BOSE 802

[Jake R]

HI

Does anyone know where I can get BOSE 802 cabs just the cabs no speakers?

 

Thanks

Jake

[Brian]

Broken ones crop up on eBay once in a while.

[ChazHS]

HI

Does anyone know where I can get BOSE 802 cabs just the cabs no speakers?

 

Thanks

Jake

 

Other than eBay I can only think of a skip (which is where 802s really belong).

[Jake R]

HI

Does anyone know where I can get BOSE 802 cabs just the cabs no speakers?

 

Thanks

Jake

 

Other than eBay I can only think of a skip (which is where 802s really belong).

 

Hi

Yes I have looked at ebay and may have to get some with speakers.

What wrong with 802s?

 

Thanks

Jake

[Stuart91]

Yes I have looked at ebay and may have to get some with speakers.

What wrong with 802s?

 

If you have a pile of the cones sitting around, sell them on eBay, and with the money you get you'll be able to buy more modern speakers with far better output.

 

802s have a loyal following but that seems to be because they were a good product for their time. Modern cabinets leave them in the dust.

[chelgrian]

802s have a loyal following but that seems to be because they were a good product for their time. Modern cabinets leave them in the dust.

 

That's unfair, 402 and 802 are the right solution for a variety of situations where the cabinet has to put up with adverse environmental conditions. I agree that you can do far better sound quality wise for the money but sound quality isn't the only metric gear is bought on.

[widowgobo]

I have one incl. case/top cover thing

[TonyMitchell]

Indeed, a 30+ year old design, with a few minor modifications en route from Mk1 through to Mk3

 

Throughout the 80s & into the early 90s they were the industry standard conference loudspeaker, before d&b's first E series (wooden boxes, I'm not talking about the current E) cabinets took over and dominated that sector. Virtually every AV company had 802s on their inventory back in the day, and in fairness they did a good job.

 

What's wrong with them in 2010? The biggest downside to them is they are inefficient, I think the series III box at 91dB/1m is a couple of dB superior to it's older brothers, but that is still poor for a professional cabinet that carries an expensive price ticket.

 

One thing I've never got my head around, and haven't actually heard, is the concept of stacking multiple 802s, as I imagine with their 100deg. vertical dispertion pattern, there would be a lot of comb filtering going on.

[ChazHS]

HI

Does anyone know where I can get BOSE 802 cabs just the cabs no speakers?

 

Thanks

Jake

 

Other than eBay I can only think of a skip (which is where 802s really belong).

 

Hi

Yes I have looked at ebay and may have to get some with speakers.

What wrong with 802s?

 

Thanks

Jake

 

Don't get me wrong, the 802s have some uses - for a start a lot of laymen know the Bose brand from hi-fi.

 

I just don't like how they sound, how they look, their dispersion pattern. Not to mention that the EQ unit adds ridiculous levels to some frequencies as Bose made a cabinet with one of the least flat responses I've ever come across.

[andy_s]

No disrespect Charlie, but you aren't very old. Have you heard any other systems that were around at the time of the development of these 802s? (1970's). I think at the time there were definite benefits to the 802s, and I certainly remember far worse sounding speakers around. One outstanding gig I remember from '87 or '88 was the fabulous Loose Tubes* when they came to the theatre I worked at, who used (I think) about 10 802s arranged as a 2-deep 3 wide central cluster, with a pair stacked vertically at stage level on each side - and no, Tony, I don't remember any nasty comb filtering- I dare say if it hadn't sounded loud and clear, (and better than other gigs I'd seen) I wouldn't remember it so well after quite a long time ... but this is definitely subjective, not scientific! However, even in those days, I don't think it would have been the speaker of choice for big old rock bands. Horses for courses.

 

But it almost goes without saying that we've heard huge improvements in the intervening years since the 802's first appeared (nearly 40 years, after all). If not then I'd be tempted to wonder about the amount of time and money expended in the R&D labs of the speaker manufacturers.... and of course we should be using the latest, most efficient and and best sounding boxes wherever they can be afforded.

 

*Loose Tubes for those who don't recall was an 18 or 20 piece jazz combo who were field leaders and at the top of their game in the mid to late eighties ...big brassy sound, very powerful live set

 

I'm interested to know more about the OP's request for empty boxes: are they for decorative purposes only, or does he really want to bring them to life with new drivers?

[ChazHS]

No disrespect Charlie, but you aren't very old. Have you heard any other systems that were around at the time of the development of these 802s? (1970's). I think at the time there were definite benefits to the 802s, and I certainly remember far worse sounding speakers around. One outstanding gig I remember from '87 or '88 was the fabulous Loose Tubes* when they came to the theatre I worked at, who used (I think) about 10 802s arranged as a 2-deep 3 wide central cluster, with a pair stacked vertically at stage level on each side - and no, Tony, I don't remember any nasty comb filtering- I dare say if it hadn't sounded loud and clear, (and better than other gigs I'd seen) I wouldn't remember it so well after quite a long time ... but this is definitely subjective, not scientific! However, even in those days, I don't think it would have been the speaker of choice for big old rock bands. Horses for courses.

 

But it almost goes without saying that we've heard huge improvements in the intervening years since the 802's first appeared (nearly 40 years, after all). If not then I'd be tempted to wonder about the amount of time and money expended in the R&D labs of the speaker manufacturers.... and of course we should be using the latest, most efficient and and best sounding boxes wherever they can be afforded.

 

*Loose Tubes for those who don't recall was an 18 or 20 piece jazz combo who were field leaders and at the top of their game in the mid to late eighties ...big brassy sound, very powerful live set

 

I'm interested to know more about the OP's request for empty boxes: are they for decorative purposes only, or does he really want to bring them to life with new drivers?

 

No offence taken, as I said I'm sure they used to have their purposes. As you rightly said though; the design is nearly 40 years old and hasn't really been updated significantly in that time. The 802s have a pretty woeful sensitivity rating compared to modern boxes.

 

My only issue with it all is people who still hold the belief they are top class speaker cabinets and refuse to admit there are better around for the money nowdays. It also irritates me slightly that Bose charge nearly £1000 each for a new 802 MK3.

[paulears]

It's just one of those love 'em hate 'em things.

 

As for stacking 802s, it doesn't cause anywhere near the expected comb filtering issues as you'd think - I assume its the fact that in a single box the multiple speakers break the wave front up anyway. I quite like the sound, still! No bass of course, but I remember them quite fondly with the Panasonic Ramsa brand that were pointed at the same customers.

 

There were plenty of worse sounding boxes, and the still are!

[kerry davies]

802's are definitely one of those, "You had to be there" things. With a 302 they were often the best live, small scale solution and blew away competing PA's consisting of a ton of chipboard and square miles of carpet, particularly outdoors.

 

They do seem to arouse strong feelings among younger people who listen with stats rather than ears but the Loose Tubes mention reinforces my belief in Garbage In Garbage Out. Messrs Ballamy, Bates et al are amazing acoustic musicians and needed mid-range clarity rather than the prevalent BoomTsss sound popular then. Jazz not Dub!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dancing-Frith-Stre...s/dp/B003ZJUIMI is the "new" album.

 

Leave the boy alone, he may want to use them for flower arranging! Ideal, and not a mention of the fact that Bose themselves have moved on yet still give two and a half times the warranty period that Nexo does, Chaz.

[andy_s]

They do seem to arouse strong feelings among younger people who listen with stats rather than ears but the Loose Tubes mention reinforces my belief in Garbage In Garbage Out. Messrs Ballamy, Bates et al are amazing acoustic musicians and needed mid-range clarity rather than the prevalent BoomTsss sound popular then. Jazz not Dub!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dancing-Frith-Stre...s/dp/B003ZJUIMI is the "new" album.

 

brill - that's one for the christmas list.... I always regretted not buying the records at the time and they've not been released on CD as far as I know... I can add to my small but discerning collection of "live albums recorded at Ronnies" ...

 

(apologies for small act of thread hi-jacking)...

 

back on topic, the 802's certainly sounded better than the specs might suggest, but I'm not about to indulge in a nostalgia kick ... I dare say they've had their day ... My "house" PA that the Loose Tubes replaced with their Bose was 2 x Tannoy Lynx, with 2 x 12" dual concentric drivers each; in fact we used them seperated - each driver was in its own enclosure and they could be linked together or split to provide 4 x seperate loudspeakers. No subs... not very common in theatres in those days.

 

perhaps this should split off into a "speakers from the 1980's" thread ...

[Stan Hope-Streeter]

... I can add to my small but discerning collection of "live albums recorded at Ronnies"...

 

I never liked the Bose 802's much, especially as most "conference" type users didn't have the necessary 2kW amplifiers to avoid nasty clipping due to the extreme EQ.

 

However...

 

At one time the sound system in Ronnies was built around Bose 802's and used to work amazingly well. I mixed on it many times and was always impressed with its performance. The installation was well matched to the room and the styles of music played there.

 

 

The problem was always the marketing hype which persuaded people that the stuff was suitable for general applications, which it certainly was not.

 

I once saw - I can't really say "heard" - a large (think orchestra size) steel band in a City Hall venue. They had something like a 6x6 rectangular stack of the things each side. It was one of the worst examples of sound reinforcement I've ever heard, all room reverberation due to no pattern control. A classic example of what the 802 was NOT suitable for.