Bose 310 and 620 stage monitors...

[Solstace]

[dons flame-retardent suit]

 

I'm looking for real-world views on a couple of new(ish) floor monitors that seem to have appeared recently on the market:

 

Bose 310M - Tech document here

Bose 620M - Tech document here

 

What I'm trying to work out is - if I have £500 to spend on a brand spanking new stage wedge, are there any compelling features that actually make either of these Bose units worthwhile? Let's assume my singers need some reasonably compact passive monitors: My gut instinct is to try and find a co-ax/dual-concentric model, likely either 10" or 12" for mid-bass driver. I'd be aiming at fairly even (or at least predictable) response without many lobes/nodes in the HF within something like 70-100 degrees of axis. I'd expect sensitivity of around 95-100dB, peak SPL's of 120-130dB.

 

On the surface, some key advantages of the Bose products for my intended use might be...

• We don't have much stage depth to play with, so the option of having a wide-dispersion horizontal spread, with controlled vertical dispersion is intriguing - in our building I think it might reduce "late" reflections around the building from stage monitors - I'd expect any increased horizontal spill will either be absorbed or arrive close enough to house signal so as not to interfere.
  
• Flexible in reasonably obvious ways - can be used to provide "deep" coverage for a single person, or "wide" coverage for multiple people.
  
• Seems not to need active EQ to correct, unlike 802 and other Panarray designs.
  
• On-axis response looks surprisingly good.
  
• Seemingly more compact than similar-spec boxes
  

 

BUT, key problems for my use might be...

• Vertical plots look pretty ropey - lots of HF lobes, more than I think I'd expect of a more conventional wedge, so feedback and coverage may be unpredictable. Not something I'd like in a floor-monitor - the d&b MAX12 seems to be
  
• Plotted on-axis response seems to have been measured with undocumented "recommended" active EQ. Also seems somewhat "top-heavy" for use with many condensor-based handhelds, whose HF rear rejection I find can leave a lot to be desired...
  
• Max SPL (111dB for 310M, 113dB for 620M) doesn't seem all that high at 1m for either box - but then I am more used to d&b Max wedges capable of more like 130-ish dB @1m depending on amp config. The similarly-priced EV TX1152FM quotes (calculated) max SPL of 133dB, which is more in line with what I'd expect of a larger floor monitor.
  
• Sensitivity seems more "hifi" box than a professional box - 91dB (310M) and 90dB (620M), compared with more like 100dB for aforementioned similarly-priced EV 15" monitor.
  
• I wonder how long the grilles will last...
  

 

Guess I'm curious as to how well these things *really* work in comparison to the competition. At present, despite some promising surface details, I can't think they'll actually be any better in real use than the RAMSA 4.5" stand-mounted boxes they'd be replacing except perhaps in terms of bass extension... So: Has anyone here actually put these through their paces in real gigs?

[Simon Lewis]

Thanks for highlighting them - it looks to be an interesting box...

 

I think you have already identified most of the probable issues. Can you get to listen to them? No doubt you will have to find a friendly authorised Bose distributor to do this...