Bob, I'm not discounting or ruling out the SA or the Compact.
The title of the thread is "Small Amp vs. Line Array". There are only two contenders for line arrays, that's BagAmp and Bose full sticks. (You could call that three since Bose offers version I and II.)
If the OP likes the sound of the SoloAmp or Ultrasound better than the line array offerings, then he might want to buy what he likes. There's nothing wrong with that. But just because the BA has been compared (a lot) to the SA and Compact does not mean that the SA and Compact are line arrays.
If I was going to base my buying decision on nothing other than what people here tell me I should like, I don't know what I'd buy - there are too many conflicting opinions. If I was going to base my buying decision on nothing other than Kramster's comparison videos, it'd be easy -- I'd buy the Bose Compact. In the videos, I thought the Compact smoked the other two systems.
But owning one of the systems and having played through the two others*, I'd suggest trying these systems first hand, hopefully side-by-side, because all three of them sound different (better) than what you saw in the videos.
The OP asked about line arrays. Line arrays project sound better. That's the difference. It does not mean that it'll sound better, only that the sound, good, bad, or whatever, will do a better job of reaching the whole audience.
* Disclaimer: I played through the Bose L1 v.I, not the compact.
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