How to get stereo with Bose L1?

[tochiro]

Hi,

I have a Bose L1 model 2 but miss stereo. I wondered if it would be possible to buy another L1 and connect both to a stereo mixer (Presonus 16.0.2 for instance)?

Did you try that or heard anything like that? Thank you.

[Moniker]

We used to run 2 of these in our "jam room" when playing back music we would split the output form our interface and send 1 mono channel to each (L & R) then just spread the speakers 10ft apart.

[tochiro]

If you used other stereo systems, how was the sound in comparison?

[spamassassain]

I have used the L1 Compact in a stereo PA setup. They work fine. Using their digital mixer to do this was a pain, but with a "normal" mixer it is very easy.

Using the L1 in stereo is essentially no different than using any other kind of speaker in stereo.

[Nelson89]

Just reiterating what other have said, using a separate mixer it's as easy as sending the left signal to one and the right signal to the other, just use the towers as "powered speakers" by turning up the master and channel gain to the same level on each.

[n8cjohn]

Probably worth reading the section on using 2 L1s with a mixer on this page:

http://toonz.ca/bose/wiki/index.php?...s_with_a_Mixer

[tochiro]

Thank you for the interesting link. I've read the paragraph about "Dual Mono" and it seems as if stereo systems are bad. But I've heard many stereo PAs and the sound is excellent...

[Nelson89]

Actually the point was more towards the L1, which is designed to disperse sound evenly over a wide area. Traditional PA speakers are a lot more directional than the ones in the L1, a lot of sound comes out the front directly, not as much comes out from the sides, with the L1 its designed to have more coverage, so the sound isn't directed straight out the front, its directed out the sides and what not as well, so the point that was being made, because they're made to disperse the sound a lot more, they start to nullify each other if you have things centre panned (running into both systems), whereas things panned hard left or right aren't affected so much. So i understand your confusion, but the comment wasn't on Stereo PA's in general, it was on the L1 being used in a traditional stereo format, hence the section on "localizing" the sources by panning them either hard left or hard right.

[DRS]

I agree with Nelson89
Isn't the whole idea behind the Bose L1 that it washes the entire stage and audience with a balanced sound that isn't directional or beamy so you don't have the traditional problems of monitor mix vs FOH mix? So a stereo setup of F1s would not have near the stereo effect of a conventional system. I watched a great show last week by a guy named Corey Doak. He is an acoustic singer/songwriter and he was appearing with a keyboardist also name Corey. They were both playing into their own individual L1s. The L1s were about 10 ft apart and you couldn't tell where the sound from either was coming from no matter where you stood. You heard them sound perfect and equal everywhere in the church (about 2000sf). I was so impressed with L1.

[Nelson89]

Originally Posted by DRS

I agree with Nelson89
Isn't the whole idea behind the Bose L1 that it washes the entire stage and audience with a balanced sound that isn't directional or beamy so you don't have the traditional problems of monitor mix vs FOH mix? So a stereo setup of F1s would not have near the stereo effect of a conventional system. I watched a great show last week by a guy named Corey Doak. He is an acoustic singer/songwriter and he was appearing with a keyboardist also name Corey. They were both playing into their own individual L1s. The L1s were about 10 ft apart and you couldn't tell where the sound from either was coming from no matter where you stood. You heard them sound perfect and equal everywhere in the church (about 2000sf). I was so impressed with L1.

Yep exactly the idea of it. I've loved mine for acoustic sort of stuff, but i generally default back to a typical PA if i need to play with a band or what not. The time's i've used more than one (mine and a mates) it was because i had vocals and acoustic guitar running through mine, he had a roland electric kit running through his, can't remember which one the bass ran into, but it sounds great when you have the sounds localized because of its coverage.

[n8cjohn]

Here is what they had in mind for the audience:

http://toonz.ca/bose/wiki/index.php?...l_Party_Effect

The cocktail party effect.

[shawntp]

This thread is basically covered but there probably isn't any great difference between slaving one L1 off of another in mono vs breaking up the L/R channels to two different L1's (provided in the Mono setup you have your stereo effects/tracks all panned to one channel or mixed to mono going to the L1 initially). The L1's dont really fire sound in any direction , they disperse up to 180 degree spectrum so sounds on the Left are being fired directly to the right and sounds on the right are fired directly to the left (as well as all other directions) so there isnt a spectrum where they two fields integrate from the listening perspective. So with the L1 you forego the point of stereo (where you have a L/R sound spectrum, can ping/pong placement/effects/create a width to the sound stage) in lue of a sound that has a more even dispersement that sort of creeps around and wraps the listener. Also indoors the L1's (due to the fact that they are firing in all directions) catch a lot of reflective surfaces. Essentially all I am trying to say is that with two L1's you have less control the timing (when) or direction (where) the sound from each will reach the listener since its spread all over so stereo vs summed mono would probably matter less.

[spamassassain]

Originally Posted by shawntp

This thread is basically covered but there probably isn't any great difference between slaving one L1 off of another in mono vs breaking up the L/R channels to two different L1's (provided in the Mono setup you have your stereo effects/tracks all panned to one channel or mixed to mono going to the L1 initially).

OK, I'm with you so far. In other words, if you mix is in mono, then there would be no difference between daisy chaining the two L1 speakers vs. running the same mix directly to each. True.

The L1's don't really fire sound in any direction, they disperse up to 180 degree spectrum so sounds on the Left are being fired directly to the right and sounds on the right are fired directly to the left (as well as all other directions) so there isnt a spectrum where they two fields integrate from the listening perspective.

They do fire in a direction: away from the speaker. So yes, they may have a 180 degree dispersion pattern (doubtful at higher frequencies) but there is still the potential for time of arrival and level differences for the listener, depending on where they are in relation to the two speakers. However, wherever the listener may be, they will probably hear both speakers. If they are equal distance from both speakers, they will hear each at equal volume, and the sound will arrive from both speakers at the same time. If they are closer to the left speaker, they will hear that one louder, and the sound will arrive first from that one. Any reflections off nearby walls, floor, etc. will arrive after the direct sound from at least one of the speakers and probably both of them.

So with the L1 you forego the point of stereo (where you have a L/R sound spectrum, can ping/pong placement/effects/create a width to the sound stage) in lue of a sound that has a more even dispersement that sort of creeps around and wraps the listener.

Actually, as I posted above, the L1 works very much like any other loudspeaker, except perhaps that it has a wider pattern of sound production i.e. dispersion. Stereo sources, where there are two distinct tracks (say, a guitar in one speaker and a voice in the other) will still appear in a manner where each sound emanates from it's respective speaker. Thus, "stereo". Whether or not you need this is up to you. Many live mixes are mono so that everyone in the audience basically hears the same thing off the stage. However, sometimes it is effective or even necessary to have a stereo source, where there are different things in each speaker. This is 100% possible with the L1.

Also indoors the L1's (due to the fact that they are firing in all directions) catch a lot of reflective surfaces. Essentially all I am trying to say is that with two L1's you have less control the timing (when) or direction (where) the sound from each will reach the listener since its spread all over so stereo vs summed mono would probably matter less.

Possibly, but again, the sound directly coming from each speaker will reach most of the listeners before any reflections do. The fact that the L1 has a wider pattern of dispersion does not change this fact. Do they create somewhat more of an ambient sound that most other speakers? Probably. However, stereo separation is still possible and in some cases very important depending on the goal of the sound designer/mixer. I have used the L1 in this manner.