Has anyone tried the Bose Panaray 802 III speaker system. This appears to show some promise for small to mid size jobs with 240-Watts RMS, 480-Watts peak. It ain't cheap at $749, but it may be something to consider for small, nursing home jobs.

Cheers,

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

Non Powered....?

A friend of mine has some and you really need the digital controller or they sound terrible. He used them to dj and also needed the subs.
by the time you buy the system it's big bucks.
He ran them for me once without the controller and it wasn't pretty.

But I also would like to hear if anyone has used them alone with any success.



[This message has been edited by mikeathome1 (edited 02-24-2007).]

Here's a link to what I found. Download the PDF technical data and look at the specs--they look pretty good. Then, after reading through four pages of BS, you discover that the $749 price tag is just for the speakers. You'll need to spend a lot more to get the complete package, and you will still not have the quality or power of the L1. The ad in Musician's Friend catalog is misleading as hell.

Sorry guys,

Gary

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

[This message has been edited by travlin'easy (edited 02-24-2007).]

I have been using the old 802 system for more than 20 years now. As the Boseadvert says - always good at low volumes and never aggressive played loud. I don't need monitors. I'm using 8 boxes with a Peavey 2600 poweramp.Compared to other systems, it is not more expensive. BTW I listened to the newer PAS - it did not convince me. Of course some people prefer a bassy boomy sound these days - but the majority of my audiences likes natural sounding music better. People say "No bass no lows - it must be Bose. Not true. To my ears music does not consist of tststs and boomboombooms.

Amen, Robbe. I have played through many 802 based systems (with subs!) and have always found them smooth and loud!

Ear fatigue is something everyone should beware of... don't over-hype your PA. It's one of those things the audience can never tell you about, they just don't have a good time..... And NEVER EQ your PA after the second set. Your ears are always fried by then, no matter how quiet you THINK you are playing!

Most modern arrangers have WAY too many mastering EQ and 3 band compressors on them.... If you want to sound 'live' and dynamic, avoid them (especially the comps) like the plague!

They are good to dial in a little on an already well mixed set if you are in a VERY quiet room, with some background noise, but if you use them all the time, you start to sound 'flat' and undynamic at higher volumes.

Same with the PASs, I think they only work well at VERY low volumes.... If you MUST go Bose, 802s for bigger rooms and higher volumes any day....

I just would have liked to open a thread about the 802s - who else is using them and what he's thinking about them.
Seems the controversy will never end.
When Bose came up with these small chassis systems, the discussion only began. Imho they drew the right consequences of the fact, that until then amplification was expensive and you had to get more efficiency out of the speakers. So hornsystems had to be developped. Everybody knows, that the Voice-of-the-Theatre was an item of the fifties. Only in the seventies affordable poweramps better than 500 watts were possible.
What I do not understand anyway is, why playing the Boses without its equalizer is impossible; they need the boost at 100Hz and 15 kHz.
I have a 901 equalizer as a spare - but the 802s don't sound as well with it.

But do you use the processor with the 802's or just run a regular amp mixer setup? And also with the older 802 system did they make, or recommend a processor like they do now?
I also knew a couple of groups that used the old 802's they sounded great and were easy to carry, they also used 8 or 10 of them but they were small and light compared to the big boxes of the day.

[This message has been edited by mikeathome1 (edited 02-25-2007).]

As you can read in the descriptions, you will have to use the "controller" between mixer and amp. It's obligatory and comes with the 802s. Maybe you could use any other equalizer, because the so called "controller" is nothing else but a fixed equalizer, boosting frequencies around 100 Hz and 15 kHz. However as I stated before, even the "901"-controller sounds a little different. So the original one is to be preferred.

When I first read the advertisement the unit appeared to be an all inclusive system, which is obviously not the case. While I have four components to assemble with the Bose L1 it takes just a few seconds to insert the towers into the base unit, then plug in the sub. Not a big deal, and the sound quality, IMO and the opinion of my audiences, is superior to any system I've used at any time. This includes some the larger, more expensive rigs that likely resulted in my having a couple hernia repairs. And, while the Bose L1 is relatively lightweight, one of the problems with aging is it seems to get heavier as the years pass. The thought of a fantastic-sounding, 31-pound unit with all the features described in the 802-III advertisement was quite intriguing--especially at that price. The quest to find something these specifications, and with the Bose sound quality will obviously continue.

Cheers,

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

Interesting article!

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

Hello,
I used Bose 802's for several years before getting the PAS. My experience was that the sound of the 802 system was wonderful if you cranked it. It was not for small venues. I had to use a another system for small venues. IMHO the PAS sounds good in small and large spaces and eliminates the need a second, different system - except to keep on hand as a back-up.
Ciao,
Jerry

I must agree Jerry. The Bose L1 (PAS) seems to work well for every venue, and the only other system I carry is for backup only.

Thanks,

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

I run a pair of 802mkII's with a pair of Peavey Black Widows for bass. I don't have the BOSE controller, just a 15 band graphic set to increasingly boost the top end. Always sounds smooth at all volumes from very quiet up to "can you please turn that down".

My main issue with the BOSE is that they are not very efficient and so have to be driven surprisingly hard, so you need a serious amp (I'm using a Yamaha 400 a side amp).