Hello Hammer,

I mostly play for about 250 people. Can two Compacts do the job ? I am a little affraid to run off power, so before i buy a set off Compacts i want to be shure the can handle 250 to 300 people.

Best regards,

Carlo.

Carlo,
I seldome get more than 75 - 100 people in my audience. That is because I only play senior gigs. All I can say is with a single Bose Compact L1 I played several gigs and ran the Bose at about 10 to 11 O'Clock and my keyboard at 12 O"clock. I do not use compensation on my Tyros 3 but I do run the Master EQ volumn slightly above the default setting - but not much.

With these settings I had enough sound level that on some styles I would turn the keyboard volumn down a bit.

With two of the compacts I run the compacts at about 10 O'clock and my keyboard at 11 O'clock and have again more than enough sound.

I added a small mixer to my setup and that has added a tremendous amount of sound output to my setup. Keep in mind that I do not play for larger audiences nor do I play in noisy envirnments like dance clubs. With that said, with two of the compacts and my mixer I would not be fearful of a larger crowd. I ran my setup really loud last night just to see how the speakers would do and even at extreme - noisy dance club like - levels the speakers showed no sign of distortion at all.

Might I suggest having Bose send you a couple - give them a try and see if they work for you. Bose will allow you to keep them up to 45 days on a trial basis - but you do have to pay for them to try them out. That way you would know for sure and not be guessing.

Good luck and please let us all know how it works for you.

Hammer

Sorry, Hammer, but if you heard a noticeable difference in stereo between the mixer and going in 'straight' from the keyboard, you have messed up the wiring when going 'straight. Sure, the mixer will change levels for you, and EQ's, but it can't do a THING for the stereo spread. Stereo is stereo, plain and simple. L goes to L input, R goes to R input. That's all there is. Onlt thing the mixer COULD do is narrow the stereo field (by using two channels and panning them closer to 12 o'clock).

But you can't GET more 'stereo' than taking the L output of your arranger to the L stack, and the R output to the R stack.

Doublecheck your wiring. Something's not right...

Hi Diki,
Well, anything is possible - and since I am very new to this mixer stuff I could have screwed up the cables. I'll give it a check today.

I'am off to a gig.
Later

Thank You, Hammer, for your advice.
I get in contact with a Bose-dealer and ask him for a try-out.

Thanks again, and best regards,

Carlo.

You won't have screwed up your mixer cables... you already said that sounds nice and wide. I think you may have mis-wired when you were going directly from the arranger...

Carlo,
You can go directly to the Bose website and have products sent right to your house.

Hammer

FYI ... Here in Long Island all Bose Outlet Stores have the Compact. I was told by Bose this is the case and have visited a local Bose outlet and the Compact is on display. Also, the local Guitar center also has one on display. Due to this when you call the 800 # they said they would "Wave" the shipping charges. They want the business!! Also if you order through the 800 # you can get the Compact at 0% interest for 1 year!!

This sounds great re: The Compact, and if people are happy using it at the appropriate gig, then more power to them.

Keep in mind though, that the Compact bass frequency range only goes down to 65hz (I believe), and the discernable power output is lower than from, say, the L1 Model 2.

What I'm saying is - if you play for older audiences in smaller venues with more classic material, the Compact seems a goer (2 of them) and I say do it if you feel it's right for you.
However if you do larger venues and/or more recent Dance/Rock orientated material, I would be wary.

Just a thought, and definitely NOT raining on anyone's parade here, just an observation.

Here is a direct quote from one of the Key Bose personnel...

"Ken-at-Bose:

What I would say is that the L1 Compact system does not play as loud, nor as deep in bass, nor does it project as far into a room as either the L1 Model I or Model II.

It doesn't really offer expandable bass.

We think its performance and price are very appealing to a large number of people for whom the performance and price of the Model I or Model II are unnecessarily high.

If I played in bigger, noisier rooms, used bass and drums, or played hard driving rock/blues/metal, or had an instrument that really shined because of deep bass etc. I should be steered to the Model I or Model II. "

(and from a FAQ PDF guide produced by Bose)

"Can the L1 Compact system be used
outdoors?

Yes. The system can be used inside or out, but must never be exposed to
precipitation or extended periods of direct sunlight.

Can I connect an external subwoofer –
such as the Bose B1 bass module – to
the L1 Compact system?

No. The bass module is integrated into the L1 Compact system. The system
does not support adding additional bass modules."

So - not incredibly rugged and durable outdoors, and not expandable re Bass ouput.

Actually Hellboy it can be. It has a line out which can be run to an external amp driving an additional sub box if desired.
http://www.bose.com/controller?url=/shop...dex.jsp#manuals

[This message has been edited by miden (edited 05-23-2009).]