Portable PA Power Ratings

[wweiss]

I have the following portable speakers and these are the max dB I have gotten in a home setting:

Bose Compact 106 dB
Bose S1 Pro 102.6 dB
JBL Eon One Compact 101.9 dB
LD Maui 5 Go 101.1 dB
JBL Eon One Pro 100.4 dB
Fishman Loudbox Mini Charge 98.4 dB
Behringer Euro 96.8 dB
Laney X4 95.6 dB
Fishman SA220 never tested

Didn't bother to test my QSC KW122, QSC K10, QSC K8.2, Bose L1 MII, QSC KSub
All in another league!
JBL Eon Compact on the way- will up date the list
Please feel free to ask about any of the speakers,but know I am not a guitarist. I play Roland Electronic drums through the above. None for sale

Also tested Bose S1 102.6 dB I returned this because I liked the compact better

[necrome]

Really helpful! Much thanks for compiling this

[SpruceTop]

The JBL EON ONE Compact is advertised by JBL at 112 dB SPL/V. It'll be interesting to find out what you get at home. Thanks for doing these power tests!

[jonfields45]

So many variables in SPL measurement! Test signal, acceptable level of distortion, ambient temperature, anechoic chamber (or not or quality of the one used), did you intentionally avoid the DSP algorithms intended to protect the speakers, how long did the peak have to be maintained (not that it was a peak or not, but did you play the test signal with that peak for some extended period of time)...

So don't expect anything to agree with the manufacturer's numbers.

But any consistent measurement across products and brands is very valuable.

[Spook]

Good of you to do the measurements. Seems some of these would not get very loud in an outdoor setting.

Of course, there are folks in this forum successfully running their QSC's with lithium inverters if you want both a higher SPL and portability.

[Peter Z]

I think this is a great test. I assume wweiss measured all speakers under the same conditions. Whatever the absulute figures mean, it shows the differences between the products.
Also nice to take a look into the manufacturers specs sheets - I think, that tells a lot:

Bose Compact 106 dB -> 106/112
LD Maui 5 Go 101.1 dB -> ----/120
JBL Eon One Pro 100.4 dB -> ----/118
Bose S1 pro 102 -> 103/106

When I measured Bose L1 compact and S1 pro I got fiures close to those of wweiss - just a little bit higher.

[Zandit75]

So I guess there is no point in asking which one you prefer, especially since you're "Only" a drummer??!!

[wweiss]

All tests were done in same living room/same distance
I used recorded music played through Bluetooth
None of the speakers shut down due to DSP limiting
I played the same track until my tripod mounted RadioShack dB meter didn't register anything higher on the Max setting

[jonfields45]

Originally Posted by wweiss

All tests were done in same living room/same distance
I used recorded music played through Bluetooth
None of the speakers shut down due to DSP limiting
I played the same track until my tripod mounted RadioShack dB meter didn't register anything higher on the Max setting

Any consistent methodology is better than comparing specs from different manufacturers.

The drivers get less efficient as they heat up. That is why ambient temperature and length of test can make a difference (say if you wanted to suppress the SPL of your cheaper product to make the more expensive one look better).

If you are not hearing distortion (<5% THD) and it would not get louder, you engaged the DSP limiting in the product.

[wweiss]

Tested Eon One Compact today
101.9 dB using Bluetooth music!
Sounded very clean, bested only by Bose L1 Compact 106 dB and Bose S1 Pro
102.6
I was impressed

[Chriscom]

Originally Posted by wweiss

I have the following portable speakers and these are the max dB I have gotten in a home setting:

Bose Compact 106 dB
Bose S1 Pro 102.6 dB
JBL Eon One Compact 101.9 dB
LD Maui 5 Go 101.1 dB
JBL Eon One Pro 100.4 dB
Fishman Loudbox Mini Charge 98.4 dB
Behringer Euro 96.8 dB
Laney X4 95.6 dB
Fishman SA220 never tested

Didn't bother to test my QSC KW122, QSC K10, QSC K8.2, Bose L1 MII, QSC KSub
All in another league!
JBL Eon Compact on the way- will up date the list
Please feel free to ask about any of the speakers,but know I am not a guitarist. I play Roland Electronic drums through the above. None for sale

Also tested Bose S1 102.6 dB I returned this because I liked the compact better

Nice work!

By Bose Compact I assume you mean Bose L1 Compact? Not to be nitpicky, just want to be sure.

I'm a little surprised you measured the S1 as a hair louder than the new Eon One Compact, since I thought several guys in one of the other threads said the latter was louder.

[aoeusynth]

Thanks for sharing these measurements! These sort of tests can be quite useful as a sanity check.

Originally Posted by wweiss

Didn't bother to test my QSC KW122, QSC K10, QSC K8.2, Bose L1 MII, QSC KSub
All in another league!

Do you mind testing at least the QSC K8.2? I hear what you're saying but it would be nice to have at least one data point for a speaker in that league, for comparison.

[wweiss]

I will test the QSC k8.2 on Friday when the wife is not around.
I wear hearing protection because anything over 90dB is dangerous to your hearing. This will be loud!

Yes I meant the Bose L1 Compact as the reigning portable champion.
But then again it is not battery powered and doesn’t have Bluetooth.

[aoeusynth]

Originally Posted by wweiss

I will test the QSC k8.2 on Friday when the wife is not around.
I wear hearing protection because anything over 90dB is dangerous to your hearing. This will be loud!

Thanks!

And I totally understand about the hearing protection: I even felt compelled to put in some Ety-Plugs I had lying around when SPL-testing an Aiwa EXOS-9 this afternoon. It's for my kids' school movie nights, was wondering if I could get away with it (the answer is no: A-weighted only reached 93.8 dB and DSP compression hit much earlier — and the auditorium is LARGE).

My JBL EON One Compact arrives Thursday, and ... wait for it ... a New Soundboks is showing up Monday. I'm hoping the Compact will be sufficient, though: based on your measurements, the JBL sounds like it would be roughly twice the volume of the Aiwa, and the features for live performances are much better on the JBL than on the Soundboks. Always nice to buy something that can be used for multiple purposes!

(But now you know why I'm interested in the K8.2's peak SPL measurements. The New Soundboks will probably have nothing on the SQ of the QSC speakers, but the SPL rating is the same and the Soundboks is very keenly designed for battery power).

Anyway, it's sometimes nice to play around with toys outside my normal competencies.

[necrome]

Originally Posted by aoeusynth

Thanks!

And I totally understand about the hearing protection: I even felt compelled to put in some Ety-Plugs I had lying around when SPL-testing an Aiwa EXOS-9 this afternoon. It's for my kids' school movie nights, was wondering if I could get away with it (the answer is no: A-weighted only reached 93.8 dB and DSP compression hit much earlier — and the auditorium is LARGE).

My JBL EON One Compact arrives Thursday, and ... wait for it ... a New Soundboks is showing up Monday. I'm hoping the Compact will be sufficient, though: based on your measurements, the JBL sounds like it would be roughly twice the volume of the Aiwa, and the features for live performances are much better on the JBL than on the Soundboks. Always nice to buy something that can be used for multiple purposes!

(But now you know why I'm interested in the K8.2's peak SPL measurements. The New Soundboks will probably have nothing on the SQ of the QSC speakers, but the SPL rating is the same and the Soundboks is very keenly designed for battery power).

Anyway, it's sometimes nice to play around with toys outside my normal competencies.

The Soundboks sounds amazing in the videos. If only it had some EQ knobs!