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Old 02-01-2018, 02:43 PM
Cuki79 Cuki79 is offline
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Default Bose S1 II (following the previous thread)

The previous Bose S1 Pro being closed for exceeding the maximum limit, I start a new one here.

Here is a link to the 1st thread:
link to the previous thread

I finally got to try the Bose S1 pro

From left to right, up to down: Bose S1 Pro, HK Era 1 wood & black, Fishman Loudbox mini, ACUS 8T and ACUS 5T



I could not compare it side by side with other the amps that were in the "amp room" but here is my personal review:

To the questions:
"Is it a revolution tone wise?": No
"Is it louder than other amps?": No (Well maybe... but not significantly louder)

To the questions:
"Is it well designed": Yes
" Is it convenient": Yes

Tone:
It has the Bose tone. To my ear, it is scooped in the lower mids. So the "body" of your guitar tone that can easily turn to "mud" is removed. As there is no tweeter, the sound is not aggressive or metallic. It does not have bottom end. When I use my IR with the full lows, it really can't take it. So don't expect anything under 70Hz.

The sound around the room is even and pleasing: Piano bar pleasing. The natural low cut, absence of "tweeter" high end, and the scooped low mids (or higher bass) makes it perfect for vocals. Vocals are clear and not harsh (with SM58). Actually it sounds better to my ears without the Tonematch.

However it is not jaw dropping. When you push the volume, you can clearly hear the lack of low end and it starts to be mid heavy (ear response), the EQ helps. I asked the salesman to play my HD-28 + TA Amulet (without IR pedal) and I walked the room. The sound was even and pleasing. I think the feeling of "compression" people have reported could be due to the lack of punch due to the low mid cut.

Overall nice sounding equipement, clearly plug'n'play and easy to use. Expansive thought.

They did not have the battery. The test was done on AC power.

Comparisons:
1) The Fishman Mini (normal version). 1st thing I noticed is that I had more punch. Also the tweeter gives a "metallic", "present" tone that people might like it or not. Overall tone quality is on par with the Bose although I'd prefer the Bose probably which is sweeter. The Fishman does not amplify as well as the Bose.

2) The ACUS 5T. The 1st impression is WOW. That little amp even with 5" can take my IR full of low-end. The ACUS tone is way fuller, better. The tweeter is sweeter not as metallic as the Fishman. However vocals needed EQ to avoid muddiness. Not that in a small room it is difficult to know if the sound quality would maintain itself in a bigger space. But the "near field" is excellent.

3) In another category just to have a reference I tried the HK ERA 1. I did have a mixed experience of this amp but this time it stood up. Of course it has a 8" speaker. The lows are well handled with no muddiness and you have an extra clarity compared to the ACUS without any harshness. Vocals are very very clean... almost too clean. That amp did really good this time(of course compared to inferior products). I still think in its price range there are better solutions but against small amps it is really good.

My conclusion is that unless big GAS pressure I don't see why I would buy a Bose S1 pro... It's not way better than the Laney AH4x4 and cost twice as much with proprietary battery. If I did not have the Laney, I would probably consider it seriously. But I see no solid reason to sell what I have. If I had a TC pedal to EQ my SM58 on the Laney I could probably get the same kind of tone... However I prefer to use a condenser beta 87a which is basically already EQed.

BOSE S1 Pro
PROS:
* Form factor
* Gain on the inputs
* You feel it has more power than the Laney AH4x4...
* EQ
* Great vocal tone
* Piano bar, low cut, sweet scooped tone.
* Plug'n'play
* Weight
* You can order a Backpack!!!

CONS:
* No low end. (would limit, clip, feedback with too much low-end)
* No Punch
* Does not sound more acurate than other amps (especially monitor style speakers like ACUS or Schertler)
* You "feel" it has more power than the Laney AH4x4... But in fact it is not way louder. It could be the volume pot curve and the fact you go from -infinity to +49dB, that give that feeling.... In the end when the limiter starts I am not sure it is louder.

I see the Bose S1 pro as a very specific tool. It's not more accurate, it is not more dynamic, it's not really loud. But what it does, it does it well. It gives you a tone for playing in quiet small coffee shops when you need amplification but want to let people speak to each other. It's really well designed, ergonomic and will save a singer songwriter a lot of pain by providing a very good tone for minimum effort.

If you want dynamic & accuracy and are ready to carry the extra stuff, you'd better take something else and use a good old power inverter and an extra battery.

PS1: The sales man seemed to prefer it over the Mackie freeplay, although he did not have one in demo and could not go into the warehouse to bring one for test (Sorry this is Paris).

PS2: I am not convinced about the living room amp use... I think a $200 amplified monitor speaker and a small mixer would probably sound better.

Cuki
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Last edited by Cuki79; 02-01-2018 at 04:05 PM.
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Old 02-01-2018, 02:49 PM
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Chriscom Chriscom is offline
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Thanks for posting all that detail. I was hoping the thread would continue, but didn't have anything new to add.
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Old 02-01-2018, 03:02 PM
Cuki79 Cuki79 is offline
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If you want a PA/amp that would make you sound like "yourself acoustically" with punch, air and dynamic.... you can find better solution with compromise in the ergonomy/battery/use...

The Bose S1 Pro is more about make you sound "Hifi".

It cleans your voice from low and rumble low mids, adds a bit of presence, tame the high frequency for sweetness. It removes the lows and punch from your guitar and its string harshness.

You will sound like "soft music" in a piano bar through the Hifi Bose installation with minimum effort.

Quiet and detailed tone.

If that's what you like, go for it.

PS: I think it's great for small coffee house gig. I am not so sure about outdoors (especially crowdy places).
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Old 02-01-2018, 03:31 PM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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It should be no surprise that Cuki and I agree. His review is not too dissimilar from mine.

I would summarize like this:

If you:

1. Want to walk into a coffee house gig with one dynamic mic, a guitar, two cables, a mic stand, and this unit, and...

2. You like the tone from a Bose L1c, but wish you had something smaller, under 15 lbs, that can run on a battery...

...then this is your new speaker.

However, if you need more power, features, channels, low end power for multi instrumental amplification, etc., there are better and cheaper solutions on the market.

If you have something like the Mackie FreePlay, and you're already happy with it, you can also save your money.
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Old 02-01-2018, 04:38 PM
lkingston lkingston is offline
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Default Bose S1 II (following the previous thread)

It is also a pretty cool multipurpose powered speaker. It works well as an extension for my EAE D6-8. It works well as a small but great sounding powered PA speaker. It makes a great little floor monitor. It’s a great Bluetooth speaker for parties or picnics. It’s a great small AV speaker for small presentations.
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Old 02-01-2018, 05:05 PM
JakeStone JakeStone is online now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lkingston View Post
It is also a pretty cool multipurpose powered speaker. It works well as an extension for my EAE D6-8. It works well as a small but great sounding powered PA speaker. It makes a great little floor monitor. It’s a great Bluetooth speaker for parties or picnics. It’s a great small AV speaker for small presentations.
But ... Wait.. There's More!

All kidding aside..
Thanks Cuki for the excellent review and start to the new thread.

Personally, I am enjoying it for home use, (no gigs until after Valentine's day).

My L1C is in the corner "sulking"...
because I haven't plugged it in for days

Last edited by JakeStone; 02-02-2018 at 05:27 AM.
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Old 02-01-2018, 07:13 PM
Captain Jim Captain Jim is offline
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Glad to see this thread continue! While I haven't had a chance to try one, yet, I see the S1 as another option for a smaller situation. Not THE option, but another. Those of us who use and appreciate Bose will see a use. I like the idea of being able to use a battery. I like the reverb and EQ options. AND, mostly: the size/weight.

I hope folks will continue to post their gig experiences here with the S1.
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Old 02-01-2018, 08:19 PM
lkingston lkingston is offline
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Default Bose S1 II (following the previous thread)

I like the way Bose did the battery option. The power switch is three positions: AC power on, off, and battery power on. I also like that since it’s an option, you can change the battery yourself at the end of its life.

The EAE amps have a battery disconnect switch.

Either way it’s nice not to be endlessly charging the battery if you choose to plug it in.
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Old 02-01-2018, 08:44 PM
necrome necrome is offline
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Thanks Cuki for the detailed writeup, it's pretty much what I guessed when theoretically thinking about it relative to Laney's AH4x4 (which is far cheaper). I never knew about Acus One-5T before this so I did some research and it sounds amaaaazing even in recordings. Seems like I'll be getting another AH4x4 for reinforcement until something better comes along!
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Old 02-01-2018, 10:54 PM
Vancebo Vancebo is offline
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The comparison I am waiting for is between the Bose S1 and AER Compact 60. Now I am very content with my AER but I would prefer to have the combo inputs on both channels like the S1 has as well as the Bluetooth and battery option. I even like the floor wedge options on the Bose. I really seem like I am trying to talk myself into one.
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Old 02-01-2018, 11:31 PM
lkingston lkingston is offline
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Default Bose S1 II (following the previous thread)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cuki79 View Post
If you want a PA/amp that would make you sound like "yourself acoustically" with punch, air and dynamic.... you can find better solution with compromise in the ergonomy/battery/use...

The Bose S1 Pro is more about make you sound "Hifi".

It cleans your voice from low and rumble low mids, adds a bit of presence, tame the high frequency for sweetness. It removes the lows and punch from your guitar and its string harshness.

You will sound like "soft music" in a piano bar through the Hifi Bose installation with minimum effort.

Quiet and detailed tone.

If that's what you like, go for it.

PS: I think it's great for small coffee house gig. I am not so sure about outdoors (especially crowdy places).
Really interesting perspective, and pretty much spot on if you are using the S1 "as it is intended". Here's my slightly different perspective.

I keep a Tech21 Q/Strip in my guitar case because Im so particular about the EQ when i play. My EQ is pretty simple. I boost the lows a little to bring put my thumb bassline. I highpass right below that to keep the speaker from bottoming out. I scoop a little out around 200hz or just below it to get rid of the mud and keep the low strings from feeding back. That's my starting point. I tried many preamps before I settled on the Q/Strip.

The EAE D6-8 is the first acoustic amp I've had that let me tweak the sound to the point where I don't need an EQ pedal.

Fortunately, when I use the S1 as the other half of my stereo pair with the D6-8, the eq carries over the the S1. Its not exact, but with a little cut of the bass on the S1, it's close.

The vocal sound I dial in on the D6-8 also sounds good on the S1.

If I was to use the S1 by itself, I would be happy with the Tonematch preset on a beta 58. I would bypass the Tonematch guitar preset, keep the S1 EQ flat, and dial in the sound I like on my EQ pedal.

I like the S1 reverb. If I could tweak it I would, but it's not bad. I use pretty light reverb live anyway.

So my review of the S1 would be that it makes a nice EAE second cabinet for stereo. By itself: good for vocals with tonematch preset. The S1 guitar tonematch not horrible, but I would use my EQ pedal instead. With that in mind and using an EQ preamp instead of the guitar tonematch preset, I would say that it’s great for gigs with audiences of up to 40 by itself. That or I would use it as part of a stereo pair with the D6-8 to expand it to be able to handle audiences between 40 and 80 (vs up to 40 with the D6-8 alone).

Last edited by lkingston; 02-02-2018 at 06:32 AM.
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Old 02-02-2018, 01:00 AM
Cuki79 Cuki79 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vancebo View Post
The comparison I am waiting for is between the Bose S1 and AER Compact 60.
I did not try them side by side. But I know the AER Compact 60 and I compared it to the HK era 1 a month ago.

As far as vocals are concerned, the Bose S1 sounds better no doubt.

For guitar, the low end is also limited on AER, similarly to the Bose there is not tweeter so the sound is warm. Simiarly to the Bose, the HD-28 sounded better straight into the AER than with my IR pedal. The AER will be louder I am sure.

Cuki
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Old 02-02-2018, 09:11 AM
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Jealous Cuki gets to try out so many exotic-to-us amps, in particular Acus!
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Old 02-02-2018, 09:37 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lkingston View Post
I like the way Bose did the battery option. The power switch is three positions: AC power on, off, and battery power on. I also like that since it’s an option, you can change the battery yourself at the end of its life.

The EAE amps have a battery disconnect switch.

Either way it’s nice not to be endlessly charging the battery if you choose to plug it in.
This is some important comparison info, thanks for posting it. Can you elaborate on what exactly the EAE battery set-up is? I think you’ve covered the S1 pretty thoroughly, except for one question, can you charge an S1 battery standalone somehow? Are the EAE batteries easily swappable or built in?
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Old 02-02-2018, 11:27 AM
Cuki79 Cuki79 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by necrome View Post
Thanks Cuki for the detailed writeup, it's pretty much what I guessed when theoretically thinking about it relative to Laney's AH4x4 (which is far cheaper). I never knew about Acus One-5T before this so I did some research and it sounds amaaaazing even in recordings. Seems like I'll be getting another AH4x4 for reinforcement until something better comes along!
Necrome, note that the preamp of the AH4x4 is clearly weak compared to the Bose S1 pro. I just played the AH4x4 to have an idea. So without additional preamp (pedal) the Bose S1 pro will for sure appear to be louder.

lkingston I am interrested also in Dannyg1's question.

Cuki
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