Australian
Musician Spring 2002
The
Peavey Corporation has firmly established itself
as a market leader in the world of music technology
by consistently providing reliable work tools
for the active musician/audio engineer. Over
the last couple of decades Peavey has figured
prominently both in the studio and out amongst
the world’s big arena’s. The sound reinforcement
gear that a company like Peavey provide is
capable of performing night after night for
many years. Parts are easily serviced and the
construction quality is excellent. It’s not
surprising that the local distributor was keen
for us to check out the latest offering in
the way of PA enclosures, and as you will read,
the SP 5X is what you’d come to expect from
a company like Peavey.
SP
5X – compact with plenty of punch…
When
talking about PA enclosures, it’s good to establish
very early the application and budget. I’ve
seen too many people compromise on their gear
and as a result, sound ordinary to say the
least. Peavey eliminate this problem by providing
cost effective equipment built to last, and
in the long term ends up being quite cheap
overall. Their SP range of enclosures is proving
very successful and the guys at Australis were
kind enough to not only send me a pair of SP
5X enclosures, but a nice
power amp and
18-channel
reference mixer to give the speakers a real
workout. Due to the rated power of the SP’s,
I didn’t have a power amp loud enough to do
these babies justice. With a normal handling
power of 700-watts and 1400-watts peak the
SP 5X need a serious amp and the Peavey GPS
1500 that was provided, is the perfect accompaniment
for the SP 5X enclosures.
The
build quality is what you come to expect from
a company like Peavey and the SP 5X is no exception.
The Trapezoidal construction is sleek, built
solid and functional and designed to give maximum
throw, and features recessed side handles and
heavy-duty corner protectors. The SP’s are
finished in a tough durable carpet (Black of
course) and overall looks like it’s ready to
provide years of faithful service.
The
SP 5X utilises a 15-inch Scorpion Plus speaker
that handles the bulk of the rated power and
what Peavey call the RX™ 22-compression driver,
with Ferro fluid cooling and a 2-inch titanium
diaphragm that takes care of all the treble
frequencies. The SP’s also feature a Sound
Guard III high frequency driver protection
circuit. This ensures problems like power spikes
or overloads will protect the compression drivers
which is a good thing in any situation.
Connecting
the equipment supplied proved no problem at.
I began by connecting a CD player setting,
all EQ’s flat and had a listen to a couple
of discs with the amp fully cranked, controlling
the output from the desk. The SP 5X had a surprising
bottom end and clarity and certainly enough
power to handle any live situation. If I played
around with the EQ’s on the desk, the speakers
handled it so extra bass or treble was not
a problem. I tried several instruments through
the mixing console and acoustic guitars were
full and rich with keyboards sounding smooth
and responsive.
The
design of the SP 5X provides a wealth of uses
and small bands, church groups, duos’ or trio
acts will benefit from a pair of Peavey SP
5X speakers. Should you require more sub power,
Peavey does provide a number of speakers to
create your ultimate live set up so make sure
you look at the full range on offer. I could
only imagine what you’d get if you hooked up
a pair of 15 or 18 inch subs, pure brute power!
The good thing is you have a broad choice when
choosing a pair of speakers in the Peavey range
and not only will it sound good but be very
affordable as well.
Overall
I think the SP 5X speakers sound great and
will cover a number of applications with total
ease. Even though I had a matched system provided,
(and I must say it did sound good), the important
thing is to not compromise when selecting gear.
Let your ears do the listening and be practical
and remember it is an investment for you and
your music. The best thing to do is go out
and visit your Peavey dealer and ask by name.
I
believe the SP’s are as good as anything out
there in this price range and are backed by
a reputable company dedicated to providing
value for money. You can also
visit the website www.peavey.com
and check out the full range of complete P.A.
packages. If you are in the hunt for some serious
affordable equipment, Peavey may be the go.
What
we reckon:
QUALITY
PLAYABILITY
BANG-F0R-YOUR-BUCK
OVERALL
