JBL PRX612M

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youngmic

Inspired
Pulled the trigger on 2 PRX612M's. Chose them over K12 and DSR112. In the end, I found I preferred the mid tonal range of the JBL's. And to my ear, they sounded the flattest. Never got to try an HD1221 or a 12ma, which bothers me. I hate the feeling that there's something better out there - in this range that is, not Meyer or EAW grade. If I had that kind of money, well, I wouldn't be worrying about it.

I'll follow up with my impressions over time.
 
Always good to add another review of a powered FR solution, look forward to hearing about your take on this speaker.
 
While tweaking this afternoon, I heard an odd sound in the 612M. As the signal from the axe-fx/guitar decays, a strange frequency sweep appears on top of the guitar tone. I'm not sure how to describe it. It sounds kind of like the filter sweep you get when tuning an am radio. It starts high and then sweeps lower as the signal continues to decay. You can't hear it at all at normal volumes - only at minimal vibrations, like when you're rubbing a string on a fret with vibrato at the very end of a note trailing to silence. It sounds kind of like "heeeeuuuuuu". I only have one of the 612's hooked up right now as I wanted to wait to open the other until I was sure I was going to keep them. I may open the other later, but may opt to just take them both back and have the dealer assess it. It occurs on all patches but only through the 612. I hooked up to an Event PS8 and heard no trace of the sound whatsoever.

It occurred to me that this might be an effect of digital class D amplifiers. Has anyone heard this kind of thing before? It's very faint, but definitely a deal killer for me if it's normal behavior. There are times when I play very dynamically, using the sound of the string(s) on the frets to get a certain effect. The sound is audible when at that dynamic level. Of course, there's also the principle of the thing. If this is normal, then the unit is poorly designed.

BTW, I was very relieved to confirm that it was not the Axe-Fx.
 
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Try swapping XLR cables. I tried a high-end cable that maybe let too many of the upper frequencies through Verve 12ma. Guessing that it could be what you are describing. Thought I had a problem because all cables checked 'good.' Tried one of my less-expensive mid-grade XLR cables and problem never happened again. BTW I, too, blasted through the PRX612Ms and liked them but went another route.
 
Thanks. I used a couple of different cables, a low grade 1/4" and a mid grade XLR. Problem existed in both. I used the same XLR to the Event PS8. I'll try a couple of other cables though and see if that affects anything. Thanks for the suggestion.

It sounds like you ended up with the 12ma's. Having played through both, can you give me a comparison? Thanks again.
 
Interesting. I'm wondering what has changed since you tried them out in your first shootout post about them. It might be worth it to unpack your other one and see if it is also doing the same thing. This could rule out being just one or both of them.
 
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I didn't hear anything like it when I auditioned them. I actually went back 3 separate times and compared them to various other speakers. When I heard this at home, I assumed it was something I missed because of the background noise of the store. Anyway, long story short - I did unpack the other one and it's not there at all. So I have a faulty unit. It's an odd sound, and now that I know it's there, I can hear it much more often. Not sure what it is because it definitely doesn't affect the core tone. I wonder if it's a processing issue. Anyway, it's going back.
 
Green Tea, I'd love to hear your comparison of the 612 and the 12ma. I really like the 612. I compared them to a pair of Event PS8's (which I believe are fairly decent flat monitors) and they fared admirably. The fundamental tone is the same just with more punch and projection. I don't hear any significant difference in any range. To my ear, they do a very good job of reproducing a solid range of guitar tones - from chimey vox, to mid gain marshal and egnater, to smooth Marsha lead tones, to thick slightly broken up dumble tones. I would say that there might be better solutions for high gain tones as the low end isn't as pronounced as others (e.g. Yamaha and QSC), but I do little playing in this genre. Given all of this, it may be that I've found the best solution for my sound and style. But I'm left with great curiosity about how the 12ma compares.

BTW, has anyone out there compared the 12ma to a good set of flat studio monitors as a sanity check against their flat response?

Thanks,
Mike
 
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