Yorkville NX55P

Active 2-way molded polypropylene cabinet
12 inch LF driver
1.4-inch Aluminum with Neodymium Driver / 1-inch exit

550 watts program
450 watts LF driver
100 watts HF driver
Max SPL = 125dB
Weight = 42 lbs/ 19 kgs

If you want more details, check out the product page on the Yorkville website.

I've used all sorts of speakers since I started (1984) but these are the first pair of PA speakers I've owned. I got these in October 2006. I was pleasantly surprised at how sturdy and professional they look. They put out a lot of crystal clear sound, considering the are plastic boxes. The sheer amount of low end is astounding. Actually, it is a little too much at higher SPLs. I tend to attenuate the low end with my mixer channel strip EQ by up to -6dB). Normally, I don't use the 100Hz HPF cutoff when I don't use subwoofers.

One thing about these speakers is that there is a little bit of sound leakage in the rear. Low frequency sounds come out of the rear electronics panel like "woompph! woomph!" at moderate to high levels. If you're standing behind the speaker, it is obvious. However, once you step in front of it and back away, you don't hear it at all. It can be a turn-off if you're demoing them in the store but please know that in real world situations, the effect is negligible if you set them up IN FRONT of everyone. I've NOT had a single complaint so far so please don't let it affect your judgement.

The coverage comes with a little bit of a trade-off. The spread is nice and wide (the HF horn is 80 x 50 degrees) but at the cost of sacrificing a little bit of the throw. With a pair of these on stands, you're good for up to 80-100 feet. Beyond that, they're still audible but don't expect rock concert levels. By my experience, I find that my pair of 55s works well for crowds up to 250 people for moderate level DJ music (set properly on stands, equalized, and used with subwoofers). If you want longer throw, you'll need to get boxes with 2 inch exit horns (and these will cost significantly more).

That being said, the clarity and the levels within the hot spot are remarkable. You can soak up all the music and still be able to hold a conversation without having to yell. Proof of this came on New Year's Eve 2007 when I set these up in a 100 capacity lounge that turned into a club for that night. Jam packed shoulder to shoulder and these things delivered! One speaker was on a 6 foot stand right by the bar. I walked over and asked the guy standing NEXT to that speaker if his ears were blasted or buzzing and he said "No, man. Sounds great!"

I'd pick these over Behringers, Yamaha Clubs or JBL JRXs any day. There probably are better boxes out there but for the value, reliability, price point, weight savings and flexibility, the NX55P is really tough to beat.

At first, the one handle design threw me off a little. I got used to it pretty fast. I'm not a notably strong or fit person (weak back and shoulders) but I had no problems getting these up on standard 6 foot stands. Use one hand on the handle (duh) and the other to grasp the side of the speaker. Hoist, position the hole and gently drop it into the stand. Standard 1 3/8 inch / 35mm poles.

As far as flying the speakers, I can't comment because I don't do it. I'm a mobile sound guy/DJ who sets up and tears down within 30 minutes. These speakers are great for that.

As far as design goes, these are quite good for the money but not flawless. The trump card is, of course, the electronics. The mixer section is outstanding, to say the least. You can plug in the outputs of your mixer via XLR or 1/4 inch TRS. There is a XLR mic input, TRS line inputs and line outputs (XLR and TRS). I just wish there was a filtered output that I can feed into an active subwoofer. This would have been a nice feature but it's not a real biggie.

There is a limiter that protects the speaker from excessive signal level overloads and all sorts of speaker protection that good people of Yorkville built into it. You can run it into OCCASIONAL clipping all night and still be worry free. It is a relatively idiot proof box. Pretty much plug-in and play.

Thanks for reading. Any questions, please feel free to e-mail me or ask on HC Live Sound.

V.

I'm quite happy with them. I've used this for a plethora of events, indoors and outdoors. My mixers are a Rane MP44 and a Soundcraft Folio F-1 which deliver clean and full audio signals into the speakers. What appeal to me most are the sound quality, flexibility, and the light weight.

I would recommend that DJs, acoustic musicians and bands give it a test drive. I would not recommend it for full on metal/trash bands because the 1.4 inch HF driver will not be able to handle the input material. Suffice to say, this box performs excellently provided you use it within the design parameters. Definitely a keeper in my book.

Lightweight powered 2-way hybrid speaker (main or monitor)12" woofer/ 1" tweeter. Polypropylene cabinet. Perforated steel grille.

Powered speakers - 12" NEO Woofer, 1 1/2" tweeter. 550 watts (bi-amped). it has a rudimentary mixer feature (XLR in, 1/4" TRS in)as well as XLR & 1/4" line inputs. Built in pole mount. they weigh about 45 lbs.

These things kick butt! I use them in conjunction with a pair of JBL M Pro powered subwoofers, and it works really well. I have a pair of 15" EON G2s as well, but i find i like 12" speakers better for vocals. I had to buy them mail-order, since there's nowhere around here that sells them. A friend of mine whose opinion i respect gave tnem such a glowing recommedation that i decided to take the leap of faith. I'm glad i did. In smaller venues, i use them alone on tripods, and they are just shockingly good -crystalline high end, defined mids and lows (!), especially when the low filter is not engaged. i usually engage the filter when i run them with the M Pros, and shut it off when i use them alone. Oh, and one more thing - they're LOUD!

The carry handle is in just the right spot, they're light enough that you can hoist them up onto the poles without a lot of drama. The knobs for the pots are a little flimsy (they can fall off, i lost one), but I'm really splitting hairs. Even though i don't use the feature, the mixer would prove to be a really useful feature for a sigle/duo act.

I like 'em so much, I'm buying another pair. BTW, this review is for the NX550P - from what i understand, the NX55Ps are better. I'll let you know!

Lightweight powered 2-way hybrid speaker (main or monitor)12" woofer/ 1" tweeter. Polypropylene cabinet. Perforated steel grille.

Powered speaker rated at 550 Watts Program, Neodymium woofer with 3" voice coil. Internal protection circuits (limiters) 100Hz high-pass filter. Weighs 47 pounds - very nice and easy to transport. The hardware is solid and they seem to pay nice attention to detail when assembling them.

Too bad the ratings don't go to 11! These speakers (I have 2) sound absolutely fantastic. I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of bass response they get from a 12" woofer. Overall, they're very smooth and clear sounding.

It's pretty versatile since it can be pole-mounted, laid down as a monitor or flown with special hardware. If there's anything I'd change it would be the physical protection of the volume/tone control pots on the back. This is a common peeve of mine with nearly ALL BRANDS of powered speakers. The controls are recessed and as long as you're not chucking all kinds of gear in on top of your speakers, you're probably OK. But sometimes you're in a hurry loading the truck and stuff happens... Personally, I'd prefer some sort of little door or protective cage over the pots. That's the only reason I don't give the design a "10"

I'm using two of these speakers in a solo acoustic act with some backing tracks (via iPod) If I were to use them with my full rock band, I'd get the matching set of NX720 subs without hesitation. I would make damned sure not to lose these or let them get stolen. I'm even going to get full replacement coverage insurance.

Yorkville puts all of its schematics, parts lists, and owners/service manuals online and the one question I had for them was answered within minutes via email.

This speaker is designed to be a hybrid between front-of-house main and stage monitor. It is a two way biamped design, competing directly with Mackie's SRM450 and the JBL Eon series, as a plastic composite compact enclosure.

It is powered, with a modest mix panel on each enclosure for high boost/cut, low boost/cut, defeatable high pass filtering, mic preamp for direct use.
Not sure about construction materials for speaks, tweeter type or crossover point. I don't know about thermal protection, although most folks steered me away from Mackie SRM450s for their poor thermal protection.
The low end is 400 watts into a 12" Speaker, the high end is 150 watts into a 1" driver.
Connections are both 1/4" and XLR, with slaving capabilities.

Great sound. Currently, I'm using them as rehearsal speakers and the ultimate amplification for my keyboard rig, including a nice Roland RD300SX piano. It sounds phenomenal on my keyboard rig, great for vocals. It has massive low end when the high pass filter is not engaged, although my mackie mixer has a bad low end hum, which is far less noticeable when the high pass is engaged. For most of my purposes, I will engage the high pass filter anyway, but it's nice to now it's there in case I want to use it for PA purposes. My recording studio nearfields (Audix 1As) sound better, but the margin of difference is not as huge as you'd imagine. These speakers are way too loud to find their distortion point in an enclosed space.

These are pretty portable, with nice hand recesses, they have polemounts built-in and embedded metal threading to support flying.

These don't seem to have any features that are surprising for this class of speakers, but they have more powerful amps than Mackie, JBL or EV, and yet weigh a good bit less.

I like the 2/10 year warranty.
Of course, any meaningful recommendation comes from years of trouble-free use, so it's premature to put forth a recommendation.