Well, I got by my local GC recently and tried out the L1® Compact with my NS-WAV4 bass. Here are some of my thoughts and observations about it.

1. The L1® Compact is small. I wasn't expecting the actual speaker array to be smaller in size than the Model I or II. I mean in physical size, not height. In the pictures of it, I thought it would be similar in size to the cylindrical radiators of my Model II. It's actually pretty small. The Guitar Center had all three models lined up in a row, the L1® Compact, Model I, and Model II. It was a pretty neat way of displaying them and made it easy to compare models. It's about 6" shorter in height than the Model I/II. I didn't do a detailed sizing though.

2. Of course, it's very light in weight, too. About the weight of a single B1.

3. Honestly, I wasn't expecting too much from it and had the nice woman helping me plug in some iPod music. She did and left the volume knob at 12-noon. I was quite surprised at the volume from it! I was standing about 5 ft. from it and it sounded GREAT! I guess at this point, I should tell you I was standing in a demo room at GC that was about 30'x40' with lots of PA speakers and lighting equipment along the walls. The L1® Compact was about 4-5 ft. from the wall behind it.

4. I immediately thought it had a distinct "crispness" to it. Not too offensive, but definitely different sounding than a Model I/II with an iPod playing music with no enhancements.

5. Now it was time for the NS-WAV4 test:

I plugged in my NS-WAV4 directly into Ch.2 without the ToneMatch switch on. This was how the iPod had been playing. Left my knobs and switches the same on the NS-WAV4, as I always play with them. It was clean sounding, but a little weak and airy. I turned up the volume. It got louder, but didn't change much else. I found it unacceptable like this. So next, I tried my knobs and switches on the bass. No settings were acceptable to me, so I decided to use my K&K Pure Preamp.

I re-cabled with my K&K Preamp in line now, and started again. Keep in mind, there are no adjustments (EQ) on the L1® Compact Ch.2, except for volume. It was an immediate improvement. I was able to get some clean, deep bass from it now. I was standing about 5-6 feet in front of the L1® Compact. I turned up my preamp a little, with the L1® Compact still at 12-Noon to 1 o'clock. My NS-WAV4 knobs and switches were now usable to taylor my bass sound. I got a very pleasing "bass sound" with what appeared to be decent volume at this point. I was starting to get a little excited.

Then, I walked out at about 10-15 degrees off-center from the L1® Compact and the length of my guitar cable (20ft). Played some bass runs again and can tell you I noticed a HUGE difference in sound from standing next to the L1® Compact. Pretty similar tones, but the volume had dropped off considerably, from standing next to the unit and it was just a tad hollow sounding. I didn't know what to think for a minute. Doing this very same thing with my Model II at home, I notice very little difference at all. Both volume and tone sound the same. There was a very distinct difference here, though.

So, I moved back next to the L1® Compact. GREAT tone and volume, again! Sounded like a Model II. Moved away again and the volume/tone was gone again. Tone wasn't bad, but not as "full and rich" as standing next to the unit.

Decided I'd use my T1 in place of the K&K Preamp and see what I could get. Plugged the T1 into Ch.2, (w/o ToneMatch switch on) and selected my standard NS-Design preset (Dark Bass). Plugged in and played some more bass runs. Nice. It sounded very good. Similar in tone, clarity, richness, that I'm use to hearing with my Model II. Then I moved out to the length of my cable (approx. 20ft). Volume was gone again. It just didn't sound full at all, although, you could hear it fine, it was not projecting my bass very well. I moved around to see if I might have been in a null. It didn't make any difference. I was quite disappointed there was so much difference from standing within 5 ft. of the L1® Compact and at 20 ft. There was too much of a difference in volume for me to consider using the L1® Compact with my bass, even in a small room setting.

Other people were in the room and I didn't feel comfortable playing with turning the volume up much more, so I called it a day. I suspect if I had turned the volume up, it could have handled it and might have improved things at 20 ft. But, to be honest, I suspect it would have been pretty loud standing next to it playing in a "real gig" situation.

Please keep in mind, my point of reference for sounding the way I like things in small venues, is with my Acoustic Image Contra amp. So, I suspect I was comparing the tone/volume I get with my AI amp, subconsciously, against the L1® Compact. My AI amp is wonderful in tone quality and volume with my Kay Upright and with my K&K Preamp and NS-Wav combination. For the same money, I'll stay with my Contra vs. the L1® Compact, because I really don't need the L1® Compact's other vocal channel, since I don't sing. If you need the vocal channel of the L1® Compact, and don't have anything (like an Acoustic Image Contra amp), then it would warrant serious consideration. However, in my situation, I can now say that I'll stick with what I have and enjoy it!

I was wanting to see and hear the L1® Compact, since so many here rave about its functionality and features. It's a nice unit for it's intended purpose. I think if you played strictly small venues (and never outside where you had to depend on it for your sound vs. a larger PA system) with audiences of 30-50 people, it would be ideal. Obviously, I'm biased. I have a L1® Model II with 2B1s and the ToneMatch Engine and it will take something more than the L1® Compact to make me change. I realize it's less to carry and setup. But, my AI Amp and NS-WAV4 is equivalent in size and better in tone/volume at 20 ft from the amp in small venues, in my opinion.

If you were a singer/songwriter, playing an acoustic guitar and singing, the L1® Compact would be the ideal system! I'm sure others will find it very acceptable for their needs, but I can honestly say now that I would not consider buying one strictly for my bass amplification. (Upright or NS-WAV4)

It was time well spent to satisfy my curiosity!! I can now sleep at night, not worrying how to finance a L1® Compact!

John

Great report John.Very thorough.
Thanks

I've been toying with the idea of getting a Compact for some of our trio gigs where we have no extra space.
I would be putting the upright bass, piano and one vocal through it.
Most of these are small dinning areas handling maybe 50 people. We would be doing background music.Do you think the compact would cut it in this case? Especially the upright bass.

Great report John!

Thank you for doing that.

I appreciate the candour and the effort.

Cheers!

Thanks for the report John. One size does not fit all, but fortunately Bose gives us options.

Respect,
Col. Andy

quote:

Do you think the compact would cut it in this case? Especially the upright bass.

Rick -

I think the vocals would be great going through the L1® Compact. Is the piano acoustic or electric? If acoustic, it might be fine without any amplification in that setting. If electric, I could see you making it work along with the vocals through the L1® Compact, probably.

The upright bass...hummmm? In my opinion, you'd be forcing something to sound decent here...I don't know if it would work. I'd definitely want a preamp for the upright, if I were to try it. Of course, I want my bass tones to sound warm and cozy, but perhaps your bassist isn't as "picky" as me.

In a small dining area holding about 50 people or so, and an attentive crowd, I think it would be borderline with a single L1® Compact, putting everyone through it. There's not much speaker area on the Compact for all those sounds to come out of, if you know what I mean. And, the base of the L1® Compact doesn't excite the air in the lower register, like a single B1 does.

Could you make a single L1® Model II/B1 work? You could position the B1 inside the fold-out legs to save some space and not take up much more floor space than two L1® Compacts together. With a T1, you'd have all the headroom you'd ever need for everyone. I realize it wouldn't be as portable as a L1® Compact, though. Just thinking out loud...

John

Hi All

I have had my Compact a week now. I am putting it through it's paces with my Tonematch and Keyboard with 2 mics. I think it sounds awesome. I have a gig Tuesday and have decided to take the "little guy" along. My Model II will stay home. Believe me I will give this system a huge test Tuesday. I totally expect a difference in drop off vs my Model II. I bought the compact to simply rehearse through in my home but after hearing it I am convinced it can hold it's on in a smaller venue. Wish me luck!

Dear AJ,

LUCK!

We are very interested to hear your report after the gig.

Ken

Hi John,

I think after getting used to the "Other" L1s the Compact is just different enough to leave us wanting, ... something.

I keep getting surprised though as I continue to use my Compact in different situations.

At a recent Church social I used the Compact for live and recorded music. (ipod)

I first set the system up and started the ipod then moved around the covered picnic area. It was windy and I thought the sound might not cover very well. I was pleasantly surprised and got immeadiate positive response, especially from the older folks attending. My Mother complained about being chilled, so I went to the van to get a wind breaker for her. I was shocked to hear the sound from over 100 ft away.

The music was from one of the Bluegrass Album Bands CD's and not only were the voices clear but Tony's leads, and the bass were coming through very clearly. Not loud, just very clear, and pleasant to listen to, and, I was behind the magical 180 degrees of dispersion.

I know recorded bass and live bass are not the same, but I hope you get a chance in a gigging situation to try a Compact again. It's tough to be enamored with anything else after using the Model II for any extended period of time.

I'm not suggesting the Compact is ideal for projecting sound over 100 ft. In fact, one of its virtues may be that it can be used outdoors without drawing complaints from neighbors or other businesses in the immeadiate area as the "other" L1s can do. What I am saying is that even with the greater falloff of volume over distance, the sound stays clean and clear like the L1s we have grown used to.

O..