Stop everything, test now!!! LOL

The LineX coating is very durable, they shouldn't scuff or mar the first time they are moved, like my EVs do.

LOL I wish I could. I'm at work right now. No promises for today.
I've heard great things about Line X coatings. There is actually a company near me that does Line X coatings if I ever needed to do anything or re-do if something gets damaged.

quit your job, this speaker is more important then how you make your living.....lol

what tops will you be pairing them with?

LOL

EV ZXA5 are my main tops. Have a pair of EV ZLX15s I use for smaller parties and can pair with 1 sub.

Here is my current rig:

Large Parties:
2 EV ZXA5 Tops
2 Yorkville LS801PB

Small Parties:
2 EV ZLX15
1 QSC Ksub

The new Captivators are meant to replace the Yorkvilles. I have emails from Jeff saying they should be pretty equal in output. Being that I never push my yorkvilles to clipping (tap limit light here and there), I should be happy with overall output of the 212s as long as what Jeff said is accurate.

I could get rid of the Ksub and just use 1 Cap 212 for small parties since they are about the same size/weight.
My main goal was to cut down size and weight and keep similar output. So the size and weight box has clearly been checked. Output test will determine how far off (if at all) I am on the 2nd checkbox.

Looking forward on your review of the 212's...I too would like to know how would it compare in output to the yorkies...I have 2 srx818 i use for my smaller gigs and would like to know how the 212's would sound any similar..the srx818 however go way lower than the 212's though.

OK...so had a "bit" of time to at least unbox, take a few pics and turn one on for a quick test.

Here are some pics:

In my van with my 2 Yorkvilles in the background. Pretty big size difference between one 212 and 1 Yorkville. It's almost 2 to 1 but not quite.
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Front on top of a QSC Ksub:
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Back on top of a QSC Ksub:
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Close up of amp section:
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Top switch has 3 positions "Off/Auto (which I think will mean it turns on when it detects signal, didn't have time to play with that) and On"
The crossover and LF adjust is very noticeable when playing and adjusting the settings
Not sure what the 12v trigger things do. Maybe that's a remote on?? Anyway, not something I will be using
Then standard input and output. There is NO external crossover to run to tops so you will either need tops with a hi pass filter already or an external crossover


OK, so a super high level review of sound.
- Literally plugged it in and connected to the RCA inputs and directly to my phone. I know that's not the best way to test but that's all I had to test in the short period of time.
The gain I had about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way up on the sub and my phone was about 7/8 of the way up.

We were in our kitchen/cafeteria area which is about 20ft by 60ft (give or take) with really high ceilings. 2 other guys were about 7-8 ft away and they were actually having trouble hearing each other. It was hard to tell if there was any distortion as there was a lot of rattling going on with metal racks and even the plastic wrap of the unwrapped sub. I went right up to the sub and put my head real close to the woofers and didn't hear any of that "rattling" so anything i was hearing was strictly from the surrounding area and not the subs.

I played around a bit with the LF adjust and crossover frequencies. There is an obvious change in sound when doing that. Being that I only had the sub plugged in and no top i'm not sure which settings I will be keeping them on but there is clearly a change in sound. When playing with similar knobs on my yorkville I don't hear as much of a difference in sound that I do with the JTRs.

As far as how far I "pushed" them? I'd say close to 75% considering I had more I could have went on the gain on the sub itself and not hearing any distortion when up close listening to just the woofers so I think I had more to go. There is NO LIMIT LIGHT on the amp so i'm sure it will take me a little time to hone in on where my levels should be set but from the people I was talking to that were beta testing, there is a limiter inside, just no indicators.

As far as SPL, I only had 1 on and it did get loud! Believe it or not my ears actually did "hurt" for a bit standing about 5ft away. Not sure I ever had that with my yorkvilles but its possible. Without a side by side, I do think the yorkvilles are a bit louder and gives a little bit more of a "punch" that you feel in your chest and I think do throw a bit further. That could just be the design of the York vs the bass reflex design of the JTRs. For a double 12", I think it's super impressive. I think it can certainly compete and possibly exceed a bunch of other 18" bass reflex subs out there on the market right now. Not sure how many people 1 or 2 can handle just yet since hooking it up straight from my phone via RCA direct input isn't the best signal path to test.

I'm going to use it at my early gig on Saturday which is a small party of about 70 people, so will try and test out with my tops and see how it performs.

May have time Sunday afternoon to do a shootout outside if I have time before my Sunday gig.

Since I actually don't have much music on my phone just turned on the first thing I had handy which was Bruno Mars 24k Magic...so used that to test.

So Im at work right now in my office.....studentlife.ryerson.ca.

I told the secretary...."Hold all my calls, Certified Quality Entertainment just posted a review of JTR Captivator 212Pro on the serato forum"........ The look on everybody's face p.fod4.com

Awesome, thanks for the quick input, Really looking forward to the A/B compares with the Yorkville as that's what these will be be replacing for me for most gigs if I get them. As an aside, Jeff usually builds his speakers to be fairly bulletproof. Even the testing of the Orbit Shifter at Data-Bass they said it was more likely to kill your amp than the speaker. If you're listening to the sound of the speakers, you will know if they are being overdriven and can back them down a bit. They really are the next level of sound. I was amazed at how much more I hear the nuances and subtleties of bass when I fired up the Orbit Shifters. Completely different than the Yorkville, which is impressive in it's own right but nowhere near the sound quality of the JTRs.

How was handling the weight at 74 pounds? Are the handles in a good place. Does it feel lighter than your QSC sub even tho it seems bigger in size.

Handles are in a good place. It's that "open handle" type that you can grab it from any direction. Placement is good to give even weight distribution. Its wider than the Ksub a bit but not by much. No issues lifting.
I was thinking about putting wheels on it but I will probably just use a dolly or hand truck for them.

I've heard that as well. I got the powered version so have to learn the limits of the amp as well as the speakers but like I said I didn't hear any distortion when I went up close to take a listen. All the rattling and "distortion type sounds" was from exterior things around the room.

My old JBL SRX were the same, the room would get fuzzy from the bass and the ceiling would ratte lol. Its that bass reflex design for better or worse. I hope they work well for your gig. I like the weight of those and Im curious how two would sound coupled.

Hope so too!! Just order tuki covers for them, should be here in about 2 weeks so I may have 3 gigs to use them without covers :( should be OK though!

I know coupling is the best way but I plan on having 1 sub on each side of my facade and possibly a single pole going to the top instead of seperate speaker stands. The guys I work with like that look better than coupling in front. If I like the sound but need a tad more output I may look to get a 3rd one that I can put in front of the DJ booth and have 3 across but not coupled.
Time will tell! If I can get up to a 250-300 person event with the 2 then I should be good. May want a 3rd just for myself rather than the "need" for it!

Patiently waiting.... please give and update lol.

www.reactiongifs.com

Orbit Shifters and 3tx tops finally came in today..They look amazing, love the black coating on the orbit shifters and 3tx tops..One problem though the grills on the orbit shifters were damaged...not sure if it was damaged during shipping or when i was unpacking them..gonna email jeff tonight..

I cant believe the size and weight of the 3tx tops compared to my old srx835's...the 3tx tops are very small and it kinda hard to believe the output it sopposed to put out...will do some testing over the weekend...

Should be using them for the first time this weekend coming up. Have 2 weddings on Saturday and will be using them at both.

Transmission on my van went on the way to my gig this past Saturday morning so I've been focused on that. $1800 and hopefully getting it back Friday as I need it for Saturday! Had to call my wife to pick me up at my AM gig so I could make it to my pm gig. Not a fun afternoon!

C'mon you know the rules, show them off......WE NEED PICS !

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Out of curiosity, is it possible to power the top from the back of OS? I dont know why I thought this may be possible.

Here's some pics & video of my Orbit Shifters and Noesis 3TX from an overnight party I did this weekend
www.facebook.com

My first gig with both together. Still could feel the bass and music totally legible and still together at 80 yards. Such a sweet sound from this rig, everyone was grooving, no ear fatigue even after 12 hours of pumping. Enveloped in sound. Two more subs would be optimal for a gig like this so you can back off a bit on each sub and still have just a little more bump.

You can also see my new Bee-Eye clones in action on the videos.

No, the powered subs do not have a multi channel amp, it's a mono 4000 watt torpedo. With a passive setup you could run a single NL4 cable from both amps to the sub and have the second NL connector wired to take a channel from the NL4 to the top speakers. The previous owner of my subs had wired them that way.
Basically,
1 NL4 cable with connectors to both amps on one side and a single NL4 connector on the other end, which plugs into the sub.
A jumper NL4 cable which takes the signal for the top speakers off of the subs NL4 cable .

What kind of amp would you recommend for this kind of set up? I have always ran active and dont have alot of experience with passive gear. Just trying to learn a bit here and start thinking of my next gear set ups.

Currently have 2 vrx active subs with 2 prx 635s.

What I am thinking to do is have two set different speaker sets.
A pair of 12 inch active tops for small stuff
And for the large stuff a similar setup to yours with the jtr stuff for school dances

Personally, I would go with the Crown I-Tech HD 9000 for the subs and the ITech HD 5000 for the tops. They are fast processing with great DSP built in with a lot of protection ability.
Powersoft K10/K8 combo is comparable.
Can go for the bigger model amps if running multiple subs though you might need a power distro if running them hard.
Expensive, but worth it for the level of gear you'll be using.

You can also order the subs active, they come with a 4000 watt mono torpedo amp.

sounds very clean and clear..did you use 2 orbit shifters with 2 3tx tops?

Yes, would have liked to have 4 O.S. so I could run them a little less hard. The Noesis are turned about half way down, only a few EQ adjustments required. It really sounded great.

Its amazing that these JTR speakers dont need much EQ, im still shocked on how small the 3tx noesis is....i posted a pic with the 3tx noesis side by side with my jbl srx812 in a post earlier just so others could see how small they are

The damage on those grills literally look like a forklift drive right through it.
Maybe Jeff can just send you extra grills you can pop on.

Yes spoke to him this morning he's gonna send out 2 for me tomorrow

First gigs with the 212s today. Day party is small. A little over 100 people so just using one. Sound check sounded good. Well see during dancing time.

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Night gig is 200+ so will
Be using both there. Anxious for the night party!
Stay tuned.

nice! can't wait to here the review

Quick picture from my night party. At work right now and a little busy so will write up a review later..

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That's me all the way in the back looking like an dork! :)

nice!!!

I thought they had pole mounts? Anxiously awaiting final review...

Would love to see how these stack against the vrx subs. I know the vrx will go lower but output wise im wondering

I believe I saw them on the FB pics with pole mounts. Jeff can also add them per request.

Damn man, your quite the tease. :-)
If you get a minute could you answer a simple yes or no question for now.

Are you happy with your purchase?

They do.

For sure!
I used my new subs that everyone's waiting to know how they sound...I'm not going to say anything about what I think about the sound, but here's a picture.
You're killing us Man, LOL

I have been logging on all weekend wading through all that spam shit looking for his thoughts on the new subs. Oh well, I'm sure he will let us know at some point.

Give us the pros and cons please. Thanks.

My guess is the delay is not a good sign. I would wager that he loved the sound quality but it fell short of his output expectation as compared to the Yorkville ls800.

Laughing at all the responses so far. lol
Some of us work during the day and it's hard to get away sometimes. It was a busy day!
Anyway...let's get into it.

They do have pole mounts, I just don't have those speaker poles so I used my regular ones.

Jeff actually reached out to me this morning and asked what I thought so most of what is below is pasted from my email I sent him before.

First party had a little over 100 people in a big room with really high ceilings so it was interesting for me to see how they sounded there. Only used 1 sub for that party. I had the gain all the way up on the sub amp itself. I forgot the settings I had on the boost and Xover. I control the subs via the booth output on my mixer so I have separate control over the subs. I had that up about 2/3 to 3/4 during the night. That's usually a little more that I do when I have my yorkvilles which i only get to about 1/2 before the limit light on the yorkvilles start to light up.

For my night wedding, it was just over 200 people in a nice size room with very low ceilings as you can see in the picture. My volume stayed at about the same level that I set on my day party. The amps barely got warm. Being my first party with them I wasn't sure how far I could push but I think I would be able to go a little more. I've never had to turn my booth knob that far so I wasn't sure how much more I could go without risking any damage. I didn't hear any distortion at all even when I went up close to listen to see if I was pushing too hard so I probably did have a little room left to go. Dance floor was packed during the night so sound was getting absorbed up front, but I did venture towards the back of the room during the night to see how it sounded. Bass did carry to the back and more prominent in the middle of the floor vs the outsides. I didn't have them coupled, so I'm sure I could have gotten a touch more out of them if I did.
They certainly did sound much better than my yorkvilles do, but they don't get as loud. I did a mitzvah on sunday in a big room with over 225+ and we used 2 of the yorkvilles there (someone elses sound rig) They do have more output on an overall volume level and carry, but the 212's certainly sound better. For the size and weight of the box being 2 12" woofers it is certainly impressive output but I think I would probably need another 2 to try and compete on an overall volume level. I'm not sure if I am going to sell my yorkvilles yet to get another 2 212's to bring 4 to larger events or keep them and only take them out for the really large parties. I think the 2 212's for most of the work I do will be fine and maybe save the yorkvilles for the much bigger events. I usually do weddings in the 125-175 range for the bulk of my work. Still deciding on that.

So overall, I am happy with them. The size and weight of them are exactly what I wanted. My covers are delivering today so I can be a little more free with moving them around going forward as I was being very "gentle" when moving around this weekend. They look great, sound great and I would say can compete with most other 18" bass reflex subs out there. I think yorkville just happen to have the right formula to getting the absolute most SPL out of a single 18" woofer at a good price range. If size/weight/cost aren't an issue then I still think bang for buck the yorkville can't be beat. Curious to what Jeff's response will be to the email I sent him. Do I wish they were a tad louder, probably, but for the size and weight they are very impressive and will be fine for most of my jobs.
Still debating on next steps of selling the yorks or keeping for now and just using them on really large gigs.

I did feel that the 2 were adequate for the 200 person wedding I did with a VERY packed dance floor. Not sure if the low ceilings helped or hurt the sound at all. That's why I'm confident they will be fine for most of the weddings I do which is in that 125-175 range. When I get into the larger Mitzvahs is where I think you need the other 2 or use the yorks.

Sounds about like the gist of it.

I agree, yorkville got it right and cant be beat at its price.


Ive been in the same position, its a tough call and can potentially be 3X more expensive.

Would love to hear these in person - not sure if JTR has a Canadian distributor tho...

Super curious to how the new Yorkville Elites sound tho - especially the 15"

Still wondering why it's so difficult for Yorkville to make subs that go low tho. Only the LS2100 goes lower than 40 at +/-3 and even the new ES18P

Maybe that's the tradeoff for the output?

I know...I remember when you switched over to the JBL side.
Still not sure what I want to do. If I keep the yorkvilles I'm at around a $3200 investment. If I sell the yorks and buy 2 more JTR's i'm around a $4500 investment.

No distributors Soo, JTR is a small shop. When you call, you most likely will get Jeff (Owner/designer/builder) answering the phone or calling you back.
Call him and find out if he has anyone in your area with a JTR setup, I'm sure they will demo it for you. I've offered to demo my rig in FL to anyone interested in hearing JTR gear.

I'm in the same position. I need to get another pair of Orbit Shifters for bigger gigs but they are too big and loud for a lot of the smaller gigs I do so I'd like to get a pair of the Captivator 212s and sell my EV ZXa1 subs and maybe my Yorkville LSA800p.
Did you feel the 212s went lower than the Yorkville? Have you run any sine wave sweeps at all? I would need 2 of these cabinets to work in small pubs & small outdoors areas, 4 cabs wouldn't be worth it to me. How do you feel the 2 cabs are compared to one Yorkville (volume & frequency)?
Thanks for your input!

So basically the Captivator 212s are like having a single 18( qsc kw181, jbl prx818 or jbl srx818). I wonder how a single Captivator 212s compares to two ev ekx15sps or jbl prx715xlf?

Then there's also the new Captivator 118 Pro to consider at the same price - 99 lbs, 131 db peak, goes down to 19hz.
jtrspeakers.com

Thats the same thought i been thinking due to the review...I was very much curious how the 212 would sound compared to my 2 srx818 subs i use for small gigs..from the review they seemed to be great subs for the size but i don't think he's blown away by them...I will pass and hang on to my srx818, they go low and sound extremely well paired with my srx812

So Jeff got back to me on my email whichnis pretty much what I wrote up top. He thinks I wasn't even near the max output of the sub and am probably just not used to the gain structure with these compared to the yorkvilles.
My only thought on adjusting that a bit is to put my channel gains up a bit, lower my master. My booth which controls the subs can stay around the 2/3 to 3/4 I had during my first go around with them. This will get me more output on the channel level.
Just a thought if anyone else has an idea more than welcome to hear.
From what Jeff said in the brief email is he thinks that I may not even be close to max output.

To answer question up top I think they do go a little lower than the yorks and no I didn't play any sine waves through. I'd say 2 gives slightly more output than 1 York right now. But jeffs email got me thinking I still have more to go which would make it a lot closer.
I'm off next weekend, but will be using them again for my next gig on the 17th.
My tuki covers came which was nice to at least I have protection now when transporting. I gave measurements to them as they didn't have a template. They are a tad snug but fit well. If it stretches even a 1/4" it will be perfect.

Thanks for the update!
I'm still thinking they will be a good replacement for the Yorkie, though maybe not quite as loud. I think two of them will sound better/go lower that the single LS800 I use for numerous gigs now.
Now to decide on getting these first or another pair of Orbit Shifters...

Certified Quality Entertainment, ASK JEFF what is unity/0db on the subs gain ? For example 0db is max on my VRX tops & subs and RCF745's. If i don't put them at max, my line mixer or mixer will clip in the red before the speakers comes close to is REAL max spl.

While jeff is no doubt a speaker genius, he may be unfamiliar with and underestimating the insane output of a yorkville ls800 which you are using as a base or standard for comparison.

CQE, what mixer are you sending signal from?

Im going to assume he's running everything out of his pioneer sz and the subs are hooked up to the booth out.

That was my next question :)

Correct

From me playing around I would have to say that unity is all he way up on the amp. Would be very surprised if it wasn't just based on output level

Very possible. I did speak to some others that tested out the 212 and they were familiar with he yorkville as well as the orbit shifters so I think the frame of reference is pretty sound

You've obviously never heard an Orbit Shifter, lol

How would you compare and OS to a yorkville 1 to 1?


In some of the people I was taking to the they said that the 212 can "rival" the OS at certain frequencies. So obviously not even but if even close means it's some serious output.

If the 212 goes lower and sounds better but is not quite as loud as a Yorkville (probably the loudest 18 in the sub $2k level) - that is what I expect from this box. The 2 12's equal the cone area of a single 18 and are powered by a 700 watt amp. A bigger amp would probably gain a few peak dbs but I'm sure it probably wouldn't make much of a real-world difference. I've used a single LS800 for about 6 years now and it is often still too much sub for a lot of rooms or events. If a single 212 can almost match the output and a pair betters a single LS800, I think that will fit the bill for a lot of peeps, myself included. Still want to hear them for myself though. Way better than the EV ZXa1 12" subs I use for small events, not that the EVs are bad but they don't go low enough or project enough for my needs due to their small size.

Im curious how it would sound if you didnt use the booth output. On some mixers its a lower signal and has a different sound all together.

I still like the weight, I'll wait till I see more reviews from other users.

You wouldn't be able to tell the Yorkville was even turned on. The bass from the Orbit Shifter just fills a room, even at low volumes, due to it's high efficiency. At volume, the O.S. can handle 2.5x the power othe Yorkie can. The nuances of bass you hear from the O.S. are night and day - you just don't hear certain notes with the Yorkville in comparison. The Yorkville is very impressive but when you hear the O.S., it's just at a completely different level.
I still use my Yorkie regularly and it still makes me smile - but the Noesis 3tx/Orbit Shifter combo is like listening to high fidelity at concert volume. Just a did a 14 hour House Music gig and absolutely no ear fatigue. People were sitting right in front of the speakers (30 ft) having regular conversations while still having the music all around you and feeling it.

???

I can certainly try that. i wouldnypu go in to subs and then out to tops or vice versa?

Go to the subs first. It will send a full range signal to the tops. If you have a high pass built into the tops you can then enable that, if desired.

Ok. I'll try that next weekend

Was just alluding to the fact that Jeff is pretty familiar with high output speakers.
Some things are better spoken then typed out, let's all meet up for some beers ;-)

I'd love to know what they sound like with a signal from a line mixer and if there is any difference in output lowering the crossover from 120 to 90hz.

gotcha

High frequencies are louder than low frequencies to the human ear so going from 120 to 90hz will be perceived as lower.

I'm just wondering if the sub will play any louder if it's not handling the 90hz to 120hz frequencies. Less work for the amp.

yes you can play the frequencies below 90 hz louder if you cut off the 90 to 120. Tops benifit the same way, cutting frequency below 100 Hz allows them to play louder.

Interesting, my RCF 708 sub sounds strained at 80hz, but at 120hz is rich, full and bumps louder.

Not strange a 120hz xover point would be louder and more pronounced then the 80hz crossover. Also not all amps perform well at lower freqs. Quality amps are rated 20hz-20khz, while some give power specs at 1khz.

Right there will always be some exceptions to the rule, for example the yorkville ls801 sounds fuller louder better when run at 120hz but if you run it at 80hz it loses its banging Beast-ly sound. But for most good quality or highend subs 80-90hz is their sweet spot for high performance.

any updates?

Was off this past weekend. Using them again this coming Saturday for a graduation party I'm doing. Going to run them via the master and daisy chain to tops from there to see how they perform that way

Stay tuned...

Interesting review I read on prosoundweb

"I had a chance to work with the new Captivator 212 Pros this weekend - we were hired to provide the FOH and monitor services for AXPONA 2017. Jeff from JTR provided the mains and monitors. I'm extremely impressed with the 212 Pros.

I posted this on another forum; copied/pasted here for reference.

"I had a chance to use the new Captivator 212 Pro subs this weekend - my company was hired to provide the live sound for the AXPONA event, and JTR provided the FOH and monitor speakers.

The venue wasn't huge by any means - it sat approximately 250 people, in a theater-style arrangement (stage was lower than the back row of seating). The stage measured approximately 40 feet wide, and the back of the theater was easily 100-120 feet wide. Distance from the edge of the stage to the back of the theater was approximately 120-150 feet. Ceilings were *high* - I'm guessing 30-feet or so. Picture your typical auditorium that would be used for a college class.

When we arrived, Jeff from JTR had set-up 3 of his Captivator 212 Pros and a 2 of his Noesis 3TX mains. The 212 Pros were the powered version, and we had all three sharing a single 20-amp circuit (along with all of our lighting (16 LED PARs) and backline). We ran the two Noesis from a QSC PL380, in stereo.

After a quick baseline EQ/calibration sweep, we fired-up some familiar evaluation music. Snarky Puppy, Boz Scaggs, Morphine, and so on. The output from those dual 12s was beyond impressive. Their output from 50-ish Hz to the HPF (we cut them at 100Hz) rivaled our Orbit Shifters. We pushed them to full tilt and they never even broke into a sweat.

It quickly became apparent that three of the 212 Pros would be too much bass for the venue, so we removed one and ran the rest of the weekend on two of the 212 Pros. The weekend's live sound events featured a four-piece jazz band with an upright bass on one night and a 9-piece blues band with a monster bass rig and baritone saxes. The kick drum on both nights hit hard - that nice and controlled punchy boom, and the bass rigs went as low as we hoped while playing clean and accurately.

I have several Orbit Shifters, and I love them, but I told Jeff several times during the weekend that I needed to purchase a pair of these little terrors. Jeff said that they'll compete with the OS in the 60+ Hz range, and I believe it. The fact that they weigh in at just 70-pounds and truck pack nicely is an added bonus.

Are these great for EDM? Probably not, but that's where the Captivator 218 Pro comes in, I suppose. But if you're running sound for bands or playing a non-EDM-focused DJ gig, these things are worth a look. I've run on QSC KW181s and EV ETX 18s, and based on my experience with the 212 Pros this weekend, I'd take the 212 Pros every time. Don't get me wrong - I'll never give up my Orbit Shifters because they are beasts, but the 212 Pros aren't to be taken lightly. They appear to be some serious subs."

The room was rather tricky - the seating was extremely close to the stage, and we weren't allowed to fly anything, nor were we allowed to place anything in front of the stage. This made for tricky lighting, and I'm not at all happy with how the lighting worked out, but it is what it is. Making matters more challenging, we were only provided with 1.5 hours of turnaround time from the end of the daily seminars until the beginning of the shows. That included set-up, line check, and sound check... nothing was allowed to be on stage during the day, so we had to basically set-up fresh each night - instruments, backline, monitors, etc. Fun times. :)

The small nature of the room also made for a devil of a time with stage volume, especially on Saturday night with the 9-piece blues band. But, we made it work as best we could. The room had a bit of a natural bump in the 80Hz range, so I was running a notch at 80Hz of -3dB. We also ran a -2dB high shelf filter from 10k on.

Got to meet a bunch of super cool people at the event (and after), and for that I'm extremely grateful. I had a blast at the event and really enjoyed working with the two bands - both were incredible and really great to work with.

Anywho... back to the 212 Pros - they are animals. Truly impressive. Can't wait to see and use the final versions of these things, and to hear about experiences and thoughts from others!"

Jeff posted this on DJ Forums about the 118 sub

Here is a video showing the Captivator 118 driver's excursion:
youtu.be

Holy shit. Talk about leaving this crowd hanging.

Well I know he had a party scheduled this Saturday at which he would be testing max output but.....

^^^Last Saturday to be clear.

I always laugh at the responses of taking too long. As much as I would like to, I don't have time to log in every day! lol

So had my party Saturday night. It was a very casual graduation party in a HUGE room. There were about 150 people in total but the room was tremendous. I'd say ceilings were about 25-30ft, maybe even higher in some areas and was super wide and long. pretty much like a gym auditorium type venue. Didn't take any pics but used the 2 JTRs and ZXA5s.

I hooked up from master to subs and daisy chaining to the tops. Honestly didn't see any difference doing it that way vs hooking up through the booth output so I rehooked it up the way I normally do going via the booth. I think I pushed them a little harder than I did at the wedding I had 2 weeks ago. I went out to the dance floor a handful of times during the night to see how it was carrying. The sound and bass def carried pretty far. I'd say I was a good 30-40ft away and was still able o feel the bass. The sound quality is certainly much better than the yorkvilles. I think there is still even more room to push as I didn't hear any distortion even at the levels I was at. 1 reason I think I don't "feel" it as much as the yorks (and I could be wrong on this) is how low they are to the ground vs how "high" the york is. These subs have a very low profile while the driver on the york is much much higher on a footprint level. So that can hit you more in the "chest" because of it's physical location. 4 of the JTRs would be killer for sure!
My next gig is on July 2nd and will be using them again and again will try pushing a bit more.

Can you compare them to any other single 18" subs you have used? Anything smaller then the Yorkville 801 like a QSC KW181, EV ETX 18SP or JBL VRX918s?

I know when I listened to the similar on paper Yorkville PSA1S it wasn't what I was looking for. The PSA2S with 15" drivers however was very impressive but way too heavy for me.

The only other sub I have worked with was the QSC KW181 but that was only 1 time a few years ago. Honestly can't remember details about it, so it would be a little hard for me to really try and make a comparison. If there is anyone local in the long island, NY area that wants to do a shootout between the JTRs and Yorkvilles I have one day that i'm free (not that there are many) would love to do that.

Certified Quality Entertainment, So what are you going to do ?

Return/sell the JTRs and stick with the york801 for now ?

or

Sell the york 801s and by 2 more JTRs (4 total) ?

No, the height of the york vs the jtr is irrelevant here.


Its not the physical location that makes your body feel the bass, Its the specific bass frequency + loud volume /SPL that allows your body to feel the bass.

For example the human body resonates at high volume to different frequencies.
The Chest, Kick or Punch = 50hz -100hz
The stomach rumble = 20hz - 50hz
The eyeball rattle = 18hz

Not sure yet. Keeping the 2 and 2 for now. Haven't decided any further than that yet. Want to do a few more parties first.
Here are my options as I don't think I can return the JTRs at this point (not that I think I would anyway)

Option 1 - keep 212s and sell yorks. = smallest financial investment but have good quality but lack a bit of volume for some larger events. Have to weigh out if I can do those larger events with just the 212s

Option 2 - sell the 212s and go back to using the yorks. = Similar financial investment to option 1 but bigger sound and poor portability (which was a goal to improve which is the basis of getting the 212s to begin with )

Option 3 - keep both sets of 212 and yorks = big fianaical investment and have best of both worlds in terms of portability and sound etc.

Option 4 - sell the yorks and get 2 more 212s = biggest financial investment but have big sound / quality / scale / portability. This is about a $1200 more than where I currently am at option 3.

Buy Once, Cry Once.

I think if you buy 4, you should be set for a solid amount of time.

If you substitute the 212s for VRX918sp, we have the same debate I went through a few yrs back :) But I'm pretty sure the next few big events you do will make your decision very clear.

I remember when you were going through that and what the outcome was! ;)

I don't have any of those bigger gigs on the books right now. Just weddings (which is most of what I do anyway) and the 2 JTRs are absolutly pefect for those. The bigger gigs are certainly fewer. It may end up being more of a "want" to go with the 4 JTRs to have a good scalable rig that looks consistent and then can always go up from there!

Decisions decisions

Why not just rent out for the bigger events and pass the cost to the customer? The bigger events are not that common.

Because Gear whoring is a real thing! Lol

I'd probably bite the bullet, sell the Yorkvilles and get another pair of 212s. Sound quality will be better, your back will thank you, storage will be easier, etc... I'm probably going to sell my little EV ZXa1 subs and grab a pair at some point. I'll probably keep my Yorkville but mostly for events I don't mind if it gets beat up, like Island Parties and rentals. That sub has paid for itself many times over, don't think I could just sell it off. My biggest issue is I also need another pair of Orbit Shifters and there's just never enough $ to cover all your bases.

I probably will at some point but not right away. I recently spent $4,000 on my freakin van in the past 2 months. Needed new tires, shocks then my transmission went and a few other little things. So that was $4k i wasn't expecting. If I didn't have to do that it would make the extra $1,200 investment a little easier to swallow. Plus I just bought some wireless uplights for my trusses and front board to cut on setup time and a new computer to run zaps/montages so the wallet has been hurting a bit this year so far!

I've never heard the ZXA1 subs but i'm sure 1 212 will destroy that so you may not need a pair to replace a pair unless you want a uniform look.

I would love to hear the OS. Wanted to go that route but cutting weight was the biggest priority for me. Where you located?

Yeah, one 212 would destroy the 2 EVs for sure. They are only good to about 50 hz. They are good for what they were designed for but I need more bump than they can provide in medium size rooms and small clubs & pubs. They round out the sound rather than add significant sub bass. The Yorkville & O.S are overkill for most of those type of events - not for me mind you ;-)
I'm in the Tampa Bay, FL area. If you ever get down this way I'd be happy to demo them for you. They are the best sounding, loudest single 18 I've ever heard, on par with the Danley TH-118 and possibly even better for Dance Music. They are huge, but easier to move and load than the Yorkvilles. My producer friends come over to play their tracks on them before final release as they hear bass subtleties they don't hear with their systems.

Don't see myself in that area anytime soon but will certainly take you up on that if i'm ever down that way.
I would have loved to step up to the OS but couldn't justify the size and weight (and price) as I would have needed to buy 2 since the company I work with is big on having the uniform look of subs on each side of the setup. 2 would have been out of the question for sure. Even though 4 212's are probably same price as 2 OS the portability and scalability of them make them a winner for my needs.
Depending on how the rest of the year goes for me in in terms of gigs I may opt to get the other 2 later this year. The van expense really set me back and i'm taking a month or so off in aug/sep time awaiting the arrival of my 2nd child. If I end up booking a few end of year parties I may grab the other 2. Just b/c it's nice to have 4 and it would look and sound awesome!

Congrats on your 2nd child being on the way.

Thanks! Have a 3 year old boy now and another little boy due end of sept. My 2 little roadies! Maybe in a few years when hy get older I can get the OS and they can carry them! :)

seems like these subs are all in different classes.

The York801 is a 18" powered sub, the standard of the mobile DJ system, should be compared to VRX918SP, ETX18SP, KW181, SRX818SP, Captivator 118Pro

The 212 is meant to be more portable than a 18" sub, along the lines of KSUB, RCF 905AS, ETX15SP

The OS is meant to be part of a large rig, not even close to easily portable. Should be run with processing, power distributor, etc.

The fact that a slightly larger than KSUB speaker is completing with one of the top dogs of the 18" powered sub category speaks volumes for the JTR. It is literally half the weight of the 801.

Congrat! We have a baby due here in a couple of weeks. No doubt it puts a hold on 'gear whoring' but its no biggie. Get ready to jump into that gauntlet of little or no sleep.

Congrats! Best of luck! Getting used to the no sleep thing already as my 3 year old always wakes up at night. Certainly is rough though in the beginning that's for sure.

I have kw181's and I'm in LI (well, Queens now, but close enough). I'm down to do a shoot out (really just an excuse to hear the 212's :)

Also ironic is that the Orbit Shifter is way easier to move & load than the Yorkville. I only have to tip it in to the van and it has handles on the bottom. The Yorkville I have to fully lift it, a true back breaker doing it solo. I can just fit 2 O.S. in my Honda Odyssey with the second row seats still in place.

by two biggest cabinets are EAW LA400s and it is the same with them, easier to move than any of my other dozen subs.

Would love to do that one day. Can bring my yorks as well. You have a place to do it?

I just love JTR threads being a JTR product owner myself. 6 OS's and counting.

Yea You're going to need to post some recent photos or videos from your events or we're not going to believe you.

Not sure if this link will work...

www.instagram.com

www.instagram.com

I live in an apartment but a family member lives in syosset, could prob do it there, outside and/or in garage (just to see how much we can shake the house lol)

PM me, we'll work out a day - or actually hit me up here www.facebook.com (on fb everyday and messages go to my phone.)

I have a garage too, but you really need some open space to test out well. I've turned on any sub in my garage and all I hear is rattling from the garage door. Not a very eventful test!

I have to try and figure out a place we can go. Almost a parking lot somewhere or something.

[sorry for the lowpost count]
So with this little 212Pro being a little 18" antagonist,
how would it stack up against RCFs lineup? Or using only 1 of the 212's, with my 2 tops

Trying to decide if I should just bite the bullet on these, just there's no where to demo here in Atlanta, and for the next few gigs these would be my only subs (just re-hauled all my equip)

Oh I got an open driveway we can use, no problem.

Any chance you guys never got around to the shoot out but are still going to do it sometime this fall, but not on a weekend? 😉

I hope so!

Let me know! I'd love to be there.

No shootout yet!
Been crazy busy. My 2nd son was born a month ago so been busy with that. My day job consists of late nights at times then DJing on the weekends leaves no time for anything.
During the week would be tough for me to do a shootout. The ONLY time would be during my next days off from work which is like Thanksgiving weekend on Black Friday! lol

I've been using the subs pretty much every weekend on Weddings. Haven't done any Mitzvahs or Sweet 16's with them which is the only place I would think I would potentialy need higher SPL. For the weddings they have been perfect though. I've had to turn the bass down at times as well.
Transport has been easy, had a gig upstairs with no elevator so it was super easy getting them up the steps unlike the misery of lugging up the yorkvilles. Still haven't decided if I want to sell the yorks to get a 2nd pair or keep the yorks for when I do bigger mitzvahs. Right now just keeping the 2 but I haven't used the yorks since i got the JTRs.

First of all much respect for dading, day jobbing and DJing, wow!

Glad to hear that the subs have worked out. I was a little worried when I saw what looks like a home stereo amp on that back but if you've gone through wedding season with just those and are happy that says a lot.

Yeah I just DJ without a kid and have no time for anything...props.

But throw me some dates and we'll make something happen!

s1266.photobucket.com

You win. How many 15-20a circuits do you typically need for that setup?

Props on the killer setup.

C'mon bro I know you got some better pics than that, stop holding out.....

How about a picture of the Captivator 218 Pro?

photobucket.com

Deejaybman

The pic of the Captivator 218 Pro looks different from the pic on JTR website. Your pic shows the bass reflex hole width wise under both eighteens side by side, however the pic on JTR site has the reflex hole on the shorter length side where the eighteen is one on top of the other. Did Jeff change the design? Your pics looks very close to the Captivator 212 Pro but with eighteens in them.

WOW, didn't know they existed. how do they compare to the OS, I see they go a bit lower.

Yes, he changed the design. At first I didn't like the new design when he told me about it but the old one was designed like a Orbit Shifter (handles, feet and casters). The new design has more feet (you can stand it upright or on its side), more handles and it's stackable now. Because it's front loaded, this makes the box front heavy so more handles were definitely a plus.

They definitely go a little lower but Jeff told me an OS would get "louder." My reason for getting the Cap218 was for convenience. I love my OS's but I wanted something self-powered to eliminate the need for always bringing the amp rack out. My plan was to only buy one but I should've known better. It's like having one OS. One makes you go "hmm" but when you plug in another next to it, it makes you say "HOLY....." So as far as comparisons, they'll be coming soon.

Ok great think my next next purchase will be a pair of these JTR never let me down when it comes to subwoofer i own a pair of Captivators 212 pro. Wish JTR made active tops!

Ok great think my next next purchase will be a pair of these JTR never let me down when it comes to subwoofer i own a pair of Captivators 212 pro. Wish JTR made active tops!

How do you like the 212's? I pick up another 218 Thursday.

70lbs each delivering the sub bass that i want for small events. I can't complain awesome.

Finally had a chance to test the new Cap 218 Pro in an auditorium. No problems covering it front to back. Some of the students and faculty were covering their ears and holding their chests at certain frequencies (always smile at that). I didn't think i'd like front loaded subs because i've been a horn loaded guy for a while but I love these so much that I bought another. Looking forward to hearing how 2 of these coupled will sound. Here are some clips from the auditorium.


Watchwww.youtube.com

Watchwww.youtube.com

I'm sold!!! I want to cop a pair Jeff hear I come for a pair of Captivator 218 pro

Because 2 is better than 1... www.instagram.com

SO NOW that you have 2 will you keep the OS's or update all to cap218pro's?

Nice salivating!

So about that speaker demo...

instagram.com