Bose 301 modifications


Okay, dont laugh too hard........I'm new to the forums and have a question to pose for the experts.  I find myself in possession of two pairs of Bose 301's.  Yes, I'd like to put gasoline on them and strike match BUT....I like to experiment with things too.  Does anybody have any ideas (other than my previous one) on how to improve the sound ie swapping out the speakers inside the enclosure.  My 14 year old daughter wants me to install a stereo in her room and I thought that since I have the 301's I might be able to soup them up a little.  
cubman
The 301's were in a room of a dorm mate in the 70's.
They were pretty nice for the time. 

If anything, I would just add a subwoofer to the system. Bose were always bass shy.
What are you using with them?
Bob
Using an old school SAE amp and pre-amp.  I'm not looking to add to them ie sub-woofer, I'm looking at taking them apart and putting something different in the holes and on the standoff mounts.  Thanks for the input though.
   I'm not laughing at all. Many years ago I also went down the Bose path believing that it was a well respected brand offering good performance before discovering what real hifi was. In retrospect, Bose was and still is, mediocre equipment at inflated prices.

   That said, I once owned a pair of Bose 301's. At that time they fulfilled my needs until I acquired a pair used 901's with the included Bose equalizer that is critical to their performance. These speakers were several years old. The sound was just OK. As an Internet junkie I researched on how to improve the performance of the speakers. With the age of the speakers it seemed that a common flaw was with the deterioration of the foam surrounds of the drivers. I bought a repair kit and spent several hours replacing the surrounds. The kit also included an adhesive to attach the new surrounds. The speakers sounded better after that.

   So, before trying things such as drilling holes and cutting things inspect to see if the foam surrounds are deteriorated. With speakers of that age it is very possible. You will know if they are shot because when you touch them they will just wilt like sand.

   I never disassembled the 301's but for the 901's it was as simple as removing the front grill and rear baffle. Then the drivers were all exposed. There are still available repair kits for the 301's. I would inspect the condition of the surrounds before doing anything else.


You'll never turn that sow's ear into a silk purse.  The best thing you can do for them is to get the Loki equalizer from Schiit and try to fix the sound electronically.