JBL Eon One Compact first impressions

[rpjazzguitar]

It's 17lbs and has very flexible EQ options. Each channel has 6 band and the Master has 8 band. Both, parametric. So, you can pick center frequency, width and boost/cut for each.

Out of the box, run flat, it didn't sound as good as my JC55, but after some EQ tweaking, it got harder to pick which sounded better, although the JC55 retained an edge. I have more work to do to find the best EQ.

I'd call the guitar tone falling in the usable range and I'm hoping it will get better. Voice was quite good.

The main knock is some hassle with the software. The quick start leaflet tells you to go to the play store and download the Eon One Connect app. I did that and it worked fine.

It has an option for firmware update. I clicked and ended up with a non-functional version of the app. I had to figure out how to do a factory reset.

Turns out, there's a newer JBL app, used for multiple products, that also works for this one. I loaded the new app, erased the old one and couldn't get the new app to sync with the speaker.

Eventually, I got an error message saying that my firmware was out of date. But, the app that is required to install the new firmware is the one that wouldn't link to my speaker.

Again, eventually, it offered to update my firmware, seeming to have figured out something about how to link to my speaker. That is, it simply took a while to get to the actual update procedure.

The d/l of the new firmware takes about 15 minutes. I know that because I've now done it 3 times.

At that point, the speaker is supposed to reboot, and there are a few other instructions to follow about quitting the app, unpairing the speaker (which is not the same as ending the current connection) and reopening the app.

This takes longer than you might expect and included a quick flash of the screen announcing "network error" and then disappearing.

But, eventually, I was able to connect the speaker, presumably with the new firmware.

But, the app itself, downloaded from the Google Play store, was v2.03, whereas there seems to be a v2.1 available. I tried from the Apple store and ended up with 2.03 - same as the Google Play store. <br>

Even though the instructions say the play store works and direct you to it, apparently you have to go to the JBL site to get the latest version. Or, I'm missing something. <br>

Once I had it working on my Ipad, I was seriously impressed. On the phone, the interface is cramped (there's a lot of stuff wedged in). But, on the Ipad it's big enough to enjoy.

Then, after enjoying things for awhile I left and came back to it. At that point, the speaker wouldn't turn on properly. Master volume seemed to be at zero and unmovable. The app didn't work. On the Ipad it just resulted in a completely dark screen. On the phone, an endlessly spinning icon labeled "sync".

Had to factory reset the speaker again. Glad to say the updated firmware was not lost. Then, the app, the newer one (JBL Pro connect) worked on both phone and Ipad.

The factory reset takes less than a minute. I don't know if it discards all your custom patches. Could be worse, but isn't encouraging. Not what I want to be thinking about on a gig. I noticed that the software has poor reviews, on average.

[Cunamara]

I don't want to be knee-jerk antidigital, but man whatta hassle. I'm a little puzzled by a speaker needing software that has to be updated; this seems like a solution in search of a problem. As you learn more and find out what it can do, maybe that notion will change for me.

And this from a guy who regularly uses a buddy's Tone Master Fender Deluxe Reverb and really likes it.

I already know I don't have your patience for fiddling about with technology. If I bought that speaker and experienced those problems, it'd be back at Guitar Center already. I am impressed by your curiosity and fortitude in forging on with this.

[rpjazzguitar]

I don't want to be knee-jerk anti

I already know I don't have your patience for fiddling about with technology. If I bought that speaker and experienced those problems, it'd be back at Guitar Center already. I am impressed by your curiosity and fortitude in forging on with this.

I appreciate you taking an interest in this.

I don't think of myself as a technophile or as particularly patient with software issues, but, for some reason which largely defies logic, I've spent a lot of time trying to make a powered speaker work as a guitar amp.

That said, I wouldn't have this one, but the powered speaker I'd been using in my practice room and on bigger gigs, recently died. So, I actually needed something which could amplify vocals. And, as long as I had to get something anyway, it would be nice if I could get it to work with guitar and without dealing with a modeler.

From my experience with a few units, they are built with rudimentary physical controls. That is, there are no knobs for some functions -- just the ability to connect your phone or tablet to the speaker and control it that way.

The software can look like the face of a mixer or a frequency vs amplitude graph. So, you can do things like drag and drop a tag on the graph to change the EQ profile. Change the length and frequency content of the reverb. Stuff that there'd be no way to do on the physical unit. And, since it's complicated, the software can be improved over time, hence the updates.

One point that I find interesting is the difference in the way Bose vs JBL handle the EQ in what are competing products. Bose has two band EQ on the unit and a bunch of undocumented presets. One knob for reverb. No graphic or parametric EQ. Bose, apparently, decided in favor of simplicity and ease of use.

In contrast, JBL is far more feature rich in EQ and FX. All kinds of control. What's not to like about that? Well, the software is unstable. There are so many options you can get lost (they also have presets to help out with that).

Even though I know well that lots of features look great in the store and can be awful on the bandstand, I may have fallen for it. Now I'm testing it without using the app - sacrificing all that control. I tried it with a separate mixer and with the LJ feeding it. Guitar sounds in the acceptable range, but not optimal. The LJ sounds better. Vocals lack the warmth of the Bose, but, OTOH, the guitar doesn't get boomy.

If I can't figure out how to get the software to work reliably, it will go back to the store. No way I wan't to be struggling to get the app to work on a gig.

[twtunes]

I tried the notional software app, which was nearly nonfunctional. The general-purpose JBL app worked well after I followed instructions for the firmware update.

Still not entirely convinced by the software, cuz it seems to forget to display my custom EQ after a few days not in use. It seems to be still using those settings, tho. There is a "snapshot" configuration save, but one has to be careful which icon to click to reload settings.

I mainly use one for my acoustic mandolin, but the same EQ is a decent starting place for my electric. The basic tone is boxy, too much midrange, so I have fairly dramatic mid cuts between 400 and 800 Hz, a spike at 2K for color, and a broad cut in the highs, like 8K, to get rid of tinkly tone.

I appreciate the convenience of battery power, but not my first choice for jazz. Still a useful piece of kit. Will be using it for a small rehearsal today, me and flute, to try out some jazz tunes we're performing soon. We'll play along with files I will send to the bluetooth channel. I'll be using the JBL for the flute at the gig, while I play through my GK MB200.

[rpjazzguitar]

I tried the notional software app, which was nearly nonfunctional. The general-purpose JBL app worked well after I followed instructions for the firmware update.

Still not entirely convinced by the software, cuz it seems to forget to display my custom EQ after a few days not in use. It seems to be still using those settings, tho. There is a "snapshot" configuration save, but one has to be careful which icon to click to reload settings.

I mainly use one for my acoustic mandolin, but the same EQ is a decent starting place for my electric. The basic tone is boxy, too much midrange, so I have fairly dramatic mid cuts between 400 and 800 Hz, a spike at 2K for color, and a broad cut in the highs, like 8K, to get rid of tinkly tone.

I appreciate the convenience of battery power, but not my first choice for jazz. Still a useful piece of kit. Will be using it for a small rehearsal today, me and flute, to try out some jazz tunes we're performing soon. We'll play along with files I will send to the bluetooth channel. I'll be using the JBL for the flute at the gig, while I play through my GK MB200.

Thanks for this. I just want to clarify which software you mentioned.

The one with the firmware update is the JBL Pro connect. This one works with a bunch of different JBL products.

JBL Pro Connect has a more detailed interface than Compact Connect. On Pro Connect, you can see the frequency graph with the frequencies labeled across the X axis. And you can adjust things with + and - buttons which move the sliders 1 db at a time. (Compact Connect requires that you slide a fader with your finger, which is not accurate).

The connection problems I've had so far have been with Pro Connect.

Additional testing with a Shure SM58 suggests that the Eon One Compact is less warm for vocals than the Bose S1. I haven't figured out how to dial in more warmth with the JBL EQ. Work in progress. The other side of the coin is that the Bose S1 tends to be boomy in the bass -- which seems to be a feature for vocals and a bug for guitar.

If anyone is going to try this: There is a firmware update button in the Compact Connect software. It doesn't work and it doesn't give an error message. You have to use Pro Connect for the firmware update. And, you have to be patient. The automatic rebooting and reconnecting takes longer than you think it should, with no message about anything being in progress, iirc. Eventually the firmware gets updated. Fortunately, a system reset (the usual solution to a connection problem, it seems) does not return to the original firmware. The update stays in place.

EDIT: I used it with a big band tonight. Guitar>Boss ME70>JBL Eon One. I tried to run it flat, but there was some bass boom. I dialed it out with the bass (leftmost) adjustment point on the channel strip. Seemed to lack some high end sparkle, but well inside the ballpark of acceptable.

Loud enough, with some volume to spare. That's being fed -10dbu (that's the output level of the ME70) into a hi-Z input.

JBL Pro Connect on my phone worked without a hitch. At home, I had more trouble trying to run it on my Ipad. When it worked, the larger size display was fantastic, but it didn't work reliably for reasons I still have to figure out.

And, going back to the basic idea of using a powered speaker for guitar -- it worked. Conventional wisdom is that plugging a guitar into a PA produces a sterile or otherwise suboptimal/unacceptable sound. Similarly, plugging a mic into a guitar amp is presumed to produce a poor vocal sound. I've heard both tried with the predicted poor results.

But, Henriksen touts the Bud as being good for both. So does Spark (less well known manufacturer of amps, at least among jazz players). And, I just found the JBL Eon One Compact, up to the task, more or less. Not the best guitar sound I ever heard, but usable.

My guess is that some of the negativity might be due to problems with matching signal level and impedance. Beyond those basics, it would seem to depend on the individual units.

A few gigs back, I had to go Mic/Guitar>Mixer>Roland-JC55 for guitar and vocals on a quiet gig. The vocals sounded better than I expected and the guitar was fine. The open back of the amp worked as a monitor.

To my ear, it seems that there are units that work adequately for both and, I think, units that don't.

[rpjazzguitar]

Here's a short video demonstrating the JBL Eon One Compact.

This is Comins GCS-1>Boss ME70 (adding reverb)>JBL Eon One Compact, hi Z input (ch 3) with slight roll-off of bass.

The ME70 output is -10dbu and 2k ohm impedance.

On Monday, I used it for big band - same rig. It sounded good and had some volume to spare. Not quite the sparkle I wanted for single note passages, but I'm working on that.

[Cunamara]

Hey, that's pretty nice! I am assuming that is more or less living room volume. Nice and warm, sounded pretty fat, good note separation and clarity. The high E string sounded thick without the bass strings sounding tubby. How's the app experience going?

[rpjazzguitar]

Hey, that's pretty nice! I am assuming that is more or less living room volume. Nice and warm, sounded pretty fat, good note separation and clarity. The high E string sounded thick without the bass strings sounding tubby. How's the app experience going?

Right about the volume. If anybody is interested I can make another at a higher volume.

I agree about the high E. It would drive me crazy if it was plinky. That's an 11 on there right now, although I'm going to go back to a 10.

The bass can sound a bit tubby, but I used the bass control (leftmost adjustable node in the parametric EQ on the app -- which duplicates the action of the physical bass knob on the speaker). I dialed it down a bit.

The JBL Pro Connect App has been working reliably on my phone but not on my Ipad. Haven't figured out why. There's a warning about not letting the app run in the background, which may be relevant. There's also a difference between "connect" and "pair" which was relevant when I was struggling to upgrade the firmware.

It seems that the custom presets ("snapshots") are saved in the device running the app. That is, I got a nice EQ patch going on my phone (Android, btw) and found that the Ipad didn't know about it.

Here's another video, below, demonstrating vocal and guitar. It's an earlier recording in which the guitar is a little less warm - I don't recall what the EQ was, but I adjusted it later.

Anyway, so far so good. I can take it to big band, thereby saving 9lbs. It replaces the dead powered speaker in my rehearsal room, for vocals. And, I can use it on a small gig for guitar and vocals, or, on a larger gig, as a monitor. It isn't the best I've ever heard for either guitar or vocals, but it's in the acceptable range.

[rpjazzguitar]

Some follow up based on more experience with the unit and software.

The software, run on my Android phone, has been working perfectly. This is the one that runs various JBL products, not the one that's just for the Eon One Compact.

It does everything the panel on the speaker does and a lot more. There is 6 band parametric EQ on each channel and 8 band on the Master output.

Think of a graph which frequency on the X axis and amplitude on the Y axis. Then, little circles along the X Axis, each of which represents a node you can move up,down or sideways. If moved up it produces a hump, the width of which can also be controlled. And it can remember your settings.

It's also possible to control reverb (which sounds good), chorus and delay, which I haven't used.

It has a hi-Z input. If I plug the guitar right into it, I have to crank things up pretty high (channel strip and master) to get big band volume, but I did get it. Had to roll off some bass, which was easy to do with the phone interface.

I experimented with other inputs. I tried a not-hi-Z channel on both mic and line, with and without the ME70.

With guitar into low-Z line level input, I was still able to get it loud enough for a restaurant gig, or so I thought -- I didn't actually use it that way on a gig. On mic level it was, as it should be, loud and distorted, but I cranked down the guitar (and later the pedalboard output) and it sounded okay. I had tried it separately with the Radial DI box, but the DI didn't add any noticeable quality beyond what I could get from the hi-Z channel.

Basically, I could get a decent sound every way I tried it. Volume varied, but it has enough for anything I'm going to want to do. My preference was guitar>ME70>hi Z input, bass rolled off somewhat.

The main problem with the software is the phone screen size. You can't see everything at once the way you can with an old fashioned mixing board. So, today, I plugged it all in and it didn't make a sound. Turned out to be an off-screen mute switch. It could have been the volume sliders and/or mute switches on the channel strip and the master. It could have been plugging into the wrong channel, or it could have been a problem with the gear in front of the speaker. There's no way to verify that the speaker is receiving some signal when it's not producing any sound. Or, I haven't found it yet.

14 bands of parametric EQ (counting both the channel and master) is a lot of bands. And, those nodes can slide left and right, meaning you can get several of them in the same part of the frequency spectrum whereupon it becomes difficult to manage. Hard to figure out which thing to slide. So far, all I'm doing is rolling off bass. Even that simple thing has its complexities, e.g. multiple screens which access the bass controls in different ways. There's a learning curve to get it to the point where you know exactly what to do under pressure.

FX are on a different screen. So, I heard too much reverb. I had to move around the app to figure out the reverb was actually off and I was hearing reverb only from my pedal board.

There are benefits, but one cost is that doing some previously simple things can be more difficult. OTOH doing some previously impossible things has become possible.

Anyway, I ordered a case. It's a keeper.

Sound is not perfect, but it's been fine for big band. I'll be trying it on a pianoless gig on Friday. My expectation is that it's going to be fine, but I'll bring the Little Jazz as a security amp.

[twtunes]

If it has been a day or so since last use, my channel does not show my saved EQ, although it seems to sound correct. I reload the snapshot, and it always turns the main volume all the way off. Not sure why that made sense to the developers. In any case, I now expect it.

After an update it now shows the resulting curve, not the separate notches and spikes only. Still learning, but love the battery. I bring a hi-low Z inline adapter to provide a feed to front of house.

[rpjazzguitar]

If it has been a day or so since last use, my channel does not show my saved EQ, although it seems to sound correct. I reload the snapshot, and it always turns the main volume all the way off. Not sure why that made sense to the developers. In any case, I now expect it.

After an update it now shows the resulting curve, not the separate notches and spikes only. Still learning, but love the battery. I bring a hi-low Z inline adapter to provide a feed to front of house.

All I've done is reduce lows in the channel 3 strip. It seems to remember the setting. I haven't had to load snapshots. When I experimented with snapshots I noticed the thing about turning off the volume. I figured it was to avoid loud surprises.

If I may ask, would you explain how you connect the in-line adapter to FOH? And exactly what kind of adapter it needs to be?

I haven't figured out yet if I'm going to use the JBL in that situation. In the past, I used my Little Jazz and ran an XLR cable from the output on the back of the LJ into the board. Then, I could turn the LJ speaker off, or not.

[twtunes]

The "pass-through" 1/4 inch jack is the output. An inline impedance adapter takes the 1/4" to XLR for long cable run. There is a "Mix out" setting in the app. I have aan old Shure adapter like this one. A short jumper cable to it, and it has male XLR out.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

The "pass-through" 1/4 inch jack is the output. An inline impedance adapter takes the 1/4" to XLR for long cable run. There is a "Mix out" setting in the app. I have aan old Shure adapter like this one. A short jumper cable to it, and it has male XLR out.

Just be sure you’re using the right adapter. Whether it’s a simple 1/4” TS female to XLR male adapter, a balanced TRS to XLR adapter, or a true impedance matching adapter, it will look similar. You can feel the detent as a 1/4” plug is being inserted to a TRS jack, so it’s easy to tell the difference between TS and TRS female jacks. And it probably doesn’t matter which it is if you’re just running a simple mono cable to an unbalanced XLR input. But if you plug a balanced TRS line into a simple TS to XLR adapter, it’s no longer a balanced line and will have noise and sound quality problems.

A true DI output is a mic level source that drives a low impedance mic level input on a board or preamp. If you plug a high impedance unbalanced line into a balanced mic input without proper grounding and impedance matching, you’ll get bad and nosiy sound.

That Hosa is a $30 matching transformer to convert a hi Z mono line to a low Z mono line. Simple adapters from the same maker cost less than half of this and do not match impedance. So be careful what you buy, because appearances can be deceiving. High end versions can cost twice as much as Hosa, but the price differential is still 50% or more. So don’t buy based on price alone - the low cost offerings from any maker are simple adapters that do not convert impedance.

[twtunes]

From the user manual it looks as if the pass-through output is TS, not balanced. In any case my mono Shure adapter worked fine. Signal level was appropriate for the mixer.

There is an advantage in having a P.A.-type speaker, as any EQ I apply will be fairly accurately replicated through the mains.

[rpjazzguitar]

From the user manual it looks as if the pass-through output is TS, not balanced. In any case my mono Shure adapter worked fine. Signal level was appropriate for the mixer.

There is an advantage in having a P.A.-type speaker, as any EQ I apply will be fairly accurately replicated through the mains.

The manual states:

"The EON ONE Compact provides a 1/4" balanced TRS PASS THRU output for connecting to additional EONONE Compact loudspeakers."

and ...

"PASS THRU output canbe connected to the line
input of another JBL
EON ONE Compact to
expand the system for
monitoring or higher
output capabilities"

So, it's a balanced, line level, output.
It doesn't say anything about output impedance, but can't one assume that it would be low Z from the context? Google says that line level is generally 100-600 ohms output impedance.

One more point. Doesn't "Pass Thru" imply that it's summing the inputs and passing that to the output without processing? If not that, what does "Pass Thru" mean?

[twtunes]

Thanks for finding that, I missed it.

In order to check if the feed was pre- or post-EQ I ran a guitar cable to my regular amp. Signal level was fine, so I assume it is relatively hi-Z, like 10K. It is post-EQ, too.

in any case, my adapter worked fine into a regular mic channel of the P.A.

[rpjazzguitar]

Thanks for finding that, I missed it.

In order to check if the feed was pre- or post-EQ I ran a guitar cable to my regular amp. Signal level was fine, so I assume it is relatively hi-Z, like 10K. It is post-EQ, too.

in any case, my adapter worked fine into a regular mic channel of the P.A.

The line level signal should have been more than enough volts for the guitar amp. But, if you crank the output of the JBL down, I'd guess that you'd get it in the right ballpark and avoid any clipping.

I read that the impedance mismatch (guitar amp expects hi Z) would affect the sound quality and noise level. But that would be fixed by a low-to-high impedance transformer, if that's what you use. Wouldn't it?

I imagine that using a TS vs TRS cable would also make a difference with respect to noise. The jack on the JBL is TRS/balanced according to the manual.

That said, I connected the inputs every which way with guitar, DI and pedalboard and none of them sucked. Some were a little better than others.

[rpjazzguitar]

Further update.

I bought a picnic cooler bag from Amazon Basics that fits the speaker perfectly. Got the tip from a youtube video.

Took it to my first non-big-band application, a small restaurant gig. Ran two mics and the guitar through the mixer. One side to the FOH unit (another small PA, by Fishman) the other side to the JBL on the floor as a monitor.

I used the L+R outputs. I could have used one side plus the "Monitor" output. That would have given me a volume control on the monitor right from the mixer, but as it was, I had it on the JBL phone app.

I ran the guitar through the ME70>LittleJazz>Mixer.

Plugged it together, everything worked and I didn't make a single adjustment all night. The app loaded perfectly, so no problems there.

Guitar tone was missing something which didn't bother me much so I didn't fiddle around trying to fix it. I wasn't sure what it was, but if I'd had more time (the person with the Fishman showed up a little too late to fiddle around) I'd have tried turning the LJ around or shutting the speaker off entirely.

Next time, I probably won't hook up the LJ unless I need it to solve a problem.

Could have reversed the roles of the Fishman and the JBL, but the JBL has that slanted back to allow it to work as a stage monitor and that Fishman unit does not. Also, we've used the Fishman unit many times before and we know it works well in that space.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

I read that the impedance mismatch (guitar amp expects hi Z) would affect the sound quality and noise level. But that would be fixed by a low-to-high impedance transformer, if that's what you use. Wouldn't it?

Devices like the Whirlwind Little Imp are low to hi Z converting adapters that do this. The Imp is an XLR input to a 1/4" TS output. If you're going to run a low impedance balanced line level source into a guitar amp, this is what you need to avoid distortion. There may be similar devices with 1/4" TRS inputs and 1/4" TS output, but I've never seen one,

I imagine that using a TS vs TRS cable would also make a difference with respect to noise.

There's no such thing as a TS or TRS cable, and not all TRS or XLR terminated cables are balanced. What matters is the cable being used and how it's wired. You can wire any connector to a single conductor + shield cable, but it will still be a noise magnet. If you wire a two conductor cable with a shield to a TRS but the ground lead and the shield are joined and connected to the ground pin or lug on an XLR or TRS at the other end, it'll still be an unbalanced line lacking common mode noise rejection. There's a comprehensive diagram in the EON manual showing how every possible cable combo you could want should be wired:

The jack on the JBL is TRS/balanced according to the manual.

That's not one jack - it's two separate ones that share a housing. There's an XLR, which is connected when the mic/line switch is on mic, and a 1/4" TRS (the center hole) that's connected when the switch is on line. There's almost certainly an extra preamp stage on the mic input. Both mic and line inputs are 40kOhm. I can't find this in any JBL literature, but I'm assuming that the XLR driven mic input has higher sensitivity than the 1/4" driven line input.

[rpjazzguitar]

That's not one jack - it's two separate ones that share a housing. There's an XLR, which is connected when the mic/line switch is on mic, and a 1/4" TRS (the center hole) that's connected when the switch is on line. There's almost certainly an extra preamp stage on the mic input. Both mic and line inputs are 40kOhm. I can't find this in any JBL literature, but I'm assuming that the XLR driven mic input has higher sensitivity than the 1/4" driven line input.

thanks as always for the information.


The jack referred to at the end there is the pass-through quarter inch output from the eon. That one is not a combo XLR and quarter inch jack. The manual says that it is balanced.

[rpjazzguitar]

Another update.

Last night I played big band using Comins GCS-1>Boss ME70>JBL Eon One Compact.

This time I went into Channel 1, which is not the Hi Z input (that's Channel 3).

The output impedance of the ME70 is 2k ohms. The voltage depends on the output level setting on the ME70 although I believe it is nominally -10dbu (I might have the unit wrong on that).

Before, I used the hi Z input. The speaker was loud enough, but I had to crank it up in the app. Going into Ch 1 instead seemed to provide more available volume and, more important, the tone was great. I rolled off some bass in the channel EQ (6 band parametric).

Next issue.

I bought the JBL "cover" specifically for this product. No handles, just a flap that exposes the handle built into the top of the unit. And, no bottom to the cover. More of a dust cover than complete protection.

I also got a picnic cooler bag that's just a bit larger than the speaker and works fine. The insulation functions as padding and the handles allow me to carry it atop my rolling briefcase.

Last issue.

One possible negative about the speaker. The bass player said he couldn't hear me well and asked that I angle the speaker more towards him. This might suggest narrower dispersion than I expected. It's listed at 100 degrees in the horizontal.

So, I spent some time trying to figure out how 100 degrees compares to a typical guitar amp.

That is, apparently, a poorly posed question. I was quickly reminded that it's frequency dependent. And that the size of the speaker (one site drilled down to the diameter of the piston) matters as well, with bigger speakers being more directional. And, guitar amps don't seem to come with a comparable spec on dispersion.

I ended up wondering what that 100 degrees spec even means.

What it seems to mean is that the sound outside the 100 degrees drops off 6db or more. It's frequency dependent, but I didn't find anything about how its measured. It's probably there somewhere.

The band sets up, roughly speaking, in a square for rehearsal. So, if I place the speaker in a corner facing the center it should cover everybody. Although, with the bassist at about 45 degrees from the speaker, and 6db being audible, the bassist isn't going to hear it the way I will (since I'm pretty much on axis and he's close to the edge of the 100 degrees).

In a performance I wouldn't have any trouble covering the audience in a typical situation, but I wonder about covering the band, depending on the stage plot.

[twtunes]

I just played a concert where I used the JBL as P.A. for flute. I set it on the floor of our elevated stage, standing up. This allowed pretty high sound level from my large-diaphragm condenser mic. Plenty flute volume, joining a jazz trio with amplified instruments.

My sense is the horn dispersion is better at right angles to the cabinet, so when it is pole-mounted it serves well for sound reinforcement.

I also use it for my acoustic mandolin, but on the floor in the tilted monitor position. This has weaker lateral dispersion to my ears. The "vertical" spread (along the cabinet axis) feels more like 40 degrees.

[rpjazzguitar]

My sense is the horn dispersion is better at right angles to the cabinet, so when it is pole-mounted it serves well for sound reinforcement.

I also use it for my acoustic mandolin, but on the floor in the tilted monitor position. This has weaker lateral dispersion to my ears. The "vertical" spread (along the cabinet axis) feels more like 40 degrees.

The spec is 100x60. I assume that means that if you place the speaker with the long side on the floor you get 60 degrees, not 100. And, since the 60th degree is at 6db down, it might very well feel like 40.

The Bose S1 Pro Plus has 120 degree horizontal dispersion according to the spec. 50 degree vertical. I think the three high frequency internal speakers face different angles.

[Spook410]

The recordings sound very nice. And it's great you finally have something with adequate EQ. 17 pounds.. easy form factor.. should be durable as well.

Of course.. I will continue to wonder what it would sound like with a Joyo American pedal in front of it.