I waiting to try out the SoloAmp. My semi-educated guess is that it use the same preamp and eq designed from the most recent Loudbox Series. The power amp is likely new, and the speaker array is certainly new. As a starting point, then, this thing should sound similar to a Fishman Loudbox. That's a good start, as the current Loudbox Series is very decent sonically. Fishman has generally used good designs with their power amps and speakers, and I would expect the SoloAmp to follow suit.
I would agree that a line array begins to fall down when things physically get in the way of the sound dispersion - people, tables, chairs, etc. Add competing ambient noise and things get a bit more dicey. Some frequencies are affected more than others which ends up coloring the sound further back in the room. I've seen many performers using the Bose line array, for example, where the bottom half of the array is below the sitting height of the audience. In essence, 1/2 of the system's output is compromised. The SoloAmp is raised off the ground, so it shouldn't suffer from this problem as much in most situations.
There is still some advantage to the throw weight of a good PA system. Of course, PA systems have disadvantages too.
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