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Author Topic: Yamaha DSR review on Harmony Central  (Read 29756 times)

Bob Kenton

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Re: Yamaha DSR review on Harmony Central
« Reply #10 on: March 12, 2011, 01:04:41 PM »

Anyone play with the sub yet?
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Rob Spence

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Re: Yamaha DSR review on Harmony Central
« Reply #11 on: March 12, 2011, 01:05:58 PM »

Nope.  Not listening to SPL; however, it is a good thing to have headroom.  Typically, more headroom means less distortion at reasonable volumes.  It also means that if I need to do something outside, the speaker will have more room on top trying to keep up with my folded horns ;)

If you don't know how loud they are, how do you know what headroom you have? All you seem to have measured is what output of a mixer causes the red lights to come on in speaker. I am not sure how I could use that information in the absence of SPL (and not in a GC demo room).
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Tom Young

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Re: Yamaha DSR review on Harmony Central
« Reply #12 on: March 12, 2011, 08:50:26 PM »

I agree.  The real test is in the ears of the beholder ;)

From Yamaha's website:Doesn't sound like they are proprietary .... at least not completely.  "Thoroughly customized" could mean they stamped it with a "Yamaha" logo ;)

I realise you were probably being half serious. I suspect that Yamaha does modify whatever drivers they are buying.  For many years Meyer Sound used to buy various OEM drivers and modify them quite bit. Now they manufacture them in house.

The funny thing is that Yamaha used to manufacture all their own drivers and did a pretty good job of that and designing the horns, enclosures and crossovers for those drivers.

I'll be interested in hearing some of these new offerings.
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Scott Bolt

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Re: Yamaha DSR review on Harmony Central
« Reply #13 on: March 13, 2011, 12:23:34 AM »

Ok, so off to GC I went with CD and microphone in hand.

First thing I did was wander around the speaker room and spin each speaker around to feel the weight and to ensure the settings were flat. First thing I notice is ... boy, the PRX are MUCH lighter than the DSRs.

Next up, some CD music and a short lesson from the GC rep on how to use the parametric eq on the Presonus digital mixer....

I flipped speakers back and fourth, I equalized and tried again, I pushed them, I reeled them in, tried every position in the room and every volume level.

At the end of the trial, what I found was that I could make the PRX sound much better with some eq. A little more punch with some eq in the 200Hz, a little more clarity with a bit of 6K.

The Yamahas .... well just a little off the top was all it took.

After all that, the story really was that the DSRs always sounded more full and more clear. They always maintained better punch. They simply sounded better.

After that, I plugged in my mic and gave it a song

This test didn't need much time. The DSRs were simply in a class above the PRX with respect to vocal clarity and warmth.

So, I am now the proud owner of a pair of DSR112's. I guess I will have to get used to carrying 47lb speakers instead of 82lb ones  Of course, 34lbs would be better

I will be putting them head to head with my venerable Klipsch KP301's. I am already convinced that they will positively blow away my drummers CVA's.
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Ryan McLeod

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Re: Yamaha DSR review on Harmony Central
« Reply #14 on: March 13, 2011, 12:49:14 AM »

Anyone play with the sub yet?

The sub was... Less impressive IMHO. Not bad sounding by any means for what it is and costs, but I was hoping for more... Like a 2KW sub, but not when it costs so little. To be fair, The QSC k-sub suffers from the same comparison with a K10/12 on top of it, but the yamaha sub costs Less then the K-sub.

 
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Scott Bolt

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Re: Yamaha DSR review on Harmony Central
« Reply #15 on: March 13, 2011, 12:04:26 PM »

The sub was... Less impressive IMHO. Not bad sounding by any means for what it is and costs, but I was hoping for more... Like a 2KW sub, but not when it costs so little. To be fair, The QSC k-sub suffers from the same comparison with a K10/12 on top of it, but the yamaha sub costs Less then the K-sub.
I agree.  The sub is good, but not "impressive".  I have heard the JBL PRX618 XLF and it would rate is "impressive".  The Yorkville LS800 .... "Really Impressive" ;)

I have just finished going through some testing acoustically with my new DSR112's.  They sound fantastic for that purpose.  With no eq (other than the contour button provided), a Taylor (with Fishman electronics), a EV ND767a, and a TC Helicon Harmony G, I went through a few songs I normally would play in an acoustic gig.

I would normally use a small mixer so I could channel eq the guitar and vocal separately, but I wanted to see how this minimalistic setup sounded (less is more .... right?).

At GC, I thought that the highs were a bit strong and harsh at high volumes; however, playing acoustically, even with the boosted eq setting, there was absolutely zero harshness.  They were very pleasing and warm at as high a volume as one can get with an acoustic electric guitar in the same room (not very loud compared to a rock band granted).

Additionally, I was worried about the weight; however, I was able to easily carry and lift both speakers on top of my Klipsch (which were above my folded horns) with little effort.  Of course, I am not exactly a little guy either at 220lbs 6ft ;)  Still, moving my Klipsch KP301s up onto the subs required considerable effort and while I could do it if it was an emergency, I usually have 2 people to do it.

So far, so good.  I plan on testing them against the Klipsch tonight.  I have high hopes ;)
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Vince Noir 63

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Re: Yamaha DSR review on Harmony Central
« Reply #16 on: June 22, 2011, 05:35:45 PM »

I've been recently using a pair of DSR2115 tower cabinets, plus a pair of DSR118W sub units, and so far I'm extremely happy with the overall sound quality.

The DSR2115 are hefty beasties, weighing in at close to 8st each, but that's because there are 2 x 15" speakers in there, and both have ferrite magnets. But I personally find the 'warmer' tone preferrable. Somebody previously posted on here that they felt that the horns were quite bright, yet I've had no problem at all with them in those higher frequency ranges. I've checked them out with pink noise and they measure a fairly balanced response within that upper range. However there is a 3dB drop around the crossover point of 1.7K. A 3dB boost at  1.6kHz on the main front of house graphic EQ soon puts that right.

The DSR118W are fabulous sub units. Great response, lovely tone, work perfectly along with the DSR towers. Once again, there's a 3dB drop around the crossover position of 120Hz, and again a boost of 3dB at 125Hz balances that out perfectly. The 18" speakers in these also have ferrite magnets, making them heavier than some of the other similar units currently on the market, but with a weight of a little over 6st then they are still very portable.

The tower cabinets are rated at 138dB, whereas the subs are rated at 132dB. To balance them out, turn the sub unit to the recommended max level (12 o'clock) position, and back the tower cabinet slightly lower to around the 11 o'clock position. With those settings then the full P.A. stacks give a well-balanced overall sound.

Obviously different mixings desks will slightly color the tonal-response of the speaker cabinets. I'm presently using an Allen & Heath GL2400 with this set-up, and combined with the Yamaha DSR cabs the entire system responds excellently for the club environments that I tend to work in.   

The full stack (DSR2115 plus DSR118W) measures a little under 6' in height. To get the horns projecting above head height, I use an empty 8U flight case inbetween the cabinets, then rachet-strap the 2 cabs together to make the full stack more stable. Works for me.

So far I've no complaints about this particular DSR system. I've been using it for the last couple of months, and I'm delighted with the results. For the price range that it's in, then I personally feel that I've gotten excellent value for my money.
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Ned Ward

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Re: Yamaha DSR review on Harmony Central
« Reply #17 on: June 23, 2011, 12:16:23 AM »

While the K12 doesn't seem to compare favorably to the DSR, how about the KW122? Anyone compare that to the Yamaha and JBL box? thanks.
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Scott Bolt

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Re: Yamaha DSR review on Harmony Central
« Reply #18 on: June 24, 2011, 06:40:59 PM »

While the K12 doesn't seem to compare favorably to the DSR, how about the KW122? Anyone compare that to the Yamaha and JBL box? thanks.

Yep.

The KW122 is a very good box.  I thought it was equal to the DSR112 (although your ears may not think so depending on your taste) It was also significantly more expensive ($1100.00 ea vs $800.00 ea).

You should be able to go audition both the KW122's and the DSR112's at your local GC side-by-side for yourself.
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ProSoundWeb Community

Re: Yamaha DSR review on Harmony Central
« Reply #18 on: June 24, 2011, 06:40:59 PM »


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