1 week Ago By Bryan Hood
Bose is celebrating 60 years of business by bringing back the speaker system that helped put it on the map. The Massachusetts-based audio company is working on a revised version of its first stereo speaker system, the 901. That, itself, would be exciting enough, but the brand has tabbed Kith ’s Ronnie Fieg to help revise the design.
Introduced in 1968, the 901 was company founder Amar Bose’s attempt to create a speaker system that could recreate the sound of a live concert in the listener’s home. The unconventional system consisted of two floor-standing speakers with nine drivers each (eight of which were rear-facing) and an active equalizer that were only meant to be used together. The 901 was something of a hit and would be sold for 48 years before its fourth iteration was discontinued in 2016.
News of Fieg’s involvement in the project comes from no less a reliable source than the Kith founder himself. In a post on Instagram earlier this week, he wrote that he and designer Mark Jupiter were collaborating on the speakers. Fieg’s post didn’t include audio details—though he did call out the original 901’s use of “direct and reflecting sound” to deliver an immersive listening experience—but it did include photos, which show off a mid-century modern look that will be familiar to anyone who’s ever seen the original setup.
Later, Bose shared that the reborn system will be available in two wood finishes—whitewashed ash or natural air-dried walnut. Why did Bose choose Fieg to collaborate? Well, the designer has shown himself to be particularly skilled at subtly remixing classic designs, be they sneakers, watches, or even cars, in a way that highlights what made them so special in the first place. The audio company witnessed this firsthand when it collaborated with Kith on a special-edition pair of its Ultra Open Earbuds , which, unsurprisingly, quickly sold out.
Technical details aren’t all we’re waiting on. Bose has yet to announce when the new 901 will be available and how much it will cost. Our guess is a lot, especially after BMX rider and Bose partner Nigel Sylvester revealed that only 12 units would be made available in a video posted to his Instagram account.
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