New Bose L1 Model II

[JohnZ]

Originally Posted by TerryAllanHall

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm...Hope I'm not offending anyone (and I apologize in advance if I am), but I still see no reason to sell my current set-up and buy a Bose L1...too many other PA systems w/ a lot more to offer for $2-3K!

OTOH, a friend of mine bought a used L1 system for (I'm thinking she said) $350 w/ 2 "bass modules"...those you y'all in the market for one of these rigs might want to watch out for these kinds of bargains...

In total I have four p.a.'s and I'll use the Bose anytime I can, hands down.

$350 isn't believeable.

[Guyute]

Yup. I mean, it depends on the application, of course, but for solo or duet acoustic gigs, the Bose is the way to go. I was sold after using it once.

People kept coming up to me and telling me how much better I sounded, too. Anything that makes me sound better is worth it in my book. Plus, it's a LOT more portable than my old system and setup is quite a bit faster too.

[Earthworm]

The L1 makes it possible for me to hear myself as the audience hears me. No monitors. And that is why I love it so much. (among other reasons).

I do agree that the upcharge ($3000) is pretty steep and I worry that Bose may have made a mistake on their pricing.

Of course, I may eventually get one (in fact, I think I sold my L1/B1 classic last night for $1600). Not sure if it is worth getting, however. I may just get the T1 to use with my present system.

[Steveh427]

I've considered getting a LI system. I was curious about how loud you can crank it. I play acoustic guitar and keyboards in a 6 piece cover band band and was wondering if any of you current owners are satisfied with its current power. The model II is smaller which makes me wonder if the internal amp is smaller and less powerful. I am competing with 2 other guitars and a bass.

[jackweasel]

As a three year veteran of the Bose L1, the news of a "new and improved" model is somewhat disturbing. Good news/bad news type thing.
I love the L1's sound, ease of set-up, and projection. I wish the controls and connections were up front [something they still didn't change] so I could change presets for my different instruments without standing on my head. Now they come along with a way to take care of some of that with the new Tone Match thing. According to what I've read, it will work with the older models and actually expands the number of inputs you get, as well as assigning different presets for each line on the unit. That would be great when using different guitars at a gig, but the add-on price is around $500. I'm going to have to wait 'til I see/hear one myself before I'll shell out the cash. I've gotten very used to not using reverb, for the most part, but now and then it might be nice for certain songs.
If I played out more, it might be more attractive, but mine stays here at home in my "studio" most of the time. I use it every day, either to run my guitars and bass through or as another monitor for my recording system.
Oh, by the way, the original version of the system does provide phantom power on the first two channels.

[JohnZ]

Originally Posted by Steveh427

I've considered getting a LI system. I was curious about how loud you can crank it. I play acoustic guitar and keyboards in a 6 piece cover band band and was wondering if any of you current owners are satisfied with its current power. The model II is smaller which makes me wonder if the internal amp is smaller and less powerful. I am competing with 2 other guitars and a bass.

The L1 has plenty of power but I've found compatibility issues with traditional setups and don't use it in groups when feeding to a regular PA or house system. On stage you'll sound a lot different than everyone else playing through regular amps and monitors (usually better) but it's hard to know where you sit in the mix. Also, only channels 1 and 2 get a line out.

[JohnZ]

Cakes,

Great post, thanks.

So the T1 module will give me four inputs plus effects and the presets I've come to rely on? Can effects be split? In other words, say a flange/chorus for guitar and plate reverb for vocal?

[JohnZ]

Got my answer to T1 multipule effects over in the Bose forum:

"At one time you could use all of these things:
-zEQ
-para EQ
-one compressor/dynamic processor
-one delay effect
-one modulation effect (chorus, flanger etc.)
-one reverb effect

What a wild sound that would be...

To answer the second part of your question:
The dynamic processors (comps, gates etc.), EQ's(zEQ, para EQ), delays and modulation effects are all 'serial', like they are stompboxes or on an insert.

The reverb is a send return type device. There is one global reverb engine and you can mix in different amounts of this reverb into each channel. It's just like a traditional rack unit in this respect, except all of the routing is internal."

........I think I'm sold on it.

[ericcsong]

Originally Posted by Cakes

The difference is that with the Model II you connect the T1 module through a single digital ethernet-type cable. To connect a T1 to the Model I, you connect via an analog cable. Bose recomends plugging it into Channel 3 or 4 so you still have the benefits of the presets on Channel's 1 and 2 and effectively have additional channels. (the aforementioned advantage since the Model II does not have the 2+2 inputs on the powerstand - All input originates from the T1 or a single analog input).

how many inputs would this give us? if you plug into chanlle 3 or 4, would you get 4 more channels? so 7 total?

[mike o]

JohnZ
Got my answer to T1 multipule effects over in the Bose forum:

"At one time you could use all of these things:
-zEQ
-para EQ
-one compressor/dynamic processor
-one delay effect
-one modulation effect (chorus, flanger etc.)
-one reverb effect

What a wild sound that would be...

????? Lets say you're using all four channels... Would that work independently on each of the four channels on the T1 ??????

[JohnZ]

Originally Posted by mike o

????? Lets say you're using all four channels... Would that work independently on each of the four channels on the T1 ??????

Sort of. You'd be able to control the amount of the effect, so reverb levels for each input for instance could be different but you'll get only one reverb type. Same for the other processors; delay, etc. The zEQ though appears to be separate for each input.

[Herb Hunter]

Originally Posted by Gutch

The high freqs were always evenly dispersed. The alternating planes allows wider dispersion of audio, nearing 180 degrees as compared to the first version which was slightly less...

Higher frequencies are more directional than lower ones. Full range drivers tend to beam the highest frequencies at a narrow angle as compared to a 1 inch or 3/4 inch high frequency driver. I believe the main reason for mounting the drivers on alternating planes is to improve high frequency dispersion.

[Steve Z]

I would have to agree with the comments so far relating to the Model I is great and I will not be ungrading any time soon. However, I will be looking forward to trying out the T1 effects/mixer. Now that does sound very interesting. If it is everything that I think it will be, then the $500 price is as I would expect it to be.

[Gutch]

Originally Posted by Herb Hunter

Higher frequencies are more directional than lower ones. Full range drivers tend to beam the highest frequencies at a narrow angle as compared to a 1 inch or 3/4 inch high frequency driver. I believe the main reason for mounting the drivers on alternating planes is to improve high frequency dispersion.

Thanks for the Physics lesson, Herb. I've owned and have been using the Bose system for 18 months, and am very familiar with the dispersion pattern of the drivers used in the system. The reasoning I described in my previous post came directly from a Bose engineer's comments on the Bose forum. As they designed the product, I made the assumption they knew why the change was made to the radiator pattern...

[TerryAllanHall]

Originally Posted by Guyute

If I came across a PAS with 2 bass modules for $350, I'd walk away as it's obviously stolen property

Originally Posted by Mismo

Or there may be some major issues with it. Caveat emptor!

Originally Posted by JohnZ

In total I have four p.a.'s and I'll use the Bose anytime I can, hands down.

$350 isn't believeable.

My, aren't we smugly condescending!

No, the previous owner did not steal it, nor did Juney...the previous owner simply found out (to his disgust) that the L1 is not suitable for an entire band (even Bose markets it as suitable for a single member and suggests that each single member to have their own L1...a great marketing strategy, you have to admit! , just not practical for many working class heroes and, unfortunately, some folks buy into Bose's "marketing hoopla")...anyway, he needed $350 more, quickly, so as to have enough to buy a PA system that was suitable for a full band (at an excellent price), so he just cut his losses, and Juney happened to have the $$$ he needed.

Again, I'm glad you folks who think the L1 is the "ultimate" are happy, but try to understand that many other folks don't want one...contrary to Bose's hyperbole, these things are not suitable for every performer/band...I've, personally, tried the L1 at two different gigs (one solo, one w/ my trio) and, frankly, I can get a lot more performance out of my set-up for approx. the same $$$...for one thing, any engineer can tell you you won't move much air with a subwoofer using a 6.5" speaker...my bassist hated the anemic sound that it gave her P-bass, and, frankly, my guitars sounded like crap, too...while both instruments sound very good through my set-up.

And, if I may be so bold as to point out, I've almost 35 years of real-world professional gigging/running a PA under my belt, so I know a bit about both subjects.

I'll stay w/ what works for me, you guys use what works for you!