Today I spoke with a Bose technical support person. The S1-Pro and the L1 Compact have very little in common regarding sound distribution. Where the L1-Compact sounds pretty much the same regardless of where in the room you are located the S1 Pro will indeed be louder up front like many other speakers. So, my wife's findings on the two gigs were accurate - the sound was louder up front. As to why the sound appeared to be louder in the back on my second gig the rep could not explain. My guess is the folks just wanted to talk and didn't care about the music - it happens folks!

I'll post more findings about all of this as the month passes. By the way, the quality of the sound is outstanding!

Deane