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#271787 - 09/22/09 04:45 PM Before I Do This
zuki Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 09/20/02
Posts: 4716
I just do not like mono, I'm afraid even with the Bose Compact, I won't be satisfied. Roland has the BA-330 coming, I need a shrink or advice please.
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#271788 - 09/22/09 04:59 PM Re: Before I Do This
--Mac Offline
Member

Registered: 05/16/08
Posts: 307
Loc: Chesapeake, Virginia, USA
Take TWO Bose Compacts and call me in the morning.


--Dr. Mac
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#271789 - 09/22/09 05:18 PM Re: Before I Do This
cassp Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 03/21/03
Posts: 3748
Loc: Motown
Zuki, if stereo is your thing, I don't know of anything as small, light and good (and pricey) as two Compacts. I have two Roland CM-30's which can be chained to handle stereo. They will do NH jobs easily. Or, start looking into small powered speakers.

[This message has been edited by cassp (edited 09-22-2009).]
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#271790 - 09/22/09 05:35 PM Re: Before I Do This
tony mads usa Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 01/16/02
Posts: 14376
Loc: East Greenwich RI USA
Quote:
Originally posted by cassp:
Or, start looking into small powered speakers.
[This message has been edited by cassp (edited 09-22-2009).]


That's where I am right now ... since the Podiums seemed to have 'shat the bed' for mostly everyone - but Fran - pushing them full time, I'm back to square one ... I just don't like the idea of going for $400 to $500 each ...
t.
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#271791 - 09/22/09 07:16 PM Re: Before I Do This
travlin'easy Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 12/08/02
Posts: 15556
Loc: Forest Hill, MD USA
Jim,

At one time, I felt the same--stereo was the only way to go. Then I stepped out in front of the sound system with a wireless mic and fired up some midi files. I A/B tested several systems, stereo V/S Bose mono. In the end, Bose won--hands down.

Now, before a major mine is better than yours confrontation begins, I love the sound of stereo. But, and this is a big but(not butt), I quickly discovered that my audiences, by and large, were not hearing anything other than mono. And, the sound quality I experienced from the Bose L1 and L1 Compact was far and away superior to anything I tested, even some of the best of the best conventional sound systems.

Some performers have gone to a pair of L1 Compacts just so they will have stereo. And, some of those same performers clearly stated the only person that was benefiting from the stereo created by a pair of L1 Compacts was the performer--not the audience.

The best advice I have is if YOU don't like what you hear, send it back to Bose. Their 45-day, no-questions-asked return policy is the best in the industry. As for ME, I'll never go back to using a conventional sound system.

Good Luck on whatever you decide upon,

Gary
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#271792 - 09/22/09 07:45 PM Re: Before I Do This
ianmcnll Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 07/27/05
Posts: 10606
Loc: Cape Breton Island, Canada
I'm getting a pair of Bose Compacts...I loved the sound of the two Bose L1's in stereo, and got a lot of great feedback from my audience, so I expect the overall same performance from the two Compacts, only they'll be less loud, and, less in weight.

I don't need the volume of the L1's, but I want to keep the "room filling" sound that Bose does so nicely...the stereo sweet spot is hugely enlarged, more so than a conventional system.

I tried a pair of Compacts out in the store, and the room was pretty big, and they sounded terrific.

I'm thinking, in the unlikely event that one went down (they make great stuff), the other would get me by quite well as a back-up; still filling the room quite well...just not as rich as in stereo.

Ian
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#271793 - 09/22/09 07:53 PM Re: Before I Do This
Diki Offline


Registered: 04/25/05
Posts: 14182
Loc: NW Florida
To be honest, the Bose system is not necessarily your best choice if you ARE looking for a stereo experience for your audience (it'll be pretty good for you, though). But the whole POINT of the Bose system is to shove out a planar waveform, and produce an even, non-localized sound all over the room.

Stereo, OTOH, works best with systems that DO localize the sound source, so that L & R sources are better defined.

Technically, the only true way to A/B a mono system and a stereo system is to go between a mono PAS playing mono, and a stereo system playing stereo. Putting mono through a two speaker system is going to introduce phase artifacts, and volume differences need to be very carefully aligned.

The thing which tips the balance, for me at least, is how poorly many arranger's true stereo sounds (from stereo samples, NOT mono samples panned around the field) collapse to mono. Yes, in fairness, IF they did collapse without going phasey, mono would be a decent alternative, especially for larger or irregular shaped venues, but I can hear it pretty plainly on a LOT of stereo sounds. It isn't the same sound in mono. It is hollow and phasey and just not the same.

Fix that, and things are far more even in the choice. There is a HUGE difference in sound between a stereo sound, played in stereo and listened to so far away that it can no longer be discerned as stereo, and a stereo sound that is collapsed to mono internally, and played through the one speaker. Phase issues are so much more apparent using the latter scheme.

Primarily, this effects our stereo piano sounds, but I can also often hear a big difference in the sound of the effects themselves, reverbs sound pinched, choruses get weird and phasey, Leslie sims go all electronic sounding, etc..

There's a reason there is a MONO button on any decent recording console, or on most of our DAW's. Checking that your sound isn't going to change radically when you listen to it in mono is a basic part of mixing. It is a shame that few designing arranger sound sets (and some WS's too) and effects structures seem to be aware of this necessary step...
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#271794 - 09/22/09 08:12 PM Re: Before I Do This
cassp Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 03/21/03
Posts: 3748
Loc: Motown
Excellent post, Diki.

I've played my G70 stereo and mono thru CM-30's and noticed very little difference, if any. Since usng the Compact (mono) the audience reaction has been markedly pro Bose. I like the sound improvement too.

Now there is no way two $200 speakers are gonna sound as good and strong as a $1000 setup, but the fact that I noticed no marked changed in mono or stereo usung the CM-30's tells me stereo in a live setting, especialy spacious rooms, means that much. In fact, if you were to achieve true stereo separation each half of the audience would be missing a significant part of the mix. Just my opinion.
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#271795 - 09/22/09 08:12 PM Re: Before I Do This
ianmcnll Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 07/27/05
Posts: 10606
Loc: Cape Breton Island, Canada
The Leslie sim, and Chorus, Delay, and Cross Delay, and many other effects are designed to be most effective (no pun intended) in stereo.

That's why I'm going with TWO Compacts...I was very pleased with the sound of the L1's in stereo, even at quite a distance from the source, and even at various points around the room there was quite a difference as opposed to one.

I can't explain why the stereo sweet spot is so large (perhaps, Diki can lend his expertise), but it is greatly enhanced, and made the purchase of two (rather expensive) systems well worth it.

Now, that I'm no longer doing concerts, I sold the L1's and I am investing in a pair of Bose Compacts, which do the same thing to the stereo signal as the bigger system.

My PSR-S900 sounds terrific through the stereo Bose, and the Tyros3 is even better...your PA-800 will really come alive through two Compacts.

Ian
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Yamaha Tyros4, Yamaha MS-60S Powered Monitors(2), Yamaha CS-01, Yamaha TQ-5, Yamaha PSR-S775.

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#271796 - 09/22/09 08:35 PM Re: Before I Do This
Dnj Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 09/21/00
Posts: 43703
Yea go for it it's only money.

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