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Sound Reinforcement - Forums for Live Sound Professionals - Your Displayed Name Must Be Your Real Full Name To Post In The Live Sound Forums => SR Forum Archives => Product Reviews: Sound Reinforcement FUD Forum Archive => Topic started by: Abdul Sajwani on July 27, 2005, 09:40:14 PM

Title: Wharfedale LX Series Wedges Vs JBL Mpro Vs JBL JRX
Post by: Abdul Sajwani on July 27, 2005, 09:40:14 PM
I think the title says it all.

Looking to get rid of all my mixture of wedges and get just one brand and model for all monitoring applications where single 12's and 15' wedges are used..

I can get a pretty good price on wharfedale LX series but I've heard great things about the JBL Mpro series all over these forums.. I haven't heard much about the JBL JRX gear and of course the SRX is MUCH more expensive..

It would be nice to hear peoples experiences with these speakers as I can never find dealer which have them in one place to compare..

In australia the JRX series isn't so new yet.. but they're only 250W and the MPRO which is phasing out is 300+W.. the wharfedale products i've heard in australia so far have been very very average and not what i'd rate as pro.. but I hear their lx series is what they regard as their best efforts.. just can't get a listen of them locally very easily..

I think 250W would be under powered for my use as I often have percussions coming through... anyhow i'll wait to hear some opinions..

thanx in advance..
Title: Re: Wharfedale LX Series Wedges Vs JBL Mpro Vs JBL JRX
Post by: Evan Kirkendall on July 27, 2005, 09:54:32 PM
Quote:

In australia the JRX series isn't so new yet.. but they're only 250W and the MPRO which is phasing out is 300+W.. the wharfedale products i've heard in australia so far have been very very average and not what i'd rate as pro.. but I hear their lx series is what they regard as their best efforts.. just can't get a listen of them locally very easil


Your only looking at the RMX power of those boxes. THe JRX monitors are 250w rms, 500w program, 1000w peak.

Which series MP boxes are you talking about. IF its the 400 then I highly recommend them. They dont need a lot of power(700w) and can really put out some good clean loud sound. Stay away from the MP200 boxes. They are about the same quality as the JRX boxes. Not that the JRX is bad, just the MP is so much better.

I own 2 JRX115 mains and the get the job done pretty well. I plan on upgrading to the MP's next year though.

I dont have experience with the others you listed so I cant comment there.
Title: Re: Wharfedale LX Series Wedges Vs JBL Mpro Vs JBL JRX
Post by: Abdul Sajwani on July 27, 2005, 10:22:23 PM
The thing I find interesting about the MPRO vs JRX series is that although their RMS rating is lower.. they're 5db more sensitive than the MPRO 200 series..  and they have quiet a high SPL rating but.. what is that pumping out? just harsh noise or good even sound.. ? JBL claims the later..

The 400 series are 100W spec'd higher and they aren't any heavier.. the thing I find is that we don't actually use soo much power on stage normally.. we put on so many wedges but never really drive them that hard.. sometimes because we don't get enough gain before feedback.. but thats a whole other topic..

The wharfedale LX series has a bigger horn which also makes it quiet attractive.. but I worry about the resale of those boxes as wharfedale has managed to create more of a cheap and nasty image in australia than a professional reputation with most suppliers only carrying the lower end products and not the lx series..

Dollar for power sees the JRX series be the most beneficial with a street price of about 700 AUS or about 500 US.. I'm sure if I said I wanted half a dozen or so I could get a bit more of a discount..
Title: Re: Wharfedale LX Series Wedges Vs JBL Mpro Vs JBL JRX
Post by: Tom Manchester on July 29, 2005, 07:15:08 PM
abs,
Do you have yamaha club series speakers available where you are? they are the ones with model numbers like S112v. I believe in a recent discussion about yamaha vs. jbl Jrx the yamaha was prefered. They are a very well respected box and I have used two as mains for a while now. A bit more expensive but they hold resale value very well. The JRX's are good boxes don't get me wrong, but The yamahas are something to consider.
Title: Re: Wharfedale LX Series Wedges Vs JBL Mpro Vs JBL JRX
Post by: Abdul Sajwani on July 31, 2005, 08:07:55 PM
Hi Tom,

Yes we can get the Yamaha Club series..  I had looked into those wedges as well long ago when I got into to the trouble of buying a mixture of wedges.. From memory the 12" were under powered for my application and less efficient.. the website quotes 175W RMS and 97db SP (1w, 1m).  What was the topic of the discussion where this comparison was made? I'd still love to have a read.

I think as a bare minimum to cover me for 90% of my gigs, I'd need something which has a continuous rating of 250-350W. 250W would be alright if its 99db senstitive.. hence that bought the JRX and Wharfedale LX wedges and mpro 200 series into consideration..  

From the earlier reply I realised I was looking at the MPRO 200 series which even from local references hasn't recieved much accolade.. the 400 series has a price to match its recommendations at present ruling it out of my options.. unless of course I sell my amps and have nothing to drive them with.. or win the lottery..

regards
Title: Re: Wharfedale LX Series Wedges Vs JBL Mpro Vs JBL JRX
Post by: Evan Kirkendall on July 31, 2005, 08:44:44 PM
If you are looking at the MP200 series then I'd just save your money and get the jrx boxes. They sound more or less the same. THe JBL can take 500w as well as the Yamaha's Tom recommended. Both would probably work fine for what you are doing.
Title: Re: Wharfedale LX Series Wedges Vs JBL Mpro Vs JBL JRX
Post by: Tom Manchester on July 31, 2005, 10:53:02 PM
abs wrote on Sun, 31 July 2005 20:07

Hi Tom,

Yes we can get the Yamaha Club series..  I had looked into those wedges as well long ago when I got into to the trouble of buying a mixture of wedges.. From memory the 12" were under powered for my application and less efficient.. the website quotes 175W RMS and 97db SP (1w, 1m).  What was the topic of the discussion where this comparison was made? I'd still love to have a read.




are you looking at the s112iv's or v's or are you looking at the s12e's? I have the s112iv's and they are rated at 300 w program, 600 continuous. the s12e's use a cheaper phonelic horn driver and have lower power handling.
Title: Re: Wharfedale LX Series Wedges Vs JBL Mpro Vs JBL JRX
Post by: Wade Biery on August 01, 2005, 12:57:04 PM
The new SM12's are rated at 350 RMS I believe, and I used both the Yammies and the JRX, and the JRX is awful sounding to me, just horrible. I use the SM 12's as monitors and small mains all the time, and if you add a little top and some 125 and a little 60-ish, they sound very good, for the money of course.

I've used both of these a LOT, so I have a good feel for this question.
Title: Re: Wharfedale LX Series Wedges Vs JBL Mpro Vs JBL JRX
Post by: Tom Reid on August 01, 2005, 02:53:56 PM
I did a stupidly loud band this weekend.
Drummer had a Sonor kit and used tree trunks.
The snare mic was off all night.
Pain at FOH ...and I just had vocals on.

Anyway, I had a pair of 412's for the front, 212's for the back.
A few monitor gripes to get started ...no sound check don't ya know, but after the initial tweeks, the monitors cut through.
I had about 500w per mon, and the clip lights were playing with me all night.

I've had some of the old Yamaha stuff, as a matter of fact, I still have a big 15 wedge with the HUGE horn still for sale.  It's a coffee table at practice.  Just too damn inefficient for me.  I don't know about the new stuff.

I know the MP's can cut through.  412s double as nice mains for small rooms ...provided you've got some bottom.

Title: Re: Wharfedale LX Series Wedges Vs JBL Mpro Vs JBL JRX
Post by: Abdul Sajwani on August 01, 2005, 08:46:16 PM
[quote title=TM S&L wrote on Mon, 01 August 2005 12:53]
abs wrote on Sun, 31 July 2005 20:07



are you looking at the s112iv's or v's or are you looking at the s12e's? I have the s112iv's and they are rated at 300 w program, 600 continuous. the s12e's use a cheaper phonelic horn driver and have lower power handling.


I think you meant 300W program and 600W peak..? but the rms rating is still 175W..?  But of course we go for quality over quantity providing it proves as useful when we do our outdoor gigs.. I'll check to make sure I was looking at the correct model.. Is this the right specs? http://www.yamahaproaudio.com/products/speakers/v_series/spe cifications.html

We'd be looking to put through vocals and some hand percussions and some electronic percussions..

We have double 15s we use for side and drum fills in larger gigs.. but I just hate having 3 different types of wedges for everything else.. we use quest and Australian monitor wedges for other stuff.. its not very flexible because while one wedge is good at one thing the other is better at the other.. and I can't make flexible configurations for casing or anything else really..

I was considering going all Australian monitor but they're plastic boxes as are the quest.. I want to get something more rugged and reliable.. mind you the XR12 have a rotatable horn which has proved very good for vocal monitoring. We used to use the 15" 450W quests and now find that vocalist like the sound of the AM XR 12s 300W more.. The only other problem with plastic boxes is that its more the sound of box rather than the speaker that is good.. because as you get further away.. especially during outdoor gigs, the sound is not consistent.. more so with the quest than the AMs.  better plastic boxes are not so much cheaper as getting good wooden wedges.. which can take a beating..

Thats why i figured if I get rugged 12" wedges with a good flat response and a decent horn then it would be a good investment..

I tried asking for anyone's experience with XR12s on this forum but I didn't get any response so I figure its not safe to go and buy heaps of something no one knows anything about.. If I run into trouble I will have no one's experience to learn from..
Title: Re: Wharfedale LX Series Wedges Vs JBL Mpro Vs JBL JRX
Post by: Tom Manchester on August 02, 2005, 09:47:49 PM
Believe me, if you are worried about the yamahas being to weak and underpowered that certainly isn't the case. They did quite well as mains for a show I did up against 2 marshall half stacks, a heavey metal drummer, and an 8x10 bass rig. It was vox only throught them, but still cut through.
Title: Re: Wharfedale LX Series Wedges Vs JBL Mpro Vs JBL JRX
Post by: Alfred_Mapanao on September 09, 2005, 01:55:38 AM
I've owned the MP415 and I'll tell you honestly that the Wharfedale LX 15" wedges will blow them out of the water. They have a 2" compression driver with a 1.4" exit. The design of the horn results in a really smooth frequency response - hardly needs any EQ if any.

I just bought 4 of them today and plan on buying a couple more if that tells you anything.

The JBL is an OK monitor (a little overpriced IMHO). I'd take a look and listen to the Wharfedale LX stuff. Highly recommended.
Title: Re: Wharfedale LX Series Wedges Vs JBL Mpro Vs JBL JRX
Post by: Joel North on September 22, 2005, 06:20:20 AM
Wharfedale stuff is great, I use it all of the time. I am from a smaller company, we don't have any EAW's and Soundcraft boards, but hey we do the job and it sounds quite nice. I'd say go with the LX monitors. Aren't they 600 watts? Most 15" Models Wharfedale Pro offers are 600 watts "music" anyway, and that's what I go by. I usually put 500 watts or so into the Wharfedale speakers I use and they seem to work fine. Just make sure you don't over-drive them and blow out the light bulbs inside. Yes, it is possible and you'll have to replace the light bulb before your horn will work again.
Title: Re: Wharfedale LX Series Wedges Vs JBL Mpro Vs JBL JRX
Post by: Ted Christensen on September 23, 2005, 03:20:53 PM
Flat out. I dont like the JRX line. Period.



its a cheap line that JBL just through out there..my friend there 12" floor monitors, pair of 15" mains and pair of 18" subs.

he uses it for DJ which is fine..

then underpoweres it in stereo for live sound reinforcement..

Personally from hearing them even powered right they sound bad to my tastes.

Title: Re: Wharfedale LX Series Wedges Vs JBL Mpro Vs JBL JRX
Post by: Abdul Sajwani on October 04, 2005, 01:56:38 AM
Just to update the thread, we bought a pair of Wharfedale LX12 Wedges after reviewing the MP4's, and I concur that the LX blew the MP's away. The bigger tweeter really makes for nice monitoring.  The LX is designed as a proper wedge.. horn on top for close up monitoring. So a trade off is that we can't use it as a small FOH speaker as aposed to MP4's. Also the thing to note is that the LX series is Wharfedale's flagship product. For the price, IMHO its unbeatable. We will be buying a few more pairs in the near future.  

I will say this, if I had the budget I would have gone the JBL SRX, and I say that because that was just in a class of its own in comparison to lx and MP's, but obviously because MP's aren't the flagship product of JBL then they have been purposely 'dumbed' down to meet a price point and are still relatively expensive for what they offer.  The LX is the best Wharfedale could do and obviously they wouldn't want their best to reflect badly upon their ability.

Thanx for all the feedback guys.  I also tested the Yammies.. and they sounded awesome but it was under powered for my purpose, and for a lower price I could get the the LX's which sounded equally as good, as clear and MUCH louder. Also the sound wasn't coloured with in the LX's in comparison. Yammies I found need'd some eq' to flatten out.. but that's no drama.. once done.. set and forget..

Our LX's have been on road now for 2 months and not one complaint yet, except for the silly way in which its carpet has been pasted on there is a weak point near the front base where the carpet begins to upon up if your wedges do a bit of side on travelling like mine. Nothing a bit of Gaffa couldn't look after..  We are driving them with a crown K2 amplifier.