Tony,

The room measured about 60 X 100 feet, with the exception of the dancefloor, which was in the middle of the room, much of the floor was carpeted. The ceiling is sound absorbing and about 12 feet high, and the room had several curtained windows. I was in the process of setting up when that photo was taken, the sound system was never turned up to beyond the 11 O'clock position, the dancefloor stayed full, and I had people in the connecting bar room dancing. It has been MY experience that the only sound systems that tend to suffer are conventional--not stacked arrays such as the Bose.

Gary

Tony,
I'm starting to "get" your sense of humor, and I don't think you really believe either of the above statements, do you? With so many fans of teh Bose technology, you can believe that there is a full range of frequency reproduction when used properly, and set up for the venue. They are an amazing to0l, and for the record - his speaker was facing out towards the audience.

As a kid, the need to "blast them away" might have been a more common approach, but I have come to realize, and I truly believe that MOST of my comrades play too loud. Maybe they are all loosing their hearing from sitting in front of conventional speakers that force high end, damaging frequencies out of small horns, in order to project to the back of the room, maybe they just like the thump of bass that makes your stomach rumble. I have come to appreciate a more balanced, non-abrasive tone and the fact that I have been making my living for over 35 years with this approach tells me that others appreciate it as well.

Sure, there will always be the occasion to really pump it up, but that fades quickly with youth - many people come to my shows with the intention of dancing, listening and talking to one another - I provide an atmosphere for all three, and the Bose is an integral part of that success.

These rants over stereo vs. mono and phase canceling and such are all a very distant second to the art of entertainment. When a performer puts on a good show, with class and humility the crowd will respond in kind. With a full dance floor, the only "right" decision is what to play next. No one ever requested me to "play more midrange, please" LOL

Tony, you're a good guy, and a funny one too ... keep your sense of humor - it makes you who you are! I don't really think the UK is all that different from the US, except that you guys (mates) can't speak English!

You are sitting...or your pants are too short

Tony, I can't quite agree that the Bose have "no mid-range", but I will concede that the mid-range is very weak.

No amount of tweaking overcomes this on a single Bose system, and the only way around happened when I added the second Bose system; the increase in mid-range was a happy by-product, as my original intent was to try and stop the phase-cancellation that occurred when I used a single system.

Some people are able to live with the very obvious lack of mid-range in a single Bose, very contentedly it seems, but, I like my sound to have decent mid range and one Bose system, was very unsatisfactory, both in the aforementioned weak mids, and, of course, the stereo reproduction.

To each his own, I say...this was always a bone of contention on SZ (both with the mids problem and the stereo issue).

I solved my dissatisfaction by using two systems, solving the weak mids issue and the stereo one as well; others are quite content to use one system and be happy with it's performance, however it is perceived to their ears. It must work well enough, as they continue to use it.

I can't see this whole issue resolved, and quite frankly, I really don't give a hoot...my prime concern is making my performance sound at it's very best, not trying to convince other people about where I believe a certain speaker system configuration falls short.

I am just happy I noticed what was lacking, and also quite pleased when I found the solution, albeit a pricey one.

If I were in your place, I'd stick with the two 400 SR in stereo...you'll get a much more robust sound, and, no problems with phase cancellation.

Ian

PS...you will notice that 99% of Bose ads show a single vocalist/guitar player (or a single piano player) with no backup accompaniment system...also, when used in a band, you will notice each member has their own system (in mono)...that way the system doesn't have to handle the entire frequency range, the lack of mids is not as important, and the stereo phase cancellation problem is a non-issue.

Ian,

Is this another way of saying there is no middle range, shall I get the freq data sheet and see?

Hi Guys.

Been on the Bose site, cannot find any techinical data for freq response, perhaps they don't want you to know so you can't compare their kit with others. What good is that, we need hard evidence it must be somewhere. Yours ears may be gone, mine are! It might sound good to you but that is no recommendation.

Tony

Tony, there is a mid-range, but it is weak.

However, when used as intended, with a vocalist/guitar player, the lack of mids isn't much of an issue, as vocals and guitars are strong in the mid-range and make up for it.

That's why the ads show the system being used by a single performer. When used in a group situation, you will see that each band member has his (or her) own Bose system. That clearly indicates to me that one is not meant as an overall "band" PA system.

An arranger needs a speaker system with far broader frequency response because it is reproducing many frequencies (it is an entire "band") all at once, as opposed to just a certain range.

As I said earlier, Tony, there are some who are very content with a single system it as it sounds...I was not...it was one-dimensional, and weak in the mid-range, and therefore not acceptable.

I found that two did the job, and overcame the above issues, but again, they are expensive.

Ian

Found it.

http://pro.bose.com/pdf/pro/tech_data/L1/td_l1_compact.pdf

Now we can compare?

I agree with all of that Ian. The Yamaha KA20 was one of the best speakers around, this kit was used for home and gigging but much to heavy for
good old boys to lug around, unless you have a trolley.

http://www.freewebs.com/hxelectone/buy.htm

Scott, Alexander and Sophie look almost identical...they're the same breed of bird. As a female, Sophie has a lot of red in her tail.


Larry, I have three Parker guitars: a Classic for "high end" jobs (read that-little chance of damage), a Nite-Fly (that's for outside-hazardous duty-drunks, weather, etc....costs about 1/3 of the Classic...about $1,000.00)) and a new Parker acoustic hi-bred. Has piezos and a magnetic pick-up with a blend, separate outs, etc.

If I had to choose one guitar out of my collection of over 300 pieces, including L-5's, 355's, etc. I'd choose the Parker Fly Classic. They're that good!


Russ