Anyone use the Bose L1 Line array speakers for mobile gigs??

[DJ ATX]

If anyone has any experience with these I would love to hear your input. Specially about the largest venue you've done with them.

[sss18734]

It really depends on what you're using them for.

I've used these in dozens of venues. They are very solid for parties up to 200-300 people where the goal isn't to obliterate people with bass. They are surprisingly loud for their footprint and look very nice. For weddings, these are fine for any amount of people, even in fairly large venues.

I tried doing a 300+ fraternity party with one due to a double booking, and it was definitely not enough. Everyone had a great time, but the bass just wasn't there. But then again, that's not what they're designed for. We have done a high school dance with two of them (double bass bins on each) and it was definitely not loud enough in that gym.

[STLRiverCity]

I use a L1 Model 1 with two subs as my primary system. I mostly DJ at bars and small weddings. It is perfect for those type of events. I have done a few smaller outdoor parties as well with it. Like the guy above me said, it won't give you chest thumping bass but it does have a good clean low end to it. Go into a local GC and try it out.

[Ntertainment]

300+ People with 1 L1 system? What where you thinking?

My suggestion would be to buy bigger sound to allow more flexabilty, you don't want to be stuck with a system that's not expandable.

[DJ ATX]

Thanks for the info guys.

Been looking at these for a while now. I really hate having to rent a uHaul van every time I do a mobile gig. I have 2 EV ELX15 and 2 ELX18S. Along with lights, truss, amp rack. Its a lot. Been wanting to scale down a bit.

I am primarily a club/bar DJ and most of the mobile gigs I do, maybe 1 or 2 a month, are corporate events held at hotel ballrooms. Typically 200-500 guests. Do you guys think I may be able to get away with 2 L1's and 1 powered 18" sub.

[DJMC]

The L-1 system is not built for that kind of use (200-500 persons).

Its more suited to smaller venues and weddings from 100 to 200 persons.

[sss18734]

I am primarily a club/bar DJ and most of the mobile gigs I do, maybe 1 or 2 a month, are corporate events held at hotel ballrooms. Typically 200-500 guests. Do you guys think I may be able to get away with 2 L1's and 1 powered 18" sub.

If you are primarily background music at these events, you'll be fine. Corporate clients love the low profile of these systems.

[JPelli73]

Last weekend I did a huge ballroom with 2 L1s and 4 bass boxes. More than enough power for a room that sat 350 and could easily have sat 100 more. Rave reviews from the client and the house AV guy said it was the best sound system he'd heard in 10 years.

People hate on Bose all the time, but I'm a believer. A single L1 and 2 bass bins is more than sufficient for 90 percent of the venues I do. I even have an L1 compact as a backup/cocktail/ceremony system. Good stuff.

Pelli

[Unknown DJ]

Too bad there's no way of comparing Bose speakers to other speakers via some type of specifications.

[sss18734]

Rave reviews from the client and the house AV guy said it was the best sound system he'd heard in 10 years.

They are good client sound systems, but not because of their actualy sound "quality." There is a reason not a single Bose product has ever received a positive review from any reputable reviewer or magazine.


Too bad there's no way of comparing Bose speakers to other speakers via some type of specifications.

You have to have third party tests to truly see their performance. Bose will not publish detailed specs of their equipment, because frankly, its a bit embarrassing. But hey, to most people, the name and appearance makes it "sound" better than it's actual performance.

[JPelli73]

See, this is what I mean. I don't care about the specifications and I don't need third party tests. I did a first party test and liked what I heard. And I have yet to hear a client put down mry L1's sound quality. But that's the beauty of a free market economy- buy whatever you like. I know I did.

[Ntertainment]

Isn't is true bose focuses on frequencies that excite the ears so they sound better but don't have true reproductions?

[JamminDownJD]

I have 2 Bose L1 Classic systems. These reportedly pump out a little more than the current L1 systems. I've used them with 2 B1 bass bins, but I've recently bought even more B1s to see if I could push these sticks even more.

As tools of the trade, they do a decent job. They work for a lot of the type of weddings I do in the higher-end venues around here in Chicago because they elegantly blend into the background unlike speakers on sticks. I've used the Bose L1s for a sorority party once, and they were quite anemic for that gig-- but then again, I didn't use enough B1 bass bins for that party.

I'm not yet confident that these Bose L1s can handle the huge ballrooms that I sometimes play in. Perhaps that will change with the extra B1s. We'll see.

To be perfectly honest, I don't understand how some "Bose-heads" almost claim that these sticks work magic and blows every other speaker away. Some claim that they "never get feedback", or "the sound is even throughout the entire room", or "one stick could handle a party of 300 people." Ridiculous. Those claims cannot work for every single venue and every single scenario. Each venue is different, each scenario is different. Bring the tools that can best handle the venue and scenario.

My Bose L1 Classics (I would always bring two) will go out to many of my weddings in certain venues, but for large gigs, much-larger ballrooms, and for those gigs that require a lot more bass, I still prefer my QSC K Series.

Personally, I prefer the sound of my QSC K Series over the Bose L1s. The Bose sound seem flatter to me. (And before any Boseheads jump on me, yes, I have optimized these sticks to the proper settings and placement.)

Nevertheless, I don't regret buying the Bose L1s. They do their job for certain gigs. They are extra tools for the trade. Of course, then again, I'm a gearhead with LOTS of different systems to play around with...

[VjQue]

Last weekend I did a huge ballroom with 2 L1s and 4 bass boxes. More than enough power for a room that sat 350 and could easily have sat 100 more. Rave reviews from the client and the house AV guy said it was the best sound system he'd heard in 10 years.

People hate on Bose all the time, but I'm a believer. A single L1 and 2 bass bins is more than sufficient for 90 percent of the venues I do. I even have an L1 compact as a backup/cocktail/ceremony system. Good stuff.

Pelli then that A/V guy is surely a amateur.

Best sound system he heard in 10 years. were he been in a cave....

[Al Poulin]

Bose systems are generally better suited to smaller venues or live performers who value looks over perfomance and who actually want the entire audience to hear the music at the same volume level (not just the dance floor) and also want people to know they've spent way too much on a sound system for the sake of name recognition. Every single Bose product I've ever seen or heard has been WAY overpriced for the actual performance it offers. Probably because quite a bit of its price is spent in marketing... In many stores actually, Bose doesn't let its dealers install Bose systems near other competitive systems in case potentil clients actually compared them to others. Almost all Bose products are extensively processed (and often require dedicated processors) to make them sound good or/and to mask the inherent poor quality of the drivers they use. Every wonder why so few specifications or frequency graphs are available for Bose products?

People think Bose is really good, not because of the actual sound and/or performance of Bose products (because many people seem to know Bose sounds good even before hearing them) but because they recognize the name from magazines they've read or from the shopping channel. Although many Bose systems do sound good, they often can't live up to the claims the marketing department decides to print and are very expensive for what they are. That is just my opinion of course, but most sound professionals feel the same way. Have you ever seen Bose used in professional concert applications? Probably about as often as Behringer products...

Al - Party-Time! DJ Services

[DJ ATX]

Yep, I find it curious that Bose does not have an specs on these. Like how many watts it pumps out? ohms? type of amp used? freq range? So I resort to asking on this forum for reviews.

[Unknown DJ]

Yep, I find it curious that Bose does not have an specs on these. Like how many watts it pumps out? ohms? type of amp used? freq range? So I resort to asking on this forum for reviews.

You know the old saying if you have nothing nice to say don't say nothing at all.

From what I have read the old L1 speakers used a 500 watt amp and the new ones use a 250 watt amp.

[Al Poulin]

Many of their older speakers were far from being efficient and required massive amounts of power to produce modest SPL levels - and of course still required those damn dedicated processors to make them sound good. A certain audio magazine once was sued by Bose for printing a less than favorable review of one of their systems, so reviewers have been very careful since then.

I prefer to purchase products from companies who invest more in R & D than in advertising... (and who actually print specs)

Al

[SummitAudioDJ]

For the price of 2 basic L1 towers you could buy 4 - RCF 312A's or 2 RCF 312A's and a nice 15 or 18" sub and be able to cover at least double what the Bose system could. I don't know why people brag about how fast the bose system is to set up??? It takes me longer to velcro my cables to the poles than it does putting My 312a''s on sticks, and plugging in the XLR and power cables.

[Al Poulin]

For the price of 2 basic L1 towers you could buy 4 - RCF 312A's or 2 RCF 312A's and a nice 15 or 18" sub and be able to cover at least double what the Bose system could. I don't know why people brag about how fast the bose system is to set up??? It takes me longer to velcro my cables to the poles than it does putting My 312a''s on sticks, and plugging in the XLR and power cables.

You also need quite a few of those ''bass modules'' to do what a typical quality powered sub can do. Many Bose users actually use powered subs from other manufacturers to help their Bose systems in the low frequency department. ;)

Al