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  #1  
Old 08-15-2018, 06:31 PM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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Default Mackie FreePlay Live (first impressions)

A comparison of the Bose S1 Pro and the Mackie FreePlay Live

Volume

As reported on the Bose forum, the Bose S1 is louder. Many of us have learned that the Bose S1 is surprisingly loud for its size.

The Mackie fixed preamp gain limits the potential of this speaker, just like all their other products. There is unity 0 dB gain on the input of the TS channels of the Mackie and +20 dB for the mic channels. I believe it is +36 dB for the TS jacks and +48 dB for the Bose, respectively. That’s a huge difference. This makes instruments much quieter on the Mackie than the volume achieved by the Bose. If you use a DI box, you can bump it 20 dB. But, then, the mic will be too quiet in comparison.

Now, if this is for home use or for a small listening room, or coffee house, the Mackie may be more than enough total volume. It is enough volume for my rehearsal use.

Bluetooth is louder than the instrument and mics on the Mackie. So, it probably makes a decent party speaker.

Tone

The reason I ordered the Mackie was to get a mini PA with 3 band EQ for the two channels. I don’t happen to like the tone match settings for guitar on the Bose. Moreover, even though Mackie gets maligned occasionally in the forums, their speakers actually sound very good, and they make a lot of effort to produce a flat response system.

Now, I was able to get an excellent sound from the Bose, ultimately. But, it has to be on a pole. When I rehearse at home I don’t use a pole. Frankly, I like the Mackie tone better in my practice studio. It sounds cleaner and it’s easier to EQ when you are sitting close to it. The reverb is no better or worse than the Bose. It’s Ok.

Performance Tool?

The Bose S1 Pro is professional performance tool. It is a professional too because it’s currently being used by a number of professionals I know. Marketing aside, pros like this speaker system up on a pole behind them for small gigs. And, today, most gigs are small.

The Mackie is not in the same league in terms of effective volume with a guitar and a mic. But at lower volumes it sounds very good. The Mackie is clearly designed for home/school/church/etc use.

Other Factors

The Mackie app makes it a little more fiddly to use if you prefer knobs.

The Mackie has 400 KOhm guitar inputs which sound super with the K&K. Really clean and not too muddy.

The Mackie uses a mic stand instead of a speaker stand.

Conclusion

If you’re playing for people and need something that’s going to perform more like a professional PA speaker, spend the extra $200 and get the Bose.

If you play a K&K equipped guitar and need a home/small space/rehearsal system, this is worthy of consideration.
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Last edited by martingitdave; 08-25-2018 at 09:12 AM.
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Old 08-15-2018, 07:11 PM
leew3 leew3 is offline
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As always, a thoughtful and thorough review. I had considered the Free Play as an alternative and your review helps me see why it wouldn't be what I need it to be. Thanks again for your ongoing adventure and for sharing it with us.
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Old 08-15-2018, 07:48 PM
lkingston lkingston is offline
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It sounds like the Wide-Z inputs are still a little anemic volume-wise. Is that a fair assessment?
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Old 08-15-2018, 07:49 PM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lkingston View Post
It sounds like the Wide-Z inputs are still a little anemic volume-wise. Is that a fair assessment?

Nothing has changed with respect to the Wide Z inputs.
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Old 08-15-2018, 07:54 PM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by leew3 View Post
As always, a thoughtful and thorough review. I had considered the Free Play as an alternative and your review helps me see why it wouldn't be what I need it to be. Thanks again for your ongoing adventure and for sharing it with us.

You’re welcome. I had ordered the Mackie prior to getting Bose S1 working well. I actually like this little Mackie better in the music room because of it’s diminutive size and clarity. Truthfully, I don;t need a lot of volume to rehearse. But, if I had a little gig, I would take the Bose, and probably a pole.
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Old 08-15-2018, 08:02 PM
Captain Jim Captain Jim is offline
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So... are you keeping both?

Or??
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Old 08-15-2018, 08:07 PM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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Originally Posted by Captain Jim View Post
So... are you keeping both?



Or??

If I had to keep one, it would be the Bose. I may keep both for different reasons. For instance, the kids like to do Karaoke. I would rather not have them blow out my Bose. :-). And, my wife prefers having this small box in our front room which serves as the music room. So, it’s probably sticking around. And, I would likely take the Mackie if I go play a house Party.
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Old 08-15-2018, 08:12 PM
Silverspur Silverspur is offline
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What if a Behringer 1002b mixer is used with the Freeplay, would it not add enough gain, headroom and more inputs to give this combo an edge over the Bose S1 ?

In Canada the Freeplay sells for $499.00 + the 1002b sells for $149.00 = $648.00 and it's still cheaper than the Bose S1 @ $749.00.

I've had both the Fishman Mini Charge and the Bose S1 Pro for about 1 month and I actually like both and I'm going to keep both until my need changes. I've used used both with the Behringer 1002b in a small (about 90 persons) coffee shop/restaurant grand opening and had great success.

The biggest edge the S1 Pro has over the Charge imo is the flexibility in placement. With the different angles and pole mount capability, and the lighter weight, it will be the one if I only need to use one. OTH I pot the Charge on a guitar stand and it allows the Charge to tilt upwards and I think that improves the dispersion.
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Old 08-15-2018, 08:14 PM
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Chriscom Chriscom is offline
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The Mackie sounds very handy for plenty of smaller and casual scenarios. Typical detailed, informative review by Dave.

Typical I say!
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Old 08-15-2018, 08:28 PM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Silverspur View Post
What if a Behringer 1002b mixer is used with the Freeplay, would it not add enough gain, headroom and more inputs to give this combo an edge over the Bose S1 ?



In Canada the Freeplay sells for $499.00 + the 1002b sells for $149.00 = $648.00 and it's still cheaper than the Bose S1 @ $749.00.



I've had both the Fishman Mini Charge and the Bose S1 Pro for about 1 month and I actually like both and I'm going to keep both until my need changes. I've used used both with the Behringer 1002b in a small (about 90 persons) coffee shop/restaurant grand opening and had great success.



The biggest edge the S1 Pro has over the Charge imo is the flexibility in placement. With the different angles and pole mount capability, and the lighter weight, it will be the one if I only need to use one. OTH I pot the Charge on a guitar stand and it allows the Charge to tilt upwards and I think that improves the dispersion.


Perhaps, but I would simply get the Bose and plug straight in. I don’t think any of these speakers should be used for more than a guitar and vocals (i.e. two channels).
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Old 08-15-2018, 08:55 PM
Silverspur Silverspur is offline
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Good point. I used the Behringer 1002b because I needed phantom power for my Shure sm35 and the combo worked great for 2 guitars and 2 vocals plus backing tracks.
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Old 08-15-2018, 09:29 PM
The Bard Rocks The Bard Rocks is offline
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Default comparison

Let me pose a question. You say for $200 more you'd go with the Bose. Let's say for another $200 more, you could have 2 Mackies. The weight would be nearly identical; you'd have some extra inputs and flexibility, which is always nice. How do you think 2 Mackies would sound compared to the one Bose? Would there be drawbacks that I don't know about?
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Old 08-16-2018, 08:05 AM
lkingston lkingston is offline
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What I’m wondering is if you properly preamp a guitar as in previous discussions, how the volume would compare between the S1 and the Freeplay Live. The Mackie has more than three times the published wattage. Theoretically it should utterly smoke the S1!
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Old 08-16-2018, 09:43 AM
RogerPease RogerPease is offline
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Thanks for the great info, Dave. Makes me feel better about having got the S1.

Don’t know if this has been mentioned but I made a little adapter to make the
S1 think it’s on a pole. I found a small plastic bottle just a little under size and
wrapped it with a couple turns of duct tape. I can stick it in the pole socket (no
off color jokes please) :-p and set the S1 on a tabletop. Voila!

Last edited by RogerPease; 08-16-2018 at 12:37 PM.
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Old 08-16-2018, 01:56 PM
TubeG TubeG is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lkingston View Post
What I’m wondering is if you properly preamp a guitar as in previous discussions, how the volume would compare between the S1 and the Freeplay Live. The Mackie has more than three times the published wattage. Theoretically it should utterly smoke the S1!
It would be true if all the manufacturers use the same way to rate wattage.
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