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Ok. Ian, zuki, and others who own or played the Stagepas 300. I'm interested in hearing more feedback details about the sound of the Yamaha Stagepas 300 for a small crowd (under 50) in a small combo concert type as I outlined above. Thanks.

Scott[/B]


Scott,

I have owned the Stagepas 300 since last December using it mostly for nursing home audiences up to 100 (usually less). Although I still like this system for the portability and (mostly) good sound, from my experience, there 3 main issues:

1. Some loss of midrange frequencies. I perform using pre-recorded backing tracks and some MIDI files mixed on my home system with Logitech Z5300 speakers and converted to MP3. I noticed right away that I had to do some remixing to beef up some of the more subtle parts such as rhythm guitar and keyboard. This is a frequent complaint with his system.

2. Not the best reverb, although there is a "sweet spot" where it sounds OK. Of course this wouldn't be an issue for you with a T2.

3. The most noticeable problem for me is a lack of speaker dispersion and presence of falloff. If you are in the sweet spot, this system can sound pretty good but it is a small sweet spot. I work one room in particular that is probably 80 by 65 feet with good acoustics. I place the speakers about 15 feet apart and get a great sound. However, if a room is much wider than it is deep or asymmetrical in some way the dispersion problem becomes very apparent. Also, the power is what I would describe as just adequate even for the jobs I do. Speaker falloff is very noticeable as little as 30-40 feet away, but with 50 people may not be an issue.

Good points about the system? Great portability and setup speed. Good bass response for small speakers. Great sound (I especially like the vocal sound) for the money which was the clincher for me. I paid $700 for the system with the poles and roller-case so it was a great way to get started with nursing homes. I am now using a Yamaha subwoofer with his system (just a regular home theatre type) to get a little more bass and clean up the mains.

I play 4-10 jobs a month and if my finances ever warrant it, I would probably move to the Bose L1 but for now the Stagepas is a compromise for me that works for the type of jobs I do.
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