Harman Buyout Dead - FOH Online

Where was this product 10 years
ago? The answer is never satisfactory,
but a lot of time is needed before
clubs and other public venues can upgrade
to current legal standards for power
distribution. Peavey is the first broadline pro
audio manufacturer to address this missing
link in setting up sizable sound reinforcement
systems.
The Distro is a two-rackspace portable
power distribution unit (PPDU) built to Underwriter’s
Labs standards with a 10-foot
feeder cable and a NEMA 14-50 plug for
typical club receptacle usage. From a mating
14-50 receptacle, which is usually rated
for 50 amperes at 240 VAC, the Peavey Distro
splits out six 20-ampere at 120 VAC circuits.
Each circuit is protected by a 20-ampere
magnetic circuit breaker that also doubles
as a front panel power switch. The remaining
front panel feature is the pair of neon
feeder-hot indicators, which meets the National
Electric Code (NEC) requirement for
monitoring the integrity of hot feeder wires
to the neutral feeder.
The rear panel sports a massive feeder
cable strain relief to allow the four conductor,
six-gauge feeder cable to pass through
into the Distro chassis. The remaining feature
on the back panel, are six duplex NEMA
5-20 receptacles to permit distribution of
the 20-ampere subcircuits. These recep-
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Road Test
When it comes to Lexicon, I have
been hanging back in the weeds,
waiting for a reverb/effects offering
that would appeal nicely with live sound
applications. There wasn’t a lot of hoopla
about the Lexicon MX300 Effects Processor
when I spotted it at the winter NAMM show,
but it looked perfect for what a mid-priced
effects unit for live sound applications
should be.
The Gear RT
Let’s talk about the panels first. For the
live sound engineer, the Lexicon MX300
looks like a “Goldilocks” kind of multi-effects
offering. Not too few presets, not too
much price.
Looking at the front panel, the MX300
starts off with the requisite input gain control
and dual four LED bars for a digital -24
dB, -12 dB, -6 dB and 0 dB before clip indications.
Then comes the digital LED activity
indicators for S/PDIF and USB, followed
Lexicon MX300 Effects Processor
OCTOBER 2007
By MarkAmundson
by the backlit monochrome Liquid Crystal
Display and Page/Select encoder control
to browse through the menus. Three buttons
for Exit, Tempo and Bypass are co-located
with three smaller encoder controls
for editing parameters on any peculiar effects
patch. A segregated Program section
contains another large encoder control for
patch selection by Store, System and Bypass
buttons. Two LEDs are placed next to
a dual seven-segment numeric LED display
for indicating whether a factor or user-programmed
effects patch is in use.
The back panel of the Lexicon MX300 is
all business with XLR and TRS phone connectors
for analog stereo signal inputs and
outputs. The S/PDIF connectors are the
usual RCA phono jack style, and the MIDI in
and through connectors are the DIN five-pin
style. Besides the USB-B connector for computer
interfacing, an additional TRS phone
jack is included for various purposes, including
tap tempo and program changes.
Peavey Distro
By MarkAmundson
tacles are high-quality “spec grade” items
able to receive 15- or 20-amp Edison plugs
(NEMA-5-15 or NEMA 5-20), common to almost
every electrical appliance.
Taking off the chassis cover of the
Peavey Distro, everything was in order. All
the interconnect wiring was 12-gauge with
crimp lugs going to the feeder posts and
routing through the breakers to the receptacles.
Everything that was screw terminal fastened
had lock washers on them so that the
bumps of road use would not shake loose
any connections. Overall, the build quality
was innovative and well executed.
In use, I found the Peavey Distro everything
I wanted for a PPDU in a rack panel. While
I do not have the six-inch height standoffs for
outdoor use, it is expected that most users
will have the Distro mounted in wheeled amp
racks or have enough common sense to keep
the unit off the ground. I do not recommend
www.fohonline.com
Now let’s focus on the brains that
drive this train. The Lexicon MX300 architecture
is standard fare with a central
processor commanding dual DSPs for effects
generation. What I really like about
the MX300 is that you can software patch
the DSP processors in series or parallel
without mechanical switches. The MX300
contains 10 categories of reverbs, seven
categories of delays and seven modulated
effects types that can be mixed and
matched within the stereo/mono and series/parallel
routings.
But no normal sound person would
ever go straight to unique patch programming
without taking a gander at the factory
preset patch listings. The 99 factory
patches are about half reverb blends and
half everything else. I auditioned each
patch with a mic, mixer and headphones;
some of my favorites were the tight plate,
live hall, big snare, Sizzlin’ ‘60s delay and
drum delay.
persons using the Distro without some kind of
rackcase around it. While the chassis is up to
the task, and provides a handy place to stow
the feeder, it makes common sense to stow
the unit in a case for extra roadworthiness.
Looking for niggles in the Peavey Distro, I
could only come up with one minor detail — I
would substitute white receptacles for black
receptacles. The rationale is two-fold: The first
is mostly cosmetic, as most back-of-rack areas
are poorly illuminated; plugging in power
cords is best done by visual location rather
than feel. The second reason is: White or ivory
receptacles do a better job of indicating carbonization
of plug/receptacle prongs, which
lets you take action to clean the contacts.
I heartily endorse going through the ritual
of dabbing Caig Labs DeOxIT and PreserveIT
(red and blue) onto all your receptacles and
plugs used for power distribution. I keep the
little 7.4 milliliter bottles of the red and blue
The Gigs RT
My general take on the Lexicon
MX300 is that this multi-effects processor
is a really good middle-of-the road
effects unit and great value for the bucks.
My good cues were the internal power
supply, plenty of input signal range (+24
dBu) and plenty of nice low-distortion
processing. I really could not find any
flaws with the MX300, but I might be
more tempted to create my own “special
sauce” patches for vocal plates, vocal
halls and percussion ambiance.
What it is: Multi-effects processor.
Who it’s for: Providers with deep ears and
shallow pockets.
Pros: Price, flexibility, quality construction.
Cons: Nil.
How much: $295 SRP
Web site: www.lexiconpro.com
Cramolin just for the small cap-brushes. That
way, I can paint up the receptacles and plugs,
do a few wet matings to wipe the contacts
well and swab the excess fluid off the contact
and adjoining surfaces.
Overall, while other companies offer similar
products, Peavey has heard the voice of the
masses better than the rest. This Distro unit is
not only plug-and-play for soundcos. Having
the right plug on the right cable for the right
number of circuits keeps users from getting
into electrical trouble.
What it is: Portable power distro.
Who it’s for: Anyone still using Home
Depot power strips.
Pros: Compact, rugged, and nothing else
like it.
Cons: Rear receptacle color.
How much: $599.99
Web site: www.peavey.com