Gimmie Your "Stick PA/Line Array" Recommendations
 

Looking for pro's and con's from user experience of the following considerations~

Bose L1C

Turbosound IP2000

LD Systems Maui 11

Fishman SA330x

JBL Eon One


Will be using as mains and monitoring. Routing acoustic guitar and Vx's through a TC Helicon VL3X.

TYIA, Bob

I'm a big fan of the LD Systems Maui 11 G2. I bought one last year and absolutely love it. I get compliments on my sound regularly. Played last Saturday and had two different musicians come up to me to tell me how great my system sounded.

We've gone to two L1Cs, but the L1C does not have a mixer as such or effects. Consequently we use a small Behringer mixer w/effects. For the venues we play, this is perfect. If we graduate to stadiums, we'll figure something else out.

Any thoughts on their integrated "adaptive" electronics. Are you running outboard gear into the G2?

+1 for the Mauis
 

It depends on what you're doing with them, but I've got a pair of Maui 11s (actually, mine are rebadged Fender Expos, but still...) that have been excellent for my duo. We run a T5 -- occasionally with an Atomic amp modeler -- a Squier Bass VI, a BeatBuddy drum pedal, and two vocals through them in stereo, and they handle it all very well, even in large rooms.

Of course, we also run a mixer into them.

Other comments

- The L1-C is not in the same league; the L1-S is very comparable.
- The Turbosound IP2000 is way more power than these others you've mentioned. The IP1000 would be closer, and they are both generally really nice. And loud for their size, too.
- Fishman SA330x -- see comment about L1-C. The Fishman is simply not in the same league as these others
- I hear great things about the JBL Eon One, and auditioned one once, but have never used one in anger

That's what I know.

:)

Joe

The what, now?
 

Not sure what that means, but each of the three channels in the amp has a limiter, resulting in what they refer to as a "multi-band limiter."

I've run a couple of different mixers into mine, they work just fine. In fact, I prefer the sound of them driven by a mixer; past about 2:00 on the Maui's volume dial, they start to impart a bit of a strident quality to the upper mids, but, driving them from a mixer, I've never had to run them any louder than that on the Maui's dials.

Joe

I get compliments on my first-gen Maui 11s as well, but I have to admit that I wonder how much difference an extra woofer and horn would make. Have you ever compared V1 an V2?

Joe

One you're up in Bose L1-S+ territory, you might as well throw in the Lucas Nano 608i. A few forum members use them happily. There's a recent thread or two that ended up talking about the 608i along with comparisons to other units including Bose.

I wanted a system that met my needs as a primarily solo act. The Maui at 55 lbs. and the Turbosound sound at 69 lbs. were great options, powerful and economically priced. The Bose and Fishman while less powerful were much more portable at less than 30 lbs. and still provided the coverage I needed. I chose the Fishman for it's mixer which has a lot of usable features. If I plug into a T.C. Helicon Play acoustic and run it into one channel of the Fishman SA330, I still have an open channel that way for another player if need be. That is a rare occasion though. For $169.00 I can add four more channels with the add on mixer. It has plenty of power for the gigs I do. One Saturday afternoon at a biker bar I play at, my girlfriend said that my vocals weren't as clear as they were before the place got noisy. I simply bumped up the midrange on my vocals and they were clear as a bell. The more full featured mixer on my Fishman made that possible. The other units would have needed a mid control and most if not all lack that feature. If you add an outboard mixer to the other units they become much more useful.

We are lucky to have all the options available to us to fit our specific needs in a portable P.A. system these days.

It all depends upon your specific needs. They are all great options. For a solo act in the venues I play, The Fishman's flexibility, light weight, and ease of setup made it my choice. It gets pretty loud I think around 115dB at 1 meter, and penetrates to the back of the room without blasting the people close to you. The sound quality on both the Fishman and Bose are very good in my opinion.

The JBL, by reputation, has weak preamps and needs an outboard mixer to boost the inputs.

I do use a little Allen & Heath ZED 10fx.

It’s amazing to me how great it sounds. I’ve been so struck by how many musicians come up to tell me my sound is great. I’ve had three local musicians go out and buy the 11 G2 based on hearing mine.

I haven’t compared mine to the original Maui 11. No idea how they compare.

I have friends who own the Turbosound 2000 and like those. I don’t think they sound any better than mine and they are bigger/bulkier/heavier. They do have more power but I’ve never need more than my Maui can provide.

It’s just a great, simple lightweight solution. I own two now and use two when I play with my acoustic trio. We probably don’t need both for most venues. One really does cover a lot.

The eq and dynamics are already preset in the Maui 11 and not adjustable. (I think)

I’ve played a couple of gigs with no mixer and thought it sounded good. No effects. I use the mixer to add a touch of FX and to have quick access to knobs to control volume adjustments.

I have narrowed my search to either a Turbosound IP 2000 or an LD Maui 11 G2.

I see you have narrowed it down, but, I feel like I need to 2nd the Fishman 330. I have gigged with the Fishman 220 for years and get nothing but unsolicited compliments. For what I do, solo voice & guitar) I have not heard anything I like better and it ultimately portable and comes with all one would need in terms of EQ, reverb, anti-feedback, ground lift, etc in one unit.

Also, with the introduction of the 330, there are lots of GREAT deals on 220s out there.

Best of luck,
Steve

Just bought a mint Fishman SA220 for $450. Sounds great, light weight etc. Just sayin...