corrected, said zone 2 originally)

Yeah, I agree with Treb just to use the Pioneer and treat it as a standalone system.

 

[Mez]

First time poster here.

I just picked up a pair of Bose 901 series I for very cheap without an equalizer. I owned a pair in the 1970's for a short time and realize all their faults, and have to agree with the negative comments in this thread.

However, I like to experiment with speakers but the following idea I am about to provide may be a total waste of time and effort.

I was thinking of building a new cabinet with all 8 Bose drivers facing forward and use a tweeter, subwoofer and crossover I have on the shelf from a previous projects. Basically, just using the Bose drivers to build a new speaker with a crossover at ~200 Hz to the sub and ~2000 Hz to the tweeter. I did set up and measure the frequency response using REW and without the equalizer, it looked pretty bad. Correction....very bad.

Comment?

 

[Swerd]

I was thinking of building a new cabinet with all 8 Bose drivers facing forward and use a tweeter, subwoofer and crossover I have on the shelf from a previous projects. Basically, just using the Bose drivers to build a new speaker with a crossover at ~200hz to the sub and ~2000hrz to the tweeter. I did set up and measure the frequency response using REW and without the equalizer, it looked pretty bad. Correction....very bad.

Comment?

My short answer is DON'T!

Using a single Bose driver as a small mid-woofer, combined with a dome tweeter might work. But I doubt if using 8 of them at the same time would be good. Have you given any thought to how you would wire 8 mid-woofers? In parallel, in series? Their responses and impedance will be quite different depending on how you wire them. Any cabinet you made for this would be unusually bulky and awkward.

Throwing in a crossover that you happen to have sitting around is almost certain to not work. All crossovers are essentially custom made for the drivers they're intended to work with. To do that, you must know what the mechanical and electrical properties of the drivers you intend to use. These properties are called Thiel/Small parameters, often abbreviated as T/S parameters. It is highly unlikely that the unused crossover you have lying around will be a good match for what you have in mind.

If you buy a tweeter, the manufacturer will supply its T/S parameters, but similar info for your 4" (?) Bose drivers are probably not available. You'll have to measure those yourself. In addition, you'll also need to measure their response vs. frequency as well as their impedance vs. frequency across the audio range intended for their use. And you'll have to do that while they're mounted in a cabinet that you intend to use. All that data is required to design a properly working crossover.

Software like REW will not work for crossover design. It's a good tool for measuring how a loudspeaker performs when combined with wall, ceiling & floor reflections from a room. But it's a poor tool for designing loudspeakers and their crossovers.

I'm guessing that you've never tried designing your own loudspeakers and crossovers before. Your general idea of using one or several of those Bose 4" drivers may or may not be a bad one, but your ideas of how to go about it need work.

 

[TLS Guy]

First time poster here.

I just picked up a pair of Bose 901 series I for very cheap without an equalizer. I owned a pair in the 1970's for a shor time and realize all their faults, and have to agree with the negative comments in this thread.

Hotwever, I like to experiment with speakers but the following idea I am about to provide may be a total waste of time and effort.

I was thinking of building a new cabinet with all 8 Bose drivers facing forward and use a tweeter, subwoofer and crossover I have on the shelf from a previous projects. Basically, just using the Bose drivers to build a new speaker with a crossover at ~200hz to the sub and ~2000hrz to the tweeter. I did set up and measure the frequency response using REW and without the equalizer, it looked pretty bad. Correction....very bad.

Comment?

Dreadful Frankenstein speaker. Those divers were cheap OEM drivers, back in the day, and could be bought for $3.75 piece. Don't waste time and effort on that junk.
In addition that Fred Karno approach to designing a speaker will produce atrocious results.

 

[Mez]

My simple comment is DON'T!

Using a single Bose driver as a small mid-woofer, combined with a dome tweeter might work. But I doubt if using 8 of them at the same time would be good. Have you given any thought to how you would wire 8 mid-woofers? In parallel, in series? Their responses and impedance will be quite different depending on how you wire them. Any cabinet you made for this would be unusually bulky and awkward.

Throwing in a crossover that you happen to have sitting around is almost certain to not work. All crossovers are essentially custom made for the drivers they're intended to work with. To do that, you must know what the mechanical and electrical properties of the drivers you intend to use. These properties are called Thiel/Small parameters, often abbreviated as T/S parameters. It is highly unlikely that the unused crossover you have lying around will be a good match for what you have in mind.

If you buy a tweeter, the manufacturer will supply its T/S parameters, but similar info for your 4" (?) Bose drivers are probably not available. You'll have to measure those yourself. In addition, you'll also need to measure their response vs. frequency as well as their impedance vs. frequency across the audio range intended for their use. And you'll have to do that while they're mounted in a cabinet that you intend to use. All that data is required to design a properly working crossover.

Software like REW will not work for crossover design. It's a good tool for measuring how a loudspeaker performs when combined with wall, ceiling & floor reflections from a room. But it's a poor tool for designing loudspeakers and their crossovers.

I'm guessing that you've never tried designing your own loudspeakers and crossovers before. Your general idea of using one or several of those Bose 4" drivers may or may not be a bad one, but your ideas of how to go about it need work.

Thanks for your comments. I don't disagree with you.

I built a not small speaker from scratch including the cabinet using a 10" Dynaudio woofer, Morel tweeter, and an off the shelf crossover. Based on the woofer specs, I made the cabinet using one of the on-line tools. I am not inexperienced but far from being an expert either.

 

[TLS Guy]

Thanks for your comments. I don't disagree with you.

I built a not small speaker from scratch including the cabinet using a 10" Dynaudio woofer, Morel tweeter, and an off the shelf crossover. Based on the woofer specs, I made the cabinet using one of the on-line tools. I am not a inexperienced but far from being an expert either.

Well, don't give up. There is now modelling software and test gear available to the home designer/builder, that does not break the bank. There has never been a better time to be a home DIY/Designer speaker builder. We can certainly support you in that endeavor. So it is possible for the home builder to achieve truly professional results competitive with commercial designs at the highest level.

 

[lovinthehd]

First time poster here.

I just picked up a pair of Bose 901 series I for very cheap without an equalizer. I owned a pair in the 1970's for a shor time and realize all their faults, and have to agree with the negative comments in this thread.

Hotwever, I like to experiment with speakers but the following idea I am about to provide may be a total waste of time and effort.

I was thinking of building a new cabinet with all 8 Bose drivers facing forward and use a tweeter, subwoofer and crossover I have on the shelf from a previous projects. Basically, just using the Bose drivers to build a new speaker with a crossover at ~200hz to the sub and ~2000hrz to the tweeter. I did set up and measure the frequency response using REW and without the equalizer, it looked pretty bad. Correction....very bad.

Comment?

Waste of time IMO. If you're going to build a speaker, build a properly designed speaker (even if someone else's design). Off the shelf crossovers I wouldn't bother with at all, let alone Bose drivers.

 

[MrBoat]

First time poster here.

I just picked up a pair of Bose 901 series I for very cheap without an equalizer. I owned a pair in the 1970's for a short time and realize all their faults, and have to agree with the negative comments in this thread.

However, I like to experiment with speakers but the following idea I am about to provide may be a total waste of time and effort.

I was thinking of building a new cabinet with all 8 Bose drivers facing forward and use a tweeter, subwoofer and crossover I have on the shelf from a previous projects. Basically, just using the Bose drivers to build a new speaker with a crossover at ~200 Hz to the sub and ~2000 Hz to the tweeter. I did set up and measure the frequency response using REW and without the equalizer, it looked pretty bad. Correction....very bad.

Comment?

There are already a a lot of better, budget DIY designs available, and a lot are open source. Me personally, I am more of a fit to the designs at Paul Carmody's DIY Speaker Pages. Have built 3 of his designs and have been happy with them all, the last of which (Tarkus), I sourced the BOM directly from his pages since not all of the parts were available at the time at any one outlet, due to the shipping problems. He also shares the crossover schematics and some even offer a picture of an optimal crossover layout for those not comfortable reading schematics.

I would sell the Bose to a die-hard Bose head and buy different drivers to play with. You can end up with a much closer to world-class result.

Half the fun to me is the cabinet, veneer and finish work so, I really don't want to put any lipstick on a pig in that regard. Even my lowly Classix2 build that I spent perhaps $200 on total at the time is a worthy speaker that makes me smile every time I use them.