Nice Speakers.....The problem is they are powered by Crown Amps....Good Luck with that....I'll take a QSC amp over a crown 9 days a week.

You can't be serious. Crown makes great amps. That's not to say that QSC amps are bad, because they're not.

those are good prices!

I still have my crown and its been over 16 years.Crown amps is the ish.

Indeed

No doubt!

Wow those look nice!

me likes!

We can't go wrong with either one of them right?

Like JBL PRX615M vs QSC K12

Actually, check out the new QSC KW series

KWs are bigger in size compared to K series. I'm shopping for small/powerful speakers that will fit in my Mustang. I already own a pair of JBL PRX515s and they are way too big

...and i JIZZED in my pants...

i like

very tempting

Way tempting... I feel like selling my entire PRX500 line for this one. lol


But, realistically, what I have suits my needs. But hey, if I find a buyer,
I'm sure I would sell.

These are impressive, but it seems like these are a overdue refresh of the 518 series. The specs seem about the same. I'll have to hear them in person to make a correct judgement call on them.

The KW seem more of a supplement to the K series. The two lines don't really overlap.

For now, I have 4 K8s and 2 PRX718S subs...and they're not hitting craigslist anytime soon.

you must never heard a macro tech amp. omg. qsc= OK I Have a 2 crown amp racks macro series and 2 carvin racs and 1 qsc rack 3402 x1 and 2 x3602, I havent used that in almost 1 year. no bs crown and carvin. or my powered tops.qsc is good and local to me but they aint nothing on crown.jbl = top speaker, and crown = best amp in the world.

the macrotech series from crown Has more Balls when it comes to bass, compared to the qsc plx2 series

Whoa, that's a loaded statement...

Crown used to be the industry STANDARD, or at least USED to be...

I only got QSC's because they were affordable...but I've had a Power Base 1 since FOREVER, and it's fallen HARD, on cement...and has never missed a beat.

I also perferred the QSC's to the Macro Techs because I could never rock with that "Glowing Indicator" to show how much power was "In Reserve", just tell me how much is going to the speakers.....

Co-sign.

+1

FIXED..

Don't get it twisted....QSC is the *ish! And they were fully scalable for what I needed when I was updating the stacks....

I am shopping for speakers: I need a one time purchase so I am having a hard time picking hte right speakers. At this point I don't care powered or non powered I want to know how much power is the average. I am a wedding type of dj so I think i shoudld stay between 1500 and 2000 power wise. Any suggestions ?

www.electro-voice.com Good
www.electro-voice.com Even Better
www.electro-voice.com & Powerd

do the research you will find the zxa5 can't be beat buy anything in it's price range

i've only got a pair of the sxa100's and they've carried me a long way. i did have a wire come loose in one of my speakers though ... it was a quick free fix so not that much of a problem

jbl srx series is the ish! especially paired with a crown itech...no powered speaker comes close imo

Those ZXa5s are in another league (up there with RCF 7 series and KV2) as far as powered stuff. Their prices keep them out of most DJ's hands being $1500+ each.

These JBLs are what most anyone can find at their local GC or SamAsh for an a more affordable price... $700 - $800 each range. They will definitely be stiff competition for the QSC K and KW series.

I wonder what they'll look like in person. That little pin stripe across the grills bug me but they look like a solid product for JBL.

I guess I'll be waiting for a solid KW VS 600 Series shootout before I buy more sound....

Because they're so readily available, one could do their own listening tests. That's the problem with brands like Yorkville and RCF... you can't find them anywhere. You'll definitely see JBL and QSC powered speakers at your local Pro Audio shop...

I think by looking at the specs the JBL is a much better choice. They just use a better woofer. Same types found in the pricey SRX line. Thats how they got more power and less weight. Still Id have to hear it though to be sure if they sound like the SRX series.

JBL PRX615M - 45 pounds
(15 in) Differential Drive® dual voice-coil and magnetic gap, neodymium woofer

QSC KW 152- 62 pounds
15" cone transducer

Dude, you're looking at preliminary specs on the QSC KW line. They haven't event released the official specs yet. Some of the specs have changed since even the first announcement. The KW181 for example now goes lower and has more spl than prelim specs had when first announced.

That 45 pounds is heLLa light... you may think the PRX is better because of the driver but one could say the QSC KW has a better built or more solid cabinet. I felt the PRX 518 subs sounded a little 'honky' or cardboard sounding and they were light as well. It'll all be seen as I'm sure people will compare the two when they come out.

i have a prx718s ... tell me that the prx618s xlf is not better. 300 more watts but 2 separate amps ... other specs look the same

www.mackie.com ... Mackie says ph*ck all ya'll...

LMFAO

EV said i just ate mackie up & Sh!t him out, www.electro-voice.com

Nawww dude... we talkin' about new powered speakers... KW, PRX 600-series... < $800 stuff.

i know , just had to throw that in there ....LOL....

Looks like Mackie is trying to crawl back into the powered speaker game: www.mackie.com

I just bought 2 K12's and 1 PRX718. It's the perfect set up when I do private events.

What I like the most about the K12's is the versatility in terms of connections (inputs/outputs). I have a friend that recently had an engagement party. It was a small thing, so a full blown DJ system was not needed. He just asked if I can bring a speaker to hook up an iPod to. With just 1 K12, an iPod, and a standard 1/8" to RCA cable, the music was taken care of for the whole event.

Two advantages I see the new JBL 12" speakers have over the K12's are: 1. price ($100 cheaper) and 2. weight (5 lbs lighter).

I'm still happy with my purchase though.

Is it me or does these jbl 600's use a dual voice coil ????

yes! >>>www.jblpro.com

hd1801 > prx718? $999 vs. $1299 ? wtf is going on?!

Competition + options = good thing for DJs.

My $.02 comparison

JBL 600-series pros:
very light weight
JBL name recognition
dual-angled pole mount option
JBL 600-series cons:
1.5" compression driver for highs (smaller than QSC and Mackie's)
1000 watts (marketing hype... 500 watts for highs???... they have to be limited)
poplar plywood enclosure (may be the reason they're so light in weight... very light weight may mean skimp on construction quality or 'honky' sounding cabinet)


QSC KW-series pros:
6-year warranty
lots of adjustment/hookup options
dual-angled pole mount option
light weight
birch wood enclosure (one of the best woods for cabinet sound quality)
1.75 compression driver for highs (better vocal clarity)
QSC KW-series cons:
1000 watts (marketing hype... 500 watts for highs???... they have to be limited)


Mackie HD-series pros
managable weight
1200 watts (more than JBL and QSC and doesn't seem like marketing hype) (not heavily limited highs like others)
1.75 compression driver for highs (better vocal clarity)
birch wood enclosure (one of the best woods for cabinet sound quality)
Mackie HD-series
weight (a little heavier than the JBL and QSC but still not bad)
Mackie parts and support (teRRible... replacement parts will have you waiting on China)


All these new boxes coming out seem very similar. I think it'll come down to listening tests. I never liked how QSC and now JBL give overhyped wattage ratings with 500 watts going to a "TWEETER". The Mackie models wattage ratings seem more realistic with 500 watts rms to the lows and 100 rms to the highs (or 1200 watts PEAK overall). All of it is marketing fluff anyway.

I think i made my pick. JBL. One because of the brand and the second because of the watts power they put out. here is my choice. I need advice before i get them:

2 prx 635 or 625 They both have 1500 W
( I cand't find the difference besides two/three way) help ?
and
2 Prx 618s-xlf (because it has the highest Pwr rating (1000W)

Does any one know if these pwr ratings ar the max peak or the continous ? I guess that is important too right.

I am looking for lots of watts + reliability - quality -

Some people are still very confused about the JBL line. Again they are so light because they are using NEODYMIUM woofers. Same types found in expensive and very light JBL SRX line and the EV ZX series. The SRX line uses the same types of woofers and handle an enourmous amount of power without breaking a sweat. On top of that they are extra light. I dont think some have still grasped that concept yet. Look up the JBL SRX line, they are EXTRA light and sound far from "honky". Its pretty much tour sound quality. Its a whole nother level of speaker. So what JBL has done is given you a better and lighter woofer that is capable of handling more power and put it into the powered PRX line. Get it?

The JBL PRX 625 is dual 15s, they have alot more decibels, louder, hit harder, 139 dB peak. No pole mounts so you have to floor it or stack it on top of a subwoofer.

The JBL PRX 635 is rated at 135 dB peak

Check the weight and price on this speaker so you get an idea of what Im talking about. 48 pounds, $1400.00 bucks! Why, cause its a step above your average speaker.
www.pssl.com
Everyone I know who uses them say the same thing, they sound incredible and they handle an enourmous amount of power. Most people who have them are using amps approaching the 3200 watt mark and these things done even break a sweat.

I

I know SRXs are high end... but you're talking SRX passive boxes. All of our comparisons are powered boxes with the Crown amps. I'm generalizing JBLs PRX lightweight lineup off of what I've heard on the PRX 518s. They are cool at nominal to mid-high volume levels but at high levels (near clipping) they sounded very 'honky' or cardboard'ish to me. Granted, I was comparing them to the QSC HPR 181i... an excellent sounding powered sub (just too heavy).

^^^ I believe the SRX boxes may be constructed a little differently. They are 79 lbs passive whereas the PRX 718 and PRX 618XLF are 76 and 81 lbs with built-in amps.

Just because the some of the PRX line shares the same driver with the SRX doesn't mean they'll sound the same. They don't even handle the same power...

I'm curious as to how all of these new offerings will stack up. None of them look bad at all.

First off, its a completely different speaker. Stop comparing the 500 to the new 600 series. Being powered or passive has nothing to do with it. Of course they wont sound the same lol, if they did they'd be alot more expensive. The amps alone would cost more than the speaker itself. Imagine an amp producing 3200 watts in a 15 in enclosure. Oh wait, just look at the powered JBL VRX line and see what type of woofers they use and how much they cost. Basically with the 600's gave you an affordable powered solution, with the best components. I was leaning towards the srx line, but now that these new 600's came out, its a much cheaper alternative.

JBL PRX 600 sub-
460mm (18 in) Differential Drive® dual voice-coil and magnetic gap, neodymium woofer

JBL PRX 500 sub-
JBL VGC™ (Vented Gap Cooled) woofer

In all honesty though, we will never know until its heard with your own ears. Im sure some people will always like QSC over JBL. It comes down to personal preference.

+1

must have never heard the srx's to say that

Ok since you guys seem to have experience/knowledge with speakers i need your advice with the following:

After a full research and hours of facebooking, forums and reviews reading time, i gathered this: Watts are not as important as SPL when it comes to speakers and also Response Frequency is important as well. A range of 136 dB SPL or more will do a great job and also keeping it between 50Hz-20KHz for frequency. Subs should be around 30Hz-35Hz in a perfect world.

So far i have found Mackies (SA1532z) with the speaker features i want but i need advice. And also would some one tell me what is wrong with Cevi Vega Subs. I hear nothing but bad reviews but i always see them in gigs. What are good subs ?

hit me back please. and thanks already.

All I know is that back in the day, (10 years or more...), the Junior Earthquakes were the SHIZNIT! But their drivers kept blowing....

I eventually grabbed some JBL 18's, stuck them in there, and never looked back.

Their folded horn cabinets are SOLID...

I bought my MAcrotech around 2001, It has been my only gig amp, I have never cleaned it and dont use a backup. Never had a single issue and has enuf power for any room. It has thousands of 5-7 hour gigs on it. So long story short Crowm macrotech is the shit

That's what I'M talkin' about....Just set it and forget it..

What Model of MacroTech is it?

hahaha. I did the same thing with some black widows. The Cerwin Vegas never again needed fixing.

Yes, SPL is important as is speaker driver efficiency. There are lots of speaker specifications that translate to a good or bad speaker. Most of today's pro audio subs usually have best response in a frequency range of 30 - 90Hz. That's where it's best to operate them.

I almost went the Black Widow route, because from what I understand, they had "Field Replaceable Baskets"....

So, that was initially a strong selling point for me, but then I really thought about it, and realized that if a speaker blew at a function, am I REALLY gonna take apart that cabinet and replace the driver at that point?

Most likely no....

Don't get it twisted, I wound up Purchasing 3 used QSC's (300.00 - 400.00 apiece), as they had the best bang for the buck at the time. They had the exact wattage range I needed in Stereo, and in Bridge Mode.

I was always using what I considered High pressure sound levels, and your ears get tired, so I would need to rely on meters to tell me if I'm rocking' too loud.

The Macro-Tech's didn't give me what I needed as far as monitoring that. They had some type of "Glow Technololgy" which showed how much power was in "Reserve" or some mess....

I needed a clip light dammit...

I compared the new JBL 600 series with the KW series and I ended up buying the JBL 615m. The KW sounded much better than the JBL but $450 less.. I'll take the JBL and the new look all day. QSC had a smoother highs/mid and more lows.

I also compared the old prx 512 vs the new 612 and the older 512 sounded much fuller with better lows. The new 612m and 615m are ported in the back, at the top so they low much of the lows but when I had my 615m against a wall it sounded great!

So to sum it up... QSC sounds much better but the price and look of the new JBL's sold me. Go with the 615 or 512 if you go JBL... the 612's will not cut it without a sub. Both JBL and QSC are super light so enjoy!

PS... Old crown amps like the Macros are a beast but they are heavy and power whores. If you have roadies and are lucky enough to plug into a distro than go crown. QSC has gone a long ways and make solid gear including their amps. I use the new PLX's in the club im at and they are AMAZING!

Thanx for the honest comparison. I'm not sure why JBL would come out with a new series that sounds worse than the older ones. I'll have to hear them and compare for myself. I'm hearing good things about the QSC KW series stuff.

good to hear this stuff....ended up finding a good deal on a pair of K12's and I have been very happy for the past week just breaking them in

Did anyone get any model of the new JBL 600 series yet?? Im curious to how they sound still. Guitar Center around my way still doesnt have them and PSSL wont ship em out till October?

I have heard mixed reviews so far. Some people say incredible and others say they are okay. I will probably check them out when the GC in my area gets them. I wasn't too impressed with the 500 series. Hopefully these are better.

I think I posted this on here but ZZsounds.com had the JBL PRX718s for $867 each for a minute. I turned a local female DJ on to them... a steal.

Wow. That's a damn good price for that PRX718.

Crowns are very power sensitive even the newer light weight models has had there problems because crown wants to stick a dsp in every amp

That was for 'while supplies last'. They went back up to $1020 as of Monday.

Wow, can't believe some think Crown amps are sub-standard. I remember owning CE 4000 amps, they freakin' lasted me a good seven years and when i told them, i still made money on them. Here in DC, most clubs still use the macro-tech line of Crown. still the standard for hi end amps.

DSP is most likely the future in digital power amps. I believe Crown took the forefront with their tour-grade iTech line of amps. The DSP and amp, with its ability to be networked, is truly a saving grace in the tour-class of amps because they can be more granular in setting appropriate RMS + Peak limiting and monitor every amp's function individually all via one networked laptop console. Crown had some bugs in that 1st line of amps and took a bad wrap but later corrected them with the iTech HD line.

THeir recent problem with their XLS, DSi and XDi models was due to a bad part from one of their suppliers. I'm not sure if those had anything to do with DSP.

@ gaffle. I've had a single PRX718s for a while now and love it. (Paid $1300 :( Do you think its worth it to buy another one? I fear that with the recent price drop a 818 or 918 is on the horizon.

p.s. still debating selling it all and getting a pair of ZXA5's

ZXa5s aren't gonna give you the bass of a true sub. I'd get another PRX718 as I hear they're solid performers. The EVs WILL be too loud for the PRXs though (EASILY)... You'll have to tone them down so the PRXs can keep up. I think it'll take 4 PRX718s to nicely round out with 2 ZXa5s... the EVs are just THAT loud.

What are your current tops?

EON 515's

So K-12's are still good for its price? I will have gigs coming up this Fall and there's no way I can carry my JBL speakers in my tiny Mustang

when are the kw's coming out?

They are already out. Tops have been out since last month, Sub shipped last week to those who pre-ordered. Next shipments are between now and October.

Lots of online stores already selling KW series..

ys best to order that online

LOL

the zxa5's are rated @ spl of 133db.. which is the same as the prx tops and only 3 DB more than the 12" QSC K12's..

they don't seem that loud on paper?

now the JBL PRX635 seems loud.. 139DB !!

WHere did you get 139dB from...? I see 135dB for the PRX635. The PRX625, according to JBL is 139dB but I'd take all their ratings on these PRX boxes with a grain of salt. The concert/touring-quality $4000+ EAW KF650z Trap box is only 135dB, so you think a JBL PRanything (weighing in at only 60 lbs) is louder than they are? I think not...

When I said the ZXa5 will be louder than the PRXs... I meant his PRX sub. I have no doubt that he'll be gaining DOWN some ZXa5s for his subs to keep up. He'll need multiple PRX 718 subs to keep up.

my bad the 625 is rated @ 139 db not the 635.. and that was my whole point about gaining down the zxa5... why would he need to gain down the zxa5 when its rated the same or less db's than the prx top's that are designed for the prx sub?

That last guy mentioned having only 1 PRX718 and trying to use it with a pair of ZXa5s. I don't think "1" PRX718 would be enough for 2 PRX615 tops, yet alone a pair of ZXa5s. And to further add... I would bet an EV ZXa5 > JBL PRX615 in max dB SPL, forget what the specs say (just my opinion). If you follow JBL's specs, you'd think the 12" PRX612 is also louder than the 15" ZXa5 and I'm sure that's not true...

A PRX718 is 133dB SPL max according to JBL (it doesn't specify at what frequency this max SPL is), while their bigger tops (625 and 635) you mentioned are 135dB and 139dB max. That means it'll definitely take multiple PRX718 subs to nicely round out the sound when playing with those tops at high volumes.

I'm basing my point about the ZXa5s on my experience when playing them with the HPR181i subs or a Danley TH-115 sub. A single Danley TH-115 sub is easily louder than 2 HPRs 181i's and I still had to gain down the EVs to nicely round out the sound when using them with the Danley. I'm thinking the PRX718s aren't much or any louder than the HPR181i so the case will be the same. "1" PRX718 won't cut it for these tops...

any try out the jbl prx 615's yet?

Here is a vid of the 12 inch-
Watchwww.youtube.com

Im still waiting for them to arrive in stores. Alot of place online have them on pre order. Im picking up the dual 15's, 139 db, 1500 watts, 60 pounds each, Neodymium woofers!!!!

This new PRX6 series is now closer to their higher end speakers. The old PRX is not even comparable. They will blow all these other brands out of the water soon enough.

Why would anyone put speakers in the water. *runs and hides* lol

What we need now is a Speaker shoot out of JBL PRX series ,QSC K series and EV ZX5.

All of these around around the same price-

EX ZXA5- 1250 watts, 133 db, Neodymium Driver

JBL PRX 635- 1500 watts, 135 db, Neodymium Driver

QSC KW153- 1000 watts, 134 db, cone transducer

Don't forget the Mackie HD1531, 135 dB calculated, 126 dB 'measured'. All the above Max SPL dB are also 'calculated'.

I compared the 2-way ZXa5 against the QSC HPR153, QSC KW153, Mackie HD1531 and Yorkville U15PB. It wasn't an apples-to-apples comparison as all the competition were 3-way boxes but rather, a solutions-to-solutions test.

In terms of clarity (mids & highs), I'd rank them as:

#1 Mackie HD1531
#2 Yorkville U15PB
#3 QSC KW153
#4 HPR153
#5 EV ZXa5 (very loud though)

... keep in mind that you'll be hard pressed to find a powered 2-way top that'll compete against a quality powered 3-way top in terms of clarity.

In terms of overall LOUDness or output, I'd rank them as:

#1 Mackie HD1531
#2 EV ZXa5
#3 Yorkville U15PB
#4 QSC KW153
#5 QSC HPR153

In terms of low-end extension (how deep the bass response), I'd rank them as:

#1 Yorkville U15PB (the bass is fierce on these)
#2 Mackie HD1531
#3 QSC KW153
#4 EV ZXa5
#5 QSC HPR153

In terms of overall ergonomics, size, etc., I'd rank them as:

#1 EV ZXa5 (only 52 lbs., pole mountable but only 1 handle... dumb)
#2 QSC KW153 (well balanced w/ pole mount but still tall & heavy)
#3 Mackie HD1531 (nice EQs w/o too much sensitivity to hurt yourself, pole mount & heavy)
#4 Yorkville U15PB (wide and heavy w/ pole mount)
#5 QSC HPR153 (no pole mount, 118 lbs... get it outta here)

The verdict isn't out on the JBL PRX635s... No reviews yet and no stores really have them. They look to be a nice value, pole mountable and their 60 lb. weight is VERY nice but they'll only have a 1" high driver which is very suspect. The PR625 seems like a better option if you want to get loud for larger crowds. Too bad it doesn't have a pole mount and it's dispersion is too wide at 90 degrees therefore, you can't splay or array it in pairs w/o sound clarity detriment.

I convinced my sat spot to put in 625s for booth monitors.

I am very very happy with em.

I have 2k and need to upgrade ...

JBL PRX635's or Mackie HD1531's?

1500W vs 1800W
3x500 vs 900rms/1800 peak
untested vs iffy quality
135 spl vs 135 spl
$999 vs $999 (recently dropped from $1199)
60 lbs. vs 96 lbs.
15"/6.5"/1" vs 15"/6"/1.75"
Duraflex coated plywood vs Birch plywood

OR the EV ZXA5's??

Current setup is 2 EON 515's + 1 PRX718s will probably sell the tops n keep sub and eventually add another.

Help a DJ out

A pair of QSC K12's & keep the change (my buddy found a pair on eBay for $1.2K ...$600 each.....they threw in speaker stands as well)

Read the reviews of the mackies, not good, tons of other posts about them blowing out. pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com

I still have yet to hear the PRX635 or PRX625. You cannot be the price on those really. Some people Ive heard say they are using cheap wood, plastic parts, etc.. I dunno. I still think the specs and internal components are high quality. The Mackies ive heard are obnoxiously loud. They dont sound great, but will do the job if you have hundreds of guests.

I will say I had a chance to demo the QSC KW153, damn than those things sound sooo good!! Just classy, clear, precise and sound great at loud levels. Qsc amps are some of the best in the business so you know the internals are good. Everyone I know with JBL srxs uses qsc amps. They KW are also more expensive than both the JBL and Mackie. They stand taller, wider and are made of birch wood. They are also pole mountable. If the majority of gigs you do are weddings etc Id say the QSCs are the best of the bunch. They also have the best warranty, six years. Id say sell your gear that you have now and use that cash towards a QSC setup if you really want the best sounding speakers. Loudness is a different story. I also heard the new Yamahas are those things were just like the Mackies, obnoxiously loud.

I've all but eliminated the Mackies, way too many owners with issues. You think the QSC's, even though they are 500 watts less, are better than the JBL's?

2 x 500W Class D vs 3 x 500W Class D?
Plus $600 more for the pair
27 more lbs each

At $1300 each is there a better solution? If I am going to plunk down $2500 I have to be sure.

Dont go by watts, the dbs are more important really. Take for example the JBL srx 715s are rated up to 3200 watts, but are only 131 dbs. Some speakers are more efficient than others. Some need more juice to sound right, some need less.

The QSC KW153 are 134 db, thats more than enough! The Qsc are also more flexible in the rear controls and have alot more options to make your setup sound right with subs for example. You can see why they cost a little more. More importantly your clients and your ears will be happy. You'll get good resale on them too if you ever decide to let them go. Dont take my word though, go down to your nearest guitar center and have them demo them for you. Thats what convinced me.

For myself, the only other options would be some yorkville unity series speakers. They can be just as expensive if not more, but you can find great deals on them on ebay. They have been around forever though and are not as new as the KWs.

Also whenever I go to guitar center I always ask for a better deal. I would not pay full price. They can hook it up sometimes.

Sorry to say I lost all respect for JBL and their company and they lost a die hard customer. Horrible customer service. The powered subs I bought less than a year ago sit in a storage not working. I pesonally will stay with my k-subs.
When 2 of these put together literally make me nautious from lows that I have to turn them down with no problems since purchase. Also feel better with the protection board on them. I wont get started when I put all 4 together.
For a mobile routine... Thumbs down on JBL and their powered subs.
I wish I could hire MR T. to teabag their ceo and customer rep.

I'm glad I haven't experienced any problems with JBL to even have to call their customer service. :)

Yeah. I at least three times a year get bent over on something. Jbl had a piece of me this year. I find it amazing that I could have bad luck with a product then turn around and hear 10 others happy. All it takes is one bad experience to kill off a customer. Wether I purchased the its closing time at the factory hurry up subs and the Rep that just caught his girlfriend sleeping with his brother. I dont know, but I do know as a consumer I want zero problems in the first year and maybe a couple of hiccups in the second and maybe replace in the third year. This is what I expect personally from any brand name. In three years its time to graduate to the new stuff. Not in the first year.

remind me never to go to clubs you hang out at

Ha did I forget the (no homo)

Just got off the phone with GC. Closest KW153's are 45 minutes away. 10% off (129 each) when you are trading in/up. Guessing they will give me around $400ish per EON515.

$2600
-$260 (10%)
-$800

$1540

Or I can wait because some new coupon/savings campaign is set to go on the 17th.
Eric in Pro Audio echoed everyone else's sentiments, amazing sound, even at high volumes, heavy (if you are a woman), highly recommended.

Per Mike Coquilla's recommendation, would it be a better solution to get 2 K12's and another PRX718s?

My experience is very few gc reps know whats really what in certain depts Hence commisions. Most just get feedback from other customers and havent really gone out and gigged with them. Yes they will turn them on for you and let you hear. When you use them at gigs for about a month is when you will get the true feeling of them. Gives you just enough time to see if you like them and if you dont return and trade. Test them out and see what fits you.
"as of now" in my search for what fits me. K-subs are it. Not to say that might change by next year.

Do not make any decisions until you hear any of the speakers first! You yourself will know what suits your gigs in general. You cant go wrong with either the QSC K or KW series.

Guitar Center will not give you that much for your gear. They will give you a 1/4 of what they are worth. Craiglist or ebay your gear.

+1 I would rather stick my gear in storage than trade up with them.

where did he get them from? i'm interested in a pair and if I can get them at that price i'll do it.

what is the difference from K series to KW series? Same wattage, same class D ... $300 more and 9 lbs. on K12 vs KW122

wood and plastic.

Wood resonates better than plastic, gives out a better tone, sounds better from what I understand.

I agree but $600 seems stiff for a pair of wooden boxes

Yeah for the speakers you'll just have to listen with you own ears and then decide. You might like one over the other, might not be worth the extra cash.

wow...

www.idjnow.com

Would like to hear a couple of these to see if theres a difference. I better see golden notes coming from these if I bought them. Let me back track. Titanium notes.

Mackie srm450 always had titanium drivers.

JBL VP series are also in that range, these powered joints go up to 2200 watts
www.jblpro.com

This new Peavey joint is 1200 watts powered, 800 bucks. Never liked anything Peavey, but Im sure alot of mobile guys will probably like the price.

www.pssl.com

$7k each for the 3 way JBLs VPs is insane. How good can a loud speaker sound?

I still can't make a firm decision on what to go with. I'm sure I would be happy with the PRX635's or the KW153's it just seems like everything is so convoluted with marketing hype and manipulation of the numbers.

Case in point.

The JBL VP7315/64DP is 1100W cont 2200W peak and is $7300
Mackie HD1531 is 1800W peak and is $999

How can I make an educated decision when I need a degree in sound engineering to get down to a common denominator. Is it watts? Continous? Peak? Max spl? Calculated? Measured? Neodymium Driver? Cone transducer?

What is the best all around sounding powered speaker for under $1500??

I am lost

Use your ears..

Most in here have used or are using the speakers they suggest. Most of these speakers are industry standard. Start with one that catches your eye, has the most praise then do your homework. Google it and read the consumer's comments. By far you are right now reading What most dj's consider the best for live performances wether its $800 or $3000.

What type of gigs will you be using the speakers for? How big are the venues and crowds you'll be using them for? That will help answer this question.

A lot of my gigs are bars/restuarants that have a house sound system that doesn't get very loud, so they want me to bring sound. About once a month I do a wedding and they've ranged from 150-450 people. What I want is a single setup that will accomodate me in whatever capacity I need. I don't want 2 different rigs. I want a great pair of powered tops that I can take with relative ease to most of my gigs and when the event permits I can add a sub or 2.

I just got off of the phone with a sales guy at DJ Supply and he really made me reconsider getting the KW153 (or any 3-way). They are big, not only weight wise but they are 4 1/2 feet tall. I have a late model Explorer and no way are 2 of those, my coffin, and a sub fitting in the back. He also spoke highly of the EV ZXA5's and a 15" 2-way seems the be the best solution for me.

Which is the question.

I'm going with two K12's & one KW181. I think this type of setup is compact and mobile and would produce good results for the type of gigs you posted also.

The KW153s are 43 in, 3.58 ft tall



Yeah that setup will work definitely.

nice set-up

I have
2 Ksubs
2 K10s
2 K8s

going to re-arrange that to

4 K8s
2 KW181s

with two K8s over each KW

I have

2 KW122s
2 KW181s

Sold my K10s and KSubs. In hindsight, I prolly would've kept the K10s and and gotten the KW153s but I'm good

yeah that would be a very nice setup, and if you ever needed more bass, you could just put the two Kw181's together in the middle with the K8's on the sides.

You won't find a better 2-way powered speaker <$1500 than the EV ZXa5's. The JBL PRX635s may sound better though and aren't too tall and only weigh 8 lbs. more than the EV. They'll perhaps sound better due their 3-way design + they are pole mountable.

I have:

2 PRX515's
1 PRX512
1 PRX518

For the mobile stuff I do, this is a perfect set up. Good price range and good sound plus it's very portable and it all fits inside my little Scion xB. If I need more bass, I use another PRX518 or a PRX 718.

I also chose the PRX515 vs 2 PRX512's because I can use those without a bass bottom for small gatherings and still have some nice bass compare to just using a 12 alone.

Either way, find what YOU NEED at the PRICE YOU CAN AFFORD and always try TO THINK AHEAD.

PRX635's on the way :)

You'll like 'em. I picked up a pair a couple of days ago and posted a review on this forum.

same price range as QSC's K12, not sure if the same class:

$800 Peavey IMPULSE-12D 1,200 Watt Powered 12" Speaker
www.pssl.com



$800 1,300 watts 12" Yamaha DSR112 12" 2-way Bi-amp Powered Speaker
www.pssl.com

Sweet, What was the main factor on purchase? Did you get 2 and interested on how they turn out on mobile gigs after a few months of use.
Be very carefull with clipping, specially if someone else is filling in on your setup.
Zero warranty on burnt voicecoils. Very easy to clip if you drink and gig. Watch all meters in ssl and mixer.

Of course sound and mobility was part of my decision but my main decision was based on,
QSC Guardrail technology, originally introduced on GX Series amplifiers, which prevents destructive clipping distortion and woofer over excursion.
Heat dispersion is managed by a number of thermal protections including a virtually silent internal fan that engages on-demand during periods when the amp senses high temperatures and turns off when no additional cooling is necessary.
There is also discreet signal limiting technology to prevent overheating of the amplifier and transducers as well as DC and short-circuit protection.

The pair just arrived today, very excited. Actually smaller than I had pictured them in my head, and the 60 lbs seems light, oddly enough. Also, because of their shape (triangular) I can lay them in the back of my Explorer side by side, one facing up the other down, and with my coffin on its side it all fits very nicely (rear seats up!). Really like the finish on them too, rough matte black, not easily scuffed.

Main factor was everything: the combination of output of the 3 way, price, size and weight, warranty. I am coming from 2x 450 watt EON515's and PRX718s and eventually plan on adding another PRX718s, which this setup should cover 99% of my gigs that don't already have sound.

Also, I've read DJ Gaffle's reviews and he seems to know what he is talking about. So when he picked up a pair, already having a Danley Sub/ZXA5 tops, it solidified my decision. I got a sweet deal from Sam Ash online too. Now I just have to sell 2 EON515 tops and hope to get half of my $ back to go towards another sub, Logic, or white vinyl. :)

^^^ You should be very satisfied with the 635's. You'll notice that, in full-range mode, you'll be leaving those PRX718 subs at home for small-to-medium sized gigs. The bass on these tops is VERY adequate and capable. One of the best things I've noticed is that these speakers sound good even into limiting. I accidentally ran the level into solid red and didn't notice because the limiters do such a good job of protecting w/o much if any sound degradation.

yo gaffle i too read your review on the jbl635's and i think im going to get them. i currently use the mackie sa1521z with yorkville ls800 subs. i love the yorkie's but the mackie's got to go. did you compare the jbl's to the qsc kw153? and how you think the jbl's would sound with my yorkville ls800p subs?

The JBL PRX635's go lower and will most likely be a little louder with better clarity. It's about 41 lbs. lighter too. That Mackie 1521z weight is ridiculous... 101 lbs! That Mackie is no slouch though and the sound quality is not bad. You'll just get a more articulate sound in a 3-way box.

I didn't do a head-to-head comparison of the PRX635 and the KW153... I only compared the KW153 to my EV's. I'd guess the PRX635's would sound better and slightly louder at high volume levels. I'd guess the KW153 goes lower on the bass. The big loser for the KW153 would be the weight at 87 lbs...

they should sound awesome with my yorkville's

mother fucker i am at a gig right now and blew a 635 and it never clipped or hit the limit. first time out with them, on line in not mic, running on one right now. had gain up to 6 maybe 7. i am pissed. no back up. idiot. running 1 now and hopefully it hold out. so aggravated god

Shouldve gotten the QSCs dawg

back of the 635 thats on is so hot i can't even keep my fingers on it for more than a few seconds

what does it mean if the speaker doesn't even power up? no blue light, nothing? I blew the amp?

Gaffle where are you!?!

May just be thermal limiter shut off the power. Let it cool and see if it comes back on

nope been off for 2 hours, cooled off completely and still not even a power on blown speaker sound

when i put power on there is nothing. nightmare over bar is closed ... jbl is gettin the phone blast in a few hours, update coming. maybe no sale on eons

Sounds like you blew an internal fuse, if they have one.

Try disconnecting the power completely, for a few minutes and see if the speaker "resets". Also, check to see if these speakers have a fuse that might have blown. The Amp getting as hot as you describe does not sound normal. I have a pair of FBT Maxx 4a's that I have played outdoors for 5 hours on a hot humid 90 degree day and they were warm to the touch. Was the other speaker equally hot?

Right here... I haven't gigged on mine yet. I did notice they got quite warm during my testing. I even posted about that on my blog when I did the initial review...

Sorry to hear that dude. You gonna return it to where you bought them from or have JBL deal with it at a repair shop? I'd better try mine at my gig tonight before it's too late. I do NOT want unreliable speakers.

Nothing worse then going to a wedding wondering if your speakers are going to blow. A speaker should not get hot especially if you are indoors. See my comment above about the FBT's.

just got off the phone with sam ash. had to order and pay for another one and got a return authorization for the blown one, for which they will refund me once they receive it. checked them again this morning, still nothing. guy on the phone didn't know if there was a fuse, and going through the owners manual it doesn't state there is one.

As far as temperature on the back of the speaker, they were straight up frying pans. It was 68 degrees in the place, and like previously mentioned i didn't have the gain up past 6 maybe 7 with the speakers gain set at the recommended 12 o'clock.

*** Another thing - my master volume on my 57sl wasn't working last night. That's never happened before and I didn't have time to sort it out. I controlled the volume with the individual gain knobs all night. I go straight from my mixer to the speakers via xlr's. Anyone have a clue as to why that happened?

maybe a bad xlr?

That's good on your return ability. Hopefully, this will be your last speaker failure incident. When I saw your post, I went down to my basement, which is very cold, and turned my PRX635's on. No volume, just sitting idle. I came back down about 2 hours later and they were excessively hot to the touch. I sent an email to JBL inquiring about it and I'll wait to hear back. I think I'll take my to my club tonight and use it full tilt to determine if I'll have issues. I'm not comfortable with the units getting so hot, especially with no sound going through them.

Even though the mixer isnt in the red you could still be clipping. Check the gains on ssl and watch those meters too. Doesnt sound like a burnt coil though. Sounds like the amp burned out. Bad thing about jbl... No warranty on burnt out ish. Learned my lesson quick. Burnt a coil the first time with taking measures 4 months old. No warranty. Fixed it jbl certified. 2 months later and same thing. Now here the sub sits just taking up space and it is still in warranty period. K-subs now for mobile gigs.
JBL will never see a dime out of me again and I will knock them everytime I can.
On a different note, thats shitty you have to pay for another one to get it shipped to just swap out subs. If this is happening at git go..."its a sign"

I spoke with my Sam Ash sales guy and he did a demo just yesterday with the PRX635's for the GA Mobile DJ Association. They were concerned too because after 5 minutes, the heat sinks feel really hot. The sales guy called JBL immediately and 2 different tech engineers stated they will get hot even sitting idle after 5 minutes but even with extended use (several hours), you should not notice them get any hotter. They stated you're just feeling the heat most amps put off anyway and it's to be expected and normal. They stated they've been JBL tortue tested and the heat should not be of concern. I'll test mine tonight and report back.

Please do..I have a pair and have used them twice..No issues and I pushed them pretty good for 4hrs each time. But I have about 2 weeks before I can return them for an exchange...so yea..I'm watching this thread real close.

Alright Gaffle, looking forward to your report. Take the EV's with you and leave em in the car as a backup. I am really skeptical about the heat sinks being that hot and the techs saying its "normal." Seriously i want to use a cooking thermometer and see how hot the one working speaker I have will get. I'll report back.

I think I am going to call JBL directly and speak to someone there. As far as the gain settings/clipping I never reached red on the 57 nor did the the red indicator lights on the back of the speakers ever flicker. I had a few friends there last night admiring my speakers and i had them go out 20 feet in front of them and I turned it up for 10 seconds and they are ridiculous loud and sounded fantastic, and the owner immediately signaled for me to turn it down.

Sam Ash guy said I may have just gotten defective product, but like ta2423 says, I am very afraid its a sign. Basically everything last night was at 12 o'clock, gain, his, mids, lows, and it happened. After it burnt out (and there was a burning smell) I turned the other one down, lowered the lows to 10 o'clock and took it off of the recommended "boost" for prerecorded music, for fear of losing both.

I will say if it happens again, to me or Gaffle, or anyone else on here, they're going back and I'll get the QSC's or KW's or just something else.

Anyone know why the master vol wouldn't be working? Is it possible that has something to do with it?

My KW122s don't get hot much if at all. KW181s get warm with use.

Ha, I wanted to say that so bad, but didn't want to kick him when he's down.

Kinda like when someone has a PC laptop issue, and is seeking help, and some cat just comes in the thread and says

"Get a Mac".

WTF is that?

I will say that I would ONLY bass boost with the volume is nominal to mid level. These speakers have a very nice low end w/o bass boost.

My club has it's own speakers but I'm gonna plug mine into the house system just to get some run time.

There are 2 buttons on the back that can be depressed to choose between "flat" or "boost" and "mic" or "line in". Per the literature that came with the speakers the settings recommended are flat for live sound, and boost for pre-recorded playback. Flat pushes the mids, boost pushes the lower and higher end.

I have one sitting in my living right now on playing through my ipod at very low sound. Its been on for an hour and the back is very warm right now. I am going to leave it on and have a party to go to, so when I get back I'll check it and see if it was as hot as last night.

Gaffle, I don't think they would give it the capability to "boost" if JBL thought it would run the risk of overheating. I ran my EON 515's with the boost on 95% of the time at a 100+ 4 hour gigs and never had an issue. When the limit light flickered I would just back it off a bit and left it at that level.

Good luck tonight.

I dunno man, I don't like ANYTHING coloring my sound, except for my equalizer, and even THAT has minimal adjustments on it. Basically, if a system is large enough, you don't even NEED an equalizer, except to make very slight "overall" adjustments, as the crossover should really be splitting up your sound (like an equalizer), and having nice amps behind each section, in say a 3-way setup, it's the same as adjusting an equalizer.

If you want more bass, you turn up the bass amp, simple...

I think, however, that the bulk of you are using that Driverack thing, and it automatically adjusts your sound or something? So most probably wouldn't know the schematics behind REAL sound reinforcement....

Not dissin', just sayin...

Just got back and checked the one sitting in my living room. Again, similar to last night, too hot to keep your finger on for more than a few seconds. Took the digital thermometer to it and it went to 109, then read "high."

Johnny, I just go directly from my 57sl to the speakers. No equalizer, no driverack thing. You do make a valid point though, I could just as easily leave the "boost" button off and crank up the highs and lows on the mixer.

Yeah man, I've never trusted those "Boost" things, like I've got one of those BBE things, but never use it "LIVE"...

It's there for lights, and LOW to MID level music...to make the sound more "Full".

^^^ Exactly ^^^

I used my PRX635's at my residency tonight without any issues whatsoever. Yes, the amp very warm-to-hot to the touch but it stayed the same temp from early idling to the end of night after running at high volumes for 4.5 hours. I never clipped the speaker and used no boost. The manager was raving over them and asked if I'd be bringing them NYE.

If its to hot to touch its to effing hot period. No way are any speakers made to run hot.
<~~~ watching this thread closely to verify my losses.

The speakers aren't running hot, it's the amp. All amps run hot at the heat sinks and that is what you're touching directly. Some heat sinks dissipate heat more efficiently than others. You'd think these speakers with their class-D amps would run super cool. This may be a good thing... or it may not. I'll keep testing and running my system at the spot to update any perspective buyers or owners. I reaLLy don't want to return my PRX635's because they sound VERY good and the weight and size factor can not be beat.


I had and sold away my old BBE Sonic Maximizer when I had QSC HPR181i's. It gave my sound system a very good enhanced sound when activated. I played it at a wedding though and had the low-end adjustment on the Maximizer a little too high and my HPR subs shut off during the gig. This was the first, only AND LAST time I ever used that BBE thing at a gig. That let me know that bass enhancers are not made for loud volumes.

You don't see touring and concert-level sound rigs with BBE or any such sonic sound enhancers on their systems. They generally run their systems as flat as possible and they make adjustments with parametric EQ's at specific frequencies to compensate for what the speakers lack on the sound spectrum. They also usually make EQ 'cuts' to compensate for the room or venue they're in... you probably will never see a smiley-faced EQ curve with any experienced pro audio technician and that's exactly what a bass-boost button gives you. Again, a boost button is best for low-to-medium volume levels...

Exactly!

One time my boy back in the day, was telling me about "The Button" that his Reggae DJ crew would use.

I was like, "What button"?

He was like, the "Boost" button.

He said, they'd be Sound "Clashing" against another DJ Crew, and when the perfect time came, they'd hit "The Button"! and "add EVEN MORE POWER TO THEIR SYSTEM!".

I was in my head like, "Ok a Button is NOT going to add more "Power" to ANYTHING, if all the levels are set at the highest level without distortion, so I've GOT to see what he's talking about".

So I eventually see this setup, and low and behold, it's the "PASS/THRU" button on the BBE which adds it to the sound chain, and removes it.

So, he could effectively hit this "Button" for about 15 seconds, and then would have to release it, because he was totally overdriving the system, and about to fry something up.

I liken that to some of those speaker companies who say, yeah that speaker is 200 Watts RMS, but 1500 WATTS PEAK! Meanwhile, they don't tell you that the peak is for 3 nanoseconds...

I have this exciter for my system www.guitarcenter.com To me - it make the sound much better - I the highs crisper and the bass punchier - I set it to moderate values and I've have never had a problem..

Funny I just exchanged the QSC KW153s. I played out with my homie 2 weeks ago and was plugged into his Denon 19in mixer. I use the 57sl. It was a two Dj setup. I went first, no issues, speakers bumpin! Then he goes on and the limit light starts going. His gains were pretty much normal from what I could tell. Its was a very awful feeling. I felt like any moment they would shut off. Well I had to hit the crossover on each one and cut out the bass. Luckily he had a sub so it still sounded good. That was it for me. I went to GC and exchanged them the next day for some JBL SRX715s. I have never been more happier. They are the truth!!! I just used an old crown amp that I had pushing around 1400 watts to one speaker to test out. OMG these things are serious! It sounds like a much bigger speaker than it is. Full blast, house shaking, zero distortion. During music playback every instrument stood out. It sounded like the band was playing in front of me. Now I wanna get bigger amps. I will never buy another powered speaker again!

LOL...

Should have went with passive myself but some gigs dont give me the room for extra gear not to mention I would have to buy a bigger van... I definately can hear a huge difference between the two.

I just did a private event with 4 jbl srx 718's sub and two dual 12 tops (srx 722) and the sound that comes out of this rig is amazing so I know what you mean! jbl srx are the truth...so clear and the sound coming out of them sounds like a much larger sound system

going to get some srx 715's soon for smaller gigs

Yeah man they are something else. All I can say is it really makes a huge difference in sound. Music playback sounds much more "live". The 715s have a three inch horn. The 722 and 725 have the 4 inch. These things project far too. You'll hear them clear across the room with with the right amps. Best part is they only weigh 48 pounds, birch wood. They also feel very well built, just solid. The angle pole mount will come in handy when Im on a stage and whatnot. Man I should have gotten these years ago!

Ok, so I've read a few more threads, FAQs, and watched a couple videos, and I apologize in advance if this seems rudementary to some of you.

Gain. I have been under the assumption that if the lights on my 57 weren't hitting red, and my self powered speakers limit light wasn't flickering, then I was good to go. I rarely pay much attention to the meters on screen while djing. Is it possible that somehow the internal gains are set to high even though I am not near reaching the limits of the speakers capabilities?

What I mean is, if my mixer is at 12 oclock, the gain knob on the speaker is at 12, (niether is hitting red) could the internal gain cause an amp to fry itself? In my brain it doesn't make sense. If my gain is too high in SSL, but I have it turned down via the mixer or the speaker itself, then it shouldn't have overheated and burnt out, right?

What is your main Output Level or dB setting set to in the Serato Setup screen? (I believe the values range from 89dB - 98dB with 89 being low). I keep my value at 90 or 91dB max.

Do you run 'analyze' or build overviews on all of your music files?

I don't even think the TTM57 has red light indicators or at least I've never pushed my volume levels high enough to see them.

You want to make sure your you're not sending out a distorted signal to your speakers. Garbage in/garbage out. Distorted or overly clipped source material can mean the death to any loudspeaker. I'm not saying this is an excuse or the reason to your speaker failure, I'm just educating anyone who doesn't know this as a DJ.

also check the volume dial on the top right corner of your serato screen. I know some guys who have it at full blast all the time.

Thanks.

I have mine set at the default of 93dB and yes I have all of my files analyzed, some with the gain set in the middle, and all the music I've added in the last year with the "auto gain" feature box checked, which adjusts each file individually.

Yes the 57 does have red light indicators, on a few rare occasions I have seen them on mine.

So as a general rule of thumb, if everything is set at 12 o'clock (Onscreen master, onscreen individual decks, master vol mixer, program left/right vol, and finally the speaker itself), where should you adjust the volume/gain while djing? I would assume on the mixer program left/right.

Yes if the gains on ssl are in the red you are pretty much clipping. Exact same when recording with the 57 through ssl.

I would say you don't HAVE TO BE 12 o'clock on the speaker. Since you're coming directly from the TTM57 into the top speakers, you'll need to first and most importantly, insure you're not distorting/clipping your source material. The input sensitivity on the PRX635 may require it but at 100% in order to be loud enough overall. Some speakers differ but at least you're cognizant of watching the clip lights on the speaker.

I found 93dB a little too hot on the TTM57. I use my Sony MDRV6's or Senn HD25II's to listen to a track at 91 or 92dB... I then switch it to 93dB or higher and unload/reload the same track. I can then hear distortion in the bass and snares on the song + I can see the individual clip level indicators (meters) on the Serato screen go into the red. Not good...

In your opinion could clipping in the program itself cause a speaker to fail? Even with 2 other gain settings set to a moderate level (mixer & speaker).

Not really. I'd be more apt to think the bass boost button being run with speakers at high volume levels would do more damage. Loud volume, plus source music clipping, plus bass boost may be the culprit OR could have just been a bad unit that failed. I'm gonna use mine again this weekend to make sure they're reliable (I have a feeling they are). I'll make sure I play them at loud but clean volumes.

My vote is for the Bass Boost being the culprit.

Okay.

What is strange is the the EON's that I have ALWAYS had the boost on, with our without my sub. Hardly got warm, but these, also JBL's, also Class D, 450W vs "1000W" amps get very hot. But if thats how they are suppose to run then no more boost for me.

Also, I am on my laptop and the master gain in ssl is at 12, and auto gain checked, so I don't think that was it either.

This may be a dumb question to some but is the bass boost the same as switching on Deep Mode behind a K or Kw series?

yeah my 722's are some beast! how you pay for them and where? (the 715's)

I happen to no its possible because i fried my EV ZXA5 under these conditions.
i was djin a pool party with one ev zxa5 at 50% of full volume @ full range because the music had to be kept at a low volume. I was using a 57 , mackie board an speaker all settings set at 12 oclock. I switch out laptops to let the following dj on. I left for a few minutes an when i returned i heard extreme distortion in the speaker so i started making my way through the crowd but by the time i got there the woofer on the ev zxa5 went out. He never touched the 57 or mackie gains but his serato gain was at max an all red. Also file was not analyzed causing extreme distortion witch fried the speaker in a very short period of time.
I set his serato master gain to 3 oclock an switched out speaker an all was good.

This mistake $$ thought me to always check other djs master gains in serato!!!!!!!

I meant to say I set his master gain to 9 o'clock.

wow i actually thought nobody ever turned the serato gain all the way up...

^ definately sucks when another dj burns out your ish... Happened to me.
I think so but may be wrong... No worries though... I run mine every weekend at 80% with deep mode. I also run with protection on and have caught it in action. I also can tell by sound with the k-subs if they are pushing to hard. " Hence I get a tad tipsy when I spin and everyone that drinks and spins knows they slowly increase the volume through the night. " a huge no no"

"taking their chances"

Well I hope that it was just a bad unit. I will definitely make sure to keep all levels in check, but really don't like how hot these things are "suppose" to get.

AND, they are on back order which is frustrating because it will be a couple weeks before the replacement comes.

Also, I went through the manual again in the trouble shooting section, and apparently there is a fuse and it should be replaced by a "competent" repair center.

Good message. Some people don't know what distortion sounds like.

I exchanged them and had to pay like a hundred difference. I think they came out to around 1200 each at guitar center.

So in regards to the title of this thread. K's win!!! for now lol

Love my K8's, I previously owned a pair of PRX 515's and bought one K8 for a monitor. One week later I bought another K8 and sold my PRX's to Kase. Of course my PRX's had better bass because the cabinets are a LOT bigger but they were overkill for most of my smaller events and especially for my in-store gigs. The K8's are perfect and give me more options. When I do an in-store now I just take one K8. Small party, just need 2 K8's. Medium party, just add a sub, etc.

Technically the winner will be the company thats raking in the money. JBL rakes in money. K series is nipping at their heels. Im happy with my ksubs for now and looks like they wont be raking in any more money from me for awhile.
Then again I want to go passive.

So far... the PRX635's win in my book. When compared to the KW153 3-way... mine is 27 lbs. lighter, sounds better at high-to-very high volumes and is less tall (36" vs. 43"); therefore, more stable on a speaker stand.

I don't think I've ever seen a K153 speaker-stand mounted, they always show pics of them sub-pole mounted. Imagine an 87 lb. 43" speaker being bumped into and tipping over at a gig...

... oh yeah, I bought mine on a Black Friday deal at Sam Ash for $799 each ;-)

AND you can cook bacon on the back. Your right, 635's are the winner!

Damn didnt think about that... Flips speakers over after gig and cooks breakfeast.

LoL, good one... That's okay, at about age 45, DJ's backs will curse QSC on those extra lbs. they fortify their speakers with.

Dude my K8's weight 30lbs lol.

The KW's is another story. I wouldn't buy those bitches.

The KW153 is bottom heavy so it allows it to be pole mounted. I used the KW153s at a winter ball with about 250 people and they sat on the poles. They looked awesome next to our setup. They sat just right above everyone heads. From a distance it looked like they were probably sitting on subs. No issues whatsoever and they were right on the dancefloor pretty much. I would take the KW series anyday as far as sound. The wood enclosures allow for better bass tone at high levels.

Here are some test pics I took

KW153 on pole-
i66.photobucket.com

JBL SRX715 on tilt mode-
i66.photobucket.com

The weight was an issue though, the KW153s are too heavy for one person to lift constantly or up stairs. Its possible, but you will strain your back and sweat your ass off.

i'm rocking KW152s...

DUDE... spread those legs!!! (NO HOMO) That setup looks like the Sword of Damocles!

No doubt. I heard them and they sound good BUT I had to mentally prepare myself for a careful lift of that speaker just to get it a couple of feet in the air. I can carry two PRX635's from my driveway to the garage... one in each hand, by the handles.

If you all recall at the start of this thread I was an original advocate for the new PRX600 line. They definitely added higher quality components closer to the SRX series. The amps though I never imagined to get that hot. Then again, they are giving out way much more power compared to the old PRXs. I hope they last cause on paper they seem like one of the best options out there as far as price, weight and power.

I just called the support directly today and they said per the engineers, they are heatsinks and they dissipate heat... also that it is normal and should not be a problem.

AND you can cook bacon on the back. Your right, 635's are the winner!
Damn didnt think about that... Flips speakers over after gig and cooks breakfeast.
LoL, good one... That's okay, at about age 45, DJ's backs will curse QSC on those extra lbs. they fortify their speakers with.
If your getting paid hire grunts/ My subs have nice little wheels on them... Flip it over, set other speakers on and gracefully rollout.

You're talking subs, I'm talking tops... those things you gotta lift up over your head to put on a tripod.

I don't have time for grunts... This isn't the most feasible idea as most of my gigs are smaller-scale, I'm a one-man operation, plus, I want all the money. Just taking an 87 lb. speaker from my basement to the truck would be a pain. I use to own those wonderful-sounding but annoyingly-heavy HPR181i subs. They had casters but I dreaded loading them into my SUV on any gig. My current subs are 160 lbs. each but they have wheels, plus, they're tall enough where I'm able to lean them onto my SUV tailgate and push them into the truck. I don't have time for heavy speakers these days.

really dont care about the weight or the price i just want to know witch one of the two sounds better and is also more reliable. I want to get the prx635 but this heating up thing is kind of scareing me. I dont care what does engineers say speakers should not run hot like that. I need a true a/b comparison of the prx635 and the kw153.

Unless your going to permanently install these, I don't see how weight can't be an issue. Unless your a professional body builder lol

Lol!!! me a body builder? no way. I get alot of help from the neighbor hood crack heads when i play out so moving my sound equipment around is never a problem.

And for a crackhead, stealing your equipment is also never a problem. They'll rob you blind dude including those heavy ass speakers, LOL.

I'm rockin KW122s over KW181s. 122s are pretty sizeable. Look like 15s.

nice damehype. i think 6 of the kw122s and 8 of the k181s will rock a 20 b feet rectangle dance floor ? 15 feet high ceilings ?

i meant 20 by 50 feet dancefloor with a 14 foot high ceiling

just found this on the musicsfriend site. Uh Oh ...

"I bought a pair of these speakers.. and initially was very pleased. The sound quality is pretty decent.. the price is great.. and they only weigh 60lbs. In theory.. these speakers are a dream come true.
However, about a week into using these speakers.. I noticed a cracking/buzzing sound in one of the speakers with certain low end frequencies. I shipped the defective speaker back and got a replacement. On the very first gig with the replacement speaker... the amp died only 5 songs into the night. The following day.. I shipped the dead speaker back and got another replacement speaker.

About a week later... the other speaker (the one that didn't have prior issues) died. Again.. the power amp just shut off and never came back on. Three strikes and you're out!!!

I returned the JBLs for a refund and went back to QSC. Before buying these JBL speakers.. I used the QSC HPR153 speakers for 4 years with NO ISSUES EVER. They sounded great.. but were very heavy to lug around 3-4 nights per week.

I'm now using the QSC KW153 speakers. Tho I've only had them for a few weeks, they sound great.. and I haven't had any issues. My prior experience with QSC was so good that I have no doubt these speakers will last for years to come.

Bottom line... stay away from the JBL speakers. Perhaps I just got a few duds.. but for a working musician.. the risk is not worth the reward. These speakers are NOT reliable."

JBL pro in California opens in 20 minutes and who ever answers the phone is gonna have some splainin' to do

That's a pretty sweeping statement but I'm sure dude was frustrated. I still have till the 15th to return mine and I'll be using them for at least 20 hours this weekend. If they make it w/o issue, I'm gonna keep 'em. I want a reliable speaker bottom line though. I'll update ya'll with this weekend's speaker reliability results.

Damn that sucks!! JBL makes great speakers, but I realize now it really all depends on what model line you get. Their passive lines are standard in a lot touring acts and they can take a lot of abuse. Their powered speakers however I question alot more now. I personally loved the eon g2s, they were rock solid whenever I used them, no issues whatsover. I think sometimes it depends on the conditions they were being used.

QSC is winner as far as quality and reliability. Really I think the best bet is if your buying powered speakers, make sure they have been around for more than a few months. I had problems with the QSCs going into limit mode, well not me personally, but it did happen when I used them with someone else. So that tells you, it all depends on who is using them.

It might be a better to go passive like I did. Their are more options for amps and speaker combos than ever before. QSC makes lightweight high powered amps, JBL makes lightweight high powered passive speakers. Thats a win all over. Their are other options as far as price too, you can go cheap to very expensive. Depending on what you get, you can get two speakers and one amp that would go hard all day without any issues. Thats the reason most clubs wont use powered speakers.

Yea..I got 24 more days and I have 2 gigs(so far) between that time frame before I can return them for an exchange. So I'm gonna watch this thread and push those babies a bit more than I have.

Just got off the phone with a JBL tech. He says they don't have any known issues or recalls or common problems with this new line. He said the do run hot, but like Gaffle said, they are suppose to. He apologized for my bad luck and said I should have no further issues.

ALSO, side note to owners. There is a fuse AND a replacement/backup built into the back of the speaker. He said to pull out the A/C power cord and you will see a compartment with a fuse plagged in and a backup that can be popped out with a screw driver in case you need to replace it. I am at work now so I can't check it out so I will have to check that out as soon as I get home.

As per my situation, Sam Ash says mid January before they have a replacement as its been a very "hot" item. Cancelled order, called all the Guitar Centers in my area and found one with a single PRX635 with a dent in the grill from shipping that they are giving me a good "scrathc and dent" deal on. Hopefully I can bang it out (no homo) myself or get a grill. Will have it this afternoon.

Thanx for the update Victor. I REALLY don't want to take mine back if I don't have to. The PRX's 60lbs. weight and great stand-alone sound quality makes them hard to beat. Sure, the HPR153 is an option but I know I'd dread doing gigs with them frequently. Again, we'll see this weekend....

Update...

Both JBL PRX635 speakers failed me last night. The left-side speaker's sound totally went out twice and the right-side speaker's volume died once. On each occasion, when the sound died, the speaker had to be powered down for about 5-10 minuts to cool off but once powered back on, the sound played again. Of course, my levels on each and every track played where, at most, in the yellow (no clipping anywhere in the signal path). The speakers input sensitivity level was no higher than 12 o'clock. I had been using them since 6pm and the failure occurred around 11pm when the crowd got larger and the sound levels increased.

The sound, especially the bass, is very impressive with these PRX635's but they must go as I've got to have a reliable speaker solution. I'm not sure what I'll replace them with.

JBL... you MUST address these PRX635 hot amp and speaker failure issues.

Wow, this is good information, and a tradgedy at the same time.

What kind of amp is on the back of the JBL's?

What? Crown is (or was) the all time STANDARD for amps...

smh...

I also have the ZXa5's. I'll always keep them as they're super loud and are a great 2-way solution. I want a pole-mountable 3-way or dual-driver + horn 2-way solution.

Gaffle..That just plain sucks. I'm doing my gig tonight and I plan on pushing these PRX635's within reason of course..I'm still not giving up on these speakers just yet.

Going with the QSC 3way seems like the only othe 3way option..but I don't want to pay that much money or pay with my back pain later...Xing my fingers and hoping you all just have some duds ;)

I must say the K12s have a great sound quality but they go in to limit pretty easily. I was considering going to the JBL route but now that I`m hearing all these issues I think I`ll just go ahead and keep the K12s

Limit easy??? I have 4 ksubs and they limit when I knowingly push them too hard.
When I have these bastards setup together they literally make me nauseous.

I understand. If JBL did some sort of recall admitting a glitch with the heat problem and correcting it, I'd go back and get the 635's hands down.

I used the PRX635's again tonight. The right unit thermal'd at least 4 times. Powering the unit off for about 4 minutes got my sound back. The left unit was at 20% so no sound dropouts from it.

Gaffle that is terrible. It sounds obvious but something is definitely wrong and JBL HAS to address it. I had mine out Friday night, no boost, none of my levels past 12 o'clock and lows at around 10 o'clock. Neither went out, but again they were ridiculously hot.

What actually happens when you say they "thermalled"? Does the speaker clip? Does it complete shut down with no power? When I lost mine it went out and never came back on, hours later even, it had no power.

I still have yet to even see the red limit light flicker on mine. Like you, I really like the sound, weight, etc that comes out of these, but I don't have time to worry about losing one or both.

Are you getting a different 3 way or going back to your EV's?

I used my PRX's last night with no issues..ran hot yes but I cranked them good for 4 hrs..note..I also run them through a BBE and I use the Rane 68 and levels at 12.. with the speakers levels at almost 12 and no bass boost.

Just sent this email to JBL ...

Please forward this to the appropriate department.

JBL,

I am a DJ in the Metro Detroit area. I just purchased your new PRX635's and the first time using them, within 2 hours one of them failed. It completely shut down and never came back on. Both were EXTREMELY HOT and I had to finish the night (2 hours) with only one speaker and brought the volume levels way down to avoid losing both.

I sent it back to Sam Ash where I purchased them and was told they are on back order until January so I canceled the order and sourced another from a local Guitar Center.

I am part of a DJ community that uses a program called Serato and on their forums and have been communicating with other DJ's that also own these and also are having issues. I called JBL Thursday, December 9th and a technician told me there are no issues or recalls and that I may have just received a bad speaker. Unfortunately it seems as though there are issues and JBL must address them.

Here is an excerpt from a fellow PRX635 owner ...

"Update...

Both JBL PRX635 speakers failed me last night. The left-side speaker's sound totally went out twice and the right-side speaker's volume died once. On each occasion, when the sound died, the speaker had to be powered down for about 5-10 minuts to cool off but once powered back on, the sound played again. Of course, my levels on each and every track played where, at most, in the yellow (no clipping anywhere in the signal path). The speakers input sensitivity level was no higher than 12 o'clock. I had been using them since 6pm and the failure occurred around 11pm when the crowd got larger and the sound levels increased.

The sound, especially the bass, is very impressive with these PRX635's but they must go as I've got to have a reliable speaker solution. I'm not sure what I'll replace them with.

JBL... you MUST address these PRX635 hot amp and speaker failure issues."

Another review from musiciansfriend.com:

"I bought a pair of these speakers.. and initially was very pleased. The sound quality is pretty decent.. the price is great.. and they only weigh 60lbs. In theory.. these speakers are a dream come true.
However, about a week into using these speakers.. I noticed a cracking/buzzing sound in one of the speakers with certain low end frequencies. I shipped the defective speaker back and got a replacement. On the very first gig with the replacement speaker... the amp died only 5 songs into the night. The following day.. I shipped the dead speaker back and got another replacement speaker.

About a week later... the other speaker (the one that didn't have prior issues) died. Again.. the power amp just shut off and never came back on. Three strikes and you're out!!!

I returned the JBLs for a refund and went back to QSC. Before buying these JBL speakers.. I used the QSC HPR153 speakers for 4 years with NO ISSUES EVER. They sounded great.. but were very heavy to lug around 3-4 nights per week.

I'm now using the QSC KW153 speakers. Tho I've only had them for a few weeks, they sound great.. and I haven't had any issues. My prior experience with QSC was so good that I have no doubt these speakers will last for years to come.

Bottom line... stay away from the JBL speakers. Perhaps I just got a few duds.. but for a working musician.. the risk is not worth the reward. These speakers are NOT reliable."

I plan on returning my 635's unless there is a solution that you inform me of. I also own a pair of EON515's and a PRX718s and have never had an issue so these new 635's are disappointing to say the least.

Please advise.

- Victor Lucaj

Yea man I used 2 speakers for a small gig and couldn`t get it past 2 o clock without clipping. My mixer was on the yellow I had to keep watching the limit and reduce the gain on my mixer when I would see it clip. The gain would most be at 1 o clock

I don't know what I'll replace the PRX635's with. I still have my ZXa5's but I want a louder, longer throw speaker with better clarity than my EV 2-ways.


Neither speaker red-limited the entire night. I had NO bass boost and was running LINE level on the back of the speaker. The speaker did not distort or sound bad at ANY point in time... the sound just stopped coming out of the speaker. The power on the speaker was on but just no sound. I turned the speaker off for a few minutes then turned it back on. After that point, I had sound again. Like I mentioned before, this happened several times.

To tell the truth, if JBL stated there was a recall and rectified whatever the problem is, I'd easily go back to the PRX635... no question.

Great letter Victor L. Knowing this could affect their bottom line should get their attention rather quickly.

^^^ Doubt it...

You don't think hitting somebody in their wallet won't get their attention?

Folks will still buy b/c it's JBL.

Watchwww.youtube.com

***In my Jay-Z voice*** You need more people

I wouldn't underestimate the power of the Internet. Anybody searching for a JBL PRX635 review will see the Serato forum as a 1st hit in Google and my blog's review as a 2nd. This could sway their decision if they're on the fence about a powered speaker and they'd possibly spread the word based on what they read.

www.google.com

update your blog

never mind i see it now.

I returned my units today. I called JBL support and the tech stated I was the first person he had heard of with a PRX635 unit thermal'ing out. I told him the sound failure scenario and my concerns with the heat. He stated he's gonna reach out to his quality department to address the issue.

Hey Gaffle,

That's interesting that we seem to be having issues that are supposedly uncommon. Maybe its because those that haven't had any problems don't bother looking for a remedy.

Anyhow, I emailed the guys at agiprodj and here is what they said:

IPRODJ
to me

show details 7:51 PM (1 hour ago)


"Hey Victor –

I have been reading over the thread. From what we heard, JBL knows there are a few problematic units out there and are replacing them if the dealer wont/can’t.

Yes. They run hot. But it’s a passive heatsink – all of the heat is absorbed into that metal sink, and not blown around by a fan.

I have 2 each of every top box and 4 618S-XLF subs – they are run a little warm if you romp on them. I know that they boxes we got are from batches NOT from initial release. Apparently those all went to the big box stores.

How is your 3rd working ?"

u know damn well its not the first time hes heard of this product overheating. liars..
are u the only person that bought this speaker???. nothin worse than some sucka ass lieing fuckheads. muthafukr please..... JBL can suck a dick

+1

I went to my local retail store today and the sales manager called JBL with me in the background. The JBL tech guy said it was his first time hearing of thermal/sound failure issues... so yeah, they could be lying or denying at this point. If you call them, they'll get pretty defensive as if you're attacking their product. This isn't my goal... I just want to know what the issue is and when it will be resolved.

^^^ Hence why I said that I doubted it

yeah man. cmon... they are just denying it.

So I sold my EON's and am keeping the 635's. Had one out last night, got very hot again but never went out. I had it on booth/monitor and never went passed 12 on any gains.

For new years I am taking my sub and both tops and will see if the sub taking the low frequencies will make a difference. The problem is there is no way of knowing when I am approaching the limit with these, sound (have never seen the limit light on) or when it is going to over heat. Should I take a fan?

AND if I want to see how hard I can push these I don't really have a place to do it. I don't want to at a gig for fear of failure (and they are too loud) and I can't at home again because of the volume. I think I am going to keep them and cross my fingers that we had a few bad apples. If not i will deal JBL and hope they're warranty holds up.

Will keep you posted.

Good luck... Jbl denied warranty claim on a 3 month old eon sub voice coil. Same sub I had inspected elsewhere to diagnose and the sound board went bad. I will see if I get denied on this one. Im willing to bet that it gets denied again. Has anyone had luck with getting warranty from jbl after 6 months use?

Now that the PRX600 Series has been out for a while...

QSC K line is cool for small areas. PRX (500sor600s)/KW < Hpr (Yes I went there lol bring it fan boys, jk). Jbl 600 Series is just like their new Eons, not good! (do love how light they are tho) What I don't understand is why come out with a new Eon and sell it for 200 more then come out with a new prx line and sell it for 400 less? You can tell the word is getting around tho... The Eon515 price is dropping all the time. There's a local dj here who loves his (still very new) Prx635, JBL will always have name recognition (<- always good)

You can burn a good name faster than it takes to build a good name.

^^^
True. Let's just hope they jump on it and start working on making it right.

I never used EV personally, but I hear really good things about some of the EV lines.

Reminds me of what happend with Numark back in tha day

I miss my 1650

This is the reason why I use Yorkville.

Differences between the QSC KW122, QSC K12 and JBL PRX612M active loudspeakers.

www.youtube.com

numark sold out in the early 90's and moved all there manufacturing over sea's, back in the late 80's numark was a very respectable name brand that was on the mid to high end of dj gear also the first mixer to have a sampler the first pro dual cd player.

I'm waiting to see what EV has in store at the 2011 NAMM. They're suppose to have a "breakthrough new family of lightweight powered and passive loudspeakers". I originally wanted to have all EV for tops to go with my ZXa5's. I hope they have pole-mountable 3-way or dual-driver bass w/ horn 2-way options. Hopefully, they'll be as good or better than the ZXa5's because if that's the case, the competition will be left in the dust...

You still have some good speakers regardless. You won't be mad if these EV's are entry-level. Now if they're made to replace the ZX series, then you're hosed.

Gaffle - Have you heard a response from JBL? I haven't and more reviews are sprouting up ...



I Spoke too soon...
by Joe S. from Boston, MA
November 19, 2010
Music Background: Country/Rock/Blues, Live Sound Engineer, Pro Musician
OK.. so the first review was mine also. I wrote it after only one gig with my new PRX635 speaks.. and I may have jumped the gun with all of the praises I gave this speaker.

On my seco... read more [+]nd gig.. I noticed a rattling/buzzing noise on one of the speakers. It took me a couple of gigs to trouble shoot it b/c it was an intermittent problem. After a few gigs.. I pin pointed it to a low frequency bass guitar note that was causing it.

I called my sweetwater rep... and no questions asked.. he sent me a replacement speaker. I received it a few days later... and brought it to my gig that same night. I set the speaker up... powered it on... ran a sound check... and thought every thing was good. However, about 5 songs into the first set... the power suddenly shut off on the replacement speaker. It never came back on. The following day... I checked the fuse. It was still good. The amp just died for no reason.

Sooo... now that I've had these speakers for a few weeks... I can now say this:

1. They sound fantastic.
2. They are very light weight.
3. The price is great.

4. They are NOT reliable.
5. I owned the QSC speakers for 4 years and never had any issues. I'm returning the JBL speakers tomorrow... and moving back to QSC. This time around I'm gonna go with the KW153 speakers. I demo'd them today at my local guitar center. They are definitely built better... and the sound is exceptional as well.

Perhaps my experience with the JBL speakers was a fluke. Maybe I just got a couple of duds. BUT... I gig 4-5 nights per week and can't afford to risk it with speakers that are not reliable

Damn. Shit is worse than the Mackies

do the qsckw153 sound as good as the jbl prx635's?

I'll say they'll sound every bit as good all the way up to limit, then things fall apart for the KW153. The PRX635's sound good even when the limit light is on (I don't recommend keeping it in limit).
THe KW153s are just so damn heavy at 87 lbs... I could carry one PRX635 in each hand from my house to my driveway. Carrying one KW153 is careful challenge.
I would still go back and get the 635's if JBL confirmed there is an issue and addressed it. Until then, I'll just wait on the new EV powered/passive speaker line coming early 2011.

im still sticking with the QSC brand. havent heard any complaints except they are too heavy. crybabies. go the to the gym LOL

^^^ +1 lol

I bought the qsc kw153s and returned them. I used them twice with my 57, no problems, then I linked up with another dj and using his denon mixer they kept going into limit mode. They didnt shut off though. The weight was also an issue. Its possible, but its a big hassle if your by yourself. You'll strain your back and sweat like you just worked out. Im in the gym every week, weight training. Its easy to lift.. walking with them, placing them on pole, going up stairs, loading them into the car thats another story. It sucked. I gave up on powered speakers and went passive.

LOL... let the gym rats strain a back muscle messing around with those heavy speakers. My health's a little more important than a run-of-the-mill sounding 90 lb. speaker.
What passive speaker did you end up getting Select?

jbl srx 715's are the truth, and only weigh 48 pounds, expensive and still need a powerful amp but unbeatable.. VERY loud and clear and the sound is amazing! no more powered shhhh for me!

Yo Ace,

What do you run your 715s with?

^Yup, the JBL SRX715. They are that next level shit. Im upgrading my amps next year, going with lightweight PLXs, probably gonna get around 2100 watts to each speaker.

Forget that powered stuff if you can. The SRXs is all you need for small parties to large outdoor concerts. They dont sound like any other speakers Ive heard, including other JBL lines. The two way srx715 sound ten times better than the three way QSC kw153 I had before. Music playback just sounds much more LIVE. Instruments and vocals stick out more, you notice that right away. Its sounds like a much bigger speaker. They use higher quality internal components and a massive 3 to 4 inch horn. In a live setting they project far! I keep wanting to listen to them at my house. Its a different experience. If you can get your hands on them with some nice sounding, powerful amps you wont be disappointed. You'll be beyond happy and wonder why you didnt just get them in the first place!! For all the guys who do mobile work out there, please consider them. They are expensive, but they sound better than anything else Ive heard in that range and can handle bigger jobs if need be. Plus they cant be rented out, thats another win. A lot of touring acts and sound rental companies use the SRX line strictly. They are proven on the road.

If you really love they way QSC sounds, get their RMX or PLX amps and the SRX speakers FTW.

I use my jbl's with Crown itech 6000...besides the 715's I also have 4 subs (718's) and 2 dual 12in tops (722's).I use the with a dbx drive rack pa+

Damn Select, JBL should pay you for that testimonial! I may need to take another look at the SRX line. I was thinking of the EV equivalent 15" but it weighs 71 lbs. It's a little more efficient and doesn't require the amp power that the JBL does but I think the SRX goes a little louder.

Yeah man you should. You get more for your money in the long run. If your going to go 71 pounds for a single 15 EV you might as well get the SRX722s. They are only 76 pounds and very easy to manage. They come with a 4 inch horn and dual 12s. Thats all you need right there. Your good to go for almost anything. Going passive also allows more versatility and configuration options. Your choice of power and sound basically. The only other thing I would recommend is a dbx driverack because they come with tunings for the entire srx line.

The only problem with the SRX722 is no pole mount. I prefer to cluster my subs and have the tops on a tripod... if it weren't for that, I would have gotten the 722's a long time ago. I use an EV DC-One for a DSP. I believe they have tunings for the SRX line in them already, if not, I know who to get them from.
Was the difference in sound that apparent between the KW153 and your SRX715's? How would your describe the difference in loudness, lows, clarity, etc?

you can just drill a hole in the bottom and put the pole mount in yourself there not that expensive.

Had the 635's out with my sub Friday, sounded fantastic. Received several compliments on the sound. Just so crystal clear. I can't remember what track it was, possibly Missy Elliot, but it felt like the place was exploding with beautiful mids highs and lows, lol. They def got hot hot hot, but never went out, clipped, or limited.

If it means that I have to take my sub with me to most gigs that need to be loud, so be it.

What I have a question about is everyone is telling me that heatsinks are suppose to be hot. Well my 718s has a similar looking heatsink, is rated 700W continuous, 1400 peak, and it just gets warm. These 635's are 3 x 500W (1500W? kind of, maybe, maybe not) and like someone above mentioned, I could cook some white castles on them at 2 am. Whats the difference between them?

I use the same config. 2 635's with 2 passive JBL 18" subs and the sound is so awesome...Runs hot but I've cranked these things and used them about 7 times now and no clipping or limiting at all...I'm happy with them! I'd def. recommend these speakers to anyone. and NO JBL don't pay me jack squat to say this..I'm actually a Mackie and EV kinda guy and now I'm sold on JBL.

Same here, Im not bringing subs to every gig so I need a pole mount speaker. The tilt feature is great on these. It will defintely come in handy for diff rooms.

The SRX722 are even weight, top to bottom. Very bad for pole mounting from what Ive heard. The kw153s were bottom heavy so they were able to pole mount.

The KW153s sound like a very large studio monitor. They have a tailored sound. Its warm, crisp and loud. They do have a limit though and work best in small to medium rooms. They dont project very far. You could dance in front of them all night and be ok.

The SRXs sound like whatever you put in. Live tracks sound very live and crappy mp3s really stick out. Whats apparent at first though is how strong they are. Standing about ten feet away I could literally feel different instruments come out in the tracks. Listening to funk, soul and latin music made me really appreciate the musicans alot more. Loudness will depend on what amp your using. Im testing them out with my old crown amp pushing 1400 watts to one. At full volume they will defintely cause hearing loss if your standing too close. Some people run them at 2000 watts and up to get the most projection. As far as lows, they bump!!! You'll notice the detail in the bass a lot more. Certain house joints had more of a mid bass feel to them and others were just deep. You can definitely feel the difference. Every track had certain things that stuck out. Its no comparison, the SRX are a higher level of speaker. They are meant for bigger performances. The amount of power they can handle without distortion is amazing. Its also the lightest speaker Ive ever owned, crazy.

Thanx dude... I may be Danley TH-118's + JBL SRX 715's in the near future. The good thing about he SRX715's is they are 75 degree so I can run 2 per side in the future w/o comb filtering and overlap.

Would you say an SRX715 (properly powered) is louder than a KW153 at limit?

i got funny feeling that all this talk about the JBLs gettin hot is gonna blow up in ur face. no disrespect but.... u guys dont think that heat is gonna have some repurcussions?

Yeah man you need some high power speakers to match the Danleys. Its really no comparison, its a different class of speaker. The KWs arent made to reach that level of sound. My SRXs are three times as loud and Im using a old crown amp.

Henry GQ - I can't agree with you more, extremely hot isn't good for anything, unless you're burning fuel or splitting atoms. So in the back of my mind I am hoping JBL comes out with it and says there is a fix.

You would think after all this time the people who design powered speakers would include a simple 5 dollar fan. Amps get hot, period. I had the mackie srm450s for years and the only way I would get through the night is with a fan hooked to the back of them.

my QSC k12s do have a small fan built in...

The KW153s did too.

Attaching a fan??? That's Mackie v1 SRM450 thinking... Any powered speaker requiring an external fan is not a good one. Mackie corrected their SMR450 overheating problems with the v2. I'm surprised any speaker manufacturer would let an amp out their doors with thermal shutdown issues these days. Hopefully, for the remaining PRX635 owners, my speaker thermal issue was an isolated one.

The only time I could get away without using a fan with the mackies was when I was in an ice cold air conditioned room. If the room was cool no problem. If it was warm and the place was packed with people, forget about it. Instant shut down.

I think rigging 2 box fans to the 635's would affect their look. Maybe attaching another heat conductor to help pull the heat out ... copper plate? NFL cool zone mister? or a radiator.

think about it. every amp i have ever had or seen has had a fan built in. the only amps i know of that dont are car amps..????

Crown K series amps were air cooled (no fan) and they got very hot and those who owned them never had problems. I'm guessing that the prx amp is based on the K series crown.

have u ever owned one ?

no but I know people who do for the price you could get more amp from qsc the crown k's were a little pricey.

im confused by what u just said...

You shouldnt have to put fans on a powered speaker if they need one it should be factory installed prior to me buying... It would look rediculous to have fans blowing on all of mine... You should be able to buy a speaker and do a 5 hour set without worry through the manufactures warranty. Jbl 3 years speaker 5 years soundboard. 3 to 5 years later I should be thinking about replacing.
Im in a confusion over my jbl sub, Originally 5 months after purchase I had to repair a burnt voice coil "no warranty" paid $320. Now 10 months down the road it is back in the shop for a bad soundboard which is warranty... Now how do I know that the defective soundboard didnt cause the burnt voice coil from the beginning. Which will definately be my next argument with jbl. Will I get anywhere with them, the gods say no and im sure im still going to be out of 320.00

only way to prove its the sound board would be over voltage.

Yep... shot in the dark as far as money back... But a faulty soundboard can blow a coil in different ways. Over Voltage is one.

Okay so is K 12's still "the speakers" to get?

I went to GC to have a listen to the SRX715's. Luckily, they had some used EV ZX5's there so I had them do a side-by-side comparison. With both units running flat off of a Crown XTI4000, I felt the EV was more detailed, articulate and clear. The XTI4000 was only getting 650watts to each speaker + the sales guy would/could not turn them up very loud due to the amp not being sufficient and other customers being in the room. I believe the EV is slightly more efficient; therefore, less power is needed to get them just as loud. I have a feeling the SRX may sound better at the loudest of volumes with its 3" high compression driver vs. EV's 2" driver but this is just a guestimate. This just makes my future speaker decision even more difficult...

the xti 4000 is not powerful enough to push a 715's using one side...you need at least an itech 4000 or to bridge the xti...trust us if heard them with adequate power you would be blown away!

It sounds like its going to be tough to get them demo'd. All my experience hearing them before I bought them was from other djs and at clubs. An xti bridged to the SRX would have been a more accurate comparison.

an xti and itech are more or less the same amp, the biggest difference is the power supply.

and thats plenty of power to push srx's

Hey guys by the way: I might have to start a new discussion but:

For those of you who use powered speakers, how do you tackle the problem with having to find at least four power outlets for your two subs and two speakers ?

I have not used powered stuff and i use a cheap power amp just for my turntables and my monitor and the dude who brings the speakers usually has to find his own outlets. but i seriously need to know if there is out there a way to have one power source unit. any thoughts ?

Then again i just do gigs in like cheap bars or dance halls.

Im surprised you dont travel with your own power strip. I have 4 right now and a monster power strip in my amp rack.

Ha Ha... LOL I have stock in power strips.

lOL My wife always tells me to word my statements properly. So what you are saying is that is totally fine to plug all four speakers to "one single power strip" ?

In theory no will it work maybe depends on how well the hall or club your in power is and how hard your driving the speakers.

Thai is why am asking is the such an invetion/item that is some sort of "electrical generator" that uses power to create more power. Any one knows what i am talking about ?

there are power distros that are used in the pro world but the average hall is not going to have away to plug it in.

Invest in grounded extensions.

First u will not need four outlets. U will need 2 separate 15 amp circuts .....2 power strip an a few extension cords if your not close enough. It's pretty much the same as a Dj who uses 2 power amps on 2 separate circuts.......get it.

You should be good to run 2-3 powered speakers per circuit, depending on how hard you push them (unless they are Yorkville LS801Ps)

Plugging in a power stip is easy, finding separate circuits is sometimes a challenge.

True on both parts

Personally I havent ran into tripping breakers yet. I always try to plug k-subs and tops directly into the sockets and another socket for the power strip to light up the rest. Then lights, projector etc. I always worry about tripping breakers with all of the crap plugged in. Hopefully that issue wont come up. Now on the other hand I did trip the smoke detectors with fog at the peak hour. Huge place has a bar, bowling alley, game room and a resturaunt. Evacuated everyone until fire dept. gave the ok to go back in...

I run

1 K8
1 K10
1 KSub
1 LED light

on one power strip per circuit.

never run into an issue yet

nothing beats them qsc man

As you never should because this setup pulls less than 10Amps.
1 K8=2.3amps
1 K10=2.3amps
1 KSub=2.3amps
1 LED light=less than 2amps?(leds dont draw high current)
thats 9amps tops so you will never trip a breaker or strip.

that's also how you know the 1000Watt per speaker is BS

shhhh dont tell nobody....lol

thats like saying theres no santa claus. thanx u ruined my christmas!!

they still bang though

Glad i asked the pros.. thank you guys. will def use your tips/advice.

always find to separate breakers in the breaker panel. hook your tops to one breaker and your subs to another breaker usually a 20amp breaker.

Thats why I bought 4 of them... So I could have a true 1000 watts

from a 20 amp circuit you can draw approximately 2400 watts max

i run my my 2 crown itech's at around 2000 watts each from two different outlets to power my 4 jbl srx 718's and 2 722's

Ballers.

read this article from an electrical engineer:

answers.yahoo.com

Shit... If I was balling I would have 4 more...

Does anyone know if the thermal problem with the new prx600 series has been fixed, I'm planning on getting a couple of this series but want to make sure the issues are sorted out. And anybody heard the new eon 515xt yet, jbl seemed to have listened to the complaints about the eon 515 and have sent out a new version which has a peak spl of 132db and higher wattage at 625w.

check these out

serato.com

Saw the new KLA series today. Portable line array system. Looks sick!!!!

can you find a link (pics) to post?

here are some pics I took

yfrog.com
yfrog.com
yfrog.com
yfrog.com

no details yet, I'll try to find out more today. They look clean though.

My pants are so wet... this is what I was waiting for...

wow that looks sick!

What about prices and release date ? any one

Still running my PRX635's and crankin the heck out of them through a BBE, NO ISSUES as of almost 3mo of use.

+1 hopefully price is competitive.

I asked about price. About 2500 for the tops and 2400 for the subs. He said street price. Seemed steep but these are on a whole new level compared to the k and kw series.

Way more than the same amp thrown in a new box.

This is a good thing. I may go back and try another pair of 635's or I may just go high-end and get the EV QRX212/75's (to handle large gigs).

i'd sure like to hear those... curious though.. what would you use to raise them? put them on subs???

what will you power them with?

$97 foldable scaffolding from Home Depot: www.piscessound.com
I'll have to make a square plank with 4 holes in it for the top to rest on. On some occasions, I'll put the tops directly on the subs (depending on the venue).

I'll probably get another Crown MA12000i. I can use one channel for a 3 sub and run both tops off of the 2nd channel.

Thats good to know, because I'm gonna stick my head out and buy a pair of 635's in a couple of days, I'm not seeing much reviews on the kw series i wonder why? anyway Ev has sent out a new lightweight series which looks good on paper, I'm watching out for reviews on the ELX118P sub which has a street price of $799. anyone with any review on the eon 515xt?

EV... This is what has been said so far

serato.com

Really... Hadn't seen much difference. You'd have to array them (preferably more than two of each) to really gain substantial benefit IMHO

different processing inside was the main thing the rep talked about.

The back of the amp looks different and overall the KLA looked a lot more refined and high-end than either the K or KW series.

The guy said they are a "combination of all the greatest QSCisms."

High End Portable/Affordable Line Array

I'd want to know if they have the same 1.75" compression driver as the K/KW as well as the 12" woofer. Also, the limiter processing needs to be better in the KLA than the K/KW. I always feel the K/KW stuff's limiter is too agressive and squashes the music.

it takes more than two box to have a line array, this is the same thing jbl did a few years back and unless you know how to set them they'll sound like crap.

I just bought another PRX512. Yup. The old model. I figured why not? I got it super cheap and it works great. Now I have two PRX515's and two PRX512's. They're all still banging without issues.

:)

how much did you get it for?

$550. New.

I also have a PRX518. No problems either.

can you hear much of a difference between the different sizes?

From the PRX515 to the PRX512 is just more bass. They're both loud and clear.

KDRs, I've had my 635's for a couple months now, had an issue with the first one but none since. I take a sub with me most times for better sound and to take some of the low end away from the 635's. They do sound fantastic, but I will say that it is a little disconcerting to always be thinking that one might go. I need to buy a backup top.

I'd say there were a few bad apples in the production bunch (I owned 2). If I were buying some now, I'd probably feel good about their reliability if they were straight from the factory and not some of the initial production release units.

It wouldn't be all that difficult to make a good looking and effective fan box. You'd have to get power to the fan. You can find fans for PCs that throttle based on thetemperature - they come with a thermocouple. Like this:

www.microcenter.com

But beware the copper plate idea - it's difficult to make passive cooling add-ons to passive coolers.

You can go to Home Depot and get a device that makes it easy to trace an outlet to the breaker it's wired to. You plug the transmitter into the outlet, then go to the breaker box and scan each breaker with the receiver. It beeps when you find the right breaker.

www.google.com

im about to pick up a pair of qsc kw122s for recording my dj mixes and doing stupid parties for my friends... i mainly do nightclubs. but theres that one friend or so everyone 2-3 times a year that asks u to do their party or..

Thanks for all the commentary you guys put into this thread. I was ready to pull the plug on a pair of PRX 635's but now I'm thinking about the SRX line. This killz my budget but life goes on. Right now I have three QSC amps that add up to about 5kW, two JBL MRX-515's, two Community Sonus 1296's and a Madison 2x18 sub. I just don't like the sound quality of the MRX's so I think I'll go listen to some SRX's tomorrow. I'll need to be doing some amp upgrading too. Yea, thanks alot, it will be mac and cheeze for the next 6 months!

for what i do i like powered speakers. i hate carrying around amps and extra speaker wires. simple and done is what i liek. if im gonna do a school dance or something of that size.i just rent the sound from sound guy that typically does rock band shows. and bam. done....
the biggest and the loudest doesnt always win... networking is way to go.

You have to carry the amps, either in the speakers or out of them...

And what's the difference between carrying interconnects vs. speaker cables? The down side to me about powered speakers is that you have to run interconnects AND power to them. I do outdoor shows and it can get freaky if it rains. With passives, I have a tent to keep the rig dry and it's less worry. Now renting is a different story alltogether. I'm with you on "biggest and loudest". It's got to have enough punch to have the the mojo, but if I never hear another overdriven rig, it will be too soon.

more set up time. i like it easy. guess thats why i have the rane 68. no midi out device cables.. no sl1 or sl3 to set up. just simplify things a bit...

the little things in life will make it that much better...

Hmmm, I have used both and don't see the setup time difference. I zip tie and velcro cable bundles, everything is labeled and I take a headlamp. My setup time is about nil. It takes me much longer to lug my gear, get speakers up on the tripods, etc. The difference between an interconnet plus an A/C line vs. a speaker cable? I just don't see what you're getting at there. Having my road cases organized and ready to go in advance is how I keep is simple at show time. But hey, I've only been running sound for three decades, so I know I still have plenty to learn.

well u got me by a decade.

the less... the better.

PRX635 update. Been using them since new year 2-3 times a week. Still get hot as hell but I've never clipped or neither have gone out or shut down. Half the time I take my sub and that combo obviously sounds really good.

One thing that concerns me is on one of them whenever the lower frequencies hit hard (dirty bit for instance) there is a vibration/rattle/buzz noise that comes from the opening at the top back of the speaker. Its hard to explain what it sounds like, not like a bee buzz, its lower pitched and slower if that makes sense. Similar to that of a trunk lid that rattles (like 2 midgets in the backseat wrastlin') when someone has a pair of 15's in the trunk of their Cutlass. From the front they sound great, so I don't know what it could be.

I read online its possible that the voice coil could have changed shape from being overheated, though I'm not sure. Used them last night and sounded good, just occasionally get that rattle. Any sound experts in here know what that could be? I called JBL Friday and am waiting for a call back.

Hey Victor, you could be just barely bottoming out the voice coil.

What do you mean by bottoming out? Is it physically hitting something? Can this remedied or does it need to be replaced altogether?

Is this rattling happening with BOTH speakers?
Can you hear that sound from the front of the speaker at say 5ft. or more even the slightest bit? If not, it may not be something to overly concern yourself about.

The voice coil's travel has limits. With a powerful amp and the right input, like a big bass transient, you can get enough voltage and current into a woofer to make it overtravel and hit the basket/frame. With a live band and a big PA, you most often hear it from kick drum and bass guitar. Geddy Lee is guilty of this often!

I don't think it means anything has to be replaced unless it gets worse. In the past, I've used it as an excuse to buy another sub. Problems = new tools and toys, that's my motto.

Cool, I would really recommend analyzing what type of gigs you mainly do and figure out what you really need. The SRX series are mainly used for large crowds. If you dont really need that amount of sound, dont spend the money. I made the jump because for the past few years Ive been doing fairly large weddings, proms, etc, and have had to rent larger systems. Also remember with most passive speakers, your on your own to do the tuning to get them to sound a certain way. Thats very important if your using them with a band for example. Most users of the SRX series run them through a good mixer board, eq or driverack. If your not ready for the extra work and money spent, get a powered speaker that has everything done already. Take for example the QSC powered speakers, they have their own sound. Whatever you input into them is going sound a certain way when they come out, warm and crisp. On the other hand with a passive speaker with no tuning, you input a shitty mp3 it will amplify that sound times ten. Same thing if you input a high quality wave file for example. You get what you put in basically. There is no coloring of the sound. If you want the SRX to sound warm in crisp, it will take some work to get them to sound like that, just keep that in mind. Also you must know the SRX line is more of a high powered component system. You'll need both tops and bottoms to achieve full range sound. You wont be able to take out two dual 12inch tops like the 722s and expect the bass to shake the room. They arent made for that. You'll need the subs to complete the sound.

We've been doing benefit shows in the community and the crowds can get pretty large and spread out in the park. My son is also getting into DJing at school events and that can be a full gymnasium. My old system could play loud enough and had enough bottom end to handle it, but I just didn't like the sound when the system was pushed hard. By the way, I went and listened to a few in the SRX line yesterday and took along some of the stuff I recorded in the studio. I'm sold! My credit card is perspiring and squealing.



I've got excellent front end electronics and I play wavs or flac typically. I build up mixes in Cubase or Wavelab or Soundforge and use those files. For producing live bands, I've got pretty high end compression and reverb. I've got both graphic and parametric EQs that are excellent.



I'm all over subs so I know a 722 won't kick real low. My dad is a speaker designer and he designed subs and crossovers back in the 60s and is still doing it today. I used to help him in the shop, so I've lugged ~400 pound subs back in the day. He even designed and built transmission line subs with a Q of ~20Hz. Awesome.

Speaking of subs, I wish I could afford a bunch of those Meyer 700HPs.

School dances require more sound and bass...

So how much does everyone charge for school stuff?

^Dope! You know whats up.

So I liked the PRX635's but I'm glad I had issues with them because I would have never gotten my EV QRX 212/75's. They're in a totally different league than the PRX's. You guys with the SRX722's can relate as they are comparable in sound quality and output. Man... I thought the EV ZXa5's were loud! img820.imageshack.us

I'll miss the pole mounting ability I had with the PRX's but for big events with large crowds, these'll come in handy.

Nice picture!

I told myself no more big tops but...... i mite be just a lil jealous....lol
hows the balance in spl between the ev and danleys

Gulp!

Don't know yet coz I had to use my sub amp to test the QRX's (RMS and Peak limited of course). When I get am amp for just the highs (probably a Crown XTI 4002), I'll be able to see how it all sounds together.

[ img820.imageshack.us


Nice clean presentation. Like your set up.

Dope setup! Yeah your in a whole nother league now. Have your tried any DSP tunings/EQ on them?

Not yet... I received some tunings from a guy who owns the same QRX's and EV recommends the settings IF you have them bi-amped. An EV tech told me the built-in crossover negates the need to modify any PEQ settings if you have a single amp running them in passive mode so I'm really not sure if it's necessary.

Same with the SRX tunings, majority all bi-amped. I keep hearing those driveracks work wonders so Im waiting to see if they are really necessary myself.

so are they better that the prx635,are they self powered and how much do they weigh.
what did you do with your prx645's

They're in another league in comparison to PRX635's. The PRX635's are definitely good and sound great but I wouldn't depend on them for a really large-scale event or at an outdoor festival with a decent sized crowd. The PRX635's have only a 1" compression driver for the highs and that ain't meant to throw sound for far distances or to cut through large crowds. These speakers are more proAudio and built for live sound re-enforcement / touring situations. They're designed to be splayed or arrayed together to give wider dispersion (for large crowds). They're not self-powered and they weight about 80 lbs. Not as convenient as a powered speaker but I'll have the amp and processing right near me at the DJ booth so I'll know when my amp is peaking or my input levels are too high as apposed to a self-powered speaker that may be 20ft. away from me.

I returned my PRX635's because my pair had thermal shutdown issues. I'm not hearing of any problems other people out of the PRX line so they're still my favs in the < $1000 category.

80 lbs. each.

well i just bought some kw122s from ty at agiprodj

so hopefully i will be able to weigh in a little on this convo

Decided to not have to upgrade anymore and went dynacord all the way ...

i863.photobucket.com

*wink*

awesome. buy right. buy once.

here you go
tinypic.com
tinypic.com

Okay just got my JBL PRX635, looks real good, and very small and light in terms of weight for a 3way speaker. Will be using them at a large live event next week, I'll give an update as soon as I use them.

Picked up the PRX618S-XLF High Performance Sub
www.guitarcenter.com

Was considering the K12 with the 2 12s in a bandbass box. Kicks a tighter bass but could not compare against the XLF (quite unfair really, these two are not in the same weight class)
Was going to get the PRX618S
www.guitarcenter.com but paid the extra after reading the specs. GIANT Difference!

Pushed this lil monster all night. I would close my eyes when a bass drop was about to come in on a Hip Hop Song just to take it all in (homo away). So glad I picked this over the Ksub, but I'm sure I would have been happy with either.

Next will be the matching satelites. But that's a lil later. Mortgage is due :op

I did my second gig with mines yesterday and wow! They are superloud and clear! You'll love'em!

serato.com

Time for the report, I used my PRX 635s (2) at a church convention from march 7-10 thats 4 days, the convention was held under 2 tents the first tent holds 5000 persons seated which had the prx635 as mains with two eon 515 as outfills due to the width of the tent the first night was used without subs and viola these things blew everyone out the water they are super loud and we had an entire band running through this system and remember these people are pentecostal/ apostolic so the band plays real loud, the bass response was phenomenal and the mids and highs sweet we pushed them till the peak lights were just blinking when the force of the kick drum hit them, the amp does run a little hot but that is expected because you're actually touching the heat sink.

The second night we added two e0n315s to the rear tent directly behind the first tent this one holds 3000 persons seated and we also added two subs to the system one american audio powered 15 sub and one proel 15'' powered sub on the other side as my 4 jrx118sp were at the repair shop due to them being hit previously by some serious low voltage at an event, system sounded even better, no system failure just sweet sound and the funny thing about the PRX635s is that the more i pushed them, even into peak the better they sounded, no drop in sound quality whatsoever, people at the event kept commenting on how good the system sounded and how nice the speakers looked.

The third day of the convention was a full day and had in attendance over 10,000 persons, this was a whole day event which started from 9:30am until 10:30pm that's over 10 hours and the amps performed flawlessly, the system was driven all day and performed flawlessly other sound engineers and musicians who attended the event were surprised at the small amount of speakers and the small size effectively covering such a large scale event, I must also add that we did this same event last year with similar equipment but the three ways were Mackie SR1530 which started shutting down under the pressure and we had to switch them and put some eon 515s in their positions which surprisingly took the pressure and effectively covered the event.

So the verdict is these JBL PRX635 speakers sound exceptionally great, they are very light and they can take anything you throw at them, thumbs up to jbl. I Love these speakers.

Sweet! Great review,thanks!

I agree..Glad to hear someone besides me pushed them and found out how great these really are...GO JBL!!! ;)

Amen to that!! I'm still with my 525s, but I can imagine just how awesome the 635s sound.

Bad news. For me anyway. Long story short last weekend I was DJing a spot in Detroit that decided to go 'afterhours' and a couple other better known DJ's from clubs in the area showed up a little after 2, owner asked me if I minded if they got on. I had a buzz, didn't mind and the first went on. 1/2 hour later the 2nd one wants to get on, words were had and they fought behind my setup, bending a needle, getting blood on my vinyl, and KNOCKING OVER MY PRX635, breaking a window. I set them up and low and wide as my stand will allow and it take quite a bit of force to tip them.

So after the fight i shut everything down, pack up and am home around 4:30 am. Last night i was out, setup, throw a mix on and everything seems to be fine. I walk around the place and notice its quieter on one side. Sure enough I go up the one of the speakers and there is no blue light (the actual "JBL" emblem was gone) and NO SOUND was coming from the speaker. It had power and was getting a full signal (green light illuminated) but no sound. So something broke when it fell. Later I am taking it to an authorized dealer and will be down 1 speaker for a month, and decided against buying another 635 as a backup.

Moral of the story, I ran 1 635 last night all night (with 1 prx718s) and it still sounded great and no one noticed that one of them was out. They really are great speakers.

DJ 'break my shit' said he "has a guy" and can loan me a mackie top, and if warranty doesn't cover it he will pay. What a headache.

dmn! thats fucked up!! at least that idiot is gonna pay! SMH

What was the fight over? what ended it?

dj#1 was pretty drunk, and is a bit of a pre madonna, start talkin ish to the dj #2 who the owner wanted to go on, think it rubbed dj#1 the wrong way being taken off, more words were had, elbows start rubbing the BAM sober dj #2 mushes his face in with 10 swift rights in 4 seconds, my brain slowly processes what is happening (also 4 seconds) i pull him off and push him back, cut music off. dj #1 on the ground bloodied, left in "ambu lamps", find out later he had a broken bone and stitches. they are actually are both house/edm djs, are friends and have dj'd many many times together. saw dj#1 last night he apologized every which way, says i don't know how dj#2 can be, blah blah blah. Dj#2 is in miami right now, bandages and all.

wow! if it was my stuff i'd have a hard time not throwing punches in there too... wow. hope the speaker sitituation gets fixed soon... a speaker down can really cause stress

Finally picked up my PRX635 from the shop yesterday, repairs covered under warranty. Took about a month, for what the tech said was a 10 minute job. (Replaced high frequency driver). So I will be back at 100% tonight and I have to say, damn it feels good to be a gangsta.

You had that rattling noise from the upper back of the cabinet too right? I took mine 2 weeks ago and still no news :s let us know how it sounds now,thanks!

Yes jbnyc, I will def let you know.

Yes..eagerly waiting ;)
I figured out where my noise was coming from though...its from the handles on the side...not inside for me at least.

Everything went great last night. No more rattle and LOUD LOUD LOUD :)

First gig with my new 612m's tomorrow. :D

Nice!! :)




Cool! Dont forget to post pics!

Bought a pair of JBL prx 625. Is anyone having trouble with these ?

i have a pair and haven't had a single problem (knocks on wood). what kind of problems are you having?

I Bought them in march 2010. They shut down on me this past weekend. Amp gets really hot. one of the speakers has a rattle when theres alot o bass.i'm alittle worried cause i got gigs every weekend and its making me look bad when the shut down. I used to own the jbl eons 15 G2's and i never had a problem with the heat or shut down. Just wondering how many others are experiencing the same thing.

mine get warm but never too hot. and i've had them at LOUD levels (not clipping though) for around 4 hours at a time. did they always get hot like that? i know people were having issues with one of the other models overheating (635?) but not with the 625.

ive been djing for a very long time. I dont think they should get that hot. its hot enough to make you take your hand off almost instanly. Yes, i got to admit that i did run them hard. but even when i didnt. its still way to hot.
the turned back on after about 10 - 15 min

luckly i live about one hour from JBL in northridge CA. Im taking them in for that problem plus the rattle noise. That rattle noise can be heard without them on. simply by softly hitting the top of the prx625 with your palm of your hand. you can hear the diffrence. like something is loose. i compared it with the one without the problem.

I will post what JBL has to say.

Today is the 1st day of summer. I use to have the PRX635 and returned them due to overheating. I expect to hear more reports of overheating because of the summer heat coupled with the PRX amp heat. Great sounding speakers though. I hated to see them go.

I have a pair of prx 615ms, im seeing the problems with the prx 625 and the 635 and i think it may have something to do with them not perfecting the the engineering of the those prx speakers. i rarely see post where this problem happens with the 612 or the 615. please let me know if anyone heard any different.

try turning them on and not sending any audio. I wonder if they will still get really hot.

Once again..It doesn't happen to everyone who owns these PRX speakers…I am living proof of that! I own the 635's, 615's and one 618 XLF Sub….No issues …I think the very first round of these speakers must have had some issues and they weren't recalled…Just a theory of mine.

Mine did... waaayyyy too hot for an idle speaker. They're still in the Sam Ash store where I returned them. They still cut out/shutdown too, I witnessed it when one of their sales guys was demoing them. If it were a 1st round issue, JBL never owned up to it. I still recommend them (w/caveats) to inquiring DJs because they're such a good sounding and solid choice solution.

I agree, it definitely isn't everyones speakers. Would you say that your speakers are from the second round of speakers that were put on the market?

Long story short (for those who didnt read my thread) 1 of my prx635 started rattling,took it back to sam ash and 4 weeks later i got them back,2 parties later they started rattling again! This time i got a new speaker and they sound fantastic! Not sure if theres a second batch but i noticed one minor diference between both of them,the older one has a semi gloss finished the new one looks less shiney,almost like a mate white and the finish is a little more graspier if i can say that lol

they always run extremly hot tho...

So feeling both of them, would you say they are the same temp?

i have a pair of 615m that i used for about 5 hours and they didn't get extremely hot. I kept checking them because of what ive read in this forum.

That was on saturday.

I'm guessing the heat issue may be limited to PRX635's and 625's.

Thats what i was thinking too.

Yes,however the one rattling used to get hotter :s not sure if the overheating had something to do with the rattling...

Yeah..I did notice my 615's don't get as hot as the 635's…and the jury is still out on the 618 XLF sub…will do more testing this weekend on that tho.

i hate you!!! every time i see my eon 518 i kick it!! lol i really really really really want an xlf! lol

oh damn! just noticed i misread larry Bs post. i have the 612Ms. lol sorry mane.

LOL…Yea EON's are overpriced pieces of crap! and I use to Djs hatin' on me in my area…all their sound systems suck…I'm known for having the best gear in my town …Kinda proud of that ;)

now i hate you more for dissing my eons LOL 2 months and i'll get those xlf's buahaha

i got the xlf last week. they sound good.. too bad the grill came dented in

Mine did too..I just took it off and fixed it…but yea..needs a more sturdy grill…it will probably dent in again.

I tried taking out. took out all the screws but the there is 4 screws that need to be taken out with a allen key and my allen key is either too small or too big

yeah either you have mm or need mm :s i think inches would be the ones they have since it was "made in usa"

Prx 625 Update.
I took both of my Prx 625's in to JBL today. they said that it was rare to see the prx's in for problems. I dont know if thats true or not. they also said turn around was estimated to be about 5-10 days. so i have to borrow some speakers for the weeked and hopefully they fix the vibration on one of them, and an explanation why they shut off (after running them about 4hrs) then back on again after about a 10-15 min.
and yes, they get hot when not in use. I once left my house and accidently left them on. and when i came back about an couple of hours, they where hotter than when being used!
In my opinion, i think the prx has to be playing at medium levels so that there is some air flow produced by the movement of the subs. that airflow is the only air that amp is getting from the inside.!! they should of just added a fan. even a small one. i know other speakers do.
Again, just my opinion
I guess i just have to wait for a response

i hope you get a full replacement! and keep us posted!!

Ask them about the heat too... Electronics cause heat... But there is such thing as too hot, and IMO too hot makes me worry that something is wrong. Look at the Mackie SRM 450's... I won't buy them because of issues with overheating in the past.

How much hotter will a PRX need to get before it shuts off?

Once again the Mackie 450's heating up or overheating is random ..if at all …I've owned my 450's for 4 years now and have beat the crap out of them and they are still running as perfect today as when they were new.

Nah dude, the 450 overheating is a common problem, there are countless threads on that issue. It was a bad heat sink design. Even mackie knows about it thats why they tried to fix the problem with the newer models. I got rid of mine for that reason. I got sick of attaching the fans to them. If the room I was playing in went above 75 degrees they would start to shut down. Most air conditioned venues though I never had a problem in.

Just some advice for those of you with powered speakes. Make sure your auto gain is set to 92 db or below and dont go above +4 on your level meters. Pretty much every Dj I know runs their db at like 95 and bounces their levels to +8 all night. Sure the signal sounds great in your headphones, but your powered speakers cant handle it.

I think people need to understand you can't treat your powered speakers like passive. Lets not forget, the amp is attached and receives little to no air for cooling. I've seen thermal shut down from all brands if not used properly. Also remember, you probably need more mid level powered stuff for a gig, in comparison to using passive. Example 2 jbl mrx 15 tops with 2 jbl mrx 18 subs powered by the proper wattage will most likely give you more wiggle room than 2 jbl prx 615m and 2 jbl prx 618s xfl. This is just my 2 cents.

My bad..I have the V2's

Exactly, thats why I went passive, every powered speaker Ive owned has gotten into some kind of thermal shut down problem or close to it. I got the QSC KW153s and they started going into the red the second night. Mind you it wasnt me, but my buddy who runs his signals like I described above. You just have to learn to set your equipment correctly especially with powered speakers.

I second what warren kelly says too. I have had my mackie srm 450v2 for close to 4 years and i have pushed them hard so many times and they have yet to let me down =]

good luck... I've used them often enough to say they suck. if yours work, good for you... (not being a dick... just from history, they have a shitty track record)

Do you own a pair or have you ever owned a pair?

i've owned 9 pairs. used countless pairs

I'm guessing they were the first version…not the V2's?

Why would you own so many pairs if they have a bad track record? *curious*

I bought them all together when i liked Mackie. at the time they didnt have a bad track record. They were dark grey... it was several years ago, so they are all long gone, and i dont remember for sure which version they were.

I liked some things about them, but the fact that they over heated made them worthless to me

Mackie and every retail place i talked to said hmmm no idea what you're talking about... no one has ever said anything about them overheating...

that bull shit made me hate mackie.

Well I bet you had the first version…cuz the V2's don't have that track record and they are still one of the top mobile speakers out there today…that has to count for something. Thats why I say its good to listen to everyones reviews on the product your considering buying…BUT research ..research ..research! Because what you say about Mackies and the PRX series speakers are just not true for me and plenty of others.

+1

+1 The heatsinks on the PRX's are almost non-existent.

the SRM450 was first made in the USA, then Italy, then China. All V2s are from China

USA made SRM450 back panel

imageshack.us

Yea, so what about speakers that have no heat sinks in its design? How does the heat dissipate?

Chinese made SRM450
www.keyboardmag.com


can't find a pic of the Italian ones, but I used to have 1

They should have recalled the shitty ones, but they never admitted to anything. that lost me as a forever customer

i have 2 prx 635's an 2 prx 612's and 1 prx 615 , and boy do them 635's get hot . i could fry a skillet on em , imma be real cautious this summer playing them out in outdoor events , i might jus by a sub and x over the low frequencies to take some of t he strain off the amp inside ... anything to prolong the life of these great speakers and my investment ..."ps" i bought my 635's used and had to replaced 4 of them from a shady sam ash in new jersey.... my 612's i bought new .. no more shady sellers ??


also i dont see much difference btw the prx 612 and the prx 615 besides a lil umph .. any one else

they lost me too and mine always ran great. It was all my friends that have had troubles that turned me off.

3 letters to summarize Mackie...

F.T.S.

plenty of better mixers... plenty of other speaker choices... FTS

ok sound experts i need help asap! I have 2 prx 635s had them out saturday night and the idiot promoter leans over right in front of the booth monitor with my wireless mic ... one of the 635's got EXTREMELY loud for 2 seconds then pretty much cut out. I went and listened to it with my ear right up to the speaker and I could still hear sound coming out, figuring i blew a mid.

Well i just came in from the garage and have both prx 635s in 50 pieces. pluggin in my ipod and all levels the same the bad speaker sounds very hollow, little to no bass .. but the 15" woofer still moves as much as the good speaker. next thing im about to do is switch out the subs and see if it could be the amp to the sub or if its the sub itself.

any thoughts??

i have a big gig tomorrow and am going to have to run it the way it is with a separate sub and hope that it flies. i dealt with jbl and 1 of 2 authorized repair centers last go around with a blown tweeter and it took 6 weeks and i can't wait that long so i'd rather just pay and get what i need overnighted to me and fix it myself.

I think that maybe when he bumped in the prx he pushed the mic/line button,i pushed it once while i was doing a soundcheck at a babyshower,the volume wasnt too loud but when i pushed it the volume was at least 5 times louder,i almost popped that baby out! Lol if u ask me,its very stupid that they have that buttin where anyone can press it by mistake and blow a speaker, so just make sure both buttons are on "line"
Good luck!

OK good news. I think it may have just overheated and only partially shut off, if thats possible?? had them both out in my driveway same level, blind test with my wifes help and i couldnt tell the difference. :)

ALSO JBNYC ... I FIXED MY RATTLE!!!! Piece of cake will take you 3 minutes with a screw gun or drill. Take the cover off, unplug the tiny connector on the bottom for the blue led power indicator. Next take the tweeter horn/cover thing off, its like 8-10 screws. Then by hand tighten the tweeter on to the horn/cover thing, mine was loose by half a turn or so. I screwed everything back together and cranked "Let the Bass Kick" and no more rattle .. so happy!

Feel free to share this with anyone else with rattling issues!!

Oh and the 15" sub weighs somewhere between 2-3 pounds, crazy. Its like picking up and empty box of cereal. The tweeter is a little less and the mid range was a real speaker about 10 lbs with a magnet. i snapped a couple pics while it was all apart. the second pic is of the tweeter you can see that it screws into the horn. glad this is over.

i863.photobucket.com
i863.photobucket.com

Yes its possible..according to the specs..each speaker is running 500 watts separately.

thanks Victor L!! i actually took mines apart and they were also like 3/4 turns lose, maybe thats how they leave them @ tha factory, and i tightened everything but it didnt work,they even tightened @ the service center @ JBL and they started rattling again, im glad they switched it with a new one! :) i was also amazed of how light the 15" driver was, heres a pic

i641.photobucket.com

haha yeah when i picked up the 15" driver i thought something was missing or fell off. its almost like it fake, crazy that much sound comes from something that light.

That mid looks pretty kick ass... well, maybe not... seriously, they look like toys compared to what i'm use to seeing

i said the same thing when i opened the cabinet, im used to the magnet being as big as the speaker, but i guess this is the bose technology or something,its incredible how loud and clear they sound @ 65 lbs powered O.O

They do look like toys + the drivers look cheap BUT the end result is a good sounding and lightweight powered speaker. JBL needs to look into improving some things on the assembly line seeing how so many people are finding rattling issues. I found a signal wire totally disconnected on one of my PRX635 midranges right out the box.

Rattling and overheating, mines never shut down before but the amp gets really really hot, cant leave your finger any longer than a second SMH

Mines did 3 of them

PRX 625 update.
I called JBL and they said they couldnt find a problem with both speakers shutting down(overheating). That it was still in procees of "lab test". But, 5 min later after hanging up , i get a call back. and they said they were going to replace both amps! In which im happy about but, alittle worried why they are replacing the amps when i only had since March 2011. Hope this will solve the heating problem. maybe some bad amps in the beginning of production. who knows...