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[Chris Lave]

Hey guys,

An audio store located near the Atlanta metro area hosted a comparison of budget powered boxes.  The comparison only included powered speakers at the $1,000 or less price point. The speakers were hidden for the listening tests and none of the DSPs on the amplifiers were engaged.  One of the judges stated to me each box inherently performed well for certain types of media (e.g., music playback, male vocals, female vocals, etc.) and not so great for others.  I guess it really comes down to the tuning results of the cabinet with respect to materials, components, and costs.  I would tell you which speaker placed first, but that would spoil the surprise, check out the link below.

http://www.peachstateaudio.com/ccpage/ccpage.htm

[Gordon Brinton]

Interesting.

I am surprised to see that the Mackie HD1221 scored so low after all the glowing reviews I've read.

Is it a coincidence that the most expensive speaker gets first place? The $800 K12 would have been more "in line" with the other products.

I also believe that the dsp settings should have been left on and set to their recommended settings. That is the way that most customers will probably use the product in the real world. Without it, all we have done is compare the sound of raw drivers. If it corrects naturally occurring anomalies that a compact box design may cause then why not allow it? In my opinion, every manufacturer should be offering it. Those who don't deserve to fall behind in the marketplace.

[Scott Bolt]

I thought that the DSR112 sounded noticably better than the JBL PRX612.  While the scores didn't show that, the user preference did with the KW122 first and DSR112 second.  Of those that picked the KW122, it appears that the DSR112 was their next choice.

Beauty is in the ear of the beholder

In the scoring, there was the KW122 and the middle of the pack followed by the end of the pack.

[Reggie Kendrick]

Hey guys,
...
http://www.peachstateaudio.com/ccpage/ccpage.htm

Where are the testing details... I'm not seeing any 'read more' hyperlinks.

[Rob Spence]

Hey guys,

An audio store located near the Atlanta metro area hosted a comparison of budget powered boxes.  The comparison only included powered speakers at the $1,000 or less price point. The speakers were hidden for the listening tests and none of the DSPs on the amplifiers were engaged.  One of the judges stated to me each box inherently performed well for certain types of media (e.g., music playback, male vocals, female vocals, etc.) and not so great for others.  I guess it really comes down to the tuning results of the cabinet with respect to materials, components, and costs.  I would tell you which speaker placed first, but that would spoil the surprise, check out the link below.

http://www.peachstateaudio.com/ccpage/ccpage.htm

How does one disengage the DSPs in a powered box?

Do you mean no user enabled coloring was done?

[Rob Spence]

I also believe that the dsp settings should have been left on and set to their recommended settings. That is the way that most customers will probably use the product in the real world. Without it, all we have done is compare the sound of raw drivers. If it corrects naturally occurring anomalies that a compact box design may cause then why not allow it? In my opinion, every manufacturer should be offering it. Those who don't deserve to fall behind in the marketplace.

I don't know of any way to listen to raw drivers in any box let alone powered ones.

[Scott Bolt]

I also believe that the dsp settings should have been left on and set to their recommended settings. That is the way that most customers will probably use the product in the real world. Without it, all we have done is compare the sound of raw drivers. If it corrects naturally occurring anomalies that a compact box design may cause then why not allow it? In my opinion, every manufacturer should be offering it. Those who don't deserve to fall behind in the marketplace.

I don't know of any way to listen to raw drivers in any box let alone powered ones.

I believe he was suggesting that the "color me" button should have been tested

I was suggesting that the mixer should have been used to get the best sound out of each speaker and then push the system to see how it holds up.

Considering the fact that only 63% could pick a favorite with the default voicing of the speakers, I am guessing these speakers didn't get pushed.

The KW122 sounded fantastic in my listening until things started getting loud.  Now granted, this may be louder than many (or most) would normally push the speaker, non-the-less, at higher volumes, it got unpleasant when others (JBL, DSR) did not.

It doesn't surprise me that the DSR was in the top when people were subjectively picking out their favorite speaker.  In my own subjective listening, the DSR ended up besting the field.  I had ruled out the KW122 due to price and the harsh limiting; however, keeping it within its abilities, it is a really good sounding speaker.

[Glenn A Williams]

Scott Bolt Wrote:

The KW122 sounded fantastic in my listening until things started getting loud.  Now granted, this may be louder than many (or most) would normally push the speaker, non-the-less, at higher volumes, it got unpleasant when others (JBL, DSR) did not.



The ability of the JBL and the Yamaha to continue producing a smooth and pleasant output at high SPL levels is what separates these from the crowd.

This ability becomes glaringly apparent in outdoor applications, where "really loud", (by indoor standards), becomes the norm in view of area coverage requirements.

The ability of any of these speakers to produce smooth and significant bass response is irrelavent to those of us who use them in FOH applications over subs.

I always use my MRX-512ms with subs and any harshness inherant in those speakers is easily corrected by small equing tweaks in the 3 Khz to 6.5 Khz range. I have four of them.

I am quite sure that the Yamaha DSR112 is everything that it is touted to be. They seem to be a very good choice as a one per side FOH speaker with good dispersion.

The problem with it is that with a 90x60 waveguide it is not arrayable, and I find that to be limiting. That is probably a requirement that most users will never need or consider.

I do know for a fact that the 70x70 waveguide in the MRX/PRX series "corners" really well and as such lends itself well to two speaker per side application with slight splaying that allows for reduced comb filtering issues.

Furthermore they weight only 33 lbs ea., or 34.5 lbs for the PRX612m, and I find that very refreshing in applications where I don't need to break out the scaffolding for two or three pair of Adamson MH121s which are 63 lbs ea. The DSR112 may be very acceptable at 47 lbs ea. to many users. To me it is a deal breaker.

I have no intention to slight any of these products. I am just pointing out that there are features and needs that others deem to carry alot of weight in such decisions.

Different strokes for different folks.

[Scott Bolt]

Glenn,

I completely agree with your assessment.  My application is a single set of tops over subs for FOH amplification of a rock cover band.

Even in that capacity, the decision was pretty close since the PRX612 is so light.  I hadn't considered the dispersion pattern and future expansion to 2 tops per side.  That is another thing to consider for those that want to use these speakers in a capacity that requires more coverage than 2 tops can get.

Considering the cost of the KW122, I was surprised it was included in the review.  The price took it out of the running for me as I am sure it does for many others.  For the price of 2 KW122's you could have 3 PRX612's.

I had an additional requirement for use as a solo/duo acoustic act.  In that capacity, the LF response was more important, but even more than that, the clarity.

This shootout was conducted as stand alone speakers.  In this setup 37% couldn't pick a "favorite".  If you put them over subs ..... how many more would have a difficult problem with it?

I suspect that all of these speakers sound decent and can be equalized to sound good over subs.  The higher SPL performance is important (as suggested for outdoor gigs), and the weight is always something to consider.

I think that you could hear the difference between a Meyer and this pack though

[Glenn A Williams]

Glenn,

I completely agree with your assessment.  My application is a single set of tops over subs for FOH amplification of a rock cover band.

Even in that capacity, the decision was pretty close since the PRX612 is so light.  I hadn't considered the dispersion pattern and future expansion to 2 tops per side.  That is another thing to consider for those that want to use these speakers in a capacity that requires more coverage than 2 tops can get.

Considering the cost of the KW122, I was surprised it was included in the review.  The price took it out of the running for me as I am sure it does for many others.  For the price of 2 KW122's you could have 3 PRX612's.

I had an additional requirement for use as a solo/duo acoustic act.  In that capacity, the LF response was more important, but even more than that, the clarity.

This shootout was conducted as stand alone speakers.  In this setup 37% couldn't pick a "favorite".  If you put them over subs ..... how many more would have a difficult problem with it?

I suspect that all of these speakers sound decent and can be equalized to sound good over subs.  The higher SPL performance is important (as suggested for outdoor gigs), and the weight is always something to consider.

I think that you could hear the difference between a Meyer and this pack though

Hey Scott

My thoughts on the KW122s were similar to yours. For the $800 per pair price difference between the PRX612ms and those I could buy a mint condition pair of LS608s. (I already have two pair).

Yeah Meyer UPA-1as or UPA-1cs or my Adamsons MH121s are just in a different league.

But they should be....I think the UPAs are over $3 K each and the Adamsons are $2 K ea., out the door, taxes in, up here in the Great White North.

But one thing is for sure.....down at that 7 to 8 hundred price range, you can buy a hell of a good speaker......and if you are a gear wise , used market savvy guy like me, you can pick up 4 MRX-512ms for $1.2 K US.

That is a great price.....Even for one engineer! 

Cheers!

[ProSoundWeb Community]