Bose 840919-2100 L1 Pro8 - Portable PA System, Portable Line Array Speaker

Product Information

Portability, sound quality and power basically. Line array systems break away from convention in that you don’t have speakers (usually two) placed on each side of the stage. And with the intuitive L1 Mix app, you get complete wireless mixer control from your smartphone or tablet too. The jewel in the crown here however is that the mixer is accessible and controllable remotely via an app. We’ll get onto that later as part of this comprehensive Bose L1 Pro 8 review. Alongside the phantom power switch on channel 3 is the System EQ section. As the name suggests, these settings are global and affect the entire output of the PA system, providing three optimized EQ presets for live music, recorded music (from your device or DJ work) and speech (yes the Bose L1 Pro 8 is perfect for podium style public speaking). Alternatively, turn it off. More bass anyone?

Simply make your choice – and those settings are remotely sent, via the app, to the L1 Pro 8 in real-time. Now not every product from every brand is available here but you should be able to get pretty close. We were impressed by the simplicity of the app and how useful it is. But unless you buy one of the optional (T4S/T8S) Bose mixers or hook up an external one however, you’re going to fall woefully short on enough channels for a full blown band. ToneMatch is basically a library of preset EQ settings provided by Bose to suit just about any environment and enhance any instrument/microphone you’re using. It’s actually really cool and one of the standout features on all Bose L1 systems.Just make sure when you plug a mic in, that you select ‘mic’ for the ToneMatch option and ‘inst’ for a guitar or similar. You can turn this functionality off. Bluetooth Assembled, the overall height of the L1 Pro 8 is 78.7” (2m) but the array extension spacer section is totally removable.

Moving swiftly down the mixer controls – next, on channels 1&2 we have phantom power. This is a really welcome – and frankly quite rare – inclusion because it means you can plug in condenser microphones without having to worry about finding the necessary juice to power them. This is a selectable via and on/off switch and when engaged provides 48V of power to channels 1&2.Instead, line arrays are vertically oriented; you have just one single ‘tower’ comprising a woofer at the base and mid-range/high frequency speakers at the top of the array.

As far as the mids and highs are concerned, the C-shape line array speaker system turns in a highly creditable performance. Sound dispersion, considering this is a mono system, is excellent. The eight speakers with neodymium drivers really do scatter the sound far and wide. Once you hook up the L1 Pro 8 with the app, this is where things get really good. When you fire up the app, you’ll see it’s an exact replica of what’s on the mixer section on the unit itself. The L1 Pro8 gives singer-songwriters and DJs both setup simplicity and supreme clarity—the power to sound your best and simply perform. The app is a no brainer and pretty much indispensable. Remote control AND access to the ToneMatch libraryStraight off the bat, we should point out that channels 1&2 are for instruments and microphones while channel 3 features controls for Bluetooth pairing and line level audio inputs for stuff like external audio sources or even synths. Top to bottom