3 Best Portable Column Line Array Speaker Systems on Pro Acoustics Tech Talk Episode 8

On this episode of Pro Acoustics Tech Talk, Nathan and Coltin compare 3 of the best portable column line array speaker systems featuring the Electro-Voice Evolve 50, Bose L1 Compact, and Behringer C200.

Hey guys, thanks for joining us for another edition of Pro Acoustics Tech Talk. I'm Nathan, I'm Coltin, and we are here today to talk to you all about portable column line array speaker systems. So we've got three of our favorite flavors here. We're going to talk to you a little bit about how they work, what they're useful for, and talk to you a little bit about these different models and, hopefully, how we can help you with this type of product.

All right, Nathan. So what do we have here in front of us? I know you said it was called column lay array loudspeakers – that’s the language of what we have in front of us. So kind of break down what each of these guys actually do and what they mean.

Yeah, sure. So, there's a lot of portable line array or column array speaker systems on the market these days. What does that term mean? So, all of these are in array, meaning more than one individual speaker, a configured in a column you know, so, you've got very small speakers in here. Obviously, there's not a 15-inch woofer inside of any of these individual columns. So, the idea is we've got small individual speakers which were then oriented vertically so that it throws long distances and also covers very short distances for a very even smooth coverage. Now, some of them might be configured a little bit differently, some are just firing straight ahead, some fire in different horizontal directions. Some manufacturers out there actually have two-way columns, meaning there's actually woofer or pardon me, a separate tweeter inside of some of these individual drivers, whereas some are just full range drivers up top.

But we have three different offerings. And then some of these column arrays are also paired with subwoofers down below for more bass response. The idea of being, you get most of your musical content, your voice, your intelligibility, to where that vocal pops out really nice because it's being reproduced by small individual speakers instead of a big woofer and a big scary horn. These types of speakers are great for making sure you can project vocals really good distances right out of the box without needing a complicated mixer to go along with it. Cool. These are all also portable, as are many of the others on the market. So the idea is this column can actually come off of this stand. The stand comes out and then all of this can get thrown in the back of a Colton's Volkswagen Bug, or his Prius, depending on which one he brings to the office.

Yeah, throw it in the back, take it away, and then set it up where if you need. Very light, quick assembling. But once again, the name of the game is great intelligibility, and also nice crisp music. So we've got three options here that we've brought. We've got the Electro-Voice Evolve 50. We have the Bose L1 Compact. Then we have the Behringer C200. Each of these is great in their own right. Once again, lots of different manufacturers make different shapes and sizes of these, but the concept kind of remains the same. They also have kind of their own special features that some of the manufacturers tie in. For instance, the Behringer you have there if you'll pick that up there for me, Coltin, actually has a remote control for its built-in media player, built-in Bluetooth streaming, SD card, USB input, all that kind of good stuff.

All of these have microphone level inputs and line level inputs, meaning you can plug in your mic directly into this unit, adjust a couple of knobs and away you go as far as having your voice cranked up. Don't necessarily need an external mixer. Also, you can break these down to where they're configured differently for the size of your facility. So, in the case of the Bose L1, you can lose this middle column, raise this top piece, down to here or all the way down. With the Behringer, you also have a section that has a built-in lights. Pretty cool for if you're having a party on the back patio or if you're taking to a school dance or something like that. Yeah, you've got built-in lights or if you want to lose the lights, pop that section out. Pop you're a speaker section on down. That also works great for if you're doing, you know, boy scout troop, very small church, presentations for small groups of people. Or if you need a little bit more of the throw, pop the pipe back on their pipe, put the pieces back up and you raise your speaker up a little higher to make sure it throws good long distance.

Bose has some of their Tone Match Technology built in, which basically makes sure that a microphone input sounds as good as the techs over at Bose can make it sound. Also has preset for acoustic guitar and some things like that, especially in some of the other models. Then the Electro-Voice is super cool. It has actually a Bluetooth app. So, it's not necessarily Bluetooth streaming, but it's Bluetooth controlled. Okay. So that means if I'm sitting around, I'm a performer at a coffee shop. If everyone's paying tons of money to hear me sing, I can sit down on my stool, be performing, be reading poetry or whatever, look over at my app, make adjustments to the volumes, to the levels on the fly without having to reach down and grab the knobs. Convenient. Yeah. Very cool.

That's exactly one of the names of the game here with all these packages is convenient, quick to set up, you know, pop your pieces free. Many of them have key things like carrying bags and other ways to make it simple. But then you can quickly set it up, tear it down, put it where you need it, and then let it sit in a corner. It's out of the way. It's small, it's sleek. We're doing lots of these with schools, you know, that need quick setups for the music room. For the school dance, for cafeterias, for the gyms. Yep. Also, a lot of fitness and great for spin classes or workout rooms, private training rooms where space is at a premium. Also, might need to be pulled in and out, but you've got to make sure that that voice is heard, nice and crisp for all the folks involved.

Well, man, it looks like all three of these guys will do the trick for a lot of folks, you know, especially like you mentioned all those applications. And if you do have any other questions about any of these guys, feel free to, you know, give us a shout, or you know, drop a comment below. Like we said, we definitely want to help you out and guide you along in this process. So, at the end of the day, we want you to be as informed as possible. So that's our jobs here. So, don't be shy, don't be shy. So where can they reach us at? Where can they learn a little bit more about this?

Yeah, you got it. If you have questions about which column array might be right for you or if you want to learn a little bit more about some of our other manufacturers that we have offerings in the column array section from folks like JBL, RCF, Turbo Sound and more, reach out to us over at Nathan@proacoustics.com. I'm Coltin@proacoustics.com. That's Coltin with an i, or reach out to us on our 800 number - (888) 256-4112. We also have, I believe, all three of these models available on our online store. Also, in some of our other online avenues. Amazon. Check out our Amazon store. We also have some customized packages built with some of these products that you can take a look at that some of our guys that put together for you and make sure to check out the website, www.proacousticsusa.com or feel free to drop us a comment down below. Like Coltin mentioned, like us, let us know you like what we're doing here. And if you've got any requests, send them our way. We'll see what we can do.

We want you involved, we want your voice heard, and we want your questions answered. That's what we're here for. So, until next time, I'm Coltin and I'm Nathan.