barkingdog
03-20-2008, 02:24 PM
I realize that the forum is not really about "professional" products typically but I'm not familiar with the JBL "Utility" family of speakers and I'm hoping at least one member has an interest in or is familiar with this JBL PA gear series.
My home studio doubles as a practice space for various music projects I'm involved in. I have been using custom built PA speakers that are a) overkill for such a small space and b) ugly and c) need to be lugged back upstairs for gigs. I saw a pair of JBL 4652 "utility" speakers for sale and after looking at the components and specs I think they would be perfect as "permanent" practice PA speakers. They are in a relatively small cabinet (smaller than my 4312's) with a 2022H 12" bass driver and a 2416H HF driver. There's "flying" hardware already built into the cabinet and they're more "attractive" (i.e. more acceptable to the spousal unit) because of the vynil wood grain laminate. Any opinions? My concern is that "utility" translates to "cheap" which translates to "sounds awful" although I do see them listed in professional theaters as part of the sound reinforcement systems. They don't have to sound amazing since they're just mainly to run vocals and maybe acoustic guitar through for practice. Besides, I'll probably pair them with some custom EV 15 cabinets that were built for another project but never used (active crossover, seperate amp; these would reside on the floor and therefore be out of sight lines; they also haven't been laminated yet so they could be verneered to look something like the 4652's).
So, for the short version of my post .... is anyone who is involved in using professional systems familiar with the 4652 utility speaker and what would you say about it in terms of my desired applicaiton?
Thanks!
My home studio doubles as a practice space for various music projects I'm involved in. I have been using custom built PA speakers that are a) overkill for such a small space and b) ugly and c) need to be lugged back upstairs for gigs. I saw a pair of JBL 4652 "utility" speakers for sale and after looking at the components and specs I think they would be perfect as "permanent" practice PA speakers. They are in a relatively small cabinet (smaller than my 4312's) with a 2022H 12" bass driver and a 2416H HF driver. There's "flying" hardware already built into the cabinet and they're more "attractive" (i.e. more acceptable to the spousal unit) because of the vynil wood grain laminate. Any opinions? My concern is that "utility" translates to "cheap" which translates to "sounds awful" although I do see them listed in professional theaters as part of the sound reinforcement systems. They don't have to sound amazing since they're just mainly to run vocals and maybe acoustic guitar through for practice. Besides, I'll probably pair them with some custom EV 15 cabinets that were built for another project but never used (active crossover, seperate amp; these would reside on the floor and therefore be out of sight lines; they also haven't been laminated yet so they could be verneered to look something like the 4652's).
So, for the short version of my post .... is anyone who is involved in using professional systems familiar with the 4652 utility speaker and what would you say about it in terms of my desired applicaiton?
Thanks!