Bose S1 Pro

[guitpic1]

Been playing a Genos through the Bose S1 Pro.  Sound is excellent.

[jimlaing]

Hi - interesting - I'm curious if you can say more, maybe compare and contrast it with other systems you've used?  I can't find a local shop yet that has one for me to go listen to ...

Thanks!
Jim

[StuartR]

Been playing a Genos through the Bose S1 Pro.  Sound is excellent.

Bose advertises this for general PA, house sound (floor monitor) or practice amp use. As is custom with Bose, no mention of driver sizes or RMS power output. I just can't imagine the Genos would sound its best with two, much less one of these. But I guess to practice with, lots of speakers would suffice.

[jimlaing]

I listened to one of these in a local store, and decided to pick one up.  It put out surprisingly good sound for it size.  I tried it 3 different positions and could hear the slight changes in EQ.  The only position I didn't like the sound of was "floor monitor" mode, where I think it brought the "mids" up a bit too much IMHO.

I know it's not the "absolute best the Genos can sound", that will come from some of my larger, higher-end speakers, but the quality seemed quite good, and it'll serve well for certain situations for me (rehearsals, jam sessions, small gigs) ... it sounds a lot better than a battery-powered Behringer (BT40HT Pro or something like that) which I had been using.  A lot more expensive than the Behringer, but the quality level seems worth it . . .

Jim

[guitpic1]

I bought two of these for gigs after using one for some time.

In the next month or so, I will use these for several gigs and be able to report more in detail.

In the meantime, here is a short clip of my cousin using his S1 on battery power.  The S1 is above him.

https://youtu.be/9pVPhN5jrlY

Also, a short clip of me recorded using only my Samsung Galaxy S8.  I'm running two Bose S1 in stereo..one in each side of the Genos.  The S1's are on the floor(carpeted) in the monitor position.

https://youtu.be/RXzzvvVLxFo

[jimlaing]

I'm still debating "in my head" whether to spend on a 2nd Bose S1 or not.  I'm sure it would sound a lot better than 1, but I also have a few other speaker systems, so not sure ... sometimes I have bought a speaker (or 2) and ended up not using them as much as I'd thought.  I do like the portability and battery power which would make setting up for small gigs (and jams/parties/practices) a lot easier than my bigger systems (Lucas Nano 600, and my largest is 2x FBT Maxx40a's plus a BagEnd subwoofer)

Jim

[guitpic1]

Did a gig yesterday..about 50 folks...fairly spread out.  I used two S1's.  The activity directors there said the sound was great.

[jimlaing]

I have used some Emu Pipeline wireless devices to connect from keyboard to a pair of speakers wirelessly - it had worked 99% of the time, but I'm sort of afraid of that 1%  ...

I was thinking, 2 S1s, with batteries, plus using the Emu Pipeline devices, could mean "Hey Look, No Wires" - I could just set the speakers anywhere and not run any wires to them.  Going to play around with this at home a few times ...

(has anyone else used the (no longer available) Emu Pipeline wireless devices?  They did work great; did a bunch of gigs with them; however, at one outdoor gig, one receiver seemed to "go out" - not sure what caused it (batteries were well charged)))

-Jim

[voodoo]

This is funny. I got a S1 Pro today for testing. I like the small format. Have not yet tested it. Let's see, how it compares.

[guitpic1]

This is funny. I got a S1 Pro today for testing. I like the small format. Have not yet tested it. Let's see, how it compares.

What did you think?

[voodoo]

Now I have tried it. I like it really much. It gives a great and really loud sound for that small size.

I think I will keep it and take it to rehearsal and to concerts.

For small playing it is enough as single speaker (for example with choir in church).
For large audience I have two Bose L1 compact, then I will use the S1 as monitor speaker.

And the S1 is so versatile, it works also in the living room, where the L1 compact is much to loud.

Until now I had a Behringer 180W keyboard amp, which is really heavy. So I think, I will replace it with the Bose S1.
And I think, no second S1 is necessary. It works really well as single speaker. Perhaps I will get a second one later.

Uli

[pjd]

Hi Uli --

Thanks for the word! The light weight, size and battery power certainly make it attractive.

Take care -- pj

[jimlaing]

Hi - I borrowed a friend's S1 and tried it on a gig last weekend.  I liked it overall.  It almost seemed weird to just plug in one cable, turn it on, and the speaker/amp setup was done.  I usually take a Nano 600 (Lucas) which is great, but a lot of parts and pieces.  I'm not getting rid of my Nano 600 ... but I did order an S1 (via Frank at Audioworks CT). 

The gig was ~60 people, a good sized room but only 1/2 of the room had the people (back 1/2 of the room was empty).  Although I didn't get quite the bass my Nano 600 can put it, the sound was respectable.  I really like stereo though (I know that's another whole topic!) so ideal I'd have 2 of them.  It sounded amazing to me, given its size, weight, and being on battery.  Did perfectly well for this modest-sized gig.

A friend used the S1 for a small broadway type show he played in, said it made it through 3 ~3 hour rehearsals on one battery change (I'm sure they weren't actively playing all 9 of those hours) - but still impressive.

I might even try the S1 once I get it, with the Emu Pipeline wireless rig, to see if I can go wireless to the S1.  Not that setting up 1 cable is all that bad :-)

Jim

[voodoo]

Thanks for the report, Jim.

[jimlaing]

I discovered a "trick" that lets you bypass the built-in "positional" EQ.  There is a physical switch inside the tube/hole for speaker stands.  If you (for example) have the S1 in "stage monitor" or "stage wedge" position, the EQ seems to lower the bass by a good amount.  It may even alter the mids/highs a bit.  If you put your finger in and press that little switch, the sound suddenly has more bass.  It goes to the "on-a-speaker-stand" EQ setting!

So, I might cut a short piece of speaker-stand-diameter tubing, that I can stuff into the hole, for when I want to use the speaker in a position of my choice, but I want the EQ setting for "I'm on a speaker stand" ... seems to work!

Jim

[RoyceM]

Don't have the S1, so I don't understand all that your are referring to. Got any pics?

Thanks,

Royce

[jimlaing]

For those that are not familiar with the Bose S1, it has a built-in "positional EQ" where it detects whether it is on a flat surface (such as on a table), on it side ("monitor" position), tilted back, or on a speaker stand. It has 4 different EQs for each of these positions.

On the "monitor" mode (like a stage wedge position), the EQ automatically reduces the amount of bass. My note was about if you want that bass, you can bypass the positional EQ by doing something that presses the sensor switch inside the speaker-pole hole in the S1.

Jim

[RoyceM]

I had no idea such features exist. Thanks for your good explanation.

- Royce