Karaoke Forums

As this is a Self Powered speaker that states that it is 400 watts RMS and it uses an 8 ohm woofer it would stand to reason that the amplifier section is seeing an 8 ohm load. For reasons that would get to lengthy to explain the 8 ohm driver will normally require an 8 ohm crossover. So I would assume it is an 8 ohm cabinet. I'm also taking into consideration that lower cost, fan less, plate type A/B amplifiers are seldom run below 8 ohms as heat dissipation could become a problem. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess. Judging by the price range, the weight and the fact that it has a heat sink incorporated on the amp that it is using a class A/B amplifier. A/B amps are a cost effective solution which are alright in general, not the most efficient in power compared to heat generated. A/B amps also tend to cause a little distortion at the crossover. I'm purely speculating here, and I may be wrong but looking at the manufacturers site it just doesn't supply a lot of the type of information that one would like to have to make an educated decision. Sometimes no news is not good news. Maybe Sasha can get all of us a little inside information on these. Here's something else to give some thought, I looked at the 15 inch version while I was doing my research and going by the difference in the SPL and the wattage between the 12 and the 15, on paper, the 15 should be capable of generating roughly twice the volume as the 12. Hex, I haven't speculated this much since I was trying to decide on which one of the twins to take to the prom. I did note that it has low / mid / and high controls, a mid control is something you don't see to often on lower cost speakers. Bottom line, remember what we're talking about here, these could be very good bang for the buck speakers, It's just hard to tell.

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Quickness of mind will deceive the eye

Powered speakers are typically rated at SPL at 1meter. But at what frequency? They usually have a frequency response that includes the dB values and often a chart is available. Of course the 2 way system probably has a crossover but there are no specs for the woofer and tweeter responses. The class type of the amp is nowhere to be found. Again 800 W, what I'd assume to be peak doesn't really tell what the efficiency performance is. It performs at 400W RMS for how long? These are standard professional considerations and these do not reflect the standard professional criteria for specifying speakers. Where are these being made and by whom? I've known of products being pulled from the market when they don't perform as specified but it seems kind of blurry here. I would be surprised if most major brands did perform to the published specs. There are a few major brands known for clarity though that are underrated in specifications.

I am curious and interested in these speakers as well.

However, have not noticed any responses back to Lonman's or other board memebers questions with regards to the speakers characteristics such as the driver mfr/impedance or amp RMS power. Any update?

She did answer... I guess Lonman will provide his thoughts after testing them

Howdy guys. I am new to this site, I basically joined to be a part of this discussion. I have been a guitar player for some years, and I have recently taken an interest in vocals. I need a speaker system that can keep up to my amp. I own a 200W Peavey XXX tube-amp, that I occassionally blast as close to 100% volume as I feel safe doing. I found this PP1202A powered speaker through ebay, and I could not find any third party reviews for this product. (Sounds like I'm not the only one struggling with this problem.) I wrote an email to OFD.

"I have been looking online for powered PA systems, and I came across your 400 watt (RMS) speaker. I have zero experience with this type of product. I am very interested in this product, but I have been unable to find reviews for the company Podium Pro Audio, or for this PA system. I did see a couple of reviews for this product and similar products on your website, but I normally am able to find third party reviews that do not profit from sales of the product being reviewed. I really want this product, but I am weary of buying something that I might not like, and have to pay $100 total for shipping. I understand that you do have a full refund guarantee, but the shipping costs are still quite high. Do you sell many of these speakers? If so, how many are returned? Because I don't have other reviews to base my decision on, I'm asking for some honest information from you. I see through Ebay that you have awesome customer satisfaction rates, and I'd be surprised if this speaker didn't work out, but some quick information would help to settle my decision."

To which I received the reply

"i understand your reluctance, which is why we offer a satisfaction guarantee and lifetime warranty. you can google the following keywords and learn more, "podium pro audio", "PP1202A" and "PP1502A". i also recommend looking at the manufacturers website, www.podiumproaudio.com as well as looking at our feedback on eBay. we have sold quite a few of these speakers and none have been returned, our customers love them."

I am likely going to buy a (single) PP1202A speaker, as it is sold on ebay, but I don't have the technical knowledge to know if I am getting a good beginner speaker, and I unfortunately won't have anything to compare it to or the tools to test db ratings etc to give everyone else an accurate review once I try the speaker out. What do you guys think? Is it a good starter system, and would it work for some simple (but loud) playing in a garage or large basement? I'd be paying about $230 (American), which includes shipping to Canada, lifetime warranty, full refund satisfaction guarantee (less nearly $100 shipping in total). Should I look elsewhere? Also, I'm assuming that all I would need to make it work once I had the product is a decent mic, cord, and a power outlet. (Maybe a vocal pedal or two if I really get into it) I'd figure it out myself if I knew how, but I can't seem to find this information elsewhere. I personally think this is a good deal, but I don't want to be stuck with it for fear of having to pay $100 in shipping for a product that I just send back. Any help is appreciated, and my appologies for such a long post.

In all actuality a majority of purchasers will hear them first. Secondly specs are just as important as brand. Very little sales are made if any over forum postings. If you can find them used then listen to them first and figure on quality brand name and serviceability. So your Best bet will be to go to the pro audio section of wherever you might Buy and start listening while you compare the specs. Bring some of your program material. Once you have an idea from doing this you can decide more wisely.

??????

In my limited experience of powered speakers I have found no crossover present, only a high pass filter (3.5kHz) for protection of the compression driver. This is obviously for cost reasons.

The whole frequency response therefore hangs on the mid/low driver performane meshing seamlessy with the HPF and compression driver's performance so don't expect a super smooth frequency and phase response from a budget unit.

Typically the low/mid driver (12") is good from around 80Hz to 4.5khz but the compression drivers in these things really are budget, low sensitivity devices so top end falls off drastically above about 10kHz due to the poorly matched sensitivities of the 12" driver and the compression driver.
Normally attenuation is required for the compression driver to match the main low/mid driver.

My 2 cents

GH

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Gadget's Karaoke : Boldly singing what no one has dared sing before.

You'd have to delay the low end to get it sounding right even with a crossover. The high end gets delayed from reactive loading mushing the sound. That's why good powered speakers often have at least two separate amps for the lo/mid and highs.

I believe things are cheap for a reason, you cant buy quality component for cheap

price, it just doesn't add up, there is so much you can save from buying direct and cut out middle men but at the end of the day

quality components required Research and development and expensive material

I'm skeptical of cheap products who claims to do the same thing as expensive products.

I prefer to buy known quality brand products and bargain on price and bring their margin down.

What make/model are you basing this on. Most of the powered speaker have an electronic crossover built in that i've used.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

This was a real cheap powered cab from a company called Skytec with only a single power amp, a no name 12" speaker and no name compression horn.

I would expect dual amp configurations to use an electronic crossover.

Now I use the powered cab for mid duties only fed from an electronic crossover/dsp unit so I can delay the mids to the highs as well as provide protection and mains eq.

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Gadget's Karaoke : Boldly singing what no one has dared sing before.

The electronic crossover is done cheaply by dsp technology but again it's usually expensive to develop unless they can knock it off easily. Quality control is the big issue with speaker drivers.

So Lonman, did Sasha ever come through on her offer above and if so, what is/was your opinion of these speakers?

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Music speaks to the heart in ways words cannot express.

Hello!

Let me say up front that I registered for this topic. I apologize for dredging this up, but info on these speakers (from users) is hard to find. I'm extremely curious as to the outcome of saga: were the speakers sent? If so, how were they?

I'm a keyboard player looking for inexpensive amp alternatives.

No nothing was sent nor any follow up email in any manner stating either they had changed their mind or anything else. Which leads me to believe my original suspicion about not only their quality, but reputation as well. PASS!

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

As far as I know this is the top Karaoke website on the internet. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

If they really wanted to promote their product to thousands of people all over the US and Canada, they could have done so easily and inexpensively by following through and sending Lonman or LondonLive a pair of speakers to evaluate. Any decent company who really stands behind their products would have recognized this as a good promotional opportunity. Their target market is this whole community. People here buy a lot of audio gear, A LOT!

As far as a "money back guarantee" or "100% satisfaction guarantee", "Lifetime Guarantee" etc., my recent experience with some Chinese companies has been less than satisfactory. They will do anything they can to not honor these guarantees. They are just hollow slogans that are meaningless when it comes to actually honoring them. Be careful, don't fall for them, in fact when you see these slogans just click away to something else knowing that it's a bunch of bull $hit.

I know Musician's Friend was hurt quite a bit by the defection of forum posters over the past 18 months -- not just here but on LAB lounge. And they knew it, too -- internet forum links are about the best advertising they have, since it doesn't cost them a dime.

I bought something from them for a change, and they called me asking why it had been so long. I told them the issues I had, and that I had stopped putting links on the forums and newsgroups I frequent. They actually refunded money on a problem I had 11 months ago! I am now occasionally posting an MF or GC link again. I still like zZounds pretty well, but they just did something that tinkled me off a bit.

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

I didn't know MF or GC had forums. Thanks!

Actually, I am talking about links to equipment posted on this and other audio forums like LAB lounge. I bet there have been a fistful of Yamaha MG82/124/166C(X) mixers bought at zZounds due to links here.

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.