No Longer Available:Custom Slip Covers

Details

entsyscorp.com sells custom slip covers for the L1 Cylindrical Radiator^® loudspeaker.

• "These white Slip covers are made from flame retardant spandex for the Bose L1 radiators."
• Price $37.50 each.
• Select colors are available for $ 64.00 each." See Entertainment Systems Corp website for details.

General Impressions

The custom slip covers from EntSysCorp appear to be well made and nicely finished. I have no long term experience with this fabric (flame retardant spandex), but wouldn't expect any difficulty with it. There is plenty of material to cover both the L1^® Model I and L1^® Model II

Appearance

The white covers are very stark white. I would not expect to find many walls this shade of white, but I think it would match white fabrics used at formal events like weddings. So this may be a good solution for making the black Cylindrical Radiator^®s blend in with a light background wall or formal white backdrop.

White on Black

There was a discussion on the Bose L1® Message Board about these covers and some commented that there was visual problem with the Cylindrical Radiator^® being white and the Power Stand being black. I did not find this to be an issue. The Power Stand is not really visible at a distance. If it is visible, it is not visually striking because it is on the floor. It is hard to miss the Cylindrical Radiator^® though. I did not find it particularly troubling that the Power Stand did not match the Cylindrical Radiator^®.

Customer Impressions

I asked several people at different venues what they thought of the covers.

Oddly, there seemed to be a gender bias.

• Men tended to be neutral or prefer the uncovered Cylindrical Radiator^®.
• Women tended to be neutral or prefer the covers. They seemed to understand why someone would want to do it.

Musicians tended to prefer the look of the Cylindrical Radiator^® without the covers. One fellow said, "It is what it is, why cover it up?".

Utility

The custom slip covers do what you expect, transforming your black Cylindrical Radiator^® to another colour quickly without much fuss. When I first thought about the price I was a little taken aback, but on reflection - if you need to make your Cylindrical Radiator^®s fit in to a white environment, I can't imagine a more cost effective way to do it.

I normally use a Wallacher Guitar Hanger on my Cylindrical Radiator^® but of course, this was incompatible with having a custom slip cover installed. I am sure that if I needed to work out a solution for this, something could be done.

Another Application

I tried out the standard white covers. Entsys mentions custom colors.

I expect that black covers might do well to cover up minor dents in the metal grilles and be significantly less expensive than having the grilles repaired.

Sound

I could not detect any difference with / without the custom slip covers.

Installation

These custom slip covers take just a minute to install, and they are just as quick to remove. You will want to get all the material onto the Cylindrical Radiator^® before pulling it down. Removal works the same way in reverse. I found it easiest to get all the material bunched up near the top before actually removing it from the Cylindrical Radiator^®.

You will want to keep the seam in the back.

L1^® Classic and L1^® Model I

The covers fit snugly over the top and pull down with a little effort. The fit is tighter than I expected but looks good when fully installed. No wrinkles.

L1^® Model II

Be careful removing the slip cover from the L1^® Model II. Because the top section of the Cylindrical Radiator^® relies solely on gravity to keep it in place, if you remove the cover too quickly, you may pull the top section of the Cylindrical Radiator^® away from the bottom before you are ready.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the fit with the L1^® Model II is not as tight as with the L1^® Classic.

Photos

Coloured Background

Here some photos I took at a recent gig.

L1® Model II against a light yellow background. Note the painting in the background is predominantly bluish white.

Here is the same L1® Model II with the custom slip cover.

From the other side.

And with the custom slip cover.

I had some concerns that the cover might not be long enough for the Model II as these were originally designed for the Classic. The Model II is slightly taller. I needn't have been concerned. There was plenty of material. I may have pulled it down a little too tight.

I am sure it will wash out, but these covers catch dust. I just brushed against a dusty ceiling fan and it clung to the cover.

Dark Windows with White Borders

Sorry for the quality here. Cell phone pictures taken just before we set up the microphone stands and turned down the house lights.

90 Degree Cable Pack

Entsys also sells the Bose L1® 90 Degree Cable Pack.

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