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Blind powered speaker test


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http://www.peachstateaudio.com/ccpage/ccpage.htm

 

I think that it is not completely accurate since what this particular test would show would be default speaker voicing only. It would have been interesting for the speakers to each have their "enhanced" mode turned on and see how they were perceived then.

 

For the best test, I think you really need to spend some time on the eq to see what you can make them sound like.

 

The other thing was that the KW122 is 30-40% more expensive than the rest of the group (which dropped it out of my search altogether).

 

It is a good test for the default voicing though. Blind ;)

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I'm sure everyone can see the fault in this. Each speaker has a different location in relation to the walls. The ones closer to the walls will have a different bass response as well as a higher sound smear factor getting more wall reflections. If each speaker could have been on a tripod with wheels and placed in the center with no other speakers around then a more fair test could have been done. Its easy to see no room damping was used looking at the photos.

Also a working speaker next to non working speaker will excite this non working enclosure. This would cause the non working speaker to put out bass. Maybe in phase with one speaker and not with another. Again this could cause one speaker that had better bass response to have bad bass response because of the out of phase bass cancellation from the non working speaker. Or better bass being in phase with a local non working one.

Not a bad idea just not all the cards were equal.

Dookietwo

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Matches pretty much what I would expect.

It was about what I would expect as well. I am not sure they pushed things to loud though. The KW122 like the K12 becomes less "nice" when it is pushed. Still, when it is in its comfort zone, it is a very good sounding speaker. It is also a notably more expensive speaker. I am not sure that it shouldn't be compared more with the next rung up the ladder like the RCF 722 and FBT MAXX 6 A (ie the 1100-1500 ish speakers). At $1100, the KW122 is twice as expensive as the EV ELX 112. That hardly seems like a good comparison.

 

126.jpg

 

Ok, left to right ...

 

JBL PRX612m, Yamaha DSR112, Mackie HD1221, Mackie SRM450V2, Peavey Impulse 12D, QSC K12, QSC KW122, EV ELX112.

 

Do you really think that proximity to the wall would modify the tone of the speaker enough to make a sonic difference?

 

I did notice that the over-all score was basically the KW122, a group in the middle and a group at the end.

 

I have also heard good reviews of the Mackie SRM450V2; however, I have also heard of reliability issues with them, so I didn't listen to them.

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There are no clips, so it's without merit.


Music judges are notoriously biased and many times don't know what they are talking about. My Pomeranian could compare speakers better then the average sound guy.

 

 

Yes, the average judge does use the visual to enhance the process, unless the test is truly blind and the results are sound only. Many "judges" will select or dismiss a speaker on the JBL, Yorkville, QSC or Peavey badge. Your Pomeranian would be good since he is color blind and that orange badge won't mean a thing to him.

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i really, really do not like the sound of any mackie srm speaker. i'm surprised that did as well as it did. if the powered yamaha sounds anything like a club series then it should not have tied the srm but far exceeded it imho.

 

i'm also surprised the 515 eon series was not tested - the price range is similar if a little low. (the 515 sound a little dark to me but otherwise ok)

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There are no clips, so it's without merit.


Music judges are notoriously biased and many times don't know what they are talking about. My Pomeranian could compare speakers better then the average sound guy.

I thought it was fair. They didn't really outline how they tested, but it was a bunch of people that know sound comparing the sound and only the sound (no visual).

 

It was enlightening to me. I didn't exhaustively A/B the KW122 simply because it was too expensive and I figured it was in the same ball park as the rest of the pack. Had I seen this before I purchased my speakers, I may have given more thought to paying the additional $600.00 over the DSR112's .... but maybe not ;) Given that price difference, I could nearly have gotten an additional speaker :eek:

Yes, the average judge does use the visual to enhance the process, unless the test is truly blind and the results are sound only. Many "judges" will select or dismiss a speaker on the JBL, Yorkville, QSC or Peavey badge. Your Pomeranian would be good since he is color blind and that orange badge won't mean a thing to him.

When I tested myself, I wanted the JBL to win. I was biased not only by the JBL logo, but the other features the speaker had such as weight, handle position, double pole positions, etc. From my ears, the DSR simply sounded better. Then again, I was not just listening to the default voicing of the speaker. I was seeing which speaker I could get the best sound out of after I equalized each speaker to my taste (a very different test)

 

The portion of their test that I feel was the most useful was the "favorite speaker" question.

 

Speaker -------------- Score

KW122 --------------- 42%

PRX612 -------------- 25%

DSR112 -------------- 17%

K12 ------------------- 8%

ELX112 --------------- 8%

 

I counted about 16-17 people in the picture; however, in order to get 8% they would need either 1 out of 13 or 2 out of 25. In order to get 17%, you need about 24 so I am guessing that they had 23 voting people.

 

That would put the chart as follows:

 

Speaker -------------- # people

KW122 --------------- 10

PRX612 -------------- 6

DSR112 -------------- 4

K12 ------------------- 2

ELX112 --------------- 2

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There are no clips, so it's without merit.


Music judges are notoriously biased and many times don't know what they are talking about. My Pomeranian could compare speakers better then the average sound guy.

 

 

clips? for a speaker test? what are you going to listen to them on? your computer speakers? and what were they recorded with? What about mic placement? Really I don't understand the idea of using videos or sound clips to judge a speaker. One transducer puts out a sound which is picked up by another transducer which is then encoded, uploaded, downloaded and then listened to on yet another set of transducers. That does not sound like a good way to judge.

 

However a sample of what people think based on all being in the same place at the same time, listening to the same thing says something to me.

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I bought a pair of JBL PRX612's because they sound good and they don't weigh much, but all of those speakers sound great.


I'm only using my JBL's for rehersal and small shows.

 

 

The PRX612 is a very good speaker, no doubt about it. All of the speakers in the group are solidly MI grade professional speakers. There are some reliability issues with a few of them, some are heavier than others, the default voicing of some are better than others, some have more or less features than others .... but all of them are undeniably in the same class.

 

What speakers do you use normally for your tops?

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My Pomeranian could compare speakers better then the average sound guy.

 

 

Yeah, and if those darn know-nothing, useless sound guys could learn to use a friggin spl meter, everything would be ok, right?

 

Don't worry, you can show them with yours, along with a tough guy act, during your next soundcheck. That'll set everything straight. I just wish we could all figure out how to make you shine up there.

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There are no clips, so it's without merit.


Music judges are notoriously biased and many times don't know what they are talking about. My Pomeranian could compare speakers better then the average sound guy.

 

I don't know whether to be insulted that you would compare my abilities to a pomeranian, or embarrassed that I put myself in the "average sound guy" category.

 

:facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm:

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