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Roland GR 88

Roland GR 88

Commercial User
Sep 16, 2013
2,351
5,731
Ontario Canada
Disclosures
Retail store manager
#1
I'm looking at getting a powered speaker for a rehearsal studio to run off a Mackie ProFX 8. There are a lot of choices and would like to hear your experiences. I'm expecting to pay around 1k apiece but will consider cheaper or more expensive models if recommended. I'll be picking up just 1 for now and adding a second down the road. DSP effects, smartphone control or built-in mixers aren't needed but might be hard to avoid. I'm familiar with the older Yorkville lines and their prices are very good up here but haven't heard the new EV's, JBL's, QSC's etc.
Thanks for any advice coming my way.
 
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#2
Check out the powered speakers from Yamaha. I have a pair of DXR10s that I really like. Invalid Link Removed They sound great are lightweight and come with a 7 year warranty. Yamaha recently came out with the cheaper DBR series which have gotten some good reviews. This guy in a Canadian DJ who reviews a lot of speakers
 
#3
The Yamahas looks nice. I've been GASing for a set of Mackie SRM550. Wood, not plastic, and higher power than the Yamaha. But the support issues I recently had with Mackie on my DL1608 has soured me on them, so I'm looking at other options again.
 
#4
We use JBL PRX600 and 700 series. I'd recommend the PRX715s. I just bought a pair for mains to upgrade my PRX612s. The 612s are used as monitors now. With my acoustic trio, we use a Mackie ProFX 12 to feed them. For bigger bands we use a ProFX16 or Presonus 16.4.2. The 700 series have internal fans to reduce the potential for thermaling out. Whatever you do, DON'T pay MAP for them. Call Northern Sound and Light on the phone to get their price. They'll be way below MAP, even after shipping. Warehouse Sound and Light in San Diego also has excellent prices. Wood cabinet.

PRX715.jpg
 
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#5
Those JBL's look nice. I am considering the 735 version with the mid driver. Nor sure if I would notice the difference from the one pictured. Primary use will be as a rehearsal monitor and adding a second when needed for a show or rental pkg.
 
#6
From Mungi -
We use JBL PRX600 and 700 series. I'd recommend the PRX715s. I just bought a pair for mains to upgrade my PRX612s. The 612s are used as monitors now. With my acoustic trio, we use a Mackie ProFX 12 to feed them. For bigger bands we use a ProFX16 or Presonus 16.4.2. The 700 series have internal fans to reduce the potential for thermaling out. Whatever you do, DON'T pay MAP for them. Call Northern Sound and Light on the phone to get their price. They'll be way below MAP, even after shipping. Warehouse Sound and Light in San Diego also has excellent prices. Wood cabinet.

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I got to hear these side by side with my system thanksgiving eve - a DJ between sets was using them.
Although its not a true comparison, I had a realization that they are absolutely steps WAY above what I am using.

Someday - will be able to make the upgrade - and have to agree - these are really nice speakers -
 
#7
What's the situation in your rehearsal room? Will you be using these for any performance or just practices? Instruments in them or just voices?

In a smaller room, just reinforcing vocals, you'd probably be able to spend less than your $1k budget and get a pair of EV or Yamaha speakers.
 
#8
Roland GR 88 said:
Those JBL's look nice. I am considering the 735 version with the mid driver. Nor sure if I would notice the difference from the one pictured. Primary use will be as a rehearsal monitor and adding a second when needed for a show or rental pkg.
Click to expand...
My band uses the older PRX 535s they sound a lot better than the PRX512m we also have. Both are nice but the extra midrange really makes vocals and acoustic guitars stand out.
 
#9
It will be a single monitor for a decent size room - big but I'd rather have too much than too little. With a pair I'll have a system that can handle most situations for myself and to hire out. Thanks for the feedback :)
 
#10
The JBLs are excellent boxes. My last bandleader bought a set and in half the size they absolutely smoked the three-way active Mackie columns that they replaced in terms of volume (and sounded much better too). QSC makes an excellent active speaker as well. I'd love to try a dB Technologies speaker.
 
#12
I have a combination of PRX 612's. QSC K10's, K12's and 181 subs. My supply of PRX's is dwindling, my inventory of K series is growing... I like the PRX's but the K's seem more precise. The JBL's are warm. Not a bad thing on and of itself
but I prefer to set my own house curve, not use someone else's idea of the appropriate color... The k's are also more forgiving power wise. My PRX's wouldn't start on a generator gig this summer, the k series stuff fired right up. Turned out to be the generator set to the wrong hZ - generator gig's ... Gotta love 'em Once the genny was set correctly, everything fired up just fine. So are the K's ready to sacrifice themselves ? Are the J's smart enough not to? Or are the K's just more adaptable? Tough one to call... Anyhow, I've sold through most of my PRx stuff at this point and decided on QSc.

My passive FOH is all QSC PLX and PLx II for power. The stuff has been really good to me and what the heck, Bob Lee hangs here ... Harman doesn't...
 
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#13
We use the PRX612s for mains, though it's vocals only as we are a bar band.

They have performed well for us and are small and very light which makes for extremely easy transport/setup/loading. We have used them for many dozens of gigs. One time we did have of them did go out on us (fried circuit board, a situation which was made worse when the repair place blew the replacement they had ordered and had to order a second one), so I can't say they are 100% reliable but other than the one time, they have worked well for us.

We also have a set of QSC HPR122i monitors that are about 6 years old (they've been replaced in QSC's lineup by the KW122 I think), and they are bulletproof and sound awesome but are too heavy/bulky for us old farts to want to schlep to small gigs. We have them at the practice space.
 
#15
While I'm not an expert in PA speaker choice, the EV and QSC stuff always sounds great to my ears. Mackie and JBL seem to have their own sound going on and I can always tell when a band hasn't worked at getting that sound out of them. They both just sound like DJ speakers to me. Or like trivia night at the local pub/grub.

That being said. JBLs make great monitors (or PA if you have other monitors) because they're reverse phased from most speakers and there's a definite level of sound cancellation (like the headphones) that keeps the stage sound on stage and the room sound in the room.

Yamaha makes pretty transparent gear to my ears as well.
 
#17
I've been doing A LOT of research on this exact topic. I am building a new Powered System.

It seems that, for me, two particular tops have risen to the top. The Yamaha DSR112 and the JBL PRX712. I have not been able to A/B them due to there not being a pair of Yamahas around to audition. That being said, I went to our local GC and A/B/C'd the JBL PRX712, the QSC K12 and the EV ZLX12p. Pricing aside, the sound quality, to me, came out in that order. I did have a JBL Prx718XLF (the chosen sub for my new system) running as the bottom end.

To me, by themselves (no sub), the PRX had more low end and a better mid sound than the K12 and that one better than the EV. Now, some may say that I'm comparing Apples to Oranges in the quality. I'm not here to argue build quality. Just giving my opinion of the sound quality that I heard, nothing more.

My source music was mp3s out of my Ipad. The board was a Presonus digital with the board zero'd. Out to the switcher, to the speakers. Turn Me Loose - Loverboy, Billy Jean - Michael Jackson, Behind the Wheel - Depeche Mode, Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress - Hollies and a couple others for my listening pleasure. ;)

I'm buying the PRXs tomorrow. Although I have not been able to compare them to the Yammies, I'm not going to do a bunch of traveling just to hear them. Besides, I'm getting a HELLUVA DEAL on these.

Just MHO.
 
#18
We've been working with some of the powered speakers mentioned here and what's amazing to me is that none of them suck and all of them would do a great job for most anyone. I'd avoid the Mackies because as best as we can tell, Mackie tends to abandon support rather quickly of a given line of product. I'm the first guy to come down with the makers on the cost of long-term support (I don't mean warranty work, I mean keeping parts in stock and taking them in for factory service), but they should be willing to support a product for 6-7 years, not 3 as I've seen Mackie drop support that quickly.

I've only heard the JBL PRX and Yamaha DSR stuff and it sounds really good. We've used the QSC gear (always GREAT SERVICE, if needed) and DB Technologies and they worked very well for us. And friends in the biz tell us that the EV stuff works really well, too.

It's going to come down to what sounds good to you (which may not be in line with other users), what kind if deal you can get on them, and the warranty available (which is good on all these speakers).

That was a lot of help, eh?...:D
 
#19
Just to keep information consistent...the warranty between Mackie and for example QSC is the same (3 years). I like the QSC's, but the new Mackie's are half the price, about 10 pounds less in weight, and sound much nicer than the older ones. They added some more DSP features too. Not saying they are the best, but impressive.
 

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