Although I know the L1® Compact is amazing for it's size in a large room it does not compare to Big Daddy L1! I recently had a chance to do a side by side comparison test in our Americinn Conference Center. The room has a 10 foot celling & is rated as fitting 250 people for an event. So we sent up one of our L1 Model I with one B1 on one side of the table & the Compact on the other. Up until this point I thought that the L1 Compact was invincible but I found it lacking in a room this size. There is no comparison the L1 Model I sounded like a serious sound system vs the Compact sounding like boom box in this size room.

I'm not at all disappointed however I realized now that the L1 Compact has it's place & that's all there is to it.

Where is it's place - in my opinion it should only be used at small parties with a guest list of no more than 50 or at a small out door party like a graduation with about the same amount or less in attendance. Also if you need filler in another room or a monitor for karaoke. Also in a small to medium sized bar or restaurant.

The purpose of this post was not to bad talk the L1 Compact, but rather to educate though of you who are sitting on the edge of the pool wanting to dive in but not knowing which end of the pool you should to jump into. As for buying 2 L1c & using them in stereo - I still don't think you would want to DJ a party with over 100 guests. I think you would run out of head room real fast.

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This test would be different and better with a T1. I can easily fill this room with one L1, 2B1's and still have plenty of headroom to go. This room is approximately 4000 square feet.

http://www.renaissanceva.com/2008_facilities.php

The staff compliments the Bose L1 each time I play there. Comparing it to larger dj systems that just echo badly in this room.

Dittos JD,

The compact will never replace my L1 Model 1 but it does have its place. I just did a wedding ceremony for 100 people in a mountain meadow where no AC power was available. A generator was out of the question but the Compact, my laptop, 2 wireless mic receivers and a T1 will run for over 3 hours off a Duracell 600 Powerpack jump-starter / inverter. The sound quality was great and the Compact was perfect for the application.

Remote site music and audio support with silent power! An exclusive service no one I know around these parts can offer. Thank you L1 Compact!

quote:

Although I know the L1® Compact is amazing for it's size in a large room it does not compare to Big Daddy L1!

It's not supposed to. I own a Model II/2 bins/tonematch and love it! I also own a Compact that I use with tonematch. It's like a successful partnership in that if both partners had the same skills then one in not necessary.

It seems the picture is getting clearer for those of us who have tried, or own, both an L1 and a Compact. One is not a substitute for the other. There are just applications where one of these units is better suited than the other. Having said that, I think there is a good amount of overlap between the two products, which is a testament to both the versatility of the systems and the marketing guile of Bose. We all griped a bit about the perceived shortcomings of the Compact when it first showed up, but why would Bose release a product that could supercede one of their own, good selling products, at < half the price?

I also flirted with the idea of selling my model 1 and buying a second Compact. I won't be doing this! It's like AJ said with each partner bringing something different to the table. And now we're getting real world feedback about the suitability of each product for a specific job or condition. I'm taking it all in - and hopefully giving some back (check out the L1/Compact comparo thread) - in the interest of providing the best possible sound for my clients and me.

The question you have to ask yourself is this: "Is the Whopper Junior the same size as the Whopper?" The answer is no. They are two different sized sandwiches for two different appetites. That's the same as the L1 Model I and the Compact. I don't think anyone could ever imagine the Compact would even compare to the L1 Model I itself. It only makes sense that the L1 is going to put out way more sound as it has more speakers and a larger bass bin cabinet than the Compact.

The Compact can be used in various settings where the L1 Model I might be overkill. Take, for instance, a retirement home I play in every week. I've been using the L1 Model I with 1 bass bin. No matter how low I turn it, it was still too much. Now, I'm using the Compact there. I'm set up in a jiffy and the sound is just right for all of the senior citizens.

I have a few wedding ceremonies that I'll be using the Compact for. They're ideal for them!

Edits: L1C is now Compact, L1 is now L1 Model I
- System Naming

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You're right. They both have their places, but no matter which one you use, they blow away everything else out there.

Thanks. I went and pulled the trigger on the L1 Model II system with the Tone Match engine last week out of fear of running into coverage problems with the L1 Compact in the future.

You just never know what gig or opportunity will come your way and I figured I'd rather be prepared for just about anything. You can scale down a powerful system easier than scaling up a less powerful one.

Your post made me confident in my decision and justified the extra money spent. I'm pretty sure I'll get a compact in the future.

Posted by Dynamite DJ:

quote:

This test would be different and better with a T1. I can easily fill this room with one L1, 2B1's and still have plenty of headroom to go. This room is approximately 4000 square feet.

I think you are missing the point of this discussion. The T1 seems to be your answer for everything, the T1 would not have changed a thing in my test. The L1c acts differently than the L1 & in a large room this is allot easier to see. Unless you go out & buy the same mixer I use and start doing side by side tests with the T1 please stop commenting the fix to all my posts is the T1.

Lou great ideas about the tables. I'll have to go & check them out.

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DJ ED, Ron Ralph

Please see a new discussion for your comments on L1® Classic Hardware Failures.

Thank you.

For those following the discussion about using platforms and tables to elevate the L1® please see this new discussion.

Platforms and Tables to elevate the L1®

I'm bring this topic up again because of an observation I made after setting up both the Compact & an L1 w/ one B1. There is another way the Compact can't compete at all with it's big brother, it is in the mid frequencies. I've heard it before in here that the Compact has more of a "hi-fi" sound & it is true. The L1's sound's much more full & well rounded especial in the mid frequencies. You can notice this the most when listening to the vocals on a track. In the test I did I played the same song on both the Compact as I did on the L1.

I think this needs to be brought up since there are a bunch of DJ's who are considering two Compacts as their main system. The Compact has it's place as we have all discovered, but I wouldn't want two of them for my main system.

Excellent point made!

I find one Compact for a smaller gig to be just fine and surprisingly even in some larger rooms. I find one ModelII with 2 bins to be just fine for most large rooms and also quite surprisingly efficient outdoors! Just Amazing!

Some may need many but the right ones can be plenty!

AJ
Music is neither young or old.....it just "is"

The difference in sound between the Compact & L1 is staggering. The Compact sounds very clear but is definitely has a boost in the higher frequencies than the L1. This doesn't necessarily sound bad, but if you play the L1 and the Compact back to back in an A/B test, the L1 sounds way better in terms of even mid frequency response. Also another factor is the B1 goes about 15Hz lower than the compact which overall gives the L1 with a B1 a richer more extended low end.

I really want DJ's to consider these things because you may find two compacts to be lacking especially if you are ever planning on doing any event with a guest list over 200 people. Also if you think that you may do a school dance with over 150 kids you should think twice about buying two Compacts. Lastly if you plan on playing much hip hop or dance music I'd go for the L1 w/ two B1's package. Sure it's a bit more money but I can guarantee you'd be a way happier camper.

Why do I feel so strongly about this, well because I own both the Compact & two L1 systems & I know the difference. Someone may say.. yeah but if I have two Compacts then.... No two Compacts will not compare to an L1. They may get almost as loud, but the sound quality will not be as good. I also feel strongly about this because Bose is marketing two Compacts as a great DJ system. Yes it looks great, you know with the symmetry of the two Compacts...But I'm here to tell you- save your nickels & buy an L1 w/ two B1's. Especially if you want to do larger events in the future. The L1 offers allot of expansion in terms of bass(B1's & Packlite amps) & the Compact does not. This is very important in my eyes, but if all the warnings I have given don't matter to you then you will probably be happy with two compacts.

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