ProAudio Review - July 2008 - (Page 61)

LIVE | REVIEW When reviewing power amps, I believe that there are a few examinations that really put a product to the test. Being an Arizona-based company, I especially enjoy heat-torture testing a power amp; call me twisted, but I like to run an amp at impossible loads in life-threatening heat (power amp life-threatening, not human life-threatening), and see if it keeps coming back for more. Recently, the publisher of Pro Audio Review asked me if this review was ready and I told him, “Not until I do the heat torture.” On the 4th of July, we were doing full roof, stage, lighting and audio production for Ricky Skaggs in an Arizona outdoor show. Average daytime temps were around 95 (it was a mild 4th) and the amp was placed in a rack along with the older QSC PowerLights that I described earlier. We used the GX5 to drive the double 10-inch woofers in four of our unpowered A-Line line array boxes. The rack sat directly in the rays of the sun, pumping out frequencies of 80 Hz to about 800 Hz. The GX5 cruised along all day and night long — never being anything but slightly warm and never sounding anything but clean and clear. SUMMARY As I said, I expected great achievements from this power amp given the reputation of QSC Audio, coupled with my own prior QSC experience. I was not let down. The GX5 performed without issue. It is a stout little power amp, delivering plenty of power with plenty of speed. It is light in weight but not a lightweight in the general power amp world. The QSC Audio GX5 earns my full respect as a good quality amp that will, I believe, deliver many years of power at a most reasonable price. Will James, owner and chief engineer of Atlantis Audio and Lighting, is a regular contributor to Pro Audio Review. QSC Continued From Page 52 IN USE I completed a series of different applications for the GX5 in airconditioned ballroom events. We employed it as a monitor amp for Manhattan Transfer, with side one driving a 12-inch woofer and side two powering the two-inch compression driver on our Yorkville TX2 monitors. The GX5 performed admirably as a monitor amp, providing very clean, responsive power with exceptionally clear qualities in the mid-range department. We further used the GX5 as a subwoofer amp, driving a pair of our unpowered A-Line Acoustics LS218 subs. This amp thumped along quite nicely, handling 40 Hz with ease with a nice attack on kick drum. STUDIO | Feature JBL Continued From Page 55 tening window.” The recently added Room Mode Correction for the LSR6300 Series reduces LF anomalies at the mix position caused by room modes. “A built-in 1/10th-octave parametric EQ lets users correct problems below 100 Hz,” Chaikin advises. “The RMC Calibration Kit enables users to identify problematic room modes and tune their systems.” The LSR4300 Series monitors, introduced in late-2005, provide lower-cost alternatives to the LSR6300 Series. “We use different transducers but offer similar performance parameters,” Chaikin says. “While the LSR4300 Series provides excellent accuracy and output, the LSR6300 has greater maximum output capability. The LSR4300 Series also uses DSP to provide remote control of major system parameters via a USB connection and can be networked via standard CAT5 cabling – a great advantage for 5.1-channel systems.” GOOD AUDIO SCIENCE And if there is a single aspect of the “JBL Design and Development Philosophy” that sets it apart from the immediate competition, sage observers would identify the dedication that its staff have towards the practice of good audio science. Harman International’s business campus in Northridge, CA, features a calibrated playback room in which new loudspeaker designs are critically analyzed and the results are used to develop enhanced technology solutions. “Based on a variety of carefully formulated, standardized listening tests. We use this playback room and our Multichannel Listening Lab to carefully measure the subjective and objective performance of JBL and competitive loudspeakers.” says Dr. Sean Olive, Harman’s Director of Acoustic Research. Through extensive and continuing research, we have discovered, for example, which parameters of spectral balance are correlated most closely to listener preference, in terms of both positive and negative assessment of sound quality. We are always working toward discovering principles that help quantify the listening-evaluation process. Such fundamental research is considered essential for improving the performance of professional loudspeaker products for use in recording studios, performing-arts centers concert venues, stadium arenas, motion-picture theaters and other applications.” Mel Lambert has been intimately involved with production and broadcast industries on both sides of the Atlantic for more years than he cares to remember. Now principal of Media&Marketing, a Los Angeles-based consulting service for the professional audio industry, he can be reached at mel.lambert@mediaandmarketing.com. www.proaudioreview.com July 2008 | ProAudio Review | 61 http://www.linearsystems.com http://www.proaudioreview.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ProAudio Review - July 2008

ProAudio Review - July 2008 Contents Publisher's Page: Inside Broadcast Production Studio News and New Products Steinberg Nuendo 4 Digital Audio Workstation Developments & Trends: Digital Audio Workstation I/O JZ Microphones Black Hole BH-1 Apple Logic Studio Behind The Scenes: JBL Professional – A 60-Year Legacy Broadcast News and New Products WLOY: Real World Facilities For An On-Campus Radio Station Post News and New Products Hot Gear InfoComm 08 Chandler Limited TG1 Abbey Road/EMI Series Limiter/Compressor Live News and New Products Cerwin-Vega! Professional Active Series CVA-28 and CVA-118 Speakers QSC Audio Model GX5 Power Amplifier From The Road: A Week In The Life — Gear Essentials Contracting News and New Products Taming The Driving Factor — Drums UpSampler: sE Instrument Reflection Filter Buyer’s Guide: Live Sound Amplifiers Single Slice: Roger Powell “Fallout Shelter”

ProAudio Review - July 2008

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