Harryoke
12-30-2006, 07:05 PM
I was fortunate to be able to road test the controversial Bose "stick system" the other day, and would like to share my observations. Much of this will be fact, and some will be my personal opinion.
I would like to again thank Cap Capello for the demonstration. He is a well known DJ in the NY area and is an independent Bose distributor. Also would like to thank Orlando's Marc Burgess for coordinating everything, and thank the other DJs in the Orlando area who brought their gear in for a field comparison.
The very first thing I learned is that it is no longer called the PAS system due to some copyright infringement issues, so I will refer to it as the L1, Bose system, or stick system. The system comes with several components, first being the L1 tower, and the B1 "bass bin"...not called a subwoofer because of the frequency it actually operates at. A basic system is a stick and a bin, with 2 bins recommended. For DJ/Karaoke or larger applications, it is recommended to have 2 sticks and 4 bins. This is the combination I got to play with.
I have been wanting to field test one of these for awhile, but the Guitar Center was out of stock when I really wanted to go do it, and I have found out that GC is not the best place to road test it anyway, as most of the salespeople are not trained to demo it in the best light. Fortunately, Cap is a factory trained rep, and we got a far better demo than GC could ever provide. (PLUG: BTW, if you ever need more info, have questions or want to buy one of these systems, call Cap! He can be found at www.imadj.com , or 866.999.7451)
Assembly is quick and foolproof. The stick bases have all the controls and connections on board, so drop the 35 pound base on the ground, insert 15 pound bottom of stick, connect 12 pound top of stick (no effort required in assembly, drops into place with ease) then position the 24 lb bass bin(s). Connect wire from base to bins, jump bins if using multiples, then run the output from your source to the base and you are in business. Power up the bases and the system is ready. You cannot make a mistake or blow up the system while installing/breaking down. You can plug and unplug and disconnect to your hearts content, and the system has fault interrupters to diminish the sound briefly, then compensate for the missing or added component.
The bases can be used as a lite mixer depending on your application. You can plug you instrument, source or mic directly into the L1, or you can run everything thru a mixer and output that to the L1. For my conversation, I will stick to DJ/KJ applications.
The L1 has an analog dial for presets on the base. This is a quasi equalizer, with preset settings based on your input source. For our application it is best left at the default "00" setting, or the optional "57" setting which would more resemble the smiley face on a regular EQ. There is also a gain knob on the L1 base to tweak the signal from the input source if necessary.
The bases have 3 amps of about 250watts. One amp drives the top of the stick, one the bottom of the stick, and one to the bass bins. There are no specs available on the ohms or other minutiae we all find so interesting.
Now the controversy of opinion, LOL...
Once powered up, the L1 system has an impressive sound, not the knock you over the head kind of sound, but the appreciable nice even tone that Bose is famous for. The even blend is evident, and you can see the selling point of the even volume thru the room, and the 180 degrees sound dispersion. You can have a conversation standing in front of the dj booth, just as easy as in the back of the room. The bass was adequate at moderate listening levels. The 4 bins are recommended to be stacked one on top of the other, then both stacks brought within 8 inches of each other, to maximize the bass production. This did seem to produce "enough" bass at "adequate" listening volume.
Now...if you are the guy who needs throbbing bass, or the guy who is bringing in subs to your show and bridging multiple amps to shake the floor, then, NO, this is not the system for you. THIS SYSTEM IS NOT FOR EVERYBODY, and even Cap (the fellow who demonstrated the system) conceded to that fact.
A quick analogy... When the Mazda Miata came out, I was quite enamored of it, as it had a lot of technology and thought put into it and it was like nothing else available when it came out. I wanted to buy one, BUT, it would not accommodate my lifestyle, since I needed something with a scosh more cargo area. This fact does not diminish the fact it is a great car, but merely would not work for me.
The L1 system is a great system which has turned traditional physics of sound on its proverbial ear, BUT, it IS NOT the be all end all savior to all. Like I said before, if you are the guy carting in racks of amps and multiple bins, this is not for you. If you are the guy carrying two powered speakers on stands with your DJ stuff, this could be an upgrade...
We road tested the system in comparison to 3 other systems, the JBL EON powered system, the Mackie and Behringer powered systems. Now, the powered systems could keep up with the Bose in terms of volume and bass, and possibly in some areas SURPASSED the Bose system. Where the Bose always shined was in the even sound dispersion and clarity. When we played hip hop music thru the L1 system, I must say that the limitations of the bass reproduction was revealed. This is no replacement for you if you need those LOW frequencies to move your floor.
Where the system WOULD shine...large areas needing ambient, non intrusive sound, small areas where traditional gear may not fit, acoustically challenging areas, jobs where sensitive ears are (elderlys, children...). I could see musicians using this for sound as small trios, or bar/coffee house players...it is not gonna fill an arena by any means...but, I could see this being used in a VERY large room and being able to accommodate most mobile DJ events, as long as you are not the guy who needs the overwhelming volume or bass. Another neat feature is that you can place the L1 anywhere that there is an electrical outlet, use a wireless guitar hookup and place the L1 far away from the DJ source. For our demo, we took the stick out in the lobby of the hotel, a good 150 feet away or more, hooked up a wireless receiver, and rocked the lobby while the other L1 was in the room.
Me personally, I play a bunch of different venues, and I think it would work for most of them, except for the nights where I need some throbbing bass...in which case I break out my Yorkville Cabinets and move more air volume. For about any gig that I use my EONS at, the Bose would probably be a great replacement....
BUT, lets talk cost. 2 sticks and 4 bins are gonna run you just under $4400 for everything including wires and cases. That is a substantial investment. This again creates a division in opinion. If you cannot afford it or justify the expense, then move on...the cost does not affect the performance, and the fact that it may be priced out of your reach is not a reflection on the performance of the unit. If you are one who can justify the price by being able to sell the upcharge to your customers, this will be a good fit for you. It is all up to the person who buys the unit, and their sales skills.
At the demo, I felt the 2 JBLs (with no sub) produced more bass and adequate volume to compete. Again, they did not have the dispersion the Bose had, but, with any powered or passive speaker system you can EQ changes to the room and make your hardware shine to your ears liking. This is a downside to the Bose system...everything about the Bose systems componentry is proprietary, meaning you don't want to process the sound at a preamp level because the Bose system has onboard processors to quasi override your preamp instructions...that is, if you add more bass preamp, the Bose may knock some off at the processor level.
When I bought my passive EONs, they were not the best sounding speaker in the store...the wooden cabinet speakers had them beat, BUT, I knew that they were only 38 lbs, and that I would be lifting them nightly, and that I could EQ them to sound the way I wanted with properly matched hardware. These are my work horses now, and if a component breaks, I have any option for backup...replacement speaker, amp etc... With the Bose system, I would fear if a component failed, such as the amp(s) in the base, there would be no remedy for a quick fix other than pulling your old system out of dry-dock... A lot of the DJs at the demo quipped about putting their old stuff on EBay once they get the Bose system....and I look at that proposition and scoff, because the Bose is NOT component replaceable by anything other than the same piece. That, as a road working pro, is a little scary to me. The only other option would be to buy a backup L1 just in case. That is an expensive proposition.
If you are the guy/gal who cannot lift much, and need good sound reproduction at a light weight, or you need to be able to pack your gear into a car, or if you work in any arena of the specific description I mentioned earlier (kids, elderlys etc...), or need portability and wireless capability, this may be for you if you can justify the price vs. the benefits.
Again I repeat, for the sake of the controversy, THIS SYSTEM IS NOT FOR EVERYONE, but for those whose lifestyle it fits, it is a good piece. I would love to go buy a Mini Cooper today, but the only vehicle compatible with MY LIFESTYLE right now is a full size cargo van. If you are driving a cargo van too, don't say the Cooper is crap just because you cant make it do what your cargo van does, LOL.... just don't buy the Cooper, LOL!
FIN
I would like to again thank Cap Capello for the demonstration. He is a well known DJ in the NY area and is an independent Bose distributor. Also would like to thank Orlando's Marc Burgess for coordinating everything, and thank the other DJs in the Orlando area who brought their gear in for a field comparison.
The very first thing I learned is that it is no longer called the PAS system due to some copyright infringement issues, so I will refer to it as the L1, Bose system, or stick system. The system comes with several components, first being the L1 tower, and the B1 "bass bin"...not called a subwoofer because of the frequency it actually operates at. A basic system is a stick and a bin, with 2 bins recommended. For DJ/Karaoke or larger applications, it is recommended to have 2 sticks and 4 bins. This is the combination I got to play with.
I have been wanting to field test one of these for awhile, but the Guitar Center was out of stock when I really wanted to go do it, and I have found out that GC is not the best place to road test it anyway, as most of the salespeople are not trained to demo it in the best light. Fortunately, Cap is a factory trained rep, and we got a far better demo than GC could ever provide. (PLUG: BTW, if you ever need more info, have questions or want to buy one of these systems, call Cap! He can be found at www.imadj.com , or 866.999.7451)
Assembly is quick and foolproof. The stick bases have all the controls and connections on board, so drop the 35 pound base on the ground, insert 15 pound bottom of stick, connect 12 pound top of stick (no effort required in assembly, drops into place with ease) then position the 24 lb bass bin(s). Connect wire from base to bins, jump bins if using multiples, then run the output from your source to the base and you are in business. Power up the bases and the system is ready. You cannot make a mistake or blow up the system while installing/breaking down. You can plug and unplug and disconnect to your hearts content, and the system has fault interrupters to diminish the sound briefly, then compensate for the missing or added component.
The bases can be used as a lite mixer depending on your application. You can plug you instrument, source or mic directly into the L1, or you can run everything thru a mixer and output that to the L1. For my conversation, I will stick to DJ/KJ applications.
The L1 has an analog dial for presets on the base. This is a quasi equalizer, with preset settings based on your input source. For our application it is best left at the default "00" setting, or the optional "57" setting which would more resemble the smiley face on a regular EQ. There is also a gain knob on the L1 base to tweak the signal from the input source if necessary.
The bases have 3 amps of about 250watts. One amp drives the top of the stick, one the bottom of the stick, and one to the bass bins. There are no specs available on the ohms or other minutiae we all find so interesting.
Now the controversy of opinion, LOL...
Once powered up, the L1 system has an impressive sound, not the knock you over the head kind of sound, but the appreciable nice even tone that Bose is famous for. The even blend is evident, and you can see the selling point of the even volume thru the room, and the 180 degrees sound dispersion. You can have a conversation standing in front of the dj booth, just as easy as in the back of the room. The bass was adequate at moderate listening levels. The 4 bins are recommended to be stacked one on top of the other, then both stacks brought within 8 inches of each other, to maximize the bass production. This did seem to produce "enough" bass at "adequate" listening volume.
Now...if you are the guy who needs throbbing bass, or the guy who is bringing in subs to your show and bridging multiple amps to shake the floor, then, NO, this is not the system for you. THIS SYSTEM IS NOT FOR EVERYBODY, and even Cap (the fellow who demonstrated the system) conceded to that fact.
A quick analogy... When the Mazda Miata came out, I was quite enamored of it, as it had a lot of technology and thought put into it and it was like nothing else available when it came out. I wanted to buy one, BUT, it would not accommodate my lifestyle, since I needed something with a scosh more cargo area. This fact does not diminish the fact it is a great car, but merely would not work for me.
The L1 system is a great system which has turned traditional physics of sound on its proverbial ear, BUT, it IS NOT the be all end all savior to all. Like I said before, if you are the guy carting in racks of amps and multiple bins, this is not for you. If you are the guy carrying two powered speakers on stands with your DJ stuff, this could be an upgrade...
We road tested the system in comparison to 3 other systems, the JBL EON powered system, the Mackie and Behringer powered systems. Now, the powered systems could keep up with the Bose in terms of volume and bass, and possibly in some areas SURPASSED the Bose system. Where the Bose always shined was in the even sound dispersion and clarity. When we played hip hop music thru the L1 system, I must say that the limitations of the bass reproduction was revealed. This is no replacement for you if you need those LOW frequencies to move your floor.
Where the system WOULD shine...large areas needing ambient, non intrusive sound, small areas where traditional gear may not fit, acoustically challenging areas, jobs where sensitive ears are (elderlys, children...). I could see musicians using this for sound as small trios, or bar/coffee house players...it is not gonna fill an arena by any means...but, I could see this being used in a VERY large room and being able to accommodate most mobile DJ events, as long as you are not the guy who needs the overwhelming volume or bass. Another neat feature is that you can place the L1 anywhere that there is an electrical outlet, use a wireless guitar hookup and place the L1 far away from the DJ source. For our demo, we took the stick out in the lobby of the hotel, a good 150 feet away or more, hooked up a wireless receiver, and rocked the lobby while the other L1 was in the room.
Me personally, I play a bunch of different venues, and I think it would work for most of them, except for the nights where I need some throbbing bass...in which case I break out my Yorkville Cabinets and move more air volume. For about any gig that I use my EONS at, the Bose would probably be a great replacement....
BUT, lets talk cost. 2 sticks and 4 bins are gonna run you just under $4400 for everything including wires and cases. That is a substantial investment. This again creates a division in opinion. If you cannot afford it or justify the expense, then move on...the cost does not affect the performance, and the fact that it may be priced out of your reach is not a reflection on the performance of the unit. If you are one who can justify the price by being able to sell the upcharge to your customers, this will be a good fit for you. It is all up to the person who buys the unit, and their sales skills.
At the demo, I felt the 2 JBLs (with no sub) produced more bass and adequate volume to compete. Again, they did not have the dispersion the Bose had, but, with any powered or passive speaker system you can EQ changes to the room and make your hardware shine to your ears liking. This is a downside to the Bose system...everything about the Bose systems componentry is proprietary, meaning you don't want to process the sound at a preamp level because the Bose system has onboard processors to quasi override your preamp instructions...that is, if you add more bass preamp, the Bose may knock some off at the processor level.
When I bought my passive EONs, they were not the best sounding speaker in the store...the wooden cabinet speakers had them beat, BUT, I knew that they were only 38 lbs, and that I would be lifting them nightly, and that I could EQ them to sound the way I wanted with properly matched hardware. These are my work horses now, and if a component breaks, I have any option for backup...replacement speaker, amp etc... With the Bose system, I would fear if a component failed, such as the amp(s) in the base, there would be no remedy for a quick fix other than pulling your old system out of dry-dock... A lot of the DJs at the demo quipped about putting their old stuff on EBay once they get the Bose system....and I look at that proposition and scoff, because the Bose is NOT component replaceable by anything other than the same piece. That, as a road working pro, is a little scary to me. The only other option would be to buy a backup L1 just in case. That is an expensive proposition.
If you are the guy/gal who cannot lift much, and need good sound reproduction at a light weight, or you need to be able to pack your gear into a car, or if you work in any arena of the specific description I mentioned earlier (kids, elderlys etc...), or need portability and wireless capability, this may be for you if you can justify the price vs. the benefits.
Again I repeat, for the sake of the controversy, THIS SYSTEM IS NOT FOR EVERYONE, but for those whose lifestyle it fits, it is a good piece. I would love to go buy a Mini Cooper today, but the only vehicle compatible with MY LIFESTYLE right now is a full size cargo van. If you are driving a cargo van too, don't say the Cooper is crap just because you cant make it do what your cargo van does, LOL.... just don't buy the Cooper, LOL!
FIN