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Ok, so I'm talking to my bar owner friend. Pretty set on a Yamaha EMX512SC mixer. Just trying to best match it for him between the speakers listed. He currently has a little Behringer 12 channel desktop mixer and an amp (I think listed at 120w, 60 per channel) Yes, I know.

The speakers he currently has are Peavey 15's (I think PR115 is the model number but not sure) and they are probably blown.

I know that amp/mixer is good and there are some combos with these speakers. So trying to choose from them. Opinions on each: good bad or indifferent. Other options?

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S115V hands-down in that bunch. The JBL JRX are pretty universally panned as poor for the money. The BR15 is not nearly the speaker the S115V is. I have listened to all of them, and the choice is clear.

I use the Yamaha S112V (with subs), and like them very much. I always enjoy the sound at shows with S115V speakers. I am waiting on finding a used pair, and I will jump and buy some for myself.

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

60 watts per channel is probably (most likely) what blew the speakers he currently has in the first place. The PR series isn't a great speaker to begin with, however can sound 'ok' with the proper power pushing them - 60 watts is not it. Thos speaker require an amp that pushes around 400 watts each. More than likely he was turning the system up to compensate for crowd volume & went FAR well beyond the 60 watts the amp was capable of pushing cleanly. The EMX512 only pushes 350 watts per channel into 8 ohms which is what the Yamaha S115V are, but since they actually require 500 watts per speaker to be completely efficient without having to really push the volume, it could end up in the same situation eventually where they are blown as well.
It's far worse to push a speakers volume up with not enough power than to have more power than required. Both can blow a speaker if overdriven, however the one with the more powerful amp is going to sound much better at a regular listening level so chances are less you would need to turn the volume up higher that would drive into clipping like a lower powered amp would tend to do.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Of the options listed the BR is a closer match for the output of the EMX512SC, but the S115V is the best of the lot in the bang for the buck department. If your going to be using the combination in a small to medium sized room I would think you should be able to reach the level you need long before clipping occurs but as mentioned, caution should be exercised. IMO the JRX is over priced for what it is.

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Quickness of mind will deceive the eye

I used the S115Vs for about 3 years and have used a BR12 as a monitor speaker for 6 years now.

On a scale of 1-10, the S115Vs are about a 7 in the highs/mids and a definite 10 in the lows for their price range (~$300.00 each). For mains, they are the one of the best values out there at $300 a speaker. Even when I stopped using mine, it wasn't because of any flaws with the speakers, I just had a bigger budget and wanted to get into a tri-amped system. I see LOTS of bands that still use S115IVs that are circa 1999 and are going strong with the original components. They are built like tanks!!

Even the BR series, though, I'd give them about a 6 in highs/mids and about an 8 in the lows in entry level pro speakers. The reason they are cheaper (price) than the S115Vs is because they are cheaper (quality) than the S115Vs. Again, however, mine have lasted 6 years. I wouldn't discourage anyone on a budget to buy these for a starter system, then use them as monitors once they can upgrade. The main difference is the drivers, which is going to mean a lower max SPL than the club series S115Vs.

They one thing I know about JBL is that they are well respected for their high-end install speakers, but don't seem to put much quality into their lower-level budget lines. You don't see too many 10 year-old JBL speakers from this price range still in use. Old Yamaha speakers are all over the place.

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C Mc
KJ, FL

If you are going to have them in smokey bars full of drunk patrons and hauling them around in your vehicle a lot, I would consider the C115V instead of the S115V. The only difference is the grille and coating vs carpet, but IMO it is worth a few extra dollars to keep them looking nice and professional for years to come.

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

You can bi-amp the S115V, all you need to do is a little home modification & wire up two jacks independently & run each jack to each driver. We did this with a friend of mines set. He added a small cut-off switch on the stock run to the driver & left the crossover in tact so now he has the option to use it as a full range cab or bi-amp cabinet. Works out pretty sweet. They make a HELL of difference between running them bi-amped over full range.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Very true, an active crossover can help almost any speaker. I've done the same thing in the past, the only difference being I used switching jacks instead of a manual switch, mostly because that's what I already had and also gave me one less thing to think about.

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Quickness of mind will deceive the eye

The reason I actually stopped using my S115Vs was that I got a pair of barely used Peavey SP5s, which are factory wired for bi-amp, for $300.00. As good as the woofers are in the S115Vs, the Scorpion woofers (and drivers) in the SP5s are better. The SP5s now serve as my lows in a tri-amped system.

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C Mc
KJ, FL