Speakers advice needed - Bose 501 Series IV

[Ali Hasan]

Hey,

My aunt recently gave me her old speakers which are Bose 501 Series IV - They are in perfect mint condition and were barely used (http://worldwide.bose.com/productsupport/en_us/web/501_series4/page.html)

For which i am supporting amplifier which is an ONKYO Integra A-817RX (http://audio-database.com/ONKYO/amp/Integra A-817RX-e.html)

The problem is that i am still not getting the desired bass kick out of the speakers even though the speakers are giving out a nice clear signal but there is no presence in the bass. I have already fiddled around a lot with the equalizer but that didn't work. I am not sure where the problem is, is the amplifier too weak to power these speakers or are these speakers not designed to give out bass?

Tried looking through many blogs but there isn't much specific information on this as the speakers and the amp is too old. Hoping for advice

 

[KEW]

First off, these speakers are not great, but since the price was right you can't complain.
How old are yours? (is there a date on the back?)
They certainly should sound much better than most modern wireless speakers costing $100 or less.
You need to give us a better idea of what you are missing in the bass.
What type of music are you listening to and is it just the kick that is missing?
How loud are you driving them?
Take off the grills if you can and inspect the surrounds around the woofer. Often these will disintegrate over time.
Also, do you have experience listening to another system? If so tell us what it is. Often that can reveal much to us. For example Cerwin Vega makes bass strong speakers and if you have them in your past, most other speakers would sound weak in the bass.
If you are looking for chest thump, that is below 40Hz and you need a subwoofer. If you are looking for punchy sound for the bass, that is in the 90-200Hz range and your speakers should be able to handle that.

 

[Dennis Murphy]

Hey,

My aunt recently gave me her old speakers which are Bose 501 Series IV - They are in perfect mint condition and were barely used (http://worldwide.bose.com/productsupport/en_us/web/501_series4/page.html)

For which i am supporting amplifier which is an ONKYO Integra A-817RX (http://audio-database.com/ONKYO/amp/Integra A-817RX-e.html)

The problem is that i am still not getting the desired bass kick out of the speakers even though the speakers are giving out a nice clear signal but there is no presence in the bass. I have already fiddled around a lot with the equalizer but that didn't work. I am not sure where the problem is, is the amplifier too weak to power these speakers or are these speakers not designed to give out bass?

Tried looking through many blogs but there isn't much specific information on this as the speakers and the amp is too old. Hoping for advice

You said they are in mint condition, so this probably isn't it, but having had considerable experience restoring Bose speakers from this era, make sure the foam surrounds on the woofers haven't rotted away. You may not even be able to see the problem until you touch the surround.

 

[anamorphic96]

You said they are in mint condition, so this probably isn't it, but having had considerable experience restoring Bose speakers from this era, make sure the foam surrounds on the woofers haven't rotted away. You may not even be able to see the problem until you touch the surround.

My Dad owned a pair and I have spent many hours with these. The grills are a pain to remove and not meant to be for the most part. Sounds like the foam on the woofers is rotted. If the woofers are not damaged it should not cost that much to repair. They also sound better than many of the other Bose models.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Hey,

My aunt recently gave me her old speakers which are Bose 501 Series IV - They are in perfect mint condition and were barely used (http://worldwide.bose.com/productsupport/en_us/web/501_series4/page.html)

For which i am supporting amplifier which is an ONKYO Integra A-817RX (http://audio-database.com/ONKYO/amp/Integra A-817RX-e.html)

The problem is that i am still not getting the desired bass kick out of the speakers even though the speakers are giving out a nice clear signal but there is no presence in the bass. I have already fiddled around a lot with the equalizer but that didn't work. I am not sure where the problem is, is the amplifier too weak to power these speakers or are these speakers not designed to give out bass?

Tried looking through many blogs but there isn't much specific information on this as the speakers and the amp is too old. Hoping for advice

Bose doesn't do bass. So you must add your own subwoofers.