Practice speaker for our practice room
 

Hey guys,

I was hoping that someone would be able to help me with this. We are trying to fit our church practice room with a speaker that is of good sound quality, not too expensive (sub $200) and is versatile. We'd like to able to hook up voices, guitars etc to it while we're practicing. The room itself isn't too big, so it doesn't have to be a huge one. We currently have a JBL Eon and that has been loud and powerful enough, but its old. Does anyone have any suggestions for one? Thanks!!

powered or passive?

I believe the JBL Eon was only available as a speaker with a built-in amplifier, at least that is the case today. Unless you buy used equipment, I don't know of any quality powered speakers in the $200 range. Below are a couple of products to consider if the budget can be stretched far enough to cover their cost.

https://www.carvinguitars.com/produc...?product=LM12A

https://www.carvinguitars.com/produc...?product=S400D

If you have an amplifier and mixer and are just looking for a speaker system for it, this one may be suitable provided you aren't going to run drum set or bass guitar through it:

http://electro-voice.com/products/250.html

Is it an Eon 10" or 15"? The EV ZX1 that Herb mentioned will sound comparable to a 10" Eon, in my opinion better, but will need it's own power source. If you are using a 15" Eon than perhaps the EV-SX100 or SX100A (powered version), although you would be hard pressed to get one for $200 that is any better than what you currently have. If your JBL works but is just old, maybe just a re-coning?

We have a couple of Yamaha MSR-100's that work great for that. They are powered PA's with inputs and controls on the backside. If you can find one used you might be able to meet your budget.

The Behringer EUROLIVE B212A Active Loudspeaker would be close to your budget. You would need a mixer for multiple channels. Your other option would be a keyboard amp.

Thanks alot for all of your advice. I will do more research into it, but here are some more specifics.

We have a mixer and we would like it to be powered, but since we're a college church and we're getting better, but definitely not pro, we're looking for a higher-end entry level or lower mid-level amplifier/PA combo (Like the JBL eons) that can be put into a practice room and is versatile for guitars, voices etc. The most improtant thing is good sound at a great value. I suppose a $200 value is a bit short, so I guess price isn't as important as great value.

...hopefully it'll be something that we can grow into as well. Any advice?

What's wrong with the EON, other than it's being old? Speakers last a long time, and very seldom are the new models improved to such an extent that they require upgrading, the way electronics/computers do.

If the EON's doing the job, why throw money at something that you don't need to? Also, IMHO, in the price range you're looking at you'll be hard pressed to improve on the JBL. YMMV.

If you can find one (or 2) of these used, they sound great:

http://www.electrovoice.com/products/209.html