Hi Dennis.
I was going to direct you to the Bose Forums (particularly the link below)
http://bose.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc ... 2220028726
But then upon reading it - it appears to be you! ('Dennis From Australia', under another name of course)
LOL
Those guys (particularly "ST") are FANTASTIC and will help with any queries better than I could. I suppose you're asking me because we have a LOT of real world experience with the System, as professionals, in Australia, with no commercial Ties to Bose. Thing is, the guys on that Forum are exactly the same as me - no Commercial ties to Bose (except for the People marked *name*@Bose - they are the Engineers and Technicians who created the System, many are musos themselves, and some of the nicest "Corporate" guys I've ever (Virtually) met!
The Bose Wiki is also a Fantastic resource:
http://toonz.ca/bose/wiki
I'm happy to talk all day about the Bose, but I think I've said all that's relevant to your situation.
Quite frankly, I don't see why EVERY Musician/Band doesn't use this System (in Small-Medium Venues that require a Portable PA Solution) as I'm confident it gives us a clear advantage over almost every other Act that doesn't use it.
NOW:
I know what I just said above is only my opinion, and may ruffle a few feathers - I don't mean it to. I truly believe, from my heart, that it's the best Portable System I've ever seen, heard, or worked with.
Btw, the Model 1 has front facing Speakers in the Pole, the Mark 2 has Articulated Speakers Angled left and Right Alternately that Disperse the Sound much Wider than the Model 1.
One shock you may encounter with the L1 is that being SO much clearer than many other systems, you'll find any mistake or Bum note you hit (happens all the time in my case LOL) is "on display" for all to hear.
It's important, because you just can't "Turn up the Bass and sound Like Elvis" like in a conventional System - you sound Like Yourself, with almost total Clarity - you may not like that, or, to be more accurate, you may need time to get used to it......!
One other thing, don't forget - Budget-Wise - you can sell your old PA and use the Money to Part Fund the new Bose Purchase!
In our case, we sold our old PA (a conventional, speakers on Poles, separate 15" Sub, Stereo Set up) for $1,900 so our Model 2 ended up costing us something like $3,000
Again, hope that helps, and I hope I've been clear and intelligent (2 things I'm not very good at!) and I hope I haven't offended anyone. This is all only my opinion and Belief.
Personally, I will NEVER - E V E R go back to a Conventional System (Stereo or not) again.
Peace out, and 2 cents deposited.
Just pretend I've written something funny, yet wise and ironic here...