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Peavey PV215 vs JBl MRX 525

troy mcclure

troy mcclure

Mar 5, 2007
3,299
931
Central Florida
#1
I need to replace my aging Carvin LS 1502's and a sound guy recommended the Peaveys..they seem too cheap to be decent quality. I was thinking of grabbing some JBL MRX's before they sellout as they are discontinued. They are of course about 3x the price.

Any thoughts?
 
#10
I would love to go that route. There is a certain theatrical element missing when you have a 12 mounted on a sub. I have been fight with my band about this for months. I want small and simple but sounds great. they all feel it needs to look big. Unfortunately every successful band that does what we do in my area does double 18's on each side ( some have 4 on each side) and double 2x15 tops. If I could start again, I would never have gotten out of the hobby band stage, a powered mixed with to stick speakers that just carried vocals. I made less per gig but my setup/tear down time was nothing and I owned less than $650 in PA gear.
 
#12
4Mal said:
The only people who care about PA looking large are the guys in the band. the audience couldn't care less about looks. they do know if it sounds good though. the monster PA thing is nothing but a stroke to someone's ego...
Click to expand...

+1 Depending on the age of the crowd, just hauling in all those big “loud looking” cabs can make people nervous. And in small bars, those damn big boxes just block the band from view.

If the band is good and the sound is good, I agree, nobody in the audience could care less.
 
#15
There are some good 2x15's, but you're not going to find them in the cheaper end of the speaker market. Fitting the PA to the venue/gig is the main thing. A blanket statement like those above about the size of rig is meaningless. My band hauls out 4 EV QRX 2x12's and 6 Yorkville folded horn subs. Do we use them all in a 100 seater? No.. but when we're playing to 300 inside or 7-800 outside we need every bit of it, and sometimes more.

In the OP's case...buy the JBL's...in a different league. Those peavey's are nothing but a cheap DJ box that can be OK for live sound...but I'd never use one. Now if you were talking Peavey QW 2x15's...those rock :) But they're also significantly more expensive!
 
#19
Well said Barisaxman. I have a trailer full of gear....again do we use it all for every show...NO...but we will play for crowds between 50 to multiple thousands. I am able to set up multiple configurations to accomodate the different venues and outdoor festivals/tents. For the extremely large venues I only worry about covering the dance floor with sound. PS....the JBL's Rock...I have 4 of them in my trailer. :-)
 
#20
Actually, the PV215s sound pretty damned amazing considering their price point, we have a pair. But, it all depends on what you expect to use them for and where. We're a blues band, so we're not trying to bring down the roof with huge bass and screeching vocals. The 215s give us all the sound we need for now, don't have to haul subs and more amps, etc. They seem very well built, and only 75 lbs. each, so not bad to move, and I'll never try to push them so hard that I risk frying a driver, that's what additional speakers are for. Now if I needed subs, I would probably go with a 112 top as a properly setup system doesn't really seem to benefit much from a 115. The biggest downside to the PV215 is power handling, but again, for $300 each, you can't have everything. Good luck with whatever you get!
 

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