EV30m or Bose Pro8?

[JPH]

I went to Guitar Center today. My intention was to try out the Bose L1 Pro 8. I was contemplating returning the EV30M because of the sub weight and square/boxy design.

Upon inspection, I noticed right away that the tower on the display model (L1Pro8) had more wobble and slop in it than I would ever accept. I didn't end up playing through it, because I know the instability of the tower would forever bother me.

Funny thing though, they had two S1Pros left in stock with batteries. I bought one.

I'll gig with it Tuesday. I set it up in the living room and was quite surprised by the sound that little thing puts out.

I gig regularly and in a wide variety of situations. Between the EV30M, QSC K8.2, and now the S1Pro, I feel like I'm completely covered for my solo and duo gigs, small, medium, or large events.

Also, I have a Fishman 330x out for repair that will coming back soon.

As for the EV30M vs L1Pro8... I did not test drive the L1Pro8 but, I'll keep the EV anyway. I have no doubt the Pro8 sounds amazing! But so does the EV30M. And, I'm particular, so if I'm going to drop the $ for a PA, I want to be satisfied on most if not all levels (sound/design/durability/etc). For the money to features ratio, EV30 wins for my needs.

[lkingston]

The 30M (or 50M) can work really well in a front of house configuration with the Bose S1 as a monitor. Just put the 30M/50M in front of you and point the S1 at yourself. This is really useful when you need more volume. It avoids feedback and saves your ears.

[JPH]

Originally Posted by lkingston

The 30M (or 50M) can work really well in a front of house configuration with the Bose S1 as a monitor. Just put the 30M/50M in front of you and point the S1 at yourself. This is really useful when you need more volume. It avoids feedback and saves your ears.

Yes! I was thinking the same thing. The S1 is perfect for that. The K8.2 is more monitor than I'd ever need as a solo or duo. So the Bose fits that job perfectly.

The S1 is really versatile. I'm looking forward to gigging with it next week for a small crowd. I never thought I'd say this, but I might sell the K8.2. I really like the QSC, but I'm not sure how much I'll use it now. I used to pair it with my Fishman 330x for outdoor gigs and theatre gigs. Now, After experimenting with the EV30M, no way am I sending it back. It's really nice! I'm fairly confident it will be more than enough for those types of gigs.

The QSC is TOP SHELF gear and clearly in a league of its own compared to the S1. Both are portable but very different. The versatility of the S1 having bluetooth and a battery, well that kind of seals the deal.

I'm happy to be gigging again! My schedule/workload is almost back to where it was in 2019.

Thanks!

[nostatic]

Depends on your use case but I find my K8 to cover a lot of ground - have used it as a monitor, as a single main on small gigs, and as a standalone bass amp when I’m going as light as possible.

[lkingston]

Originally Posted by nostatic

Depends on your use case but I find my K8 to cover a lot of ground - have used it as a monitor, as a single main on small gigs, and as a standalone bass amp when I’m going as light as possible.

Certainly, the QSC powered speakers are wonderful and powerful. I just have a couple of issues with that approach:

1) The 90 degrees on both axis dispersion means that a lot of sound is going up into the ceiling or down into the floor. There are times when that is good. One place I like in town has a ground level stage and an audience area that is on the ground at the same level, but also up on a second level balcony. A point source speaker will cover both levels.

More often however, the sound spreading out on the vertical axis is either getting lost into space, absorbed by the ground (outdoors), or being reflected and making everything loud and indistinct because of the reflections. In these instances a column pulls way ahead with it’s 40 degree vertical dispersion.

2) The sound falls off from a point source speaker twice as fast over distance. That means that it is going to be too loud close to the stage, and too quiet a distance away. Again, a column is a better fit.

3) 90 degrees horizontal spread means that either you need two of them to cover the horizontal space, or not everyone is hearing the highs. I know that a heck of a lot of people are using a point source up on a pole, but the horizontal coverage is always lacking.

4) There really is no space savings to a point source and a speaker stand over something like a 30M, either on the stage or in your car.

5) With a point source speaker, you still need a mixer, mixer stand, mixer case, wires to connect it to the point source speaker, and some sort of bag for the wires. That isn’t less, it’s more.

6) There is no bass coupling to the floor. Unless you use them with a subwoofer, you aren’t getting the really low bass at any kind of volume.

As far as point source speakers go, I think that QSC are among the best. Their power does make up for some of the sound lost through their conical dispersion pattern and lower bass from not coupling with the floor. They just aren’t for me.

[JPH]

Originally Posted by lkingston

Certainly, the QSC powered speakers are wonderful and powerful. I just have a couple of issues with that approach:

1) The 90 degrees on both axis dispersion means that a lot of sound is going up into the ceiling or down into the floor. There are times when that is good. One place I like in town has a ground level stage and an audience area that is on the ground at the same level, but also up on a second level balcony. A point source speaker will cover both levels.

More often however, the sound spreading out on the vertical axis is either getting lost into space, absorbed by the ground (outdoors), or being reflected and making everything loud and indistinct because of the reflections. In these instances a column pulls way ahead with it’s 40 degree vertical dispersion.

2) The sound falls off from a point source speaker twice as fast over distance. That means that it is going to be too loud close to the stage, and too quiet a distance away. Again, a column is a better fit.

3) 90 degrees horizontal spread means that either you need two of them to cover the horizontal space, or not everyone is hearing the highs. I know that a heck of a lot of people are using a point source up on a pole, but the horizontal coverage is always lacking.

4) There really is no space savings to a point source and a speaker stand over something like a 30M, either on the stage or in your car.

5) With a point source speaker, you still need a mixer, mixer stand, mixer case, wires to connect it to the point source speaker, and some sort of bag for the wires. That isn’t less, it’s more.

6) There is no bass coupling to the floor. Unless you use them with a subwoofer, you aren’t getting the really low bass at any kind of volume.

As far as point source speakers go, I think that QSC are among the best. Their power does make up for some of the sound lost through their conical dispersion pattern and lower bass from not coupling with the floor. They just aren’t for me.

I feel that. All of what you said is solid info! Thank you. Today, I checked out the S1 and EV30M on bluetooth.

Amazing! Listen, I have the K8.2 and Yamaha MG10XU. It's a great combo, but it takes a lot longer to set up and tear down. I'm over it. The EV and S1 are the cats pajamas.

Simplicity is what I like. These both deliver the goods. The EV more so than the S1 because the S1 still needs a stand.

Overall, though, both are much easier options than the mixer, mixer stand, speaker, speaker stand, and extra cables.

Done. The EV takes the cake man. I finally get it. I hope it proves to be reliable for heavy gigging! I'm going to put it to work.

[SoggyBottomBoy]

I'm looking hard at the EV30M. Can I run my acoustic with a K&K mini straight into the mixer or do I need some kind of DI or other kit?

[jjbigfly]

I also have a pro 16. I do not use the tower extension that is supplied. The speaker column does not wiggle at all. Not sure why it gets used. I understand WHY they supply it (for dispersion purpose) but I am not able to discern the difference in sound.

[lkingston]

Originally Posted by SoggyBottomBoy

I'm looking hard at the EV30M. Can I run my acoustic with a K&K mini straight into the mixer or do I need some kind of DI or other kit?

You should be able to plug straight into the hi-z input on channel four with that pickup and get really good sound. Acoustics with battery powered preamps sound good plugged into combo inputs 1-4, but only the hi-z input on channel 4 sounds good with a passive pickup.

[Chriscom]

Originally Posted by jjbigfly

I also have a pro 16. I do not use the tower extension that is supplied. The speaker column does not wiggle at all. Not sure why it gets used. I understand WHY they supply it (for dispersion purpose) but I am not able to discern the difference in sound.

I think you answered your own question--dispersion, in this case deep into your crowd. You're abandoning the advantage of the higher setup, which is throwing the higher frequencies as deep into the crowd as possible. With the full extension, people in back (up to a point of course) will have essentially the same high-quality sound as people up front.

The average American male height is around 5 feet 9 inches. With the extension, the top of the driver column is around 6' 5". I don't know how tall the extension is but if it's crowded at a gig, once you remove it, you're hiding the clearest signal from anyone not up front.

For you, near the Pro, there's no reason you'd hear much difference.

[ggibson189]

Originally Posted by Stringmaster

When I bought my 50M I had a 45 day approval period. I was planning to buy a Bose too (on approval), and only keep the one I liked best. But I liked the EV so much I nixed the Bose--for the reasons mentioned--robust construction, added channels and versatility built in, and easy to use and versatile app. I play mostly outdoor venues, and the dispersion is just fine. The other day I used it on a large outdoor patio, with a fairly busy 2 lane highway beyond the patio, and people across the highway could hear me and came over. And there were people sitting up front maybe 8-10 feet from the PA, and they were able to talk, and didn't complain about the volume.

Do you find one EV 50m to be adequate for your gigs? Do you ever need to use a second speaker and if so, what do you use?

[ggibson189]

Originally Posted by JakeStone

The only deal breaker for me (personally) could be the size and weight of the Sub on the EV.
Since I store my gear in my attic /studio. Wonder how tough it would be to carry it up 2 flights of stairs.. my 60+ yr old back, wrist and arm... ain't what it used to be :guitar

I am 58, so I totally get the concern about carrying heavy equipment, however, isn't the EV 30m only 4 pounds more than the Bose L1 Pro8?

[howarddee]

Originally Posted by meb

I have been using a Pro8 for the last few months. It is easier to set up
than my L1m2 and sounds way better than my S1 Pro. I ruled out the 30M
because of the extra weight and digital mixer. The lgs salesperson
was so confused with the mixer, he could not even demo it for me.

I mostly use the T4s with the Pro8. Note that you get more headroom
by connecting to input #1 or #2 than using the TM interface. Using
input #3 as described in the manual has even less headroom and sounds wimpy to me. I have seen posters mention the Pro8 is not powerful
and have wondered what connection was used. This may close the power
gap between the 30M and Pro8.

A real plus for the Bose arrays is that I get much less ear fatigue using them
vs a K8.2 or similar.....not sure of 30M.


All-in-all, I am a pretty happy Pro8 user.

Hello and thanks for this post, it was really helpful - I have a bose pro 8 and T4s, I was a little confused what you meant about how to get more headroom - I usually power the t4s via a ethernet type lead that goes from t4s to bose pro 8. I have only just got the t4s, but used to plug all my mics and guitars etc into the T1 tonematch and then that would be it. I wasn't sure what you meant by 'connecting to 1 or 2, instead of using the tonematch interface" - please could you explain this a little better? I would love to make sure i'm setting the T4S up correctly with the Pro8 (or whatever pro I end up with down the line)

Thank you so much, really appreciated! its a bit of a mine field all this tech stuff so it would be massive help.

[ZackPomerleau]

The band I’m in has an L1 and it has great dispersion. Way more than the EV, but the EV has way more going for it feature wise.

[meb]

Hello howarddee. First, just set up your with T4s via TM cable to your Pro8 and
note the volume.

Then leave the volume knob the same and plug your T4s into the wall A/C
with the accessory AC cord. Run a TRS cable from T4s right output to
the Pro8 Input #1 at the same volume setting as the earlier test.

You will notice a volume increase, which in practice for me has given me
extra overall volume before any feedback. When volume is an issue, I use the
TRS interface. When volume is not an issue, I use the convenience of the TM
cable.

Does that make sense? Give it a try and let me know your findings.
Hopefully you have the AC cord and a trs cable. :-)