The self-powered compact speaker market is beginning to get crowded, with a range of product offerings from virtually every major speaker manufacturer. As a “major” major, it's no surprise that JBL has a large and growing selection of self-powered speakers in its lineup. These include 12- and 15-inch two-way speakers with single woofers, dual-15-inch designs, three-way 15-inch designs, floor wedges—the list goes on.
This month, we take JBL's PRX615M for a spin. The PRX615M is part of JBL's PRX 600 Series line, which boasts plywood cabinets, a DuraFlex finish and Crown class-D amplification. Other speakers in the line include a 12-inch two-way, dual-15-inch two-way, 15-inch three-way and two 18-inch subs. All the full-range speakers in the 600 Series line use the same 500-watt Crown power module for each driver, regardless of whether it's a woofer, midrange driver or horn. This makes for efficient manufacturing and servicing, and somewhat misleading power ratings. More on this later.
Characteristics & Attributes
The PRX615M is a very compact speaker designed for main or monitor duties, with a 15-inch woofer and 1.5-inch compression horn. The speaker's nice-looking, sturdy cabinet has a rear-mounted port that doubles as a carrying handle. At just 26 inches tall and 43.5 pounds, the PRX615M is very easy to transport. Unlike some of its competition, the PRX615M is also narrow enough (just 17 inches wide) to look natural as a floor wedge monitor.
Out back, the PRX615M has a Neutrik XLR/phone combo input with mic/line level switch, variable input gain control, a main/monitor EQ contour switch and XLR loop-through output. There are more flexible input panels out there (some include multi-band EQ, multiple inputs, and switchable high-pass filtering), but the PRX615M covers the essentials. A green LED indicates signal present, and a red LED indicates the onset of the integrated dbx Type IV limiting.
The JBL is well-appointed for mounting either on a pole or in a flown configuration. A dual pole socket allows the speaker to be placed vertically or angled down a few degrees for better pattern control. For permanent installation, the PRX615M offers eight integrated M10 fly points, as well as an M10 pull-back point for tilting the speaker. On the deck, the PRX615M's monitor mode reduces bass (to compensate for being on a boundary), which emphasizes the midrange forward slightly. Flexibility is the name of the game here. JBL's engineering team says they do in fact roll off the low end and notch out frequencies that tend to feedback when in the monitor position.
In Use
I usually expect full-range JBL speakers to have lots of sizzle and top-end clarity, perhaps because I've listened to so many JBL speakers loaded with their extra-sparkly titanium horns and tweeters. The PRX615M doesn't have a titanium horn, but it still exhibits the signature JBL sound with plenty of extended high end. This gives the PRX615M a "hi-fi" sound that's very flattering for recorded music, with some emphasis on vocal sibilance, hi-hat and the "air" on a mix.
Midrange response (vocals, guitar, snare) isn't as forward as some comparable designs, nor does the PRX615M overly de-emphasize vocals and the spoken word. Low-mid response is a bit subdued. The PRX615M suffers from the same midrange coloration and pattern beaming common in many 15-inch two-way designs. A woofer this size simply shouldn't be producing frequencies up to 1.8 kHz, but power handling drops dramatically if the crossover point is lowered. Such are the drawbacks of this class of speaker.
Overall, the PRX615M's sound could be described as well-balanced with a dose of top-end flattery. That top-end flattery, however, can get a bit harsh as the speaker is pushed close to its maximum volume. In the maximum SPL department, the PRX615M deserves kudos for putting out an impressive amount of sound from one of the smallest 15-inch cabinets out there. I put the JBL head-to-head with another big-name 15-inch two-way speaker that weighed nearly twice as much and was several inches larger in all dimensions. The JBL held its own in the overall horsepower department, giving up some ground only in the deep bass response.
JBL joins at least one other major manufacturer using identical power amp modules for both woofer and horn, and then claiming the full output of both modules in the specs. This is misleading, as the horn in a design like the PRX615M uses a small fraction of the power that the woofer does. At full volume, the woofer will be using every last one of its 500 watts and the horn will be using closer to 50 watts. That's a far cry from the full 1,000 potential watts being converted to acoustic energy.
The bottom of the PRX615M's stated frequency response is 54 Hz (-3 dB). This translates to enough deep bass to render a subwoofer unnecessary in many applications. That said, putting the PRX615Ms over one or two JBL PRX618S subs is a real treat. The PRX618S-XLF sub is a beast, with 1,000 watts of Crown class-D power driving an 18-inch dual-voicecoil woofer in a ported cabinet. With maximum SPL of 133 dB and a 3 dB down point of 39 Hz, the JBL sub really puts out.
Small Footprint, Big Sound
The PRX615M has a number of things that are small about it: its cabinet, its weight, its learning curve, its price. With a street price of just $800, this speaker is a very good value. One notable thing that's not small about the PRX615M is its sound. When the signal is flowing it becomes quickly apparent that these little speakers can really crank.
Compact, light, flexible, visually appealing, affordable, loud, good-sounding.... If these adjectives pique your interest, the JBL 600 Series is one you'll want to check out.
Special thanks to Leo Gunther Enterprises (www.leoguntherent.com) for valuable assistance with this review.
