Ian you are certainly right about using two Bose L1's!. I had two for a few years but only used them together on a few occasions! Just too much to worry about lugging and setting up for a small one-night stand.
My friends Dean Mathis, Joe Lee Richards and I played a fourth of July celebration up in Arkansas at the fair grounds, and the sound was phenomenal.
I ran Dean's keyboard, pedal steel and fiddle, a send from Joe's guitar amp, my keyboard and four mics (one guest mic for announcements) all through my 16-channel mixer, left output to one Bose and right to the other. The keyboards sounded fantastic; of course everything else was mono. People 100 yards and more away came up to see the system and tell us how great the sound was. Their big point was that previous bands had made their ears bleed up close, but lost clarity at the far reaches of the venue (which was an open field). Of course there was no stereo effect past perhaps 20 or 30 yards, but it was sure sweet where we were sitting!
We played that job every year for five years. It was one of my best-paying gigs ever.
I found myself only using the dual system for this job and one New Year's Eve party. When they brought out the Compacts I tried them, and really haven't used much else since then. They are better suited for the small jobs I generally do.
I now also have two Nano 300's and I love the sound of them. Setup is a little more time-consuming than the Compacts though, and the dispersion is different. I have a job next week in Oklahoma where I plan to take both Nanos and both Compacts. Can't wait to hear how that works!
Lots of great choices now!
P.S. I sold one of the L1's to Bill Semilivemusic and the other to another friend, both with the stipulation that if I ever needed them I could use them. I haven't needed them.