I recently purchased a Bose L1 Model 1 system. I have compared the Bose system intensively with my conventional system in my basement. Also the Bose system was used in a dance party of about 150 people. In the party I played recorded music about 80% of the time. The rest 20% was arranger+singer. The singer singed thru mic input of the Roland G-70 arranger.

I would like to comment on the Bose system in an unbiased manner. Below are the 2 systems I currently have:

--My Conventional System:

2* Yorkville E160P Powered Speakers
Yamaha MG16/6fx mixer, Compressor and CD player installed in a rack.

Cost: about CND$2000 + tax

--The Bose System:

L1 Model 1
2 B1 Bass Modules

Cost: CND$2230 + tax

--The Pros of Bose System:
1. Easy to carry. Easy to setup.
It takes me 20 minutes to set up my conventional system. The speakers need to be put on stands. The power cable needs to be connected to the mixer rack and 2 Yorkville E160Ps. The 50� XLR cables needs to be connected from mixers to powered speakers. While the Bose system take only about 5 minutes to set up.

2. The wide sound dispersion angle (nearly 180 degree)
The dispersion degree makes the system less vulnerable to reverberance. Also it sounds more even across the party room.

To achieve the same evenness of sound it takes about 4 conventional speakers setting up in the corners.

3. Excellent mid range frequency / vocal sound.
The Bose system is excellent in human voice range. The singer was very satisfied with her voice during the party.

--The Cons of Bose System:
1. No high frequency sound.
The hiss sound in the high frequency is muffled. As a result the snare drum won�t have the same impact as conventional system. Actually after playing prerecorded music I noticed that all the high-frequency material (say >10KHz) is lost from Bose L1.

2. Noticeable phase-cancellation when playing pre-recorded music
Since the Bose L1 system is mono, when joining stereo into one channel phase-cancellation happens. The pre-recorded music sounds much thinner than playing thru conventional system in stereo.

I have not tried. But I believe setting up 2 Bose L1 as stereo won�t resolve the issue since the sound dispersion is 180 degree. It will still result in phase cancellation.

However it astounded me that arranger keyboard such as G-70 won�t suffer the phase issue. I suspect the Roland G-70�s styles have taken mono into consideration.

3. Poor dynamics
Comparing to conventional system the Bose L1 won�t provide the same impact. It seems the headroom on the Bose system is limited. Sound wise, the sound come from Bose seems to be compressed too much.

4. Not as loud as conventional system.
1 Bose L1 with 2 basses (750W) is not as loud as 2 Yorkville E160P (400W in total). Not good for playing dance music

5. Not configurable
Yes Bose L1 is plug-and-play. But on the other side you cannot twick the sound.


Given the plus and minus of Bose L1. Humbly I would suggest the use of Bose L1 as following:

--For musicians/entertainers focus on pop, jazz and country music

The Bose L1 system is suitable. The system is easy to set up. It saves you a lot of equipment pieces. Also the system covers this type of music well. Especially if you play in lounge, wedding or any type of mobile environment you will take advantage of Bose L1�s easy set up and nice adapt ion to different surroundings.

--For any type of singers
Bose L1 is suitable. It covers human voice very nicely.

For entertainers playing dance music
Bose L1 is NOT suitable. The sound does not impact audience. You will notice it short of bass and high frequency material. People won�t be excited of the music.

--For DJ playing pre-recorded music
Avoid Bose L1. It is not made for this purpose even though Bose claims DJ likes it. Phase cancellation, sound volume, lack of bass and high and lack of dynamics will make DJ look bad.

I would not suggest use Bose L1 if you play any pre-recorded music during event.

At end of the day my Bose L1 is going back to Bose. I will return it because I play a considerable portion of pre-recorded music during performance.