Yamaha Stagepas 300

Stage Monito, very Compact and ligh

100W RMS class D amp. very clear sound. We were using it for Piano

Very good overall with no distortion apparent even at full volume

Lighweight speakers, storage for the mixer and leads, light enough to carry, good ergonomics, and ease of use

Worked once at a practice fine, next day, zilch. Amp probably working, hum from speakers but no sound so assume preamo dead. It's going back, cant have this sort of reliabilty issue on an item that we want to use,

Most of the specs are covered above but I'll list them again:

2 plastic speaker cabs with 8" woofers and horns. It has a powered mixer that either stands alone or attaches to the back of either speaker. The other speaker has a cover which can hold the power supply cable, speaker cables, and a mic and mic cable if you "tetris" them in correctly.

Its listed at 150 watts per channel and that sounds correct in terms of the XLR inputs but light when it comes to the 1/4" inputs. Not sure why but all of my acoustics have to be turned to 8 or so and the vocals need to be on 2 1/2 or 3. There are 4 inputs for XLR or 1/4" and 2 inputs for 1/4" or RCA. There is also an out for a powered sub or a monitor. Not sure about the weight but I would guess about 35lbs for both speakers and mixer. Anyone can carry both units in one trip, I'll put it that way.

Let me mention that this is the FIRST portable PA I actually bought. I'd looked at ALL of them but was always very disappointed in the low end or general features. I would NOT recommend this PA for an outdoor show unless your guitar is going through the XLR out or has a very loud pickup but for a small venue indoor show this PA is incredible. The vocals sound full and rich and the guitar comes through nicely as well. As mentioned above the reverb is meh, but I don't use much of it so it doesn't bother me. In terms of overall sound quality this unit is a solid tier above anything else in it's class.

Each speaker has a handle so it is easy to take them with you on one trip. Mine came with the speaker stand adapters (bought them on craigslist that way) so they are very versatile in that you can put them on the floor, on speaker stands, or use them as monitors as they have an angled side.

I've owned the stagepas 300 for 2 years now and I use it more than any other piece of equipment I own. I've used it for monitors (vocals only) in 200 person venues, I've used it to play small acoustic (guitar and vocals) indoor gigs and I have it set up in my living room as a practice PA where it carries vocals fine over a drum kit, two guitar amps and a bass rig. I would and have recommended it to other working musicians and those who have bought it have been very happy with their purchase. When I purchased it I thought I would use it maybe once a month and I use it 5-6 times a week. If it broke or was stolen I would 100% buy another one.

The Yamaha STAGEPAS 300 is a portable PA. It has two compact ported molded cabinets each containing an 8" woofer and a horn tweeter.

The powered mixer is rated to deliver 100 watts per channel at 1% THD.

There are four input channels accepting line- and mic-level signals. These channels have a pad switch and a switch to send the channel output to the reverb bus.

The built-in reverb has a single program and a level control.

One stereo channel strip has both 1/4" and RCA inputs. The other stereo channel strip has 1/4" inputs.

All channels strips have level controls and bass and treble EQ.

There are 1/4" sends with a level control for monitoring and RCA jacks for recording.

The output section has a master volume control, a switchable high-pass filter to provide greater intelligibility for speech-only applications, and LEDs to indicate output level.

The pair of cabinets with powered mixer and cables weighs about 40 pounds.

The STAGEPAS sounds pretty good. A lot of portable PAs seem to push too much midrange in order to seem "loud". The STAGEPAS doesn't. That's the good news.

The bad news is that Yamaha's more balanced approach yields a lower-than-expected apparent SPL. Still, this has been more than adequate for solo guitar performances.

My only complaint is that the reverb

The cabinets can be positioned vertically or tilted back for use as monitors.

The powered mixer latches into the back of either cabinet. It can be operated in place or removed to any convenient location. A panel covers the recess in the back of the other cabinet to provide a convenient place to carry the power and speaker cables.

The cabinets can be pole mounted only with an optional adapter set.

I've used the STAGEPAS 300 for solo guitar gigs, fed by either a stereo multi-FX unit or a pedal or two into a DI.

The reverb is usable, but not especially good-sounding.

I use it mostly for solo performance with acoustic guitar. I have also used it as a monitor system in a larger venue.

The sound quality is very clear.

I would recommend it, except for the following.

I wish it had more options for the reverb. I have to use an external reverb unit for the guitar, either going through the fx loop of my lr baggs preamp or straight into the stereo channel.

That being said, I wish it had an effects loop! I have a 1/4" to xlr cord for my Taylor. The signal is HOT with this cord, and I can get much more power out of the PA. I can't get near the amplitude just using a guitar cord.

I like stereo reverb. I have used the stereo monitor sends to an effect and then into the stereo channel, but it doesn't take much for this to feedback. If I could get that happening, than I'd be very happy with this PA.

This is definitely designed for small venue amplification. That being said it delivers good punch and volume for its size and power consumption (being a Class-D amplifier).

The design is compact and rugged taking many a ding without a scratch.

Speakers are two-way passive (as mentioned in other reviews) and sound quite nice.

Unlike some other portable PAs, this one is stereo, taking it beyond a simple mic amp allowing use as a stereo amp for keyboards and stereo sources (DJ applications)

The listed 150W per channel seems a bit generous. Its a good sounding but relatively quiet unit.

The limiter feature and thermal protection both work quite well and save the ears as well as the unit from damage.

The freq response is pretty good for a unit without a sub (actually this is preferable to be since I use this in my studio) and I find EQ adjutments to be largely unnecessary as it is a fairly flat response for the price.

The sound quality is quite surprising for such a tiny unit. I find it clear and flat. I have not been able to get it to distort.

As mentioned in other reviews, this is meant for small applications and will not fill a club with sound. It will fill a house, backyard, small bar and the like. Do not expect it to fill a larger venue or compete with drums.

As mentioned above, the response is clear and flat, not requiring much in the way of EQ adjustments and doesn't honk in the midrange like a lot of other units in this category.

ONE THING I LOVE: This unit, in terms of unwanted noise is nice and quiet. Using the balanced inputs delivers nice clean sound with almost zero noise.

It is quite the versatile unit, suitable for a variety of applications. For those on a budget who want to kill many birds with one stone this is a good buy.

- Small PA - I've used this at house parties (including loud new years), small bar shows, weddings and found it ample

- Stage monitor - the speakers can be used as wedges as well and make a good monitor

- General amplifier - good for keyboards, acoustic guitar, mics, DJ applications

- Home monitors - though not hi-fi, the quality is acceptable for monitoring in recording applications

I like the ability to lock the amp into one of the speakers and the cables in the other, though I would have liked it if they designed the amp to fit the other way - i.e. so the knobs and buttons are protected from dings during transport.

The whole unit is easily portable and can be carried by one person.

The unit delivers surprising bass response for the size of its drivers though don't expect it to replace the need for a subwoofer. A subwoofer out would have been a nice feature.

Speaker stand adapters are sold separately and have to be screwed on, which should have been integrated into the speaker cab.

The lack of pan control is annoying though. There have been times i've sorely needed it.

I've owned the Stagepass 300 for two years now and I've had a great amount of use out of it in a variety of applications from parties, jams, small shows, studio monitoring etc.

This is the swiss army knife of small PAs

I would definitely recommend this unit to musicians, especially those on a budget. I've always loved Yamaha products for delivering more for your buck, especially unique features and above average sound quality.

that being said it has had a few problems (I've used and abused it). The fans can be quite noisy and I believe that my unit shipped with one of them having a bad bearing so it makes a grinding sound. On opening the unit I noticed the fans (there are two!) are easily replaceable 2" computer-type fans. I've been meaning to replace them for a while. I will get to it soon.

Would have also been nice to have a simple carbon filter on the air intake of the unit to keep dust out.

Another problem I recently had was one side cutting out periodically. I traced the problem to dirt in the MUSIC/SPEECH switch. Shot of contact cleaner solved it.

I DO wish it had the following: Pan controls and Mid-range EQ knobs for each channel strip, an input level meter, clipping indicators for each channel, phantom power, subwoofer out (with x-over), stand adapters integrated into the speaker cabs.

Other than that, I have loved the experience of owning the Stagepass 300. It has served me well and will continue to.

I guess if it was destroyed or stolen, I would probably replace it with the 500 which has more power as well as some of the missing features I wanted in the 300. That being said I like it so much that I'd rather it didn't get destroyed or stolen. Even though I will probably get a louder PA for larger applications, I would still use the Stagepass 300 in concert with it.

The Stagepas 300 is designed as a PA for small venues. There are two 8" passive speakers and an amplifier module that can sit in one speaker or be used separately. The other speaker can be used for cable storage.

Claimed 150 W RMS per channel. Overload and thermal protection (which I've managed to activate!). 4 general purpose mic/line mono inputs and two stereo inputs. Reverb.

The sound quality is not hi-fi but perfectly OK. The bass response seems a bit peaky - some frequencies come out louder than others. It doesn't distort in any sensible operating mode.

However, the sound level is disappointing. If it really has 150 W RMS per channel, then the speakers must be very low sensitivity. The Stagepas replaced by 120 W Laney Concept mono monitor, but is considerably less loud, despite claiming more than double the power.

At its maximum sustainable level, the Stagepas 300 will just about compete with our drummer playing his Flats kit. If he plays his proper kit, it's totally inaudible.

I can run this thing flat out in my music room in my house. The music room has only vague attempts at soundproofing and the house is a terrace ... and the neighbours haven't complained. That's how not loud it is.

Plastic speaker cases seem very strong and incorporate handles. Speakers can be pole mounted only with the purchase of adaptors (16 GBP). Due to their shape, the speakers will sit in kick-back "monitor" mode.

The Stagepas 300 has an excellent case design and is very easy to use. I have the optional roller case, making it a doddle to transport. It's just about loud enough for home rehearsals of a band, which is what mine now gets used for. For any gig bigger than your mate's front room, forget it. However, I can see it would be excellent for public speaking, background music etc.

Designed to be a portable PA system for the gigging musician/speaker. It's an 8" wood=fer with a 1" tweeter. Made of some poly something-of-another plastic. basically, it feels solid and there's some weight to it, but not back breaking weight.

The speakers are passive with a detachable head from the rear of the speaker enclosure. The speakers are connected with a 1/4" cable included. I'd give more specs on the particulars, but you can do the research on all that. There is a limiter inside so that you can't overdrive and kill your system.

I think the overall sound is fantastic for the size and price. It really surprised me the moment I plugged it in. There are some drawbacks.. it won't go over a loud drummer, unless it's pushed, which I didn't wanna do. However, they will go well if the drummer is using bamboo sticks and brushes. For a louder one, get the 500 series. My logic is this: If you play a place that requires a PA louder than this can offer, then you're playing the wrong place, because they should already have one. This is meant for smaller venues that may not have the budget or room for a permanent PA system, which brings in the portability factor.
There's no Mid control on the EQ, but it didn't seem to be missed. My vocals came through quite nicely and any EQ on the acoustic was done with both the Stagepas and the DI box (Magicstomp) I was using. Sounded beefy with a good bottom end and not overbearing.
The reverb is a love it or hate it ratio. It doesn't sound like a room reverb, but more like a fast delay. I actually thought I would hate it when testing it, but it surprisingly didn't bother me. If you're some reverb connoisseur, then you'll most likely not like it. I think it will be fine for the purposes at hand.

This thing is all about mobility. The designers put a lot of thought into it for the gigging musician. The fact that the mixer can be taken out of the rear of the speaker and placed on a mic stand (with a separate adapter) is genius. The other speaker housing can be used for the speaker cables (provided) and power cord. A mic may be able to be placed in there too, but not a 20' mic cable. There's room, but not that much room. Separate pole mounts can be purchased if needed. Handles molded from the housing makes it pretty easy to carry.

Overall, if you have a smaller venue and you want stereo separation from your setup, I'd get one of these great little PA systems.
I never buy extended warranties, and I probably will not need it as this thing is built pretty solid, but I decided to get one this time because I plan on keeping it and using it for some time. The gigs have begun to line up and I have no doubt these will be a major asset to me.
As you can see, I gave high ratings for everything, and that' because it works well for my needs. If there was a wish it had, perhaps the compressor knob that the 500 series has, but that's a minor quibble.