Rog,

The main benefit of the traditional speaker system is exactly the disadvantage that the Bose (and other line arrays) seem to overcome...sound fall off.

When I played at the restaurant, using my Yamaha MS-60S powered speakers, those who wished to talk and not listen to the music simply were seated far enough away where it wouldn't interfere.

If I was using a Bose system, the sound would still be heard at relatively the same volume no matter where they were seated...that's why the regular speakers worked so well in my case.

I suspect other venues would benefit from speaker sound fall off.

A rented Bose system (actually two of 'em in stereo) worked extremely well for me when I was doing a theater gig and wanted full coverage with little or no sound drop off at all points in the venue.

So each fills a specific need.

Ian