Bose 501 Original Series Help?!!

[choumu]

Recently found a pair of Bose 501's in the house from 1979. I have no idea how to set them up, make sure they're working etc. Any advice would be welcome on how to set them up and what amp to use etc.., thx!

 

[choumu]

Recently found a pair of Bose 501's in the house from 1979. I have no idea how to set them up, make sure they're working etc. Any advice would be welcome on how to set them up and what amp to use etc.., thx!

 

[Pogre]

okay. there's a pdf for these speakers online. it looks like they were designed with reflecting sound in mind? they should be labeled "part 1" and "part 2". part 1 would be your left front speaker and part 2 the right speaker. the posts on the back for hookup look pretty standard. "com" is the negative or "-" connection and "pos" is the positive or "+" connection.

I'd say any amp or receiver would be fine to just test them out and see if they work, though the manual suggests in line fuses for anything over 50 watts. seems a bit drastic to me when all you need to do is listen to your speakers to determine whether or not they're distorting.

there appear to also be nobs on the back you can dial up or down for reflecting sound off side walls, if any. 1 and 2 give the least "reflected sound energy", settings 2 and 3 are what bose is calling the normal range, and 4 and 5 provide the most "reflected sound energy" according to bose.

 

[choumu]

Thankyou very much for your help. I will have a look at the pdf manual online, and see if can get the working asap.

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[TLS Guy]

Thankyou very much for your help. I will have a look at the pdf manual online, and see if can get the working asap.

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Is the equalizer with the speaker? They require an equalizer in a tape loop, which modern equipment does not have. So now you need separates to drive them and have to out the equalizer between a pre amp and a power amp.

 

[Dan Madden]

I had a pair of these speakers for years and they do not require an equalizer. They are direct/ reflecting speakers so unlike most speakers that sound best away from corners and walls, these will perform best near corners and walls.

Your biggest potential issue will be with the woofer cones and the foam surrounds. A speaker of this age will likely have foam surround rot and may not perform right. If the foam surrounds have disintegrated, you'll hear the problem right away when you fire them up. Good luck !

 

[KenM10759]

The photo of the back appears to show mold. I can imagine that if the cones and surrounds have any organic content, those speakers could sound the same near the corner of a room as they would from the bottom of the trash bin.

 

[choumu]

Yh there just really dirty, 20 years of hibernation does that I guess,. Gonna take off the grill and have a look inside, things been stapled on, absolute nightmare.

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[KenM10759]

Were the grills stapled on by the factory or was it some "home remedy"?

 

[choumu]

Stapled on by the factory, made to last and all that.

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[KenM10759]

Wipe them down gently all over with some kind of mold killing agent on a clean cloth.

 

[Diesel57]

Thankyou very much for your help. I will have a look at the pdf manual online, and see if can get the working asap.

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If the speakers were in a place where moister or dampness exist more than likely the form around the cones or the cones themselves will have issues, follow the setup that the manual instructions give they don't require a equalizer as Dan stated, you have to decide what sounds good to your ears as far placement of the speakers...Enjoy

 

[Dan Madden]

Yes they are stapled on by the factory. Once you have pried them off, you will then be able to inspect the woofer cones and foam surrounds. Don't touch the foam surrounds though as they could disintegrate just on touch. The mid range/ tweeters are likely fine. If the woofer foam surrounds are disintegrated, I would recommend looking into replacing the 10 inch woofers with new ones. Re-foamed woofers never sound the same and you will likely get better performance with replacements.

 

[everettT]

Im not sure why a refoamed woofer wouldn't sound the same if it's done correctly. I've refoamed several classic speakers and not once had one sound different. I certainly would not invest time or money with this old speaker IIWM.

Yes they are stapled on by the factory. Once you have pried them off, you will then be able to inspect the woofer cones and foam surrounds. Don't touch the foam surrounds though as they could disintegrate just on touch. The mid range/ tweeters are likely fine. If the woofer foam surrounds are disintegrated, I would recommend looking into replacing the 10 inch woofers with new ones. Re-foamed woofers never sound the same and you will likely get better performance with replacements.

 

[KenM10759]

Count me among those who would clean it up and try it. If not sounding good, Craigslist or trashbin,

 

[Dan Madden]

Im not sure why a refoamed woofer wouldn't sound the same if it's done correctly. I've refoamed several classic speakers and not once had one sound different. I certainly would not invest time or money with this old speaker IIWM.

The only thing I can say is that I had a speaker re-foamed once and it did not sound the same after. A speaker breaks in all together along with the foam surrounds and sounds better over time. A new foam surround will be substantially stiffer and change the overall sound of the speaker.

In the case of his old Bose 501's , I would be more inclined to change out the woofer for something more modern. The old Bose used paper woofers with foam surrounds and I would think that a modern, higher performing woofer would likely perform much better. Obviously, the original Bose crossover could be problematic and might need to be changed out.

 

[Pogre]

I have a pair of deftech studiomonitor 55's. deftech and a lot of reviews say to let them break in for a month before passing final judgement, so I did some reading and researched the subject.

the consensus seems to be that speaker break in is a myth. it's more about breaking your ears in and your brain getting used to the timbre of a new speaker. gene, who runs this site has done some tests that appear to back this up.

I'm still learning so I'm no pro by any stretch, but that makes sense to me.

 

[KenM10759]

They want you to break them in for a month so your return window is used up. Simple.

 

[Pogre]

They want you to break them in for a month so your return window is used up. Simple.

sneaky bastards!

 

[KenM10759]

The debate about speaker break-in isn't far off from speaker cable and amplifier characteristics. Being a "mechanical guy" I would offer that there could be some "freeing up" of motion as a rubbery cone surround gets some use, as well as spider and voice coil. It depends upon the materials used and tolerances of assembled parts. I just don't know if it's something so noticeable.

KEF doesn't specify any break-in period for their speakers. I bought mine as floor demo units, so they had some unknown number of hours on them by the time I brought them home. I was told they were on the dealer's floor for over a year. How much use they got is anyone's guess.

Almost a year later and seeing probably 15 to 20 hours a week use, they sound better to me than when I first installed them, particularly at low volume. Am I simply more or less sensitive to their sound profile because I've had them a year? Did fine tuning the position of them away from walls and corners have more benefit than time? Probably. We're splitting hairs here and no one but me would notice any profound change. I like them a LOT and that's the most critical thing.