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Jan 21, 2025 - 12:25:27 PM

sethb

USA

832 posts since 2/16/2005

I walked over to this BH forum from the 4-stringers group because our band needs a new PA system, and I need some advice!  

We're a six-piece band that plays music of the 1920's, 30's and 40's. The instrumentation is:  plectrum banjo/archtop electric guitar (me); clarinet/sax; archtop electric guitar; drums; upright bass; and a vocalist. I have my own amp (a Fender Acoustasonic 90), with the guitar plugged into one input and a shotgun instrument mic plugged into the second input for the banjo.  The other guitarist has his own Fishman amp, ditto for the bass player. The horn section isn’t miked, he doesn’t really need it.

The vocalist uses a 50-watt PASO 50D “Procast” PA unit, A/C or battery powered, with a 6” or maybe 8” speaker, paired with a preamp (a TC-Helicon “Mic Mechanic”) that boosts the mic signal a bit and also adds a little reverb to the vocals.  The band sits in a semicircle, the PASO is centered behind the band and the vocalist works slightly to the right of it to avoid feedback.  With this placement, everyone in the group can hear the vocalist, she can hear the various instruments, and the musicians can all hear each other.

We normally play concerts in public libraries, municipal rec centers, over-55 clubhouses and nursing homes, to audiences averaging about 50-75 people in medium-size rooms.  We’ve also used the same PA system in large library auditoriums seating 150 people, with very good results.

But the PASO unit is now 25+ years old, and we know we’ll have to replace it at some point soon.  It weighs 20 lbs. and is 12” high by 8” square.  We want something comparable in size and weight, but with a little more horsepower in the watts  department.  I’m looking at four possible choices, all with 8” speakers:

1. JBL IRX108BT, which is 17.5 lbs., 19” high by 11” square, with 1300 peak watts (maybe 600 watts RMS), at $350;

2. ALTO TS-408, which is 21 lbs., 17” high by 10” square, with 2000 peak watts (maybe 500 watts RMS) at $250;

3. QSC CP8, which is 21 lbs., 16” high by 11” square, with 1000 peak watts (maybe 500 watts RMS) at $500;

4. Mackie Thump GO, which is 18 lbs., 18” high by 10” square, with 200 peak watts (maybe 100 watts RMS), operates on either A/C or battery power, at $360

So my questions are:

Does anyone have experience with any of the above PA systems? Any thoughts pro or con? 

Does anyone have recommendations of any other similar PA systems?

Am I correct that “peak watts” is basically a meaningless term, isn’t a good measure of an amp’s capability, and that about one-half of that wattage translates to RMS watts, which is a more useful and accurate measure of power?   

Am I also correct that in order to double your volume, you need a 10x increase in watts? Although 50 watts has been satisfactory for us in filling a room with sound, I think that as long as we’re buying a new system, it would be nice to have about 250-300 RMS watts in reserve if we needed it, or if we start playing bigger venues.

Thanks in advance for slogging through this long post, and for providing whatever information and advice you can!  SETH 

Feb 1, 2025 - 11:42:23 AM

13302 posts since 10/27/2006

Other than features, there is no way to compare these on paper.

Peak Wats = Marketing nonsense. There is no way to translate those numbers into anything else. RMS only makes sense when you also know the THD (total harmonic distortion) on which it is based. Since all include a speaker, its efficiency and frequency range are more important than any Watt rating. BTW, if you look up the IRX108BT, you'll see a Power Rating (W, Continuous) 200 — nothing about THD but at least someone measured that in their lab. Do not confuse Continuous Power with RMS, however. There are reasons why nobody is posting those numbers.

JBL IRX108BT

That said. the JBL will sound better and give you more flexibility than what you have been using. 

Feb 1, 2025 - 12:10:50 PM

3654 posts since 4/19/2008
Online Now

I’ve always used Mackie PAs from the largest powered speakers they have to the smallest. I’ve always had good luck. The new Mackie stuff is junk compared to the vintage Blueface versions. I would not recommend any of the modern Mackie at all, if you can find the vintage Blueface and they’re still working, they should work forever instead of blowing up like the modern ones do.

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