I went to G.C. and played my Yamaha P120 digital piano through the Bose L1 for over almost three hours. I also A/B compared it to a Mackie SRM 450s, JBL EON15 & JBL EON10.

I liked the Bose L1. It's ideal for amplifying acoustic instruments. The L1 has greater clarity, is smoother and sounds much more natural than the Mackies or JBLs, which sound downright unpleasant because they beam so much harsh sounding signal pressure directly at you, like a trumpet. With the vertical design of the Bose L1 your ears only seem to get hit with one or two little drivers no matter how close you are. I tried the L1 without the sub woofer and it was to thin, so it does need the bass subwoofer to give it body. The L1 also sounded decent with just half the pole set up (it comes in two 3 1/2 foot pieces and is very easy to set up and break down, i did it several times). I like the way the "poles" fit into easy carrying bags.

I am disappointed it cannot accept Left and Right stereo input signals without phase problems, because my Yamaha P120 does not have anything but Left and Right stereo piano samples (no mono samples). The Yamaha stereo piano samples also have phase problems when "summed".

I think the powered floor stand is bulkier and heavier than I would like. I wish they would come out with a smaller version of this product for less money, for us "acoustic live" players and make it able to accept stereo plug ins whithout phasing problems.




[This message has been edited by rintincop (edited 02-08-2004).]

rintincop: thanks for your evaluation review of the Bose L1. It will be interesting to find out which PA you end up buying. You got me interested, though I realize it's currently out of reach of my budget. - Scott

The big question for me is how they perform in a LIVE BAND situation. Would I be able to cut through PA, Bass, and Guitar amps or would that dispersion get lost and evaporate before the audience get's it?

Things that make you go hmmmmm......

Al

In a perfect scenario, I guess it would be best if everyone in the band had a PAS, but if you have trouble blending ... you still have outputs that can feed a conventional PA from your PAS tower. Make YOUR sound the way you want it .... then send it wherever it needs to go. It may not need the extra output at all.

Hi ScottY and all Tyros, PSR2x00 owners

This concept really interests me, BUT, I wonder what the sound will be like through the Yamaha's that sound their very best going out in stereo, and IMHO pretty crappy in mono through one speaker.

Has anyone tested this out yet? It would be very hard for me to believe that these Bose speakers are so good that only one speaker would be good enough.

Any ideas?

Scott Langholff

Scott, You mean the Yamah P series digital pianos? That's a good point you raise. I will do some more testing. I am going to play the P120 using the L/R Sum out through a pair of Mackie SRM450s and see how different it sounds compared to using the actual Stereo Left and Right outputs through the Mackies.



[This message has been edited by rintincop (edited 02-07-2004).]

Hi rintincop

I am not that familiar with the P series. Do they have arranger styles? I would imagine whether they do or not, if they use effects etc the same as the portable PSR, DGX and Tyros, it will be the same problem.

Interestingly enough, some of the players don't seem to mind playing these Yamaha's in mono, and the others think they sound awful in mono.

I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on the sound differences.

The everlasting debate.

[This message has been edited by Scott Langholff (edited 02-07-2004).]

Thank you Scott for bringing it to my attention. The single "L/R Out" (sum) from the P120 does sound awful. It sounds out of phase, tiny and thin compared to using both the seperate Left and Right Outs. It does not seem to be properly summed to mono.
What's up with that, did they engineer it poorly? And no wonder the single Mackie SRM 450 sounded so bad when I A/B compare it to the Bose L1, I was using the Yamaha L/R sum out jack! And I sold my Mackies this afternoon based on that error!

I don't think I want to have to carry a mixer to sum it to the Bose L1.

[This message has been edited by rintincop (edited 02-07-2004).]

As I understand it, the mixer won't help, something about one thing cancelling out the other.

Hi rintincop

I wouldn't fret over selling the Mackies though. They are like 56 pounds or there about's aren't they?

If you lose interest in the Bose because my guess is that you'll need two of them, then I personally would check out Barbetta's 32c.

I think the site is Barbetta.com

Gary Diamond and Donny Pesce have raved about theirs. AND they only weigh 36 lbs each!

Thanks Scott,

Yes the Mackies are too heavy and louder than what I need, they are 51 lbs each.
I actually played with Barbetta Sona 32C for years and replaced them with the Mackies because I thought the Mackies sounded a bit more detailed an smoother. The new Bose PAS sounds considerably more clear and smoother to me, than my former Mackies.

I am still leaning towards the Bose PAS but am very disapointed it cannot accept a L/R stereo signal and do a proper job of summing it to mono without phase problems, because my Yamaha P120 cannot send a proper mono sum out either. Will a direct box do a proper stereo to mono sum or do I need to carry a mixer to plug my stereo Yamaha digital piano into the Bose PAS to make it sund right?

rintincop

[This message has been edited by rintincop (edited 02-08-2004).]

[This message has been edited by rintincop (edited 02-08-2004).]

Scott...you are correct ....
the Barbetta Sona 32c's have served me very well gig after gig after gig with an awesome sound...
and my back thanx me every night,especially the upstairs jobs..
they are well worth every penny!!
www.barbetta.com

I have revised my initial review, I added this:

I am disappointed it cannot accept Left and Right stereo input signals without phase problems, because my Yamaha P120 does not have anything but Left and Right stereo piano samples (no mono samples). The Yamaha stereo piano samples also have phase problems when "summed".

dbl post

[This message has been edited by rintincop (edited 02-08-2004).]