I'm keen to get a L1 compact if it will deliver the 'air' sound with the double bass, acoustic guitar and vocals.

Would appreciate advice as to whether the Compact will do the reinforcing, or whether the Model II is really necessary to avoid distortion.

Hi, Stocko! Welcome to your first post on this Forum.

The Compact should not distort; the only question really is whether it will provide enough 'bottom' for your purposes. The larger L1s (those with a B1) go down to 40Hz, whereas the Compact only goes down to 65Hz.