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[Tom Hulbert]

Hey everyone,
I could use some advise on the portable pa systems they have out there. My church is interested in purchasing one. We would be using it for our youth room. During NBT so our youth pastor doesn't lose his voice and for some outdoor events the church has and "destination unknown." I just want to know if there worth buying, and if not what would be a better alternative.
Thanks.

[Tom Young]

Hey everyone,
I could use some advise on the portable pa systems they have out there. My church is interested in purchasing one. We would be using it for our youth room. During NBT so our youth pastor doesn't lose his voice and for some outdoor events the church has and "destination unknown." I just want to know if there worth buying, and if not what would be a better alternative.
Thanks.

You need to define what you mean by "portable PA". Include the size of your youth room and the venues you think you'll need to cover (area or seat count). Do you intend to reinforce just the pastor, or everything ? How loud do you need to get ?

[Bob L. Wilson]

During NBT so our youth pastor doesn't lose his voice

NBT?

[Tom Hulbert]

Mr. Young.
What I mean by portable is something similar the the Yamaha Stagepas, or the Fender Passport systems. Something very basic mainly for speaking and possibly something to use if we wanted to have and outdoor movie night. Also for the youth group to take to a different location, away from church.

Bob. NBT is Neighborhood Bible Time. It's like vacation bible school, but with no theme and you get two "evangelists" who come to your church and direct it. The Church supplies the workers. Last year the "evangelist" who traveled with NBT and worked with the teens just had a megaphone and lost his voice because we didn't have a PA for him. He is now our Associate Pastor/Youth Pastor/Music Director, and since our youth group is growing we need something for the youth room(which also doubles as our fellowship hall).

[g'bye, Dick Rees]

Mr. Young.
What I mean by portable is something similar the the Yamaha Stagepas, or the Fender Passport systems. Something very basic mainly for speaking and possibly something to use if we wanted to have and outdoor movie night. Also for the youth group to take to a different location, away from church.

Bob. NBT is Neighborhood Bible Time. It's like vacation bible school, but with no theme and you get two "evangelists" who come to your church and direct it. The Church supplies the workers. Last year the "evangelist" who traveled with NBT and worked with the teens just had a megaphone and lost his voice because we didn't have a PA for him. He is now our Associate Pastor/Youth Pastor/Music Director, and since our youth group is growing we need something for the youth room(which also doubles as our fellowship hall).

Tom....

Just a couple of points for you to remember:

1.  Whichever system you opt for, it should have the capability of mounting the speakers at least 6' in the air, measured to the bottom of the cabinets.  For any unit(s) to be effective, you have to get the speakers above the listeners.

2.  What works for 100 people indoors will work for fewer people outdoors.  Or to state the obverse,  you'll need about 4X the power for outdoors as for a similar indoor setup.

Good luck.

[Jordan Wolf]

...something similar the the Yamaha Stagepas, or the Fender Passport systems.

I have found such systems to be inadequate for anything other than speech or background music playback (NOT reinforcement).  You can always turn down, but can only turn up so much before you get distortion.

Something very basic mainly for speaking and possibly something to use if we wanted to have and outdoor movie night.

These are two very different things.  The outdoor system could possibly be used indoors, if spec'd correctly, but the indoor system may not be suitable or usable outdoors (for various reasons).

Also for the youth group to take to a different location, away from church.

Again, another different area of use.

...since our youth group is growing we need something for the youth room(which also doubles as our fellowship hall).

I see no reason why a system used for youth services could not also be used in larger main services or as part of a portable system.  I just think that there are much better systems out there, in terms of both sound quality and reliability.  The OP could look into QSC K12s or Yamaha DSR/DXR speakers for indoor mains and use them outdoors or with a larger system as wedges, etc.  There are many options…the more details you give us, the more we can help you.

[Tom Hulbert]

Guys this is a forum for church sound right?
It's like we're doing live sound for (enter name of artist here)... it's for our church.
What I'm looking for is:
Something we can use in our youth room: For speaking and music cd,dvd, through whatever.

Use the samething to take outside for speaking for when we have a cookout,or like I mentioned before a movie night.
Also using the same thing to take on "Destination unknown" as a teen outing (providing there is a power source).
We just need something lightweight and portable, and under budget.

[g'bye, Dick Rees]

Guys this is a forum for church sound right?
It's like we're doing live sound for (enter name of artist here)... it's for our church.
What I'm looking for is:
Something we can use in our youth room: For speaking and music cd,dvd, through whatever.

Use the samething to take outside for speaking for when we have a cookout,or like I mentioned before a movie night.
Also using the same thing to take on "Destination unknown" as a teen outing (providing there is a power source).
We just need something lightweight and portable, and under budget.

Tom....

What do you mean by "Guys, this is a forum for church sound"?  How is church sound any different from, say, school sound or other?

The fact is that the uses you describe cover quite a broad spectrum of technical needs.  Distilled down, the primary issues will be:

1.  Coverage

2.  Coverage

Implicit in this is the achievable SPL (sound pressure level).  Familiarize yourself with SPL.  Do not be fooled by "watts" or "throw".  Even then, SPL specs vary with the method of measurement (distance, frequency and more), but it is nominally the spec which has the most relevance.

Handy, compact, inexpensive user friendly rigs like the Passport and others look good, but in reality will only work for voice only indoors in small to moderate rooms.  And then you MUST have the speakers on tripod speaker stands a minimum of 6' in the air.  They WILL NOT work for your youth bands or iPod music playback without poor quality, distorted sound and eventual damage to the speakers from demanding too much from them.  Outdoors........totally useless.

You'll receive good advice here.  Read it and learn.  While your requirements may seem simple to you, it is not what it appears to be.   The advice given will not be a personal criticism of you and your group.  Those of us who regularly participate here really do want to help........if only to help you avoid the most common mistakes, misconceptions and potential waste of funds. 

We like to promote good stewardship.   The Passport type stuff may well satisfy your needs.  Just don't expect them to do any "real" sound or last very long. 

Others will continue to help answer your questions. 

Best of luck.

[Caleb Dueck]

Under budget and realistic capabilities are at odds here.  Our point is - pick one. 
Some of us here, including myself, work for large firms that specifically design church systems, of every size and type, fixed and portable - and typically have live production experience as well.  This like 99% of our daily scenarios comes down to aligning budget and expectations, before able to make a meaningful recommendation. 

I have used Fender Passport and other similar systems for similar situations.  The outcome was awful, so for those applications, those caliber of systems received the shorthand term "junk".  Rather than try to prove why every possible price-point system isn't a wise investment, if our experience is desired, why not listen to the questions we have asked (plus all the additional ones via PM), and let us recommend something that isn't a waste?  It will mean a realistic budget, however. 

[g'bye, Dick Rees]

Under budget and realistic capabilities are at odds here.  Our point is - pick one.

+1

I have used Fender Passport and other similar systems for similar situations.  The outcome was awful, so for those applications, those caliber of systems received the shorthand term "junk".

I would point out the above statement is built on the certainty  that the systems in question were awful in the situation for which they were used.  Not junk per se, but incapable of the level of performance needed for success.  Their useful niche is really quite small.

  Rather than try to prove why every possible price-point system isn't a wise investment, if our experience is desired, why not listen to the questions we have asked (plus all the additional ones via PM), and let us recommend something that isn't a waste?  It will mean a realistic budget, however.

The more specific your information, the better the answers.  We're not trying to cause friction by asking for info on your intended use, we're just wanting to know what they'll really be used for.  The statements about the "further use" (my quotes) beind iPod and Youth Group are pretty generic and don't really give useful information.

Will the youth group want to boogie to loud music from the iPods?  Will they want to plug in some instruments and "be a band"? 

If so, just dig a hole in advance and get ready to throw the Passport into it and cover up the remains.

[ProSoundWeb Community]