All In One Unit.
The main reason that I love the Bose L1 Model II is that it is an all in one innovative system, that replaces conventional monitors, mixers and PA speakers.
This system provides astounding uniform sound coverage of nearly 180 degrees not only onstage but throughout an audience of up to several hundred, but here is the big plus, with little drop off in volume and tone quality.
Ease of setup
The complete Bose L1 Model II system can easily fit in to the boot of a car and is very compact and comes with special heavy duty custom padded carrying cases that are extremely durable. The great thing about this system is that there is minimal trailing leads, no spare cables and it is very straight forward to set up.
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From the moment that I arrive at a gig the system can be completely set up and ready in less that five minutes. The complete Bose L1 Model II system weighs 38.1 kg and could be carried back a forth on your own, in two trips which can be a big plus if you are working in some rough areas and don’t want to take a risk of leaving equipment unattended for any length of time in a car or a van.
The speakers.
The 24 built in individual speakers are arranged using Articulated Array speaker technology in a slim, vertical enclosure—creating nearly 180 degrees of horizontal coverage and consistent tonal balance.
The Bose L1 Model II speaker’s unusual upright, vertical shape makes it distinctly different from conventional PA speakers and has a very positive clean and clear effect on sound coverage. The loudspeaker delivers 180 degrees of horizontal sound coverage In fact the same sound can be heard on stage as those in the audiance at the front row or at the rear which is a huge plus, also knowing that band members are also hearing the same sound makes for a much more complete performance.
Again the speakers take literally seconds to set up. There are no wires to connect, no cables just clip the lower speaker unit in to the power stand and the upper speaker unit on to the lower unit and your done!
Spacial Dispersion
The Bose L1 Model II Bose Spatial Dispersion loudspeaker technology delivers sound evenly across the stage and throughout the audience—even to the extreme sides.
Bose use the term “Spacial Dispersion” Basically this means that the loudspeaker technology delivers sound evenly across the stage and throughout the audience even to the extreme sides.
I have done some audio tests in a large hall and even when moving around from extreme far end corners the sound level remained the same clear and vibrant through out. with little volume drop-off over distance even standing near the front of the speakers as opposed to being at the back of the room, quite amazing!
I normaly position the speakers either side whilst performing but they could also be positioned in front or behind depending on your personal preference.
This for me is the perfect pa system which provides perfectly clean audio sound quality for almost any size gigs.
The Power Stand Integrated system
The Bose L1 Model II power stand weighs 10.7 kg, and its four retractable legs make it easy to transport and set up. The power stand also has a simplified control section; the single line-level input can be used with instruments, mics, mixers, laptops, MP3 players, turntables, or DVD systems.
All of the system’s components are also built to handle the road and the build quality is absolutely superb, very solidly built and robust. The loudspeaker has a nice strong and rugged, reinforced grille, and each package includes padded carrying bags for major components.
The ToneMatch unit.
As an optional extra for the Bose L1 Model II, I opted to add the ToneMatch unit, which expands your options to connect additional instruments and microphones. You can also use the ToneMatch engine to fine-tune your sound with powerful, proprietary tone-shaping tools built in to the system.
>Connection of the ToneMatch to the L1 couldn’t be easier. Just one cable connects this unit.
This is a compact, four-channel engine which provides fingertip control from a library of presets. Just touch a button to make hundreds of precise refinements to the sound of instruments and microphones. The engine also features a complete suite of studio-class reverbs, additional effects and dynamics processing.
One other handy service that comes from Bose when you buy this unit. Free Preset updates can be uploaded for the ToneMatch by simply connecting the system via USB to a computer. This is something that I have not yet attempted or needed but it is something worth to mention.
The Bass Module
The bass module that comes with the Bose L1 Model II system is called the B2 bass module, which delivers greater low-frequency output when you need more powerful bass for larger audiences.
The bass module includes three settings.
1. Normal setting is ideal for bass guitar or when mic’ing a kick drum.
2.A High setting is designed for DJ/music playback applications.
3.Low setting This is what I use for acoustic guitar and vocals.
This is powered from the main power stand again with just one cable to connect.
There is an optional PackLite power amplifier lets you add a second B2 bass module for maximum low-end power.
Summery:
I highly recommend the Bose L1 PA system it is compact and very easy to setup in less than five minutes. The amplifyer is intregated and the automatic presets make this a snip to get the best optimised audio quality for any performance in almost any sized room or hall.
