Go big until you go home with the JBL Portable PA system
As everyone knows, the purpose of DJing is pressing play on a super-expensive CDJ, twiddling knobs on an unused mixer channel and throwing bakery products at your audience. However, all that will be in vain without a top-notch speaker setup to entertain people, so what to do?
One approach (and it’s a good one) is to check out JBL’s portable PA offerings such as the IRX ONE, EON 700 series and PRX 900 series, which is exactly what we did at JBL’s impressive UK demo space.
These devices combine state-of-the-art speaker technology with essential, innovative and time-saving features such as Bluetooth, onboard mixers and deep customisation via the JBL Pro Connect app (not compatible with the IRX ONE).
For example, the IRX ONE is designed to be taken from home to your gig in one hand. From there you can plug in your mixer, an extra mic and rock your crowd until it’s time to get your mate to carry it home again. We can see the IRX ONE being used for busking, loud house parties, pubs and small bars.
Here’s a quick look at each portable PA system and our impression of its sound quality, and it is just an impression. Take our thoughts on sound quality with a pinch of salt and listen to the systems with your own ears for a true appraisal.
IRX ONE
The IRX ONE is part of the JBL portable PA system consisting of an 8in woofer and six column-mounted 2in drivers. Most conveniently for those lugging the system, the IRX ONE weighs less than 20kg and is designed to be carried with one hand and easy to set up. The IRX ONE is perfect for those with little to no tech experience – we are teachers, corporate events etc. It certainly would be good for small parties and bars as well, a significnat step up from just using your studio speakers.
Handy for DJs who might have more than one device or microphone they want to plug into it, the IRX One has a built-in three-channel mixer. It also has six EQ presets such as DJ, flat, speech, café.
On top of that the IRX ONE benefits from automatic feedback suppression to prevent unwanted noise, ducking technology taken from JBL’s sister company Soundcraft to reduce music volume automatically, and Bluetooth 5.0 streaming.
Peak power output is 1,300W, and maximum sound pressure level (SPL) is 118dB.
The IRX ONE is intended for smaller bars and low-capacity venues. For us, the EON- and PRX-series systems’ sound quality was noticeably better, but the IRX ONE still sounded great and we’d be happy to listen to them all night in a boozer or small bar.
EON 700
JBL says the EON 700 series’ new woofer design and power amp provides full and natural bass, while the waveguides channel sound where it should be so that your audience benefits from high-quality audio. Peak power output is 1,300W with a maximum SPL of 125dB to 131dB (depending on specific model).
The EON 700 series’ features are so numerous that it’s impossible to list them all, so here are some highlights that caught our eye. The EON 700 has a colour LCD screen to let you customise and set options in addition to customisation via the JBL Pro Connect app.
The EON 700 series also benefits from dbx speaker management technology such as automatic feedback suppression and an eight-band parametric equaliser. As with the IRX ONE, the EON 700 speakers support Bluetooth 5.0 streaming. The EON 700 series has a seven-year warranty.
During the admittedly brief time we spent listening to the EON 700, we noticed greater clarity and definition compared to the IRX ONE. There was loads of clean bass, and uncluttered mids and treble and we were impressed.
PRX 900
The PRX 900 is the daddy of the portable PA range and has lots of nerdy acoustic tech such as a compression driver with poly-annular diaphragm and other things we don’t really understand. Plus, waveguides to control the flow of sound to your audience and a new woofer design.
Peak power output is 2,000W and an SPL of up to 136dB.
The PRX 900 also has a 12-band parametric equaliser, 24 live or fixed filter AFS and a soft limiter. It also has 100ms of speaker delay that is configurable in 100 microsecond intervals.
You configure the PRX 900 using the colour LCD screen on the rear of the speaker or via the JBL Pro Connect app.
The PRX 900 has a seven-year warranty.
For us, during our brief acquaint, the PRX 900 didn’t sound noticeably different to the EON 700, just louder and more able to project sound further into the room, making it better for larger venues.
JBL Pro Connect App
If you like Ableton Live’s effects racks then you’ll love the JBL Pro Connect app. This app lets you adjust parametric EQs visually, enable DSP presets, create speaker groups, adjust mixer settings, set gate and compression options and more.
JBL Pro Connect is available for iOS and Android devices for free.
Speaking Our Minds on the JBL Portable PA
Although we’ve yet to put the IRX ONE, EON- and PRX-series products to the test and offer a qualified opinion, we are impressed with the sound quality, features and practicality of the products we saw and heard.
The sweet spot for us was the EON 700 because it has great sound quality, enough power to fill a large space, a wealth of features and a seven-year warranty. Of course, the one you pick depends on your needs: the PRX for extra, higher-level features and extra power output and the IRX ONE for its lower price, Bluetooth connectivity and greater portability. Combine this with a portable controller and you are good to go.
The entire PPA range currently consists of :
JBL Portable PA Range – Column ‘All-in-one’
EON Compact
IRX ONE
EON ONE MK2
PRX ONE
JBL Portable PA Range – Cabinet & Sub
IRX ONE Series
EON 700 Series
PRX 900 Series
So if you’re in the market for a portable PA system then check out JBL’s product portfolio, dealer list and YouTube channel.