PA Equipment ?s JBL PRX Stuff?

rahock · December 13, 2011, 05:30:49 AM

I din't know if this is the right place to post this. If not , feel free to delete.
Thinking about some new PA gear . JBL has some new powered cabinets, the PRX 635, 1500 watt 3 way . I'm hearing real good things about them but I think they may be kind of an overkill. JBL PRX 615 is a 1000 watt 2 way, 15" speaker and horn cab that may fit my needs. All I'm running is vocals, a mic'd amp for harp , and a mic'd bass drum. I know the 2 way cabs a a bit less bottomy than the 3 ways, but bassed on what I'm using them for I'm not sure it will be a big deal. I'm currently using 3 of the 1st generation EONs for monitors(single 15/ little horn and 185 watts). I'm looking at matching it up with a Mackie 16 channel board.
Guitars are coming through 60 to 80 watt amps, bass is coming through a Genz Benz Shuttle with 600 watts and an Avatar 2 12" speaker w/ tweeter cab.
Anyone have any experience with JBL PRX 615 cabs in a similar situation? Am I barking up the right tree? All opinions are welcome.
Rick

Psycho Bass Guy · December 13, 2011, 07:37:46 AM

Right forum, but I don't have any experience with those specific models. In general, powered speaker amps ratings are misleading and wattage does not necessary always mean "volume." The PRX is a market tier above the old EONs.

I will say that for vocals only, 15's are unnecessary. Even with full bandwidth audio, 12" PA cabs are much better and if you need a sub, they won't be fighting each other for the bottom the way some 15"/sub combinations can. I've had my pair of EV Sx300's outperform systems costing ten times as much. Even for kick drum, 12's will just sound better most of the time. They'll also be much lighter and somewhat cheaper too.

rahock · December 18, 2011, 05:37:51 AM

Thanks PBG, I always look forward too and appreciate your input

Nobody has any experience with JBL PBX stuff???
Rick

rahock · February 14, 2012, 02:40:30 PM

Thought I'd revive this and see if anyone has experienced these yet. I may be pulling the trigger on a set this next week or so.
Rick

rahock · February 19, 2012, 05:46:14 AM

Well, Presidents Day Sale at GC got me a pretty good deal on two JBL PRX 615M 1000 watt active cabs and a Mackie 1604 VLS3 mixer. So far so good. They sound great down my basement

.
Rick

Pilgrim · February 19, 2012, 08:00:25 AM

Quote from: rahock on February 19, 2012, 05:46:14 AM
Well, Presidents Day Sale at GC got me a pretty good deal on two JBL PRX 615M 1000 watt active cabs and a Mackie 1604 VLS3 mixer. So far so good. They sound great down my basement .
Rick

AH! The scientific basement performance test!

Was enough beer applied to lubricate perception appropriately?

(It IS part of the test protocol, y'know.)

Psycho Bass Guy · February 20, 2012, 04:41:26 AM

Hell, if all the gear was new from GC and didn't blow up, I'd chalk that up to the 'win' column.

rahock · February 20, 2012, 05:15:25 AM

Quote from: Pilgrim on February 19, 2012, 08:00:25 AM
AH! The scientific basement performance test!

Was enough beer applied to lubricate perception appropriately? (It IS part of the test protocol, y'know.)

No beer involved. My mixer came without a manual, which I later printed from the Mackie website. But , like a real man I figured I could do it without a manual, I felt like a freakin' retard after about two hours of nothing. Then I printed the manual and felt even more retarded after trying to read it

. However it does work now

Now we add beer

.
Rick

Pilgrim · February 20, 2012, 09:16:33 AM

Quote from: rahock on February 20, 2012, 05:15:25 AM
Then I printed the manual and felt even more retarded after trying to read it . However it does work now Now we add beer .
Rick

And at that point, the manual makes a great coaster.

rahock · February 21, 2012, 05:51:14 AM

The manual is an essential, it's just full of terminology I'm not familiar with

.
I don't know if this is common now, but in the initial set up, the gain and even the EQ are set without any sound coming out of the system, You simply watch one set of LEDs and center your settings at zero. How the hell can you set your EQ without hearing anything amplified? Well, it actually works. Amazingly, everything sounds just about perfect with all the settings flat. I made extremely minor tweeks when I turned the sound on

. I know a lot of equipment suggests flat settings for the "ultimate" sound but I have always found that to be a bunch of BS. With the Mackie it is actually true

. At least so far, in my thirty minute ulta scientific basement test

. I'll find out just how full of crap I am on Thursday when the boys come over to jam

.
Rick