Quote:
Originally Posted by roylor4
Well, I reckon I was expecting more, don't know why.
The JBL Eon One Pro (line array) is supposed to be an ultimate grab and go solution for duos (battery power, 4 xlr ins) and is built for musicians. Everyone says that the onboard mixer sucks and it has no power without using an additional mixer. This piece of gear IS AIMED at gigging musicians, yet they still can't get it right. On a piece of gear like this, I really don't understand how they can miss the mark. All the Wireless and Bluetooth stuff is cool, but I'll take knobs and extra volume all day long - I think most of us would.
Look, I know that there are always compromises, but IMO, at the prices the S1 and Eon Compact go - the compromises are so big as to steer many (not all) musicians away. For instance, my Roland Cube Street EX offer WAY more gain/volume on channels 1, 2 and aux in. The compromise? The lack of clarity, especially in vocals. The plus? Actually a decent sounding modeling amp. So people that want the clarity of the S1 or Compact would think my Cube sucks too - just in a different way.
And in fairness, my Cube was at a similar price-point.
I think my problem is that I was expecting kind of a "next generation" kind of improvement, where the compromises are fewer and the increase in power was evident - kind of like with calculators, computers and cellphones over the years.
So, as the "next big thing", to me, they fall way short. Still probably a useful piece of kit for some, I guess - just not me. If I have electric for a mixer, I have it for a powered speaker too.
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I own the Eon One Pro and it works fine for me. Part of the problem is a lack of understanding regarding their mixer layout. The Eon One pro has 4 channels. The first unit (Eon One) did not have a proper high Z input option. But, the new unit solves that problem.
Now, with the Pro, each channel has two fixed gain settings. They are labeled "mic and line". Mic is close to 30dB and line is close to 20dB. Regardless of what you are plugging into it, you can choose one of those two. I don't have any issues with using the higher "mic" gain setting for any of my inputs. In addition, the first two channels have a phantom power option and the last two channels have a high Z option. Again these phantom and high Z work with either fixed gain setting. It works great for my purposes.
The only problem I have with new Compact unit is that they kept the first two channels the same, but they deviated from the Pro design and eliminated the higher gain option from the High Z (3rd) channel. This makes it too weak for a passive pickup without a preamp.
Now, there are users, like DavidE, for whom the 30dB gain is simply not enough for their instruments and mics. This makes the JBL product a non-starter for him. But, this is all dependent on need and use case. For me, the Pro design, with an app for the effects and EQ, would have been the perfect solution.
If I were to purchase a Eon One Compact, I would probably limiting myself to the two channels, as I don't typically use any pedals that would make channel 3 usable. I would use my wireless system to correct impedance for the guitar with passive K&K into channel 2. Channel 3 would not be usable without a pedal or preamp. I'm not sure, for me, the EQ and effects are enough reason to change from the Bose S1 Pro to the Eon One. But, if I were starting from scratch, I might get the JBL for the added features knowing that 30 dB is enough gain for me, and I would only be using two channels.