I got to listen to the Bose L1 for the first time tonight.

They were annoying! Because I have faith in opinions of the people on this forum that own the Bose L1, I must say the DJ did not know how to use the system.


1-One column.
2-Two subs.
3-It was a 40th birthday party. There were about 60 people, mostly family, the room could hold about 100.
4-You’re right, no matter where I walked the sound/volume was pretty much the same.
5-The beginning of the night the DJ held the volume down, but not far enough. The system is so clear that it cut through and began to sound annoying. Most PA’s I have heard are either loud or soft, this one was annoying, it seemed to get where the others do not. It was in the way.
6-The dancing started about an hour into the job – the sound was thin, I was looking for that feeling right in the middle of my gut, you know the kind that makes you wanna dance. It was not there, just a lot of clarity. AND he had two SUBS.
7-Now the DJ had a headset on and it was possible for him to walk out and listen to his sound – he was out there, but he did not hear what I was hearing.

What I listening to is something I would not buy – no warmth, no guttural bass – and much to clear. Even when he gave the subs more volume I could hear the additional volume, but I could not feel it. There is a difference.

Not wanting to say the system is no good because I believe in the experienced people who post here, I would have to say you had better know how to use this system or you will have wasted a lot of money.

IMHO, John C.

bruno123. I agree with your comments above because that is my thoughts when I first heard the Bose L1 at the UK Keyboard Festival Week.
No warmth, no guttural bass and overall thin sound balance, and these are Proplayers who should know how to setup the system.
The coverage was as you stated very good but in my experience too loud which was not required with a good dispersion of sound.

[This message has been edited by Graham UK (edited 12-11-2006).]

John
I love your diplomacy, and not rushing to judgement. With the aforementioned clarity, it would follow that his mix or EQ was way off. With two subs,you should have felt and heard plenty of bass. The unit has presets for all instruments, as well a remote for post mixing. The caveat is that one has to be able to hear, and adjust accordingly.

It is a shame this bozo didn't know what he was doing. I know you were looking forward to a good demonstration. We can put mine through the paces in March.

Bernie

most overrated product for musicians on market: Bose L1
OK-- IMO!!!! but everyone loves to get sold on new tech:

Bose L1 has 1 great application: large concert hall, where
every seat can hear the music at same level and with
clarity, and musicians onstage don't need monitors.

I've just heard it for the 3rd time : a solo gtr/folksinger on the street. was clear, solid sound but why he needed all that was beyond me...any decent system would be Ok.

2nd time was an S-90 pianist-led jazz group who gave up
his standard Bose system that sounded just awesome,but
can't blame him for not wanting to carry around spkrs that
weigh a ton. they were all so excited when they set up for
their steady thursday gig, they displayed the L1 so proudly. It not only lacked the warmth of the previous
Bose system, patrons in the middle and rear of the room
complained to mgmt that it was too loud. Band was
incredulous--hey that's same level we always play at-
yeah but now instead of a natural situation where patrons
can choose how close to sound they want to be, it's on
top of them no matter where they sit. This is the big
Catch-22 of the L1-- what it is supposed to do best
is unnatural and problematic in most playing situations!!!

First time I heard it was R&B group also in state of giddy
excitement about using it for 1st time. They loved being
able to hear each other on stage w/no monitors. Hey, that
is a great thing, no doubt. On the other hand, same
problem as the jazz group in the room. And--out in the
audience, not a warm sound at all tiresome. Sorry, guys.

Keysvocalssax, no need for “I’m sorry”.
You gave your opinion in a very acceptable manner leaving me with a view I had not thought of, great, thank you.

I will still venture, I love things that are special and have a lot of potential.
I used a D’Aquesto semi-solid guitar to earn my living. When I sold it I used the money I received to buy a 2004 Darango SUV, the money form the guitar sale was enough to cover the cost of the SUV.

I wish they had a mini Bose Li.
Any one know how one of their home systems sound with a Tyros 2?

John c.

I use a bose system at home with my T2 (two double cubes and powered sub. Works OK but not great. I find that when I listen with a pair of headphones there is a lot of complexity of the sound that I miss hearing with the bose.

I've heard this used a few times in a small/mediun venue, sounded great. It's non-powered, but Bose also makes a powered version.
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-z9LopuVgv4k/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?search=bose+acoustimass&i=018AM5IIIB

My thought was the home Bose systems that sell between $1,200 and $2,100.
Their demos normally have violins and basses all over . MID’S ????

John C.

Unfortunately, the person that was using the L1 obviously didn't know, or for that matter give a damned, about properly setting up his sound system. Had he read the manual, set things up in advance, adjusted his remote properly and all the other things anyone with a single grain of common sense would have done, the L1 would have sounded just fine.

Another problem, which seemed apparent from the initial post, was the person had when many now refer to as the DJ mentality. Turn it up loud, then if no one gets on the dance floor, turn it up louder, and if that doesn't work, play rap, hip-hop and acid rock while turning up the volume to the point where the venue's windows begin blowing out. Yeah, that'll make it sound good!

As for low and mid range sounds, the Bose L1 provides both with outstanding clarity and incredible quality.

However, I must say that this is not a system for everyone. Some folks need those muddy sounding vocals, crashing distorted highs, and vibratic bass that has been the cornerstone of the conventional audio industry for more than a century. For them, I strongly suggest not even trying the L1 on the Bose 45 day trial. Stick with the Peaveys, and similar conventional systems. This will keep me in the musical entertainment business for a long time to come.

Cheers,

Gary

------------------
Travlin' Easy

I've only heard the L1 once and now I have an explanation of the sound - thanks Bruno.

What i heard was a balanced sound, nothing loud or quiet, just a sound. It was a OMB situation in a gym setting and I could hear if I listened, but the sound itself was not pervasive - no dynamics is the way I would describe it. I guess it way a little annoying now that i think of it.

We tried out a similar Bose commercial radiating cylinder system for our church and that blew me away. The only reason we didn't install it was because of the nooks and cranies in our church which require speakers in out-of-the-way places.