Powered Mixers
Contents
Can I use a powered mixer?
Never connect speaker outputs from a powered mixer to any Bose Portable PA equipment including ToneMatch mixers and powered loudspeakers (L1, F1, S1 Pro)
Powered Mixers with Power Amplifiers Built-in
Often the term powered mixer means a mixer that has power amplifiers built-in to drive passive loudspeaker cabinets (loudspeaker cabinets without built-in power amplifiers). Never connect the speaker outputs from this kind of powered mixer to your Bose portable PA equipment. You might damage the mixer, the Bose device, or both.
- The Bose ToneMatch mixers are all compatible with other Bose portable PA equipment (L1, Compact, F1, S1), They do not have built-in power amplifiers.
Examples Do Not Connect Here
Do not connect the speaker outputs of a powered mixer to any Bose Portable PA system.
- Never connect any of these to a Bose Portable PA system
- A Speakon connector
- Anything labeled speaker output
- Anything labeled with power rating or Ohm ratings (e.g., min 2 Ohms, 4 Ohms, 8 Ohms)
Connections that may work
Some (not all) powered mixers have line-level outputs. You can connect line-level outputs to ToneMatch Mixers and line-level inputs on Bose Portable PA powered loudspeakers (L1, F1, S1 Pro).
If you try a line-level output
- Turn off the mixer and Bose equipment
- Turn the volume controls of all devices all the way off
- Connect the cable(s) from the powered mixer to the Bose device
- Turn on the powered mixer
- Turn on the Bose device
- Turn the volume on the Bose device to 12:00 o'clock
- Run a signal source (e.g., prerecorded music) to the powered mixer
- Turn up the volume on the powered mixer slowly to test if the signal is coming through
- If you see red on any signal lights on the Bose equipment turn down the output of the powered mixer until you no longer see red. If you cannot get the volume low enough to eliminate the red light or hear the sound without distortion,
- Turn off the Bose device
- Turn off the powered mixer
- Disconnect the powered mixer from the Bose device. In all likelihood, the output from the powered mixer is not compatible with the Bose device.
Read the owners manual carefully to make sure you have correctly identified line-level outputs before connecting these to any Bose Portable PA equipment.
If you make a mistake, you may damage the powered mixer, the Bose equipment, or both.
Caution - Running a Powered Mixer without Speakers
Some powered mixers should not be operated without passive loudspeakers connected to the powered speaker outputs. You may damage the mixer. Read the owners manual carefully to make sure the mixer may be operated this way.
Battery Powered Mixers
Occasionally, we've seen the term powered mixer to mean one that operates on AC power. This distinction sets it apart from relatively rare mixers that run on battery power. This is not a common usage as most mixers require AC power. There has been [1] some discussion about these because the S1 Pro system can operate without AC power. So it can be useful to have a mixer that can also run without AC power.
- All Bose ToneMatch mixers require AC power for the ToneMatch power supply. The T1 and T4S can draw power from an L1 Model 1S or L1 Model II Power Stand. The T8S must be powered using the ToneMatch power supply that comes with the unit.
Questions
If you have questions about this article please post a reply in this discussion in the Bose Portable PA Community. Please include a link to the owners manual for your mixer.