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Expanding a bose 802 system


pgpro2

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I am looking for some advice on expanding our bose 802 system in a medium size church.

 

We have two 802ii for foh and two MB4 bass cabinets. These are all controlled using a digital controller.

 

I want to add additional speakers in the side aisles where you lose the fullness of the foh sound due to the pillars and general room geometry.

 

1. Should I stick with bose? if so how do I route additional speakers into our existing controller/system, or do I need a different/additional controller?

 

2. Should I use a different type of speaker in the side aisles - if so, any suggestions?

 

Desk - Allen and heath SL2200

 

Note. the system is used for speech, cd, full band (keys, bass, vox, guitar, un-miked drums etc)

 

Phil

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I think you'll find most people suggest replacing the Bose with something better. Generally you hear the words Bose and "sounds like a telephone" or "no highs, no lows, must be the Bose" used together. I'm also lead to believe they make quite good flower planters, as they are weather proof, and you can put potted plants in the little holes... Not much use I'm afraid to your question though!

 

The question will come of budget, as if there is a realistic one, then you can consider replacing the whole system. If it's limited, then you'll have to stick with the Bose that is in place and then look to put the right boxes in place for the sides, with the aim of upgrading the system where required to cover the main body.

 

What might be possible is to drive the side aisles off the mono out on the desk, and put an appropriate speaker and amp combination in place to offer the required coverage and levels for theses areas.

 

What sort of sizes are the side aisles that your looking to cover?

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If you existing 802's are each seperately fed from different amp channels then you should quite happily be able to daisy chain two more (new) 802's one from each box (Check the amp spec for impedence the 802's are an 8 Ohm box, 2 in series = 4 Ohm load, most pa amps are hapy with 4 ohms) . This would however mean equal volume from each box but it would be the cheapest option. any other speakers would require an additional amp and possibly a controller.

 

To fit with your existing system and be perfectly adequate for your use I'd buy a another pair of 802's or a pair of Bose 402's if the are of coverage is not very large. The 402's would require a controller and a spare amp channel.

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Surely we should check the distance between the existing speaker cabinet (and length of the speaker cable run to that point from amplifier) and the proposed position for the ''daisy chained'' hypothetical speaker before giving out such advice.

 

What amps do you have PG and what's the budget? It may also help to have a better idea of the 'geometry' of the room.

 

Dave.

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Thanks for replies guys.

 

Just to let you know, in time there is a requirement to replace the whole system, and have the new one professionally installed!

However in the meantime, we need to get this system back in order.

 

I like the idea of of running the side aisles form the mono channel (or one of the aux/group outs) using a separate amp and speaker combination. There is approximately 12m from the Foh 802's to the position of the side speakers, so the thought of daisy chaining from the foh doesn't appeal.

 

The side aisles are about 30m^2 so I think if I could get an amp and a pair of 402's (and an additional controller), this would be OK.

 

FYI.

MB4's are powered by a Bose 1500 amp

802's are powered by a studiomaster 700D

Budget - given that we are looking to replace the entire system before long is small (upto £1000)

 

I appreciate the time and thought you have given this.

 

Phil

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Bose is a bit like Marmite. People never sit on the fence. I rather like the sound myself.

 

I'd suggest that for fills a bit further out, then 402s, not more 802s could be the answer. Tonally, they are similar and blend well, and the small column style makes them pretty good for this purpose. I'd recommend seeing if you can borrow/hire some in and see what you think?

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The problem I have with the 802 is not the sound it makes, but more the inefficiency, lack of total volume, and the way it seems to sound quite uneven as you move around. You need such massive amps to get any decent volume for music out of them, you'd often be better of spending less on amps and more on speakers IMO.
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