Finally bought one!
I must say i'm made up with the Compact it's perfect for what I need, I'm a Swing/Sinatra/Buble vocalist using backing tracks straight from an iPod. I've used it for a few jobs and it passed with flying colours.

I was concerned at first that it may not be powerful enough. But over the past weekend I used it at a friends house party, 30-40 very loud 18-30yr olds dancing to all sorts of music, from Bon Jovi to the latest chart dance tracks. and I must say that it did really well, although there wasn't much headroom left as I had it backed off slightly so it was not flickering RED but a solid Green. It was only a small living room, and the Bass response was quite impressive for an 8" woofer.

now here is my question.
on Channel 2 with nothing plugged in to any part of the inputs there is a Hiss which is considerebly louder at 12 o'clock and can be heard lower than that. Channel 1 is clean all the way up to 12/1pm and only when at FULL volume is their any 'noise' from Channel 1, so my issue is just with Channel 2

Is that normal?

Hi AD,

Congratulations on getting your Compact.

Does the hiss persist if you have something plugged into Channel 2?

The "how much noise does it make when I turn it up with nothing plugged in" test can be a little strange in the sense that it leads you to a situation that is hypothetical. You wouldn't really have a practical application for doing this.

In comparing the hiss from Channel 1 vs Channel 2, the internal processing and gain staging of these channels IS is different so that it's not surprising that they perform differently with respect to noise.

I have never been concerned by the little bit of hiss that I hear when I turn up the inputs on the Compact with nothing attached. There's a little something there, but it is buried as soon as I start putting a real signal (microphone or instrument) into the system.

BUT, I understand that with new gear you want to make sure that it is functioning perfectly.

Since you are concerned let me suggest that you contact L1® Support.

If you are in North America:

Call Bose® Product & Technical Support at (877) 335-2673 (U.S. and Canada only)
Monday-Friday: 8:30 AM - 9:00 PM ET
Saturday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM ET
Currently no support available on Sunday


In the UK
Contact information for Bose L1® Support in the UK

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ST,

I believe the hiss is normal when turning up the volume/trim on any channel without anything plugged in - you're essentially turning up the gain on an electrical signal (although it's not carrying a tone).

Thanks fellas! I'm in the UK
Here is a nice comment about the Compact's sound quality: When I arrived at the house party they were coming through my friends Hi-Fi, A Quality Seperates System, I set up the Compact in the corner next to one of his speakers and waited for the Song to finish, and then did a quick switch with my 3.5mm jack into the Laptop which they had a playlist already set up. No one noticed, then after a while he said 'I cant believe how good that sounds' 'Look at it!?'
Now I wouldn't call him an Audiophile but he knows what sounds good and he was seriously impressed with above all the Crystal Clear sound and particularly the well Balanced quality.

Back to my Issue:

I haven't played around that much with it to notice if it does it with this but not with that etc. it is just something I noticed particularly with the silence in between tracks and also on Quieter songs, when i am at home in a quiet room.
For Instance A Good Test Song: Michael Jackson - Man In A Mirror.
Using a Line-Out {fixed volume} RCA L/R iPod cable,
& Compact turned upto around 10/11pm,
the Song has a quiet gentle intro, I hear the 'noise' then,
but again this is in a quiet room.
It is the same with the iPod or my Samsung Galaxy SII whether high quality audio or even nothing plugged into any input.

I think I might call Bose just for peace of mind.
maybe I am expecting to much because my old PA made all sorts of noises!

Thanks again

I never did get round to calling Bose on this issue, I think now I will as I hear Hiss on both Channels 1 & 2. It must be noticeable as a guest mentioned it at a gig in a small hotel bar/lounge while I was having a break.

The Hiss from both channels is audible when the Microphone is plugged in and ON or with the Mute switch enabled.
I have a sound pressure level app on my phone and measured the ambient dB of the room at 27dB.
I then switched on the Compact with no sources attached and all volumes set to zero, the level of Hiss was 30db at 1-2inches from the top speaker array.
Now when Channels 1 & 2 are turned to 12 o'clock this white noise/Hissing level raises to 39db.
I usually have the Microphone input when performing set around 1 or 2pm.
I use an iPod or phone through a 3.5mm headphone jack to the LR Phono input on the Compact. When I connect either of these to Channel 2 there does not appear to be an audible increase in the volume of Hiss from the 0 position until the volume is set to 11.30-12 o'clock.
Channel 1 just makes noise, so I think this is what the guest at the hotel heard, because I left the power switched on while I had a break.

How noisy is yours?

The free app I found is called Sound Meter Lite on Google Play Store.

Hi AD. For music, I would suggest turning the source up as high as possible, and then adjusting the channel volume on the compact last. For example, if you were playing music off your laptop, turn the volume on the laptop to at least 90%, and then adjust the volume knob on the L1 Compact to the desired level.

quote:

Originally posted by musicnmotion:
Hi AD. For music, I would suggest turning the source up as high as possible, and then adjusting the channel volume on the compact last. For example, if you were playing music off your laptop, turn the volume on the laptop to at least 90%, and then adjust the volume knob on the L1 Compact to the desired level.

It is important to note that care must be taken to not over drive the Compact input. Pay attention to the Compact channel 2 peak indicator LED while adjusting the output of the device that is connected to the Compact channel 2 input.

O..

Your point is well taken O. But from my experience, the output from an ipod at maximum level will not over drive the L1 compact's channel 2 input.