I finally got the chance to A/B The Roland BA-330 stereo amp (15 watts a side)..to the acclaimed Bose Compact..(stated anywhere between 100-130 watts).

The owner of the Bose (Gary M)is a proud owner of all 3 Bose models...but when credit is due..he will say so..(Unlike most Bose owners.. )

The first test was a simple plug something into the BA330 to show Gary what 15 watts a side can sound like.. ..and on battery power too..Gary's jaw dropped..he said he would never have thought a low powered(number wise) amp could sound so good..

A quick initial A/B to the Compact..immediately l confirmed what I have always said about the Bose..There is a low/mid range that doesn't exist..Gary said the fullness of the BA330, kicked the butt of the Bose Compact..

We A/B'd for over 3 hours..using many different combinations and set ups..

I talked Gary into the Edirol M-10dx mixer..we both agreed this mixer is the best in it's price range and even those costing much more..

We than set up the amps with the Edirol mixer..I wanted to show Gary a feature on the Edlrol..I knew could improve the Bose fullness...

The Edirol has a Room Acoustic Control..it uses white noise to set up dual 16 channel EQ (flat)..what it does is bring out the frequencies that the Bose or any other powered speaker does not do from the factory..I have tried this with at least 6 different systems. and without fail ..improved every system..

After we did the RAC on the Bose..it came to life..I swear I seen tears in Gary's eyes..
After we A/B'd my BA330 and his Compact..and the Bose came in a distant second in quality, full sound...It was time to make him happy..

The Bose is weak at best with the unit not extended.(no tower extensions)..but the Edirol RAC trick worked a miracle on the Bose Compact..You could finally hear what is missing from the factory sound..

Now you Bose folks don't go off the deep end..maybe you just have to experience what Gary just did..to become a believer..and admit there is a lacking area in the stock Bose...

The BA330 showed Gary what was missing on his Bose and the Edirol mixer..made his Bose something he could smile about once again..

Comparisons are lessons to be learned..

BTW" we compared another Crate battery powered amp to the BA330..we quickly had to unplug the Crate..it was outclassed...

Hopefully ..I can get Gary to post his thoughts ..in case I put words into his mouth...When I left his place..he was a happy dude...he even claimed that if he was in the market prior to buying the Bose..he would get the BA330..

So now the results are yours...believe what you want...but if I owned a Bose ..I would buy a Edirol mixer..to use with the Bose..that way it can sound as good as the BA330...

Hey Fran,

C'mon down here to the sunny south and show us country boys your setup. Sure like to hear the rig first hand.

Gary

Gary, everything is against a trip this year..I am feeding my repair hungary Ford explorer...nursing a cold..and have a busy play schedule....

Fran said it - it's on the internet - it must be true.

I do miss having any type of mixer function on the Compact, but as is, it's pretty good to my ears. I have a small Behringer I haven't used yet; maybe I should give it a try. I haven't heard the BA330 to offer a comparison.

Fran, do you put that BA330 behind you like a Bose or do you have to use a monitor because of feedback problems?

Do you know of any people using this for acoustic guitar?

Bill I have the only one I ever seen...It sits anywhere I want..It has a Roland advanced anti feedback feature that really works..as in zero feedback..

I will say it will work great with guitar..as it advertises..

So Fran ... How much Roland stock do you own?????

I always want to hear one test no-one ever does. Take the Bose, take the Roland, take your Podium's, back to back, crank them up until you DO hear distortion, then back off JUST enough to get rid of it. NOW which one is louder, fuller, etc.?

Any speaker system ought to sound pretty good up to a certain point. I just want to know what that certain point is...

If you had 100 20 year olds in a fair size room, would ANY of these things work? Go to a club with a real live band (especially a real drummer) playing. Do ANY of these put out enough to compete?

Basically, what I have in stock..here in my studio..

Diki, that is a terrible concept..the only test that matters is can a system perform full enough for your intended purpose...knowing which one is loudess..means nothing..

BTW: The Podiums are the loudess speakers I have...The Podium 1204's are used with our band in high volume venues..they beat the Yorkvilles...The 802's with a mixer like wise is loud as any 8 inch gets..

The BA330 doesn't match the Podiums volume..what it does..sounds full and warm..The Podiums can be harsh...you know ..like rockers like..PS: NYE gig was a band and real drums,,we used Podium 1204's..

If I have an amp that sounds full and warm with great bass and volume to do the 80-100 person gigs I want it to handle..why would I care if it may not handle 100 rock dancers....who knows maybe it will..