dbx DriveRack PA

I oppened it up at the gig for the first time, mounted it in the rack, ran the wizard an whiala. I was done

I will admint, it added some hiss to the mains, but when playing, its untoceable. makes the sustme come al;ive and clear. without a doubt, helped treendously

so far so good

great documentation. haven't needed to call yet. hopefully I woun't

indispensible piece of gear for any band using powered mains. takes all the guess work out of sett8ing up. allowes me more time setting up other gear that takes a whie=le, like lights and guitar rig. I would say go for it. get rid of all your eq's and exciters. this unit is great

I have only used the wizard for setup because I have JBL mains, powered JBL subs and a Crown amp. This is super easy because all of the settings are included in the DriveRackPA Wizard database. For the autoeq, feedback elimator and other features, you need to read the manual but it was still not too difficult to setup.

This unit has made a tremendous different in my overall sound quality. Prior to getting this unit, I played in a building with hardwood floors and brick walls where the bass was very boomy. The next time, I ran the AutoEQ and it confirmed what my ear heard last time. However, this time I did not have to guess how the EQ should be adjusted. The autoEQ did it for me.

I've also had the opposite situation in a room with too little bass. Again, the DriveRackPA made this super easy to EQ the room.

I've used it for about 10 gigs now with no trouble.

Haven't had to deal with them.

I used the DriveRackPA to setup the system whether I am using 2 mains with either one or two subs. I set the autoEQ for flat and then use my ear to make any minor adjustments. This unit does much better than I could do on my own. I play bass, sing and run sound for my 5-piece band. This unit makes a huge difference for me. I highly recommend it!

its very simple to use. doesnt take alot to figure it out. theres a button for every function basicly. editing is pretty easy too. the manual really doesnt even need to be there the machine explains itself pretty well.

if your running digital, then the sound is what your looking for, digital. i used it simply for my home studio for awhile so i didnt gig with it but once. itll clean up the sound for you and sound semi decent. get the sound of my fav artist? ha! this is digital were talking about. i didnt have any noise issues really, but my setup is pretty clean on its own. i never used the effects so i wouldnt know.

my unit stopped working. it cut out and if you tapped on it, it would reset the entire unit. the lcd screen went on the fritz too. the lcd screen went first, then the entire unit started either not working when turned on, or only doing mono operation. so depend on it? no. use it with no backup? never. in fact, the only way it could have gotten out of my rack faster is if it was actualy on fire.

i didnt even bother. way i see it, if i buy a unit and i have to call customer service i shouldnt buy the unit. this mighta been a dud unit, who knows? is it worth finding out? no. no upgrades that i know of, didnt deal with the company, and as far as i see it i wont ever again.

i play different styles of music. right now im into electronic mostly, im dabbiling in other stuff. ive been playing about 5 years or so. i own all analog stuff other then this device. before i owned a digital setup and slowly but surely traded it all out. if this were lost or stolen id take it as a blessing. i will never buy it again. nor will i buy anything dbx for that matter.
to me this thing is great if your doing karoke, or a bar setup maybe. unless you really care about your sound. one thing that immediately turned me off was the lcd screen. why you ask? because it did exactly what an lcd screen does. stopped working.digital is cheaper generaly speaking and theres a reason. i think a feature it could do without is the lcd screen, but then id be pretty weird setting it up. dont wish it had anything other then better worksmanship. and even that couldnt get another one in my hands.
this unit reminds me of one of those all-in-one devices as-seen-on-t.v. something that does this much cant do it all well. no one maker of p.a. devices has everything you need.

I once had my 12 year follow the direction using the Wizard and she was able to set the the driverack up without a hitch.

Sparkle when you need it.
Clear up any hint of mud.
Strong bass.
Absolute sound quality.

I have two of these my self. One is permantly mounted into a sound console that I built. and the other for more portable needs.
Both have many hrs use and not a hint of a failure.
I know of a unit in STABLES (country bar in town - Indianapolis) this is used heavly for 15 plus hrs a day - every day) PERFECT !

I can only say I hope they are good.
I have never had to use Customer Support.

I am a sound engineer for a Rock and Variety Band.
Been using the DriveRack PA for 3 yrs. and in that time I have found that if you are a "newbee" or "seasoned professional" this is the first piece of equipment any engineer should have.
I replaces crossovers, EQ's, Feedback destroyers, RTA. and it so simple to use.

Easy to use easy... to set up but thats when the fun stopped!!!!!

Only a certain amount of effects can be used at one time...
DO NOT BE FOOLED BY HOW MANY IT SAYS IT HAS!!!

Ask yourself not how many effects it has, but how many it can do at once!!!!!!

Yuck...Horrible.....I would not pay $300 bucks (Oz) for this product.
If you want to "digitize" you sound this is the product you need...cold...harsh..digital..digital muck...whatever the setting and never clipping.
It reminds me of some old digital effects from the 80's. It sounds like an "old" cruddy digital sound. I can not believe the price this unit is. Thank God I could take it back because of reasons other than I didn't like it (ie it was sold as new but had obviously been in service).
I am gunna stick with my focusrite/joe meek/studiomaster ANALOGUE gear. I have done plenty of digital recording and it never sounds this "digital".
As soon as we unplugged the unit everything sounded instantly warmer..better...listenable..cosy...non digital.
Call me an "analogue wanker" but this unit really sounded bad..whatever I did.

Who cares? I would NEVER buy one again.
I only kept it for a week..that was enuf. There was NOTHING I could do to make this sound good..apart from removing it from the system!!!

Mine came with the oldest software version, though I don't imagine this would affect the sound.

It promised SO much but digitally wrecked the sound of everything.
It really has put me off DBX and crappy digital processors..it clouded up everything.
This is what they mean by "digital graininess".
I would NEVER put one of these in my PA chain..unless it was for an enemy!!

Being a digital piece of equipment, it almost TELLS you what to do with it! The whole band noticed a jump in the clarity and loudness of the PA system right away! There are various prompts that come up on the screen to help you along in setting it up for your particular sound system. The manual is good, although it seems to be written with technically oriented people in mind. Over on the dbx user site, there are rumours of software updates, and the only downside is that the unit might have to be sent back for a revision; an eprom chip would have to be replaced. The more expensive driveracks are upgradable via downloads.

We are using the DRPA to maximize the sound out of our system which is comprised of (2) EV T-251+'s... and (2) EV T-18's. These are powered by (2) Mackie 1400i amps for the mid/hi's and (2) Crown PowerBase 3 amps for the subs, each amp being run bridged into one cabinet. Set up is accomplished in no time for any particular venue via the "Wizard" program that walks you through a real-time analysis of the room (if you have the optional RTA microphone), a feedback suppression setup, and other details having to do with crossover frequencies and delay characteristics. Another terrific feature is that there are 25 user presets, so once you've optimized your setup for a particular club or hall, you can store it for instant recall the next time you play there! The AD/DA converters must be "good enough", because every time we've been out with the DRPA in the rack, we've gotten complements on our "improved" sound!

Without having the benefit of hindsight and personal hands-on experience with the DRPA, being a dbx product, and being that it's been out at least a year that I know of... I feel that it should be tough enough for what it was designed to do; that is, run PA systems out in hot, smoky, NOT IDEAL environments. I've used other dbx units in the past (although never digital based units), and they've always come through being "run hard and put away wet" with flying colors. While there is a bit of a risk eliminating several discrete components and replacing them all with one DRPA, if anything were to go "catastrophically wrong" with the box, we'd just put it down to "Acts of God"!

The posts that I've made on the Driverack User Support site have been answered very quickly, and while most of the responses come from fellow users, there are a few dbx reps flitting about that put their 2 cents in. That makes me feel good... if these boxes had too many problems, it would be open season on these guys! Instead, their confidence in their product is what comes across. The manual is pretty specific about how to go about obtaining service, so I imagine that if you stick to their guidelines, the service will be there when you need it to be.

I've been doing PA setup and mixing sound since about 1980, and this is the kind of box my daydreams were made of! It's nice to have the finely tuned ear and the wherewithal to tweak EQ's and Compressors and Delays to get a system sounding "just right"... but for those of us who just want to get to the gig itself, the DRPA takes care of all that! It's just enough of a box for giggers like myself to make the most of what we've got! There are fancier Driveracks, but for the money, every working band's FOH rack should have one!

When I bought this unit I found the manual very strightforward and easy to read. The wizzard is a very helpful to me when i do live sound because i dont have time to mess around with small details and this unit does all the important stuff fast and for the most part on its own. I am still trying to understand some things on it but overall it is a very easy piece of gear to work with

i use the driverack on a dj setup and it has greatly improved the sound quality of my two crate fullranges and kiplich subs. the sistem can run anyting but has some built in pre sets that are designed to be run with some jbl speakers and such with im curious to see how they work together.

so far this has been a great product and i totally depend on it.

i have not delt with them

overall i think that this is a very good product and it has made my job as a moble dj much much easier. anyone who plays at a live sound venue in my opion should look into buying one of these units. i have a driverack pa v1.0 and i think that it has been great. The only downfall of this machine is that some of the funtions are kind of confussing like the manual eq setup. other than that i really like this product.

This unit is fairly easy to use just spend a little with the manual first. The set up wizzard makes it easy for the ones that don't want to spend the time reading. Navigation of the menues is prity stright forward and simple. The pink noise generator with the use of an RTA mike is a god send,so much for EQ's... this is where the unit realy shines. This unit is used for a church in a trailer so the rooms are always changing so getting a room flat takes only a few seconds. The feedback eliminator works fairly well no problem there. I havent used the compresser because I dont like to squash the sound on the whole mix. In short this unit is vary useful and can replace a lot of equipment that you would normaly use to do the same thing in 1 rack space.

quite, no sound coloration, vary transparent.

The church has this unit for 2 months now and we have had 1 minor problem with the low side of the tri amp configuration that we run. Im not so shure that it was the unit however didn't want to take any chances and took it back to G C and they handed me a new one right out of the box.Other that that it's been graet so far.

None needed yet.

This is a must for any DJ or moble sound suport systeam that is working in doors or out. If your budget allows for one I highly recommend it.

If you know how compressors, limiters, eq's, & crossovers work you will have little trouble getting a good sound with this unit. Editing presets is a little tricky at first, but when you get use to getting around in the menus it is very easy and intuitive. The manual is well written and explains how to get around in edit mode and how things effect the signal path. My unit is V1.0.

I have peavey and EV amps and cabs and a Soundcraft and Yamaha mixer. This one rack space unit took the place of 5 rack units that I was using before this, I have twice the headroom and much more overall volume than I had before, it is cleaner and more focused also. The feedback eliminator works great and my vocalist never sounded this good before.

Just got it a few days ago so I wouldn't know for sure, but it is a dbx product and that means quality to me.

I have a dbx DDP and have had no problems with it, but I have had customer service questions and they have been very helpful and treated me very respectfully. Great guys.

This unit has made my set-up sound much better than it did before and was easier and faster to set-up and get a good sound out of than I ever had before. I wish I had the RTA mic so I could try the auto EQ stuff and be able to pink the room and such but I think that would make it even easier and faster than it is already. I have been running live sound for about 22 years and have use many pieces of gear to try and get the best sound possible, the DriveRackPA has been the best piece of gear I have owned for this purpose ever.