Thoughts on Bose Speakers

[Premier Entertainment]

Hey Guys,

So I was just watching a video of a wedding DJ and he was using two of the tall bose sound stick looking speakers.

My question is do any of you use bose systems, if so which systems? Are they as loud as traditional DJ setups?

I am thinking of getting the JBL PRX like but want to look into the Bose system first as everyone says Bose sounds so good.

Thank you, your input is greatly appreciated!

 

[ahoustondj]

Hey Guys,

So I was just watching a video of a wedding DJ and he was using two of the tall bose sound stick looking speakers.

My question is do any of you use bose systems, if so which systems? Are they as loud as traditional DJ setups?

I am thinking of getting the JBL PRX like but want to look into the Bose system first as everyone says Bose sounds so good.

Thank you, your input is greatly appreciated!

It will depend on what Gigs you want to do. If you will be doing mostly weddings then "yes". For high SPL applications those would not suffice. I use a pair of Bose 802s as Mid/Hi tops in a two way configuration with its Crossover. I use JBL subs as bottoms.

They are an expensive alternative and if there is a failure (Rarely) the L1s are one piece with the Bass modules, so you can't just run out to the truck/car and get a replacement. Most chaps use 2 L1s and 4 Bass modules. That will give great sound.

 

[Patrick]

Bryan,

If you are looking at JBL, look at the SRX line, not the PRX....you will be much happier.

In regards to the Bose system, I have heard them, been at a wedding where they were used and honestly, was not completely blown away by them. The have an amazingly clean look to them, and that is a plus. But for the money you are going to lay out for them, to me, the sound if just not there.

I would look into something like the QSC K12 line or JBL SRX.

 

[DJ J Mac]

I've had the opprotunity to hear the Bose speakers you're talking about as a guest. They wouldn't rank in my top 5 to use. One of the supposed benefits of the Bose is that the volume is the same everywhere in the room, I actually found that to be a major drawback because in order for the DJ to get the music loud enough for the dance floor, he ended up blasting the entire room and conversing with someone was difficult.

 

[rickryan.com]

Bryan, you're talking about the Bose L1. I have one of those setups and used it the first couple of seasons. It's great when you need wide dispersion and don't need a lot of punch/volume. My unit has been sitting on the shelf the past couple of seasons now and has seen very little use. Just my opinion, it's not worth it.

 

[Papa Deuce]

OK, I own a set. Don't take advice from anybody who doesn't actually own and use them often. If people have heard them once or twice, and not liked them, well, this could be just a poor operator of these speakers.

When properly set up, with 4 bass bins, IMO, these speakers are awesome for events up to about 200 - 225 people. Beyond that, again, IMO, you are stretching them. They give you PLENTY of bass for events like this or smaller. in fact, I have actually been asked to LOWER the bass on a few occasions ( weddings ). But I wouldn't want to use these for teen events, or other events where the attendees love a huge booming bass. The tone on these are amazing.... again, when set up properly. If improperly set up, they can sound poor, just like ANY SYSTEM can if set up poorly.

Now, I specifically bought them in hopes of attracting an upscale clientele. You will find that the name "BOSE" carries a lot of weight with some clients. Others won't care even a little bit.

I no longer do weddings as I have found that I don't enjoy doing them anymore, but I can tell you that I also have a JBL system, and I never got compliments on the sound with the JBLs. But with Bose, I often did. This does not mean the JBLs were bad. It just means that the people seemed to really enjoy the sound from the Bose. I liked both of them. But the thing is, the BOSE are ridiculously overpriced. And I do mean ridiculously overpriced. HOWEVER, I used the BOSE as an upsell. I would charge $100 more for the BOSE at weddings...... well, actually it went like this..... if a potential client balked at the price, I would say "Well, we do offer a lesser priced system.".... and then I would offer the JBL setup for $100 less. OR if someone was seemingly on the fence, I would say "Tell you what, if you choose to book today, I will include our BOSE sound setup, for no additional charge, and that is a $100 value.".... and sometimes that would work to close the deal. But that only happened about 6 times in 4 years, maybe 7.

Would I buy the BOSE again?

No, I would not. But don't let people who have heard them once or twice tell you about them. Let somebody who uses them several times a year tell you about them.... someone like me. I used them about a dozen times a year. Listen, truth be told, if you spent the same money on a different system, you would most likely get at least as good a system, and probably a more powerful system. But the BOSE offers many intangibles, not the least of which is fantastic customer service. ( I never needed service on the pro gear, but have needed service on some consumer gear, and the service was just absolutely FANTASTIC. You WILL get compliments on the BOSE; it's a fact.

Oh, and nobody will place their drinks on the speakers.

 

[DJ J Mac]

OK, I own a set. Don't take advice from anybody who doesn't actually own and use them often. If people have heard them once or twice, and not liked them, well, this could be just a poor operator of these speakers.

While I agree it could very well be an operator error, the fact still remains that the speakers sound distribution pattern, which is championed as one of the best advantages, remains ill suited to ANY EVENT where uniform volume levels are not wanted. Heck, even in BOSE's initial marketing for the L1 they said it was designed for presentations, not live sound or recorded sound playback.

Also, sometimes it is good to have the opinion of someone who has heard them as a guest and not as a DJ. Guests and DJs look for/notice different things.

 

[Papa Deuce]

While I agree it could very well be an operator error, the fact still remains that the speakers sound distribution pattern, which is championed as one of the best advantages, remains ill suited to ANY EVENT where uniform volume levels are not wanted. Heck, even in BOSE's initial marketing for the L1 they said it was designed for presentations, not live sound or recorded sound playback.

Also, sometimes it is good to have the opinion of someone who has heard them as a guest and not as a DJ. Guests and DJs look for/notice different things.

But, Mac, and these will be my last words on this..... I am guessing you have never seen people actually talk while standing in front of a Bose L1 Speaker, yet have the dance floor be plenty loud. I've seen it so many times that I have lost count. And the sound be loud enough to carry to the back of the room, too.

I'm not getting in a big pissing match here, but I know what I saw and heard about about a dozen times a year. And it is hugely funny that so many people who really don't know squat about a certain system have such strong views. Personally, and again, IMO, as I have stated before, I think that some of those people are just jealous they they don't have the money to afford a BOSE system - and I am not saying that is you; I am just stating it as my opinion.

I'm done in this thread. I don't want to start an old fashioned BOSE flame war.

Adding this because I just forgot to put it in there:

I don't think most guests at weddings don't even notice sound unless it is bad sound. Or too damn loud. 99% of them have no clue about DJ gear; they just want fun songs that don't hurt their ears.

 

[rickryan.com]

Also, sometimes it is good to have the opinion of someone who has heard them as a guest and not as a DJ. Guests and DJs look for/notice different things.

I'll add this, the Bose is probably the most gentle on the ears of any system I have. I've had grannies be seated right in front of the speaker with no complaints. It also is very clear for speech. The problem is on music playback. While I've done 200-300 many times with the Bose, looking back on it at this point, it was the wrong thing to use. In large rooms the top end carries very well but the bottom end dies off quickly at about 40-50 feet. The name recognition does help close deals with brides but in the end I feel I'm delivering a far superior sound to my events by leaving the Bose at the storage unit. I might also mention that having the Bose breakdown was always a concern of mine. No way to substitute components in like with my traditional system. It's either an all or nothing proposition. I've tried to sell it off several times but the wife keeps begging me to keep it, just in case she might want to use it in the future. I will add this that if you add a separate sub system (using a crossover with highs only sent to the Bose) it can make for a very potent little setup.

 

[jokerswild]

I will chime in later when I'm at a computer.

 

[steve149]

Bryan - No idea on the L1s, though the L1 compacts I've heard were fine for a speaking engagement. I will vouch for the JBL PRX line. I have the PRX612m and they're fine speakers. While the SRX is a great speaker, you really need to power them with a lot of power to get them to be sonically any different .. and then they'll take off. The PRX with subs will fill most any bill up to 250-300 people.

I did a comparison and I believe I posted the outcome previously here, but the contenders were the PRX, the QSC K12 and the EV ELX112 (I wanted 12" powered to better mesh with subs). The EVs were the most DJ friendly (high and low end boosts), but had a weak finish. The QSCs were best for acoustic work, speeches, etc (had a midrange boost) and the JBLs were fairly flat. I went that way as I can better control the eq, though probably would have been happy with any of them. Had I to do it over, I might have gone with the newer QSC KW121, as I really like the sound.

 

[Scott Hanna]

They work great for me.

No system is perfect for everyone.

Try lots. Feel free to call me if you have any questions on them. Cap is also a great source of info...and a authorized agent.

 

[nextgen1]

I'm a wedding jock and our average wedding size is 150 - 250 and for us they are perfect. We get compliments on the looks and the sound on a regular basis. We Own 3 L-1's and 5 bass units, personally I love the sound.

 

[ahoustondj]

Again it all depends on the application of the event, size of room and whether you have to cover mainly the dance floor or the whole room. It also depend on the people and age group too. I think Nextgen is spot on for the coverage at a Wedding!

 

[Cap Capello]

It's not a DJ's sound system. It's a customer's sound system. The DJ chooses what style and sound they wish to inflict on the end users. While many DJs listen to speakers, others listen to their audiences, in what they say and what isn't. Having owned systems which sounded fabulous to me, traditional and unavoidable customer complaints remained. 0 complaints in 7 straight years ... priceless.

There is an experienced and reasonable formula to follow that has been met with almost universal acceptance.

But, soon, that formula will change.

 

[DJ SVO]

As I mentioned in another thread, I had the opportunity to listen to a 2 L1's 4 B1's system some weeks ago and I was impressed. It's a different approach with a different result for the listener. It all comes down on what you need and what your customers want. While I love my big subs at some weddings down here it would be drastic overkill, while at others it would be a hell of a party.

For the wedding market that does not want or need a club oriented system they work beautifully and older people actually have a better time at an event with the Bose playing. I have read many of the Bose threads and I could only imagine somethings but I had no first hand experience with the system, but now it's a different ballgame because they're a very interesting (Nice) sounding system.

 

[steve149]

I said it in an earlier thread .. if there was an option to get a L1 without subs and to use a powered 18" or other non-B1 sub, I think I would be interested in looking at them. The only one I've seen available without sub is the model 1 and it would be the model 2, without sub or tonematch engine, that I would consider.

 

[Ed Witles]

Wedding I had just done - the planner (who see's DC finest) tells me I had by far the best sounding system that was sleek and out of the way. Been a happy Bose L1 user since fall of 2005. That said, will drop Bose in a flash if I find something that is better for my client's guests and not difficult to haul around.

 

[Jeff Romard]

I was an almost owner and I have used/heard the L1-B1 combo on several occasions. I have heard them used properly and used poorly and there is a huge difference.

Bose has done some interesting things. First off their marketing is awesome they have positioned themselves as the best sound in the world and regardless if they are or if you believe it most people will associate Bose with great sound. A lot of people also hear with their eyes. They see a name like Bose and automatically they assume good sound

They also create their speakers to be basically idiot proof. If you can follow simple instructions you can make a Bose speaker sound good. They come pre processed from the factory you need very little tweaking to achieve a sound that the average person will like. They do a great job of what they do.

Comparing the L1 to the PRX (or any conventional speaker) is like comparing a car to a tomato. They are two very different things. One can do things the other cant. If you want to make a better comparison compare the L1 to these or these

 

[Scott Hanna]

I said it in an earlier thread .. if there was an option to get a L1 without subs and to use a powered 18" or other non-B1 sub, I think I would be interested in looking at them. The only one I've seen available without sub is the model 1 and it would be the model 2, without sub or tonematch engine, that I would consider.

True, model 2's require the bass bins. Personally, I didn't like the sound with a 3rd party sub. Granted, it was only once, and someone else was controlling it, so I can't say if everything was done right or even what the quality of the sub was. But the first thing I noticed when I heard the music was the bass. For me, that's too much. IMO, the dual bass bins add the perfect amount of bass. Not too much, not too little. The 3rd party sub sounded to me like mine would if I just cranked my low on my EQ on the T1.

Then again, It also could be because that's what I've been used to. Regardless, it is nice to have a sound I'm very happy with and not have to lug sub woofers around....or pay a roadie. Yes I have my RR cart. But it's a beautiful thing to never have to lift anything more than 22 pounds off of my cart and into or out of my car. My back loves me again.

But, like Ed said. If I found something else that sounded better, was super easy to move around, held their value, and customers loved it and recognized that brand as quality, I'd have no problem switching. The reality is I haven't looked at anything else seriously since I got these. Been happy.

As far as negatives, the only one I've come across so far is the occasional drunken skank that wants to use the tower as her stripper pole.

I've found a loud and decisive "NO!", just like I do with my dog, works very well

Also, on the model 1's, the base could become a trip hazard if placed improperly on a corner of a traffic area. Proper placement fixes that, but sometimes when you start using them, it's not something you think about. Model 2 no issue at all with this.