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JBL MRX 518s

#3
Floyd Eye said:
Also for the same money I can get a used pair of 215 Carvin mains and a used pair of Carvin 218s. lol
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I'd go with the Carvins...I've had success with the 1503's as mains and heard nothing but good things about the subs. A single 218 would probably work with the smaller / medium venues. I would recommend you snag a pair of speaker stands (a la Quik Lok) to get the mains elevated, though.

Riis
 
#4
Oh I have a system now bro. I have JBL 215 mains, Yamaha 12" mains, 118 Eminence loaded subs. 800 pairs of speaker stands, blah,blah, blah.

I have no love for Carvin cabs, so that's out. I very seriously doubt the ported 218 Carvin subs are in the same league as the MRX, but I could be wrong. Which is why I asked.
 
#5
How good of shape are they in? $750.00 might be on the high side unless they are in great shape. I don't know if they would out perform a double 18 cab but the specs look good and they only weigh about 70 pounds so that is plus.
 
#7
Floyd Eye said:
Oh I have a system now bro. I have JBL 215 mains, Yamaha 12" mains, 118 Eminence loaded subs. 800 pairs of speaker stands, blah,blah, blah.

I have no love for Carvin cabs, so that's out. I very seriously doubt the ported 218 Carvin subs are in the same league as the MRX, but I could be wrong. Which is why I asked.
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I can read this a couple of different ways: Tim has a pair of the JRX 215's which are dreadful but perfect for karaoke. Our older Yamaha mains (cabinets) are starting to self-destruct...the only reason they're still intact is that the termites are holding hands.

If you could snag the Carvins for $150-170 per enclosure, it would be an attractive deal for those on a budget. Any way you can trial either the mains or subs?

Riis
 
#8
Well, the Yammies I have are club series and they're in great shape and sound great. We use these for tops most of the time. The only time the JBLs come out is when I put guitar and bass in the PA. It's a quasi 3 way system and actually does a pretty good job of handling some of the bass and kick and pulling most of the weight for the guitar rig. My subs are decent enough but I am a slut and am always on the make for more and better. I really have little use for more top boxes ( and I doubt the Carvins are as good as the JBLs anyway). I have had bad experiences with Carvin cabs, particularly the newer ones with Chinese drivers. That said, if the consensus here was that I was better off ( Quality wise) with the Carvins than the MRXs, then I would be leaning that way.
 
#9
My cover band has one (we play small bars so it's enough an occasional outdoor gig) and we are really happy with it. It has bed liner coating so no rat fur carpeting or other crap. It is small and light enough for one person to move around and sounds good.
 
#10
8_finger said:
My cover band has one (we play small bars so it's enough an occasional outdoor gig) and we are really happy with it. It has bed liner coating so no rat fur carpeting or other crap. It is small and light enough for one person to move around and sounds good.
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Does it thump though? 800 watts seems a little on the anemic side for subs, but I don't know. We like craploads of thumpage.

These would likely be used along with my other boxes in larger venues and by themselves in smaller venues. If they don't outperform the Eminence 18"s I am running now though I wouldn't be interested in them.
 
#11
Ok, good question.
To give you perspective on the band situation: 4 piece band (guitar+bas+acoustic drums+keys+2/3 vocals). Everyone in the band goes through the PA except bass(me) i use GB Streamliner 900 + TC Electronic RS212 my master volume is around 10-11 o'clock (max).
Does one MRX518 kick you in the chest? We never have to turn it up that high. For our needs it performs great.
What I can tell you is that MRX518 sounds really polite and even and fills out low end nicely. We do not try to bleed our audience's ears with sound levels, we are relatively loud, but not deafening.
 
#12
Floyd Eye said:
Well, the Yammies I have are club series and they're in great shape and sound great. We use these for tops most of the time. The only time the JBLs come out is when I put guitar and bass in the PA. It's a quasi 3 way system and actually does a pretty good job of handling some of the bass and kick and pulling most of the weight for the guitar rig. My subs are decent enough but I am a slut and am always on the make for more and better. I really have little use for more top boxes ( and I doubt the Carvins are as good as the JBLs anyway). I have had bad experiences with Carvin cabs, particularly the newer ones with Chinese drivers. That said, if the consensus here was that I was better off ( Quality wise) with the Carvins than the MRXs, then I would be leaning that way.
Click to expand...

These appear to be older Carvin models...well, the mains anyway. I can't speak on the pictured Carvin subs, though. Since you don't need the mains, the money would be better spent on the JBL's as they are more of a "sure thing". OTOH, the Carvin 18's may be a "sleeper" and on par with the JBL's. I'm hoping more Carvin users chime in on this one.

Riis
 
#13
I've spent a lot of time with a pair of the JBL MRX528's (the dual 18 version of the ones you are looking at). While they won't put out the thump that the SRX's do, or that our EV's do, they held their own pretty damn good.

I would think that the single 18's, with enough power behind them, should be pretty good subs.
 

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