Driverack PA Review Anyone?

[Rumorsband]

Looked under user reviews here but couldn't find any regarding the Drive Rack series. Anyone got one they've been using? Went to ebay where there are close to 300 of them for sale. Does that mean people don't see a benefit after purchase? I have a backing tracks band with live guitars /keyboards. No soundman . Would I benefit from using a unit like this? Not worried about feedback - never had it ... Using JBL PRX 612 and 715 subs. Probably more interested in the eq's. Played a room last night and a "musician" said he couldn't hear the bass or even the drums. Tough room acoustically ...however he was the only one that complained. We play 6-7 rooms on a regular basis. Will it help???

[trevcda]

Many of the benefits derived from loudspeaker management tools like the drive rack are already built into your powered speakers. Things like crossovers, limiting and EQ to some extent, should be optimized for your amplified speakers. As you mentioned, things like the feedback exterminator, compressor and sub harmonic synthesizer may not be needed now, but may come handy at some point. Except the sub synth. Just don't! But features like alignment delay and both EQs can be useful, particularly with the ability to save each room as a preset.

 

The first thing to do, is to try and fix it at the source and then the mix. If there are cancellation effects due to speaker placement or something is just too loud on stage but not making it to FOH, this box isn't going to fix it. Once that's sorted you could use the EQs and possibly the alignment delays and create a preset for each room, but you would have to have the time to properly set them up, otherwise it's crap shoot and you could be doing more harm than good to your sound. Using the auto EQ and "pinking" the system in a room full of patrons during happy hour is not going to go over well. And if you look on page 37 of the manual (link below) it even mentions some of the short comings of the auto-eq feature. Will it help? Like any tool, it depends on how you use it.

 

 

http://rdn.harmanpro.com/product_doc...B_original.pdf

[WynnD]

A DriveRack PA unit won't do anything that a good PA can do. (Except for the electronic crossover for bi-amp or tri-amp systems.) That said, I've been using one for about 8 years and I'm never going back. They are easy to use, but there is a learning curve involved. There are pitfalls but you've already run into some of those without one. They don't cure every issue in every room and the room you had problems with might still have problems anyway. And they are easier to use when your speakers and amps are on their list. Mine are almost never on their list, but the results are fairly good anyway.

[wesg]

How big a room was this? Did you try turning up the channel faders for the bass and drum kit?

 

I use a DriveRack PX, the PA's little and less capable brother. I love it, for what it is. It gets used as a crossover, AFS backstop, and 31ch graphic EQ. It also has a good anti-powerup-thump circuit, so I don't pop my speakers when I screw up my startup/shutdown sequence. I use the GEQ and my ears to adjust the mains response in the room. Sometimes I will pull a "hot" frequency down 3dB for feedback control. Other times I will just pull out mud or lightly increase the content around 2.5k. The UI is more clunky than a discrete setup, but it's all there in 1U.

 

I've never used the parametric EQ, but if I wind up with a room resonating a frequency < 100Hz, that's probably the tool I will use to fix it.

 

One thing I wish the PX had that the PA does -- delay. I would swap my PX and $100 for a PA in a heartbeat. Or do you need a PA+ for delay?

 

Wes

[trevcda]

PA has alignment delay. But I'd get the PA+ given the option. It has a USB port for updating, front panel mutes on the outputs and few other features that make it worth the upgrade.

[Craig Vecchione]

I'm pretty much in agreement with the previous assessments. I've had a PA for well over a decade. I think you see a lot of them for sale because there are probably millions sold...the three variants/versions have been around since at least 2000, maybe earlier. The PA+ has been out since 2009. The more recent move by many to powered speakers has reduced the need for these units, as many of the tools in them are present in active speakers.

 

Whether you need one depends what tools are missing from your PRX's that you need, or think you need. Please note that the Driverack auto EQ is not going to fix room problems any better than a good set of ears and a conventional EQ. In my experience it goes a bit crazy with room modes and recommends huge EQ adjustments of those frequencies. If I use it, I let it hear the room, and then look at the resulting plot. I make the adjustments manually, and don't make any over 6dB max in either direction, if that.

 

Note too that you really need to understand all the tools, and be very careful when setting the unit. It's possible to really do damage to your system by hooking up wrong, or by making settings that you may not fully understand...or by accident. Always carefully review your settings before saving.

[wesg]

And don't make it the bottom U in your rack if that rack is going to sit on the floor. I usually set it up at eye-height, but didn't on Saturday for some reason. I was a bit discombobulated that day. Then I wound up spending a half hour lying on my stomach programming my new speaker setup. Yikes. It's one UI you definitely want to be able to see easily.

 

Wes

[Shaster]

Probably said this many times in the past, but if you've only got one rack space and need a crossover, GEQ, PEQ and limiter, then it will save you three rack spaces - otherwise, you might be joining the other 300 sellers.

 

IMHO the auto EQ is more like Oh Oh EQ, but maybe that's being too harsh - pun intended. Also, it's very clunky to suddenly change your settings. Worse than menu scrolling with a touch screen. All that being said, I still use a Driverack PX on occasion, but generally in very controlled environments.