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[Omar Ortiz]

Greetings Everyone,

I've enjoyed this forum for years, but finally joined today. So forgive me if my forum etiquette is not correct.

I recently got the opportunity to purchase a VRX932 (16) / VRX918 (6) sound system for a really really great price. I have tested all of the units, and they have all tested well (no blown horns or woofers) and it appears to be really clean. It was used as an install for about 5 years, so there is really no road wear. I've heard the system, but never have gotten a chance to run it. It was powered by QSC 4050s and 5050s. I've been reading forums about the VRX, but hear good things and bad. I currently run a production company that caters to small and mid-sized venues, and think this would be un upgrade to my current system. Currently, I am running (at max setup) 6 Peavey QW4 tops and 6 Peavey QW218 bottoms (3 tops and 3 bottoms per side on most instances). I've been pretty happy with my setup, but most riders cringe at the Peavey name and they are really heavy boxes. I would appreciate any insight / experience with the JBL VRX speakers. I am on the verge of making the purchase, but wanted to get some feedback regarding the VRX.

Thanks in advance!

[Tim McCulloch]

Greetings Everyone,

I've enjoyed this forum for years, but finally joined today. So forgive me if my forum etiquette is not correct.

I recently got the opportunity to purchase a VRX932 (16) / VRX918 (6) sound system for a really really great price. I have tested all of the units, and they have all tested well (no blown horns or woofers) and it appears to be really clean. It was used as an install for about 5 years, so there is really no road wear. I've heard the system, but never have gotten a chance to run it. It was powered by QSC 4050s and 5050s. I've been reading forums about the VRX, but hear good things and bad. I currently run a production company that caters to small and mid-sized venues, and think this would be un upgrade to my current system. Currently, I am running (at max setup) 6 Peavey QW4 tops and 6 Peavey QW218 bottoms (3 tops and 3 bottoms per side on most instances). I've been pretty happy with my setup, but most riders cringe at the Peavey name and they are really heavy boxes. I would appreciate any insight / experience with the JBL VRX speakers. I am on the verge of making the purchase, but wanted to get some feedback regarding the VRX.

Thanks in advance!

Greetings, Omar-

I think you'll find the subs comparable in terms of averaged output over their operating range, but the humps and bumps are in different places.  The only thing wrong with the QW218 is the Peavey name on it.  I'm less enthused about the QW4 but I'm not a fan of the 2x 15" and horn design to start with.  That said, I suspect the QW4 would out-perform 3x VRX932 below 2kHz, but above that I think the VRX have a slight advantage.

You're buying respectability over practicality.  Three VRX932 weigh MORE than a QW4 and really need to be flown.  The 'horn on one side of the box' design creates an interesting horizontal coverage that is not symmetrical throughout the acoustic crossover.  Constant curvature "line arrays" are one-trick ponies, too.  They do one thing fairly well, vertically, if the audience is mostly equidistant from the array.  Covering deep rooms or long distances outdoors isn't something they naturally excel at, but there is some finessing that can be done if your amplification package allows control on a per-box basis.  I suggest you download the VRX array coverage calculator from jblpro.com and read the manual, then experiment with covering rooms or venues you already work in.  Hint:  the HF switch is your friend.

Another consideration is JBL's assessment that the VRX range is intended for about 1000 people, theater style seating.  That's not a huge area (although indoors it can seem like a big room).  Because constant curvature arrays don't "scale" the way fully articulated arrays can, you can't increase "throw" by adding more boxes to the top of the line (they'll point at the ceiling or birds).

The use of the manufacturer's coverage calculator or data for EASE Focus simplifies the learning curve a great deal, I think.  That said, I see lots of vertical arrays that seem to deployed based on lucky numbers or phases of the moon and certainly were not modeled in software based on the way they sounded.  Don't be one of "those guys" if you buy the VRX, use the prediction tool.

[Bob Leonard]

Omar,

I agree with Tim with all of his points made. My exception would be that I operate dual 15" boxes in the form of JBL SRX725s. I have found them to be a great point source box for just about any occasion where the headcount is 1500 or fewer people.

I mention this because I've heard the Peaveys on a number of occasions and find them to be a good sounding and very well made box. The problem as you've stated is the name on the box and what that means to some people as you move to larger jobs and more well known artists.

The VRX boxes as Tim stated were designed for use with crowds numbering up to 1000. Sorry for not using dimensions, but this is what JBL says, and most people can picture people in front of the stage more accurately then a specific sized room.

The VRX incorporates "shading" as a means to provide even and equal coverage and as Tim states above you really need to use JBL's tools to properly deploy these boxes. Take all of Tim's statements seriously.

I really wanted to like the VRX when it was first announced and spent a good amount of time listening to the VRX and comparing them to many other cabinets. Tim is right, you really won't gain much if anything in performance at this level/scale other than a more respected name, and in the end you may lose the flexibility of your point source system. The best sounding VRX systems I have heard were used in an installed application. They fit the room, were installed properly, and worked very well in the few instances where this was the case.
 
I note you use 4050 and 5050 amplifiers. Most people would immediately tell you to move on to lighter amplifiers, something that weighs less than 70 pounds. That's not me, and I use the same amplifiers. Old guy, old technology, but using a dbx 4800 to process. Keep them if you don't mind the weight, they work very well and will never let you down.
 
Good luck with your choices.

[David Sturzenbecher]

The VRX incorporates "shading" as a means to provide even and equal coverage and as Tim states above you really need to use JBL's tools to properly deploy these boxes. Take all of Tim's statements seriously.

Also note that this "shading" only works when the boxes are in passive mode and not biamp.


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[Ray Aberle]

Omar,

I use the powered VRX boxes (932LAP/918SP) and those have quickly become my "go-to" box for a good number of events. I do have other options in the JBL family (SRX, and now VT4888) but they go up quickly and easily, and sound good for what they are doing.

Good points were made about the HF shading- the powered boxes have an HF boost/equal/cut selection as well. But, at 15° per box, Tim makes a good point about you quickly pointing at the sky/killing people up close.

Also remember that (as Tim alluded to) you can only pole-mount two 932s on a subwoofer/stand. You can ground stack up to 4, but that's really only going to be good if you're covering, say, a stadium from the ground, or going up a good sized hill. For optimal coverage, you will probably find yourself flying the boxes, and that means flybars (they probably already have those if they were installed), but also the means to fly them from stages/rigging/whathaveyou. JBL has papers on safe rigging practices, make sure you read all of that!

I know you're getting a good price and all on these... but I almost start to wonder if a VT4886/4883 rig might not be a better choice. Proper rigging/box angles/better control over the overall signal. This would give you the ability to add more boxes as you need increased coverage in ways the VRX can't.

-Ray

[Doug Hammel]

Greetings Everyone,

I've enjoyed this forum for years, but finally joined today. So forgive me if my forum etiquette is not correct.

I recently got the opportunity to purchase a VRX932 (16) / VRX918 (6) sound system for a really really great price. I have tested all of the units, and they have all tested well (no blown horns or woofers) and it appears to be really clean. It was used as an install for about 5 years, so there is really no road wear. I've heard the system, but never have gotten a chance to run it. It was powered by QSC 4050s and 5050s. I've been reading forums about the VRX, but hear good things and bad. I currently run a production company that caters to small and mid-sized venues, and think this would be un upgrade to my current system. Currently, I am running (at max setup) 6 Peavey QW4 tops and 6 Peavey QW218 bottoms (3 tops and 3 bottoms per side on most instances). I've been pretty happy with my setup, but most riders cringe at the Peavey name and they are really heavy boxes. I would appreciate any insight / experience with the JBL VRX speakers. I am on the verge of making the purchase, but wanted to get some feedback regarding the VRX.

Thanks in advance!

I have been a long time fan of the VRX system and with 16 you are going to have a good inventory to do a wide range of applications with a good amount of flexibility. One thing that concerns me is only 6 subs? You are definitely going to want more, that is one thing that you have to know going in is depending on what exactly the show is you are going to want a 1 to 1 ratio of subs to tops. When the 932s get going they can leave the 918 behind so to speak. Also what processor are you going to use? 

[Richard Turner]

If 5 ish year old gear is the stuff that you can use to make money and the price is right why not grab it and go. And if the price is that good you could likely buy it as a lot and flip it tommorow at a profit parted out.

If you have the cash and the deal is that good get it done before someone else goes for it.

[Randall Hyde]

Greetings Everyone,
but wanted to get some feedback regarding the VRX.

Thanks in advance!

I don't know if this is for real or a typo, but the JBL specs list the sensitivity of the VRX932 at 90dB @ 1w/1m. This is grossly inefficient (e.g., the SRX 725 cabinets have a sensitivity of 99 dB @1w/1m IIRC; IOW, it takes almost *10x* the power to produce the same SPL with the VRX932 as it does with the 725). Of course, with you couple three of them per side (the maximum they can effectively do) you probably gain 6dB or so, but still...  Never quite understood the specs; they seem pretty bad to me.

If you do portable shows, not sure what you'd do with 16 units unless you do a lot of delay stack stuff (which defeats the purpose of using a "line array" I suspect). Six units is the limit for a typical stereo hang unless you're shooting for very wide coverage or need some bizarre fills to cover dead spots (e.g., behind columns). Others have pointed out that having only 6 subs is insufficient (probably even when using only six tops; I'd want at least eight boxes and twelve would be better; of course, if the VRX932LA units really aren't that loud, the extra boxes may be unnecessary).

I suspect there is something wrong with my reasoning, because the VRX932LAP (powered) units have a pretty high SPL for their max; something that would take a monstrous amount of power if the box truly was a 90dB @1w/1m box.

As others have pointed out, the max audience size JBL suggests isn't that high. I do quite a bit more with an SRX rig (four SRX 725 [biamped], six SRX 728s, five ITech 8000 amps plus smaller amps for the HF section). It does "rock concert" levels (100+ dB) to about 2,000 people in an outdoors venue; with delay stacks I've gone as high as 3,500-5,000 (though definitely not "rock concert" levels in the back). No way the VRX932 boxes would push that far. OTOH, they wouldn't be killing people 10' from the speakers, either
Cheers,
Randy Hyde

[Michael Elphinstone]

We have 4 x 932s and 2 x 918s as our regular setup. That covers about 200ppl at our church. For special occasions we ramp it up to 12 x 932s & 6 x 918s, for about 650ppl seated in a 180 degree coverage pattern. They're pretty good boxes. Are they the best on the market? Probably not, but they're reliable and consistent. The two key elements of getting the most out of them is to get them up in the air and power them properly. Read what Tim said. That is a very real summary of their strengths and weaknesses. They are also quite popular in our neck of the woods in Australia. I like them, YMMV.

Good luck,
Michael

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