I went to the Guitar Center with my CD, I wanted to hear how the Bose Compact sounded. I listened to a JBL and then a Mackie (Model numbers?) and then the Bose Compact.

Yes the sound was equal around the room but ---- it did not sound very good. Lot’s of highs and lows. I asked him if he would cut the highs and boast the middle. He said the way he had it hooked up he couldn’t do that.
Great, I still know nothing.

I understand that you can ordered one with a 45 day return privilege. Is this given by the store where you buy it or buying the unit direct from the Bose company.

You can get it directly from Bose, but also the big online companies offer it too.
What most music stores don't realize is that the Bose needs very little e.q. They probably had the system e.q.d for conventional speakers.
Just guessing.
DonM

Or, he might have just been hearing what Bose's actually sound like. Lots of highs and lows, not so much in the middle.

Not that that's a BAD thing, necessarily, as EQ-ing those middle bands is pretty critical to get a good sound. Bose sidestep the issue and cut them substantially to start with.

I've used an L1 (so don't get mad at me!), and compared to a conventional PA, it IS a bit light in the mids, especially low mids. This helps greatly with clarity and projection (along with the planar wave), but isn't as warm as a regular PA can get. Different strokes, and all that.

JMO, as always...

If you looked at the Compact, you saw that there were no tone controls for either channel. The only options are the ToneMatch switches on/off. So what you were hearing had to come from the CD player or master mixer/console in-store. The GC around here has the Bosi free-standing from the standard speaker arrays. So I ask, what kind of CD player was used? Theirs, yours? I agree with Diki that the Bose columns tend to have more highs than mids, but that can be eliminated and/or improved with the use of a small mixer or the Bose ToneMatch engine.

As Cassp said, the input device must be properly EQ'd, which is something the kids working at GC don't have a clue about.

First and foremost, there are no EQ settings on the Bose L1 Compact other than the two-band EQ used for the auxiliary mic input. Therefore, the system is essentially flat. However, it comes alive with all the highs, lows and MIDS that anyone could ask for when the system is fed from a device that has the ability to set and amplify those individual frequency ranges.

And, you DO NOT need to purchase an expensive Tonematch from Bose to obtain outstanding results. If your keyboard or other playback device does not have the ability to further amplify and tune those EQs, you can use something as inexpensive as the Alesis 6FX, which sells for just under $100. Granted, it is not as clean as the Bose Tonematch, but it still provides outstanding results, and it's $400 less expensive.

Testing any sound system in a store such as GC, and assuming that's what you'll hear at every venue, just doesn't make good sense. If I could think of the worst possible location to test a sound system it would be inside a music store--nothing could be worse. Fortunately, with Bose, you get the same 45-day return policy regardless of where you purchase it. Therefore, I urge anyone that is considering an upgrade to the Bose L1 Compact to take the plunge, take the system home, set it up, then tear it down and TAKE IT TO A LARGE HALL, VFW, AMERICAN LEGION, K-of-C, someplace where you can put it to the acid test.

Try it out in front of an audience, get their opinion, the opinions of other musicians and entertainers. Create a high-quality midi file on YOUR keyboard, play it through the system while walking around the various venues, set the EQs accordingly, and walk the venue again. I done this with nearly every sound system I've ever purchased and it was among the best tests if musical equipment that can be done--IT WORKS!

Finally, if YOU DO NOT like what you hear, take the system back for a full refund--no questions asked. Now, that's one hell of a deal.

Gary

Ditto to what Gary said. Since I started EQing from inside my Tyros, it was amazing what comes out of the Boze. It still blows me away.

Good luck,

Joe

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Songman55
Joe Ayala

Ditto what Gary said and Joe supported...

Right now GC is selling the Behringer Xenyx 1202FX mixer for $99. I got an additional 10% ($10) off simply by asking about a coupon. http://www.guitarcenter.com/Behringer-XENYX-1202FX-103845061-i1153503.gc

Cass...great deal...I just bought a Behringer Xenyx mini 502 from them last week works real nice for my needs...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubTk7RqbXWs

I couldn't agree more. I've had the L1 and now the Compact, which I absolutely love for all the reasons already mentioned. But the low mids are for sure lacking. You may not notice it except when you A-B compared it with a more conventional system. It's then very obvious.

The fix, at least for me, is to pair it up with a conventional speaker. I use the compact alone ~ 85% of the time, which sounds great, IMO. But for a larger venue, or whenever I choose, I pair it up with a Barbetta Sona 32, which sounds better yet... IMO.

Glenn