New PA system from JBL - PRX One

[Chriscom]

Originally Posted by Stringmaster

... So I ordered a 50M since I wanted the mixer, and put it through it’s paces during the 45 day approval period. While I haven’t had it out to a gig yet I’m real impressed the system overall. I’ve tried it with and without condenser mics, an external mixer, and slaving my Bose S1. I even dialed in a decent sound with an electric archtop. While it’s not 100% perfect, I feel it comes the closest overall for my needs, and set up is fast and easy! It is a little on the heavy side, but not bad, and I plan to get the rolling cart. I was also swayed by hearing a local artist performing at both indoor and outdoor venues locally, and the sound was excellent (and I got to sit in on it). I did think about also buying the Bose to audition at home for a month or so before deciding, but I feel that the Evolve gets it done for me.

Congrats on moving forward! Have heard many Evolves of both types and I love the sound. Have never heard a PRX, but I expect largely because they are relatively new.

[EWman]

Originally Posted by Stringmaster

Follow-up: I loaded the EV and JBL apps on my phone and went to a local Guitar Center. It was cool because the salesman allowed me to play around on my own, without any sales pitch or bias. I had recorded music on my phone that is in my style (just just straight acoustic guitar and vocals). I started with the JBL, and had no luck maneuvering the software to get my phone paired. I then went to the 30M and figured it out pretty easily. I liked it overall. I then asked the salesman to help me with the JBL, with no luck pairing either my phone or his. He mentioned that they previously had a lot of trouble when the system first came in—so I never got to hear it. We then connected the Evolve 50 (not the M), and I did a back and forth comparison between that and the 30M. I really preferred the larger system’s fullness and warmth. I looked at the Bose 16 which I had previously auditioned (and liked), but I was pretty much sold on the Evolve 50’s sound, software, and robust (wood and aluminum vs plastic) construction. So I ordered a 50M since I wanted the mixer, and put it through it’s paces during the 45 day approval period. While I haven’t had it out to a gig yet I’m real impressed the system overall. I’ve tried it with and without condenser mics, an external mixer, and slaving my Bose S1. I even dialed in a decent sound with an electric archtop. While it’s not 100% perfect, I feel it comes the closest overall for my needs, and set up is fast and easy! It is a little on the heavy side, but not bad, and I plan to get the rolling cart. I was also swayed by hearing a local artist performing at both indoor and outdoor venues locally, and the sound was excellent (and I got to sit in on it). I did think about also buying the Bose to audition at home for a month or so before deciding, but I feel that the Evolve gets it done for me.

Did it take you a while to get used to gain staging with the internal mixer? From what I’m reading, most of the portable array systems with built in mixers don’t operate exactly like a traditional mixer (gain/level knob and a fader on each channel, and then a master fader. I’m seeing a lot of the internal mixers seem to have one gain/volume setting per channel and then a master. Not saying it doesn’t work well, just completely goes against how I’ve set up my sound for years.

How easy is it to use the app? Also, do your settings save or do you have to completely set up everything (gain, eq, fx, compression, etc) every time you turn it on? With an external analog mixer I don’t mind setting everything flat and adjusting for each venue because everything is visible and in reach without having to jump through different digital menus. So just like to know what I’d be looking at dealing with.

I’ve been reading up a lot today on peoples experiences with the PRX One. It seems like there is a steep learning curve at first with it, but once people get it dialed in they love it. It seems like it has a few more features than the Evolve, specifically with the Anti feedback suppression. It’s so new also, and seems like they are still working through some kinks and updating the firmware. I have also read that some folks have had a little bit of a learning curve with the evolves too though. But mainly the evolves have prob been around just a little bit longer to help some of y’all get it figured out. Otherwise, performance wise I can’t see a huge difference between the 50m and the PRX one. But I’ve never gigged with either, so I could be wrong.

Will one of these hold up pretty well for an outdoor gig? I have some coming up this spring/summer that I might need a little extra to help reach out. Does the 50m have a way to set up delays if I wanted to hold on to my current powered speakers to add on?

[Stringmaster]

Originally Posted by EWman

Did it take you a while to get used to gain staging with the internal mixer? From what I’m reading, most of the portable array systems with built in mixers don’t operate exactly like a traditional mixer (gain/level knob and a fader on each channel, and then a master fader. I’m seeing a lot of the internal mixers seem to have one gain/volume setting per channel and then a master. Not saying it doesn’t work well, just completely goes against how I’ve set up my sound for years.

How easy is it to use the app? Also, do your settings save or do you have to completely set up everything (gain, eq, fx, compression, etc) every time you turn it on? With an external analog mixer I don’t mind setting everything flat and adjusting for each venue because everything is visible and in reach without having to jump through different digital menus. So just like to know what I’d be looking at dealing with.

I’ve been reading up a lot today on peoples experiences with the PRX One. It seems like there is a steep learning curve at first with it, but once people get it dialed in they love it. It seems like it has a few more features than the Evolve, specifically with the Anti feedback suppression. It’s so new also, and seems like they are still working through some kinks and updating the firmware. I have also read that some folks have had a little bit of a learning curve with the evolves too though. But mainly the evolves have prob been around just a little bit longer to help some of y’all get it figured out. Otherwise, performance wise I can’t see a huge difference between the 50m and the PRX one. But I’ve never gigged with either, so I could be wrong.

Will one of these hold up pretty well for an outdoor gig? I have some coming up this spring/summer that I might need a little extra to help reach out. Does the 50m have a way to set up delays if I wanted to hold on to my current powered speakers to add on?

I’m a novice when it comes to setting up and dialing in PA gear, and have always used basic analog mixers live. This is the first digital mixer I’ve owned. I just followed the manual to set the input levels for my mic and guitar, then turned the master to “0”, and adjusted the channel volumes from there—it leaves me room to move on both the channel and master volumes. I then played with the presets to find the EQ close to what I liked, and did minor adjustments from there. Then I played around a little with the speaker EQ settings. So I haven’t really thought about what is going on internally with gain staging, preset EQ’s etc—and set it up by ear if that makes sense.

I find the app very easy to use, and I was able to pretty much figure out the basics in the store without a manual. When you restart the system and use the app, it recalls those settings. You can also store the settings on the unit itself for when you don’t want to use the app, but I haven’t tried that yet. One thing I’ve learned is to start up the app and pair it to the system prior to plugging in the mic/instruments, so I can mute the channels (or turn the volume down) before plugging in—that way I don’t have to worry about potential feedback when turning on the system. I agree that the JBL perhaps has more features, but for me, the simpler the better, as long as the sound is great.

I think the system will hold up to smaller outdoor venues, like outdoor restaurants and wineries, etc. a big concert in the park doubtful. Some folks use a pair of Evolves to get better coverage, and with the 50M you can connect two with an Ethernet cable, which also doubles the channels. But for me, I expect one system will cover my needs. Yes, the manual states that you can set delays for using external powered speakers. Maybe others with more time on there Evolves will chime in.

[ggibson189]

Originally Posted by AeroUSA

Now I really want to compare the 30M, Pro 8 and JBL side by side!

I'm going to do just that later today.