Bose R&D; I have asked this question before about which way to lay the B1's, ported side up or ported side down. I was told any orientation, I have been stacking my four B1's ported side down. This way to me appears to be the intended way, yes? I 'm asking because I have noticed with the port side down when you connect the Neutrik connector it must be inserted upside down, It would seem to me that the B1's Neutrik mounting plate needs to be rotated so when the Neutrik connector is inserted it is in its proper orientation with relation to the cabinet (you are able to see the Neutrik connectors release facing up)But if the B1 were designed to have the port side up then everything makes sense to me.
Larry M

Larry,
to be perfectly honest, I don't think we've given it that much thought. Turning the B1 port up or port down doesn't really make much difference.
Theoretically, port-side-up may give a tiny bit better aligned floor reflection but in practice, the difference is so small that it isn't worth bothering with.
However, I would still advise when you stack multiple B1s keep them all in the same orientation.
Hope that helps

Hilmar

Hilmar; That makes perfect sense, port side up it shall be. Thanks!
Larry M

witch is the best way to stack 4 b1 all on top or two on each side of stick for mky td 20 drum kit

Hi Larry D. M

You can stack them four tall, or two stacks of two (all together). Do not put two B1s one each side of a a Power Stand.



Please see: B1 Bass Module Positioning for details about why.

Hmmm... haven't seen anyone try this yet so I'm just curious.

Older B1 threads claim that 6 stacked B1s start behaving like a bass line array, but Bose doesn't reco more than 4 stacked B1s.

What if you wanted to have 8 B1s with a Model II? Would it be detrimental to the bass to have a 4 stack on each side? Are they too far apart? Would they start some phase cancellation? Would it be better to rig a safety frame around a stack of 6 or 8 B1s than 2 stacks of 4 B1s on each side of a Model II? Or would a 4x2 stack be better?

The reason I ask is cuz a friend of mine is looking at the L1s for his restaurant/disco and he wants more bass... I'm just trying to give his possible configurations for a more-than-4B1s-per-L1 scenario.

Thanks!

Hi John,

quote:

Would it be better to rig a safety frame around a stack of 6 or 8 B1s than 2 stacks of 4 B1s on each side of a Model II?

Do you need a Bass array? In other words, do you need the bass to be directional?

quote:

What if you wanted to have 8 B1s with a
Model II? Would it be detrimental to the bass to have a 4 stack on each side? Are they too far apart?

You should be okay with a stack of four B1s on either side of the Model II Power Stand. But, I would put them in a two stacks of four, side-by-side anyway. You are not saving any space putting then on either side of the Cylindrical Radiator® loudspeaker.

"In any arrangement where the grilles fit completely within a 30 inch (75 cm) diameter sphere, your two B1s will act like a single one, only louder"


Ref: B1 Bass Module Positioning


How about moving the B1s closer to the dance floor?

quote:

Originally posted by ST:
Hi John,

Do you need a Bass array? In other words, do you need the bass to be directional?

Well, if it helps make the bass travel as far as the L1... then yes. Directionality, not really... more for reach.

quote:

You should be okay with a stack of four B1s on either side of the Model II Power Stand. But, I would put them in a two stacks of four, side-by-side anyway. You are not saving any space putting then on either side of the Cylindrical Radiator® loudspeaker.

"In any arrangement where the grilles fit completely within a 30 inch (75 cm) diameter sphere, your two B1s will act like a single one, only louder"


Ref: B1 Bass Module Positioning


How about moving the B1s closer to the dance floor?

You do save a little space, since the legs of the Model II already take up space, w/ or w/out B1s between them... if I 2 stacks of 4 B1s on one side of the Model II, it would take up more floor space = to 1 B1 on it's side.

We can try to position the B1s closer... but wouldn't that keep the bass from spreading around the area and confine it to the first row of dancers only? Anyway, these are more hypothetical situations just so that I can help my friend out without having any safety issues on stacking.. or phase cancellation issues with positioning.

Thanks ST!

Hi John,



You want to read this:
"As many have observed, only the L1™ qualifies as a Cylindrical Radiator™ loudspeaker, the B1 Bass Module certainly doesn’t as it looks a lot more like “cubical” radiator. Only a cylindrical source will display 3 dB per distance-doubling falloff. The B1 is a conventional speaker and falls off with 6 dB per distance-doubling. Does that mean that the spectrum gets unbalanced with distance, i.e. not enough bass as we move away from the source?

Not really, and here is why: The observation of so-and-so dB per distance doubling is only true in “free field”, i.e. in some imaginary space that doesn’t have any reflective surfaces. Such a thing doesn’t exist. Most places where you play generate lots and lots of reflections. At any point in the room, the sound field consists of two components: ..."

Read the rest here:
L1™ vs B1 Bass Module Fall Off with Distance - Hilmar-at-Bose

quote:

You do save a little space, since the legs of the Model II already take up space, w/ or w/out B1s between them... if I 2 stacks of 4 B1s on one side of the Model II, it would take up more floor space = to 1 B1 on it's side.

Of course you are right. I was out earlier tonight and was experimenting with the positioning of the B1. I had other things to put in that space between the legs. Tonight it was a Guitar stand - so that space gets 'used' anyway. In your application, that jigsaw puzzle thinking wouldn't apply.

Hey, John: Since you're trying to improve the sound in a fixed, known location (rather than a performer dealing with a variety of locations), I would recommend first trying to deal with the acoustics of the room before throwing more "acoustic power" at it.

Here are three relevant links on this message board about bass traps and bass response:
How to EQ a room
Two Rooms...
Bass Traps

(Hmmm... nothing in the wiki yet ...)