Hi there all, I recently started a little karaoke show were I used a single Compact. I felt although the overall volume was OK the low end was being swallowed up by the room. This being said my idea is to use my second Compact as a “bass booster”. I would do this by simply taking out the array & putting the Compact under my DJ table as close to the other Compacts power stand. I would run the line out from the main Compact to the one under the table.
Has anyone ever tried this & if so what were your results??
Thanks-
I bought that ESW 8" sub and haven’t looked back
No thanks guys…not interested in buying 3rd party gear. Please no more suggestions of this kind.
The only way to significantly increase bass response is to increase the amp. Two compacts may add some coupling increase but basically you’ll have two identical sized amps with greater separation, not twice the amps needed for twice the bass.
quote:Originally posted by Cap Capello:
The only way to significantly increase bass response is to increase the amp. Two compacts may add some coupling increase but basically you'll have two identical sized amps with greater separation, not twice the amps needed for twice the bass.
Occasionally I read somethng here that makes no sense to me, this is one of those occasions.
While I don't neccessarily believe that twice the amps makes twice the bass, I do believe that "two identical sized amps" is the same thing as "twice the amps".
O..
If putting two Compacts together is like putting two B1s together (for bass frequencies only) then we should experience 6dB gain in Sound Pressure Level when adding the second Compact:
3dB gain (doubling the power)
3dB gain (doubling of acoustic volume, cone area and close coupling between the speakers for the low frequencies)
I would expect that the same general rules would apply (as with the B1s) about keeping the grills within a 75 cm (30") sphere.
But I think you might have to run both Compacts quite loud to really test the premise.
I’m not much inclined to do the testing right now. I value my hearing too much. If anyone out there has a couple of Compacts, a sound pressure level meter and a controlled environment it might be interesting to know what you find out.
In the meantime - if I need more bass, I will just bring a Model I or Model II. That will give me greater coverage overall, bass down to 40 Hz (vs. 65 Hz), and potential to use two B1s if I need them.
References:
* Two B1s
* Keep the B1s together
* Positioning two B1s
edits for clarity
Is 3db is double the power or is it the point at which the human ear can detect a volume change? Isn’t it around 9db or 10db that is actually doubling of volume?
1 B1 is 125w. The second B1 makes it 250w because of what? An increase of the amp power or because of impedance change?
Hi Cap,
quote:Originally posted by Cap Capello:
Is 3db is double the power or is it the point at which the human ear can detect a volume change? Isn’t it around 9db or 10db that is actually doubling of volume?
At almost any region of the Fletcher-Munson diagram, the smallest change in intensity of a sinusoidal sound wave that can be observed, called the intensity just noticeable difference, is about one decibel (further reinforcing the value of the decibel intensity scale).
Source: http://www.britannica.com/EBch…ing?anchor=ref527362
quote:
1 B1 is 125w. The second B1 makes it 250w because of what? An increase of the amp power or because of impedance change?
… you’ll find that the load (impedance) plugged into the unit affects the amount of power delivered to the speaker cabinet(s). For example, you may see a power rating of 350 watts into 8, 500 watts into 4 for a given amp. If you want and/or need the maximum available power the amp can potentially produce, you want to match the lowest impedance for which the amp is rated.
Source: http://www.gollihurmusic.com/f…KER_PERSPECTIVE.html
For how all of this applies to the B1s please see the reference links in my post above.
Cap I am not trying to double my bass… just add more.
Keep in mind I already own a second Compact so doing cost my nothing. I just wanted to know if anyone had already tried using two Compacts in this way & what were their result at a live show.
The place that I am going to try this in a small bar. I would use an L1 & two B1’s if it was a one time show, but it’s weekly show. I recently tried using two Compacts in stereo at a wedding (see pic bellow) & several times people tried leaning up against one or the other Compact. As we all know the Compacts are not very study creatures, this made them lean & wobble all night long. This did not make me happy & that’s when I decided to not use two Compacts in stereo at this weekly Karaoke/DJ show (which was starting the following Wed.).
Using a single Compact with Karaoke actually works much better anyways… because it gives a good place for my screen to be & give the singer a great place to perform & be seen. It also keeps there drinks away from the back of the Compacts power stand. 
So…this Wed. I will test out using my second Compact as a “bass booster” under the table & as close to the other power stand as possible. I will let you all know how it goes.
***Once again the venue seems to soak up a lot of the bass & that is the only reason why I am doing this. Typically when ever I use a single Compact there is plenty of bass to go around & it sounds great all by it’s self.
JD: I look forward to your report.
It is a magnificent day today for the first time since Irene hit us. I have an event today with cocktail hour (one compact, one tablet [Motorola Xoom]) in one area (outdoors), then the ceremony in a second remote location (second Compact, laptop, wireless mic, and the B&D PowerMate 400 for electrical power), then the reception in a third location (two Compacts and regular full DJ rig set including 52" monitor).
Even though we’re talking four separate Compacts, this should be a bada-bing-bada-boom set up and it all fits in the back of my Durango with room to spare. Love it!!!
I may just try your concept with the two Compacts used for the cocktail hour and ceremony. My concern is going to be feedback. Here’s hoping it’s useless worry.
JD…
I did a small test with this in the studio. It is not a good combination. Here is the reason. The crossover point between the top and the subwoofer is not low enough just for the bass frequencyies. You will get a lot of bleed over from vocals and midrange to high frequencies.
When I did this…it was a quick determination that I wouldn’t do this live. I don’t understand when you say that you are not getting enough bass from the two Compacts. I haven’t ever had this problem. If anything, I had the highs disappear. However, I was also using the T1 mixer and the my laptop as well. Both of these I can easily increase the bass to any song on the fly.
If you want more bass from the Compacts, I would suggest that you run them Daisy Chained together. I have found that the sound between using one Compact and two Compacts are noticably different. I run them mono and not in stereo. I think this is what makes the difference. Try this method and see if you get better results.
Hello JD,
I had been reading this post last week when you first wrote it.Since I use the Compact more than I do my Model II,I was very interested in trying this out,so I did Friday night at a small bar I play at once a month.I’m a solo musician using backtracks,guitar,and sing.The results were not too good.To begin with I left the volume on the second Compact at the same level as the first one.When I started vocal testing,there was a very loud bassy boom,so I lowered the volume on the second Compact.I just couldn’t get a good balance between them.I finally put the extension and speaker array back in place on the second Compact,and ran my backtracks into it independantly from the first one.I had a very good balanced sound this way.I kept guitar and vocal on the first Compact and had great sound for the night.
The way I had it hooked up at first was I took the line out of the first Compact,into the Line-in of the second Compact with the preset switch set to off,and the small speaker array removed.
I came to the conclusion that if I needed more bass,than I would just use my Modell II with two B1’s.
I’m planning on doing a home test today using the Sub-Out on my X500 Mixer…per Bobby’s comment there is a lot of bleed from the vocals & mids… it is an adjustable Xover so I’ll play with it & let you all know my thoughts when I’m done.
I did an A - B with this Saturday night.
One Compact was RCA output into the radiator-less second Compact’s rca input while the other Compact was rca output into rca input of an ESW M-8 mini powered sub.
While all sound comparisons are strictly subjective to each listeners ears, tastes, at that which they wish to inflict on their audiences, my ears and that of the catering staff highly preferred the mini sub combo as compared to the dual Compact (one with radiators, one without) system.
I did the A/B test using my internal Xover in my Denon X500 mixer. I played with the frequency knob on the Xover till I liked what I was hearing. I also removed the line array & turned it up to the point that when the “main” Compact hit reds so did the “bass booster” Compact.
I really liked the results- I not only could hear more bass, but I could feel more as well!
Just what I was after. I’ll be using it live tomorrow nite & will report back.
Wow BIG Difference!!! I did several a/b test. BTW my Xover was set to about 180HZ. Way more punch & low end overall was had by using my second Compact as a “bass booster”! 
Congratulations on the tests! Without being there, we will have to trust your judgement. I would have liked to have heard it and would have thought that the crossover setting would have been set much lower (maybe 100 kHz or lower). Once again I applaud you for thinking outside the box and doing the research and resting for us.
With that being said… many users on the BOSE forums are inventing ways to improve the BOSE products, especially in the L1 products (Models 1,II, and Compact). Personally, I believe the users are either getting bored and are findng ways of reinventing the wheel or they are trying to find ways to improve a product that has been not been improved upon by the developers at BOSE. I see new home based products coming out nearly every other month. There has been nothing new offered for commercial use since the introduction of the Compact). Is there just much more of a bigger market for Wave Radios and iPod docks?
quote:Originally posted by jdbassentertainment.com:
I would run the line out from the main Compact to the one under the table.
I see you deviated from your original plan.Glad you got it working.
Two gigs in using my second Compact as a bass booster & I would have it no other way! BTW I have the X500’s xover point set at about 190Hz & wow it sounds great!