Peavey PR12

Use a set of the PR12's on stands for FOH PA Mains. Used in conjunction with a Mackie 408M PPM mixer (250 watts @ 2 Ohms/180 watts @ 4 Ohms).

1-12" LF Driver and Horn. Weighs only about 28 lbs.

Passive speaker w/ 1/4" in & out jacks. Rated at 400 watts program/800 watts peak. IMO, 200 watts RMS would be about right.
Small size and light weight.

Overall sound is very good. Chose these over a set of Yamaha BR-12s. The Yamahas may have been a little more efficient, but were very directional. Side by side, the Peaveys filled the room and had a wider dispersion and a smoother response. I A/B'd these side by side and even asked other customers what they thought. General response was the same, the Peavey had a smoother, more room filling sound.

These don't handle the lows as well as the PR-15s, but unless you're running a steady diet of bass drum/bass guitar thru them; they handle vocals/guitar very well. I do on ocassion run bass drum/bass guitar signal thru these, but at low volume for "presence" in larger rooms. For extended use, I would add a set of subs to these; but that's not needed in my case/use.

Feature I like best is that they only weigh about 28 lbs. I had a set of the PR-15s, and while they sounded very nice, I have a bad back and was looking to downsize my gear as much as possible. In my case, these are a perfect match for what I do gig-wise. I play in a 3 piece band (guitar, bass, drums) and we play Country, Oldies, Classic Rock. Small to Medium size private clubs. A set of these up on speaker stands and 3 wedge monitors and it's all powered by the Mackie PPM 408M mixer/amp. Couldn't be any simpler!

Up until now, I had only given 8's,but IMO, these are a fantastic value for working musicians. I've had 2 sets of the PR-15s and this set of PR-12s; all of them perfromed flawlessly. Size/weight and dollar value can't be beat.
IMO, people who have trouble with these type cabinets are probably running too much power thru them, or are expecting them to perform like sub-woofers. They are not designed for that type of use. These are a good general use PA cabinet and will perform day after day if treated accordingly.
If Peavey would change the side angles just a bit, they would make great stage monitors as well.
Been a gigging musician for 40 years now, and this is a "real world" review of this product. If you need small, lightweight general use PA cabinets for small to medium size clubs, these will do very well. Just don't expect to run mega-watts thru them and expect low end thump as you would from a sub-woofer!

I assume it's meant for general purpose (traveling band, presentations, DJ, parties)

I think 8 is fair and a high compliment. For $169 it has great sound if you know basic EQ stuff, and is plenty loud (though a good sub or two are required to run a full band with drums and bass).

Very light for the sound it puts out. Easy to carry both at once and fit into a trunk.

Excellent deal. If you need lots of bass, 15" speakers won't cut it and you'll need subs anyway, so these are perfect for small to medium uses, and much lighter and more portable than cabs with 15s.

The Peavey PR12 is a light, compact, two-way PA enclosure featuring a 12" LF driver and a horn HF driver. All are housed in a easy to carry composite enclosure. Inputs are two parallel 1/4 inch inputs on the back. The enclosure has a socket for a stand and hard points for flying the speaker from suitable hardware.

From Peavey:
* 400 watts program, 800 watts peak
* One 12 inch premium, 2 3/8 inch voice coil woofer
* RX14??? compression driver with 1.4 inch titanium diaphragm 1 inch exit
* 90 x 40 degree constant directivity horn
* Tweeter protection
* Heavy-duty crossover

I personally found the power handling spec to be a bit optimistic. I would stick to an amp of about 200W RMS with these cabs unless you upgrade the woofers (which is quite easy, btw).

Overall, the speaker sounded quite good for being a 'budget' speaker. The highs are a bit harsh, but some work with the EQ solved that. Voice resolution through the mids and upper lows are ok, but not great. I suspect the composite cab resonates a bit and colors the sound. For DJ work, I put these on poles and can can cover a rooms of 50-100 people with no difficulty; with a little extra power and 2 subs, I can handle even much bigger rooms - the cabs really do project well and stay clean at volume. Bass is limited below 60Hz; I use external powered subs when I need more enthusiastic bass response.

You can go to Peavey and get all the specs you want, let me sum it up for you:
Good:
- Light
- Decent sounding
- Easy to carry and pole mount
- Easy to replace drivers
Bad:
- optimistic power rating (I toasted one woofer)
- Average sound quality

Considering that I got these units very cheaply used, I have more than gotten my money's worth. I enjoy the fact that they are built like tanks and can take any abuse you can imagine. Sound is good, but not exactly hi-fi. For DJ work, add some powered subs, put the speakers on pole mounts, and crank it up! If you need concert-level sound, consider units with more power handling, like the Peavey Impulse series or JBL EONs, which will cost much more.

I toasted one woofer through my own foolishness and replaced it easily with a Peavey sheffield driver which is a more solid speaker than the 'pro' series driver these come with. The unit now sounds better and I more confident in pushing a full 200W+ into the cab.