Peavey powered P.A. speakers

[DavidLunday]

Hey all, well I wanted to get 2 Mackie SRM 450's but I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to afford $1000 even used, so I'm thinking of just getting 2 Peavey powered 15's for about $600 because if I keep waiting around I'll never get to actually rehearsing with my band and I just need a P.A. already. Are Peavey's really THAT bad?
Thanks, David

[Frugle]

yes.





thats just been my experience, maybe the system I was useing overall wasn't very good, or the setup wasn't right, but they sounded like absolute crap. to me it sounded like a bigger version of car speakers, where everything sounds like its being squished through one small speaker...


others probably have different opinions...but that has just been my experince.


(now the oposite is true for bass cabs, which is weird, I actually like the sound of their 8x10s, I don't know why the peavey PA speakers I have used sounded so bad...)

[DAS]

....and for one of the aforementioned "other" opinions....


NO


They've gotten much more competitive over the years. I would not argue that they're the best, but many people agree that they are very good for the money.

I've had good and bad experiences with most brands of gear, and some are clearly better than others, but when something really sounds "bad" there is usually more to it than may appear, such as wrong device for application, items being used together that shouldn't be, pilot error (which can take many forms), or malfunctioning equipment somewhere in the chain. These days you almost have to try to find something truly bad sounding (within its intended range of uses).

Peavey developed a less than favorable reputation many years ago because, frankly, their stuff sometimes didn't sound quite as good as some of the other alternatives, and in some cases broke down more. But it was also a LOT less expensive than other options. Consequently a lot of it sold to users who were...shall we say...somewhat less experienced. This was a self fulfilling prophecy of sorts because here you had not very good operators using equipment that may or may not have been on par with other choices. I think it made it sound worse than it really was, and their reputation eventually became one of makers of crap gear for cheap prices. That reputation lives on today.

These are broad generalizations (so there are exceptions), but I think if you really check things out you will find that a lot of their equipment is really pretty competitive.

[Frugle]

makes since!

but I've just been under the impression that for just a couple hundred dollars more, you can get a much better system that will last longer, and sound better... is that an incorrect assumption? like maybe the JBL series or mackie series speakers?

[elsteve9]

I've sold srm450's, the peavey's, and the JBL Eon's.

The SRM 450's sound best.
Actually, I liked JBL Mpro's best...do they have an active version of that yet?

But the Peavey's are quite durable.
I liked em, and sold a bunch. No problems at all.

In fact, we did have the occasional problem with the SRM450's, but they were generally ones sold to the public school system, soI would not rule out user error.

But I found the peavey active stuff quite reliable.
The other cool thing baout Peavey is that the have a replaceable magnet/woofer. So you can generally repair a speaker for way cheaper than anything else.
Very cool
But you won't need it if you're not an idget.

-Stephen

[Sweet Daddy]

Hey all, well I wanted to get 2 Mackie SRM 450's but I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to afford $1000 even used, so I'm thinking of just getting 2 Peavey powered 15's for about $600 because if I keep waiting around I'll never get to actually rehearsing with my band and I just need a P.A. already. Are Peavey's really THAT bad?
Thanks, David

It depends on which Peavey speakers you get [ most Peavey stuff is good ] i do not recommend the -PR- series speakers with the molded plastic i bought a pair and returned them the are terrible sounding..The -PV- series is pretty good, the SP series are very nice for the dough..

[Byll]

...And for a second of the afore mentioned 'other' opinions:

I own a passive set of the Peavey 15" speakers you are probably referring to in your orignal post - the PR series. They are the ones that Sweet Daddy returned because they were 'terrible sounding'. I have been around professional sound for a lot of years. I respect the Mackie products. Are the Peavey PR series equal to SRM 450's? Nope. Do they have a solid, full sound, with open - yet not strident - highs? Yep.

Again: These are not the powered model of the PR series. I own the unpowered model...

An aside: I was going to trade these awhile back, because they are large speakers - almost too much for the vehicle I use to transport our gear. I spoke with my Sweetwater rep about trading them on Mackie's unpowered 12" 'plastic' speaker, because of the Mackie's smaller size. He suggested I not do so, because the possible positive difference in sound quality (and size reduction) does not equate with the large price increase. Interesting. I kept the Peavey PR15 NEOs.

If you are looking at the Peavey PR series of monitors, count me as one in the column of satisfied users.

Best.
Byll