Do you happen to enjoy a bit of busking on the weekend. Are you a one man band? Are you tad lazy and in need of a simple audio reproduction solution? If this sounds like you, and you have a spare thousand bones, Bose is here to help. The L1 Compact Portable Line Array System – hellof a name, eh? – uses Bose technology to fill the room with your audio goodness with only one speaker. How you ask? Who knows, it’s Bose magic.
Actually, the system utilizes a 14-inch line array and Bose ToneMatch signal processing for the audio. The company claims that this single setup will reduce the need for two speakers for accurate audio reproduction. This benefit will obviously reduce the need of multiple trips to the van before the performance. Plus, as we all know, musicians tend to be a rather lazy group so many might be willing to pony up the $999 in May for the convenience.
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For Immediate ReleaseNEW BOSE L1 COMPACT PORTABLE LINE ARRAY SYSTEM
The Most Portable, Easy to Set Up and Affordable L1 SystemToday, Bose has introduced the new L1® Compact portable line array
system, the latest — and most portable — addition to the Bose® L1®
product line. Using advanced Bose technologies, an L1 Compact system
fills the room with only one speaker, and can be carried in a single
trip and set up in less than one minute.The new L1 Compact system features an integrated low-frequency enclosure
and combines the amplifier, monitor, PA, mixer and EQ into a complete
audio system ready for simple connection to an instrument, microphone,
MP3 player, computer or other audio device. Like the Bose L1® Model I
and L1® Model II systems, the L1 Compact system continues the legacy of
the original Bose Cylindrical Radiator® loudspeaker — the product to
first introduce the company’s unique approach to live music
amplification. The new L1 Compact system was engineered to bring much
of the performance benefits of these systems to a broader audience of
musicians, DJs, and other performers and presenters.
New Bose® L1® Compact Portable Line Array System
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(more)Bose Technologies Make the Difference
The L1 Compact system features a 14-inch line array and offers two
distinct setup configurations: extended (68″ tall) for larger venues or
collapsed (17″ tall) for smaller venues, where it can be placed on a
table or other elevated surface. There are no heavy tripod stands or
complicated speaker wires to connect — just a single AC power cord.The system is convenient, yet powerful. Live music and speech, or
pre-recorded music benefits from Bose Spatial Dispersion™ loudspeaker
technology, which enables wide, uniform sound coverage across the stage
and throughout the audience — even off to the extreme sides.Bose ToneMatch® signal processing is built in and optimizes the sound of
an instrument or microphone with an L1® system while reducing the need to
make complicated tonal adjustments. The L1 Compact system features two
ToneMatch circuits: channel one is designed for a dynamic handheld
microphone, and channel two includes a ToneMatch preset designed for an
acoustic guitar. Other instruments and audio devices also can be used
simultaneously via channel two, through a line-level audio output.The L1 Compact system is fully compatible with the Bose T1 ToneMatch®
audio engine. Available separately, the T1 ToneMatch audio engine
provides musicians, DJs and presenters with an extensive library of
ToneMatch presets, custom EQ capability with proprietary Bose zEQ, and a
suite of studio-class effects and processing.Professional Sound for Anyone
The benefits and simplicity of the L1 Compact system make it versatile
and accessible to anyone who needs a high-quality, portable sound system
at parties, community and athletic events or business presentations.
New Bose® L1® Compact Portable Line Array System
Page 3Along with the XLR microphone and 1/4-inch instrument inputs, the L1
Compact system offers two inputs. The 1/8-inch stereo input allows for
connection to MP3 players, computers, satellite radios or any device
with a line-level audio output. The RCA stereo input accommodates
DVD/CD players, VCRs and DJ mixers.The L1 Compact portable line array system is available from Bose for
$999 beginning May 1, 2009. The L1® Model I system sells for $1699; the
L1® Model II system is available for $2499. The complete line of L1®
portable line array products is available direct from Bose and through
Guitar Center® retail stores, Musician’s Friend online and select
independent retailers nationwide. For more information about Bose
products for musicians, visit www.Bose.com/musicians or call toll-free
at 1-888-301-2073.
Bose’s insecurities with the soloamp.
Note that neither this Bose product nor Fishman’s SoloAmp are actually anywhere near true vertical line arrays. The speaker stack aspect ratio is too short on the Bose, and the SoloAmp breaks the array with a tweeter in the middle. Because they both use small drivers, horizontal dispersion is a bit better than traditional amps. But, neither gets the benefit an actual line array delivers in deep sound projection into the room. Frankly, I consider the use of “line array” by either company a bit deceptive with these seriously compromised designs. And, $1000 for six 2.25″ speakers is truly outlandish pricing by Bose. There are PC multimedia systems with more drivers than this.
Jack, I think you’ve missed a key detail. The L1 (not the compact) behaves like a line array over most frequencies and out to certain distance. Certainaly for most small rooms it acts as a line array for most instruments. Not too sure about the compact, but the bigger L1’s do for sure, especially since they sit on the ground and get the advantage of the floor to go deeper in the spectrum, which the compact and SoloAmp do not. I hope that helps the folks reading this. If you doubt it, give yourself a demo and hear it for yourself as I have. It actually works and works remarkably well if you ask me. I won’t comment on the cost … it is what is … at least they are out there doing research and creating some innovative things instead of making more of the same-old-thing. I can’t knock ‘em for that.
I heard the L1 Compact at Messe but in a small room. Pretty cool IMO. Can’t wait to hear it in a bigger room. I think it’ll be a good product for a lot of musicians (certainly not all musicians).
Hi Steve. No, I missed no details. Bose markets the L1 Compact as a line array, when it is not. So, buyers basing their choice on assumptions about gaining a line array like 3dB SPL fall off per doubling of distance are being misled. It’s a great product, but not just a line array, and with sound projection behavior much closer to a point source product’s 6dB per doubling of distance rate.
I don’t dislike the L1 Compact; I dislike the deceptive advertising.
Jack C,
You should disclose your connection to SoloAmp every single time you make a post concerning Bose or Fishman products.
Jack (C),
Your claims about Bose L1 (compact aside) not behaving as a true column line array are simply false. I have four of the units, and they do, as pointed out by Jack C, clearly exhibit line array characteristics and NOT point-source (6dB loss) properties to a distance of about 80 feet. Been there, done that, metered it to prove it many times and in many different spaces. I’m suspicious you have an axe to grind or do, in fact, work for Fishman. Why make claims that are easy to disprove?
Again, another poster mischaracterizes my statements: What I am saying pertains *only* to the just-launched Bose L1 Compact, *not* to their much more expensive L1 systems (Series I and II). THe new L1 Compact is an entirely different critter, having a tall plastic black post with 6 small speakers located only at the very top. The rest of that tall post is just that: a tall plastic post, producing no sound. Small vertical line array behavior generally begins to be significant as a product approached a very driver stack aspect ratio (height to width) of about 8:1. At about 14-inches tall and 2.25-inches wide, the aspect ratio of the driver stack on the L1 Compact is only about 6:1, which means, based on my years of experimentation with such small arrays, the horizontal SPL drop-off, mid-stack is in the 5dB/doubling of distance range, very nearly as high as a simple point source speaker. My own BagAmp product uses 8 drivers 3-inches wide for an aspect ratio of about 8:1, and it has a center axis horizontal SPL falloff of about 4.1dB/doubling of distance. The *real* Bose L1 systems use 24 drivers at 2.25″, have aspect ratios of about 24:1 and can truly be referred to as “line array” system, with nearfield SPL falloff very near the theoretical optimum of 3dB/doubling of distance. This holds up out to over 60-feet. The L1 is a for-real line array, no question. The L1 Compact, SoloAmp, and (my own) BagAmp are “semi” line arrays. Though again, I will say any such product with a driver stack aspect ratio of 8:1 or better can at least honestly claim the line array benefits in marketing.