From k2mojo@groovedaddies.com Wed Sep 04 10:01:14 2002
Subject:RE: JBL EON 15 G2 vs Mackie SRM450

> Has anyone else done an A-B on these two speakers?

Yes. I own both of them. I also have a Barbetta.

> What I heard was two very different speakers.
> My cynical view would be that it appears as though Mackie has
> boosted the 100Hz area to cover for the lack of bottom. Turning up
> the mixer at 50Hz showed up the Mackie with the cone flapping about
> quite badly whilst the JBL handled this with no problems.

I have to agree with your observations. For low end reproduction the JBL is
the better speaker, but to my ears the Mackie is a little more accurate
speaker overall. I use the JBL's as my onstage monitor mainly for two
reasons: they can handle anything my live rig (KORG CX-3, 88-note Kurzweil
K2600X) can throw at them and they're indestructible. All our onstage
monitors in the band are JBL EON G2's and they work great for loud rowdy
clubs. They can handle kick drums in the monitor mix, being dropped off the
front of the stage, power spikes from ancient wiring and (very important)
full beers dumped directly into them (this actually happened last Sunday
night at a Labor Day "Biker" party we were playing, and no, it wasn't my
beer. We just unplugged it, turned it over to let it dry out a little and
plugged it back in and it's still working just fine. This is why my
Barbetta stays in my house).

I use my SRM450's where we rehearse because I think they sound a little
better and I don't need the extra bottom end there. To me, the Barbetta
sounds the best of the three, but unfortunately there are dependability
issues and it doesn't leave my house anymore. But the JBL seems to be the
best "road" speaker. Now, if your speaker will live in a tamer environment
and you don't need to pump organ pedal tones or the bottom octave of a piano
through it, I'd suggest the SRM450; it really all depends on the application
you need it for. Onstage I don't mind sacrificing a little accuracy for
decibels, because everything the audience is hearing is coming out the mains
anyway. A drawback of the Mackie that (for me) is a big plus with the JBL
is the small built-in 3-channel, two-band EQ mixer, which allows me to
conveniently use the EON for both my keyboard monitor and band stage mix
monitor simultaneously. With both the EON and the SRM450 I tend to run the
EQ flat; the EON's start to get boomy if you set the EQ past 12:00.
Of course just to complicate the whole issue, Mackie just came out with a
new active speaker, the SA1521, that they're kind of touting as a SRM450 on
steroids. I haven't tried one live yet, but I played through one at a Mars
Music and it definitely screams; just might be the best "keyboard
amp/monitor" out right now. FWIW, I love Mackie gear. Our P.A. is made up
of SR1530's, SRS1500's and a 24x8Bus console, plus I have the same 24x8Bus
console in my house with a pair of Mackie HR824's. In fact, with the
exception of the guitar/bass amps, all sound reinforcement in our band is
Mackie and JBL active speakers, which is clearly the way to go. No heavy
amplifiers, crossovers and speaker wires to mess with; everything connects
with standard mic cables and power cords. Chimpanzees can (and often do)
hook everything up in half the time it used to take.

Ed Fliege
k2mojo@groovedaddies.com
www.groovedaddies.com

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