Pro Systems contributor Greg Bester recently attended the South African demo of new Bose RoomMatch and PowerMatch line array System.

“Better sound through research’ is the motto of audio giant Bose, the now legendary Framingham, Massachusetts-based company that has been manufacturing high quality home audio for the past 50 years.

Granted, this has been their forte and they now have many thousands of happy home-bound customers worldwide but, starting with the L1 series of personal monitoring and PA systems, they have now forged into the world of professional audio. This has culminated with their latest unveiling – the Bose RoomMatch and PowerMatch line array system to the professional audio community of South Africa in the Theatre of Marcellus at Emperors Palace.

Bose RoomMatch

In a nutshell the RoomMatch system is designed to overcome the three main problems faced in point source array sound reinforcement, which include:

– Phase interference seams – which cause an inconsistent frequency response at different points in the room.

– Coverage seam gaps – which cause inconsistent level at different points in the room.
– Unwanted sidewall reflections – which cause inconsistent tonal balance throughout the listening area.

PowerMatch

RoomMatch comes with the PowerMatch PM8500 and PM8500N power amplifier systems, the only difference being that the PM8500N offers Ethernet support. Both of the amplifiers include a high efficiency Class-D amplifier that supplies 4000 watts to a maximum of eight outputs per amp. This means that you get 4000 watts to slice any way you want between the eight outputs. The amps are all digitally configurable, either from the front panel or via USB and Bose’s patented ControlSpace Designer Software.

Aimed at installations only, the system incorporates fixed dispersion array modules that fire at specific horizontal and vertical angles to more accurately match the coverage requirements of any given installation. There are a total of 15 different modules, each with their own coverage pattern, one subwoofer module and rigging accessories. The subwoofer can either be flown with the array or floor mounted and has a relatively narrow response of 80 to 40Hz. Either way, without the subwoofer the array can still extend down to 60Hz, which is more than ample for many applications.

Bose claims to have virtually eliminated phase seam interference with the design of their patented Continuous Arc Diffraction Slot Manifold, which is a specialised waveguide for the six high end drivers per box. This is one of the key features of the RoomMatch system.

Scorecard

We were given listening material to test the system, the first one, a classical piece, showcased the arrays flown on their own without the addition of the subwoofers and it was completely evident that the arrays could extend down to 60Hz as we felt the bows of the contrabass and cellos in our chest. The system was clear, present and detailed without being overwhelming at any point. The sound seemed to emanate or glow out of the boxes.

The next piece – acoustic music – comprised acoustic guitar and a female vocal, but this time with the subwoofers enabled. Once again the sound was clear and detailed and revealed the wonderful organic tones inherent in the music with deep, full bass.

The final pre-recorded material played to us – male acapella and rock, was all presented in high fidelity and the initial impression was impressive.

During playback we roamed around the room and listened; the coverage was accurate and was not lacking at any point. Tonal balance was also consistent from point to point and I would say that Bose has really done something right in their RoomMatch system when it comes to addressing the aforementioned problems.

Finally, we were treated to a surprise performance by the Graeme Watkins Project to demonstrate how the system handles a live band. However, in all honesty, I did not feel that the system supplied the impact that a live band needs to make an impression. I felt it lacked the definition and clarity of the pre-recorded music we had just been played. Simply put, I did not feel the kick in my chest that I am familiar with and I felt the midrange was a bit fuzzy. This could be the result of the mix engineer’s fault and he may have not been given the time to setup and optimise the system to the band.

That being said, I still think that Bose has created a high quality, interesting, and competitive system that offers much for many venues where fidelity is critical. Indeed, it has already won an inAVation award for “Most InAVative Commercial Audio Product’ and “Most InAVative Commercial Loudspeaker’. I wish them many more.

Bester is an audio engineer and musician and is as chief audio engineer at Shifted Audio.