Bose documentation for the L1 states clearly that you need to be with your back facing the thing more or less at 8 to 10 feet from the system. In a small room I'd never think of the bass module getting plugged in.

The reason that the 'pole' is so large, and this is a guess based on my amateur physics, is that distance kills the treble. And lots of speakers for keyboards were designed to sit on the floor, and even with the treble turned up on my Roland 1000 pound cube amp the people in the back of the 100 foot long hall I usually play in can't hear and treble at all and only a whiff of bass. I used to put the Roland amp on a table, which was better than not.

My current Bose handles the same hall just fine, with almost no complaints from the people at the front of the hall about my being too loud.

At 90 percent of those gigs they room has about 30 tables of 8, circular, and they first have a cocktail hour, then eat. I eat when the talking starts. I've cut way back. I used to play just the piano in the corner but they neglected it too much. I always got the same pay, a cheque to the children's hospital in my name for what they thought it was worth. It used to be good for a big tax deduction at the end of the year.

John Conley
Musica est vita