Ashly Protea DSP Sytem Processor- Impressions?...

[Boyd]

The Ashley DSP units look like a promising alternative to the typical Berry & DBX options. I notice Leland is now stocking them.

If you've had first hand experience with this unit, can you please share your experiences?

How many bands of EQ are they good for before they start running out of DSP juice?

Thanks!

[Hackomatic]

I use the 3.6 in a small performance hall for up and coming acts out of Nashville. I love the thing. Its menus are so intuitive that it seems like child's play. I've not used the dbx or Behringer speaker management systems, but I understand from talking to those that have that this box REALLY excels in user friendliness. IMO, it is a must to use the Protea software for setup and adjustment. The USB interface makes it a snap. And although you cant 'directly' control the unit wirelessly, you could always tunnel into it through the connected laptop via VNC or similar. As far as running out of EQ juice? not sure what you mean, exactly. I've never experienced any sort of hiccup or latency from lots of adjustments. The spec sheet tells the story, though. Six input filters, four output filters per channel. Drag and drop routing of I/Os and just a very well thought out and constructed unit, like all of Ashly's stuff. I'd check out all the info on their website . . .

Can't go wrong!

[LelandCrooks]

Transparent, easy and powerful. AFAIC it smokes the dbx, deq, anything in the ballpark on price. That's why I now have Ashly.

[BrentEvans]

Echoing others' sentiments, it's a great unit. Sound quality is perfect, setup is easy. The EQ is a little limited, but there's enough to do most jobs. If you need to do a lot of feedback notching, you'll need another EQ unit, as all the EQ in the Ashly is parametric and there's only about 10-12 bands available IIRC, split between input and output EQ sections.

[Rich4349]

But combined with a separate 31 band EQ, this should be more than sufficient, right?

[BrentEvans]

But combined with a separate 31 band EQ, this should be more than sufficient, right?

Absolutely. I always use the parametric EQ in the Ashly for tuning, then use a 1/3 octave EQ or a feedback destroyer type product to ring out the nasties. Actually, the feedback destroyers work quite well for this since the filters are a lot smoother. As anti-Behringer as I am in general, the DEQ2496 and the FBQ2496 both work quite well for this, as do comparable products from Sabine, Shure, DBX, etc. If you already have the 1/3 octave EQ, use that.

If you're buying something, get a notch filtering device. Just don't run it in "live" mode... use it to ring out before hand and treat it like an EQ... set it and forget it. This is one reason I like the DEQ2496... in addition to the notch filter you get a 1/3 octave EQ in the same package.

[Boyd]

Thanks for the informative replies.

I've been exploring units that would be capable of all my EQ needs (parametric response/room correction, Feedback notching, tone shaping) as well as x-over, filter, limiting etc, in the one box (ideally with a remote control option).

It looks like the Driverack PA2 comes the closest, but by most accounts driveracks are a PITA to use.

The Protea looks like a really good unit, but without a 31 band EQ on top of the parametric EQ, I'd still need something else besides the protea, so not enough for me to upgrade while I still have a working DCX2496.

I really like the idea of EQ recallability & built in RTA that both the Driverack PA2 & DEQ2496 could offer me, but on the other hand, I like the reach out & grabability of a standard 31 band EQ.

The DCX mentions midi control - has anyone tried operating it from a control surface like the BCF2000? Occasionally I get to use a Soundcraft Expression SI which can switch the moving faders to EQ mode - and I like it.

In fact I'm completely baffled that no one has brought out a dedicated 31 band moving fader control surface for DSP EQ's - you could control a whole rack of EQ's from one surface...

EDIT: Interestingly, the Ashly NXP series amps with Protea DSP do seem to include a 31 band as well as parametric (perhaps this is available only over remote with the system processors?), yet strangely, the suitable sized amps such as the NXP4004 & NXP4002 list the same output at both 8, 4, and 2 ohms!

[LelandCrooks]

I haven't looked into the networking stuff too much. It's mostly used in permanent installs I believe. I do know it's very powerful.

[Bruce Weldy]

It looks like the Driverack PA2 comes the closest, but by most accounts driveracks are a PITA to use.

Not at all. If you've ever used crossovers and EQ, then it's not a problem at all. The problem that most beginners have is understanding signal flow and what each device does.....they would have the same questions and issues if they were running individual pieces of analog gear.

Don't be afraid - the learning curve is not steep.....and if you've ever done it with analog gear, it's a snap.

[MarcBass]

Don't be afraid - the learning curve is not steep.....and if you've ever done it with analog gear, it's a snap.

+1 Agreed! A few skims through the manual and a peruse of the DBX forums was all it took to get my driveracks flying. The learning curve is gentle and ongoing. I prefer to call that "fine tuning"!

[Grant Bunter]

The Ashley DSP units look like a promising alternative to the typical Berry & DBX options. I notice Leland is now stocking them.

Agreed,
If you have deeper pockets lol.

If your prices are pretty similar to ours, then you could buy 2 x PA+'s for the same money as the Ashly protea series.

IMO a consideration for an upgrade without a significant price hike, obtained from OS, would be the bunkeraudio BPD-1 or similar. It's also had good write ups here.
http://sound4us.elementfx.com/

[Boyd]

I'm no stranger to DSP's (the XTA's at work are nice - but well out of my price range) though I've yet to reach the full potential of RTA etc (most of my work gigs have only enough time to ring out feedback & a quick EQ to taste). For my own BFM gear, I'd like to go a bit further.

My personal experiences with DBX have been no better than Berry reliability wise (issues with a driverack 260 & 2 different EQ's, YMMV).

I'm kinda loathe to buy more Berry, but it's often hard to beat on features without spending quite a bit more. The Bunker BPD-1+ looks like it's worth a second look though.

The Ashly NXP amps appear to include a full Protea DSP in them (though only programmable via PC), so theoretically a single 4ch amp could run a 4 sub/4 top BFM system! (The power ratings at different impeadances are odd though - surely they can't put out the same power into 8, 4, & 2ohms???).

Mostly I need more EQ options than my DCX can offer me, Preferably with RTA (which seems to be the glaring omission of the Protea) & remote. Options are something like the DEQ2496, a standard dual 31 band EQ, or a new DSP that will do the lot...

[Fourthlaw]

Wanted to jump in and say that the Bunker BPD-1 sounds really nice. Has the features one would expect, and all of that, with the 4 way cross over and blah blah.

What has saved my bacon, though, is the unit's flexibility. Once I had to use the thing as a clean pre-amp in addition to all the other stuff it was doing. I don't know if the board had weak outputs or what, but I used the BPD-1 to turn signal up significantly between the board and amps with nary a hiss. Made an entire raft of problems with noisefloor, feedback, and clarity simply go away because I finally had enough gain to punch through.

A different time, I needed a separate set of outside speakers in addition to the mains and monitors already inside the auditorium. There are all kinds of great and professional ways to do that, but I was equipment poor and 45 minutes away from the closest small town. The wacky eq for the inside (field rock walls...reflections and resonances everywhere) sounded almost unintelligible outside. So, I bounced out a full range signal from the BPD-1 to another amp and then out the door. Worked fine...once I found out how to zero out the crossover on that channel.

I haven't used the BPD-1 extensively--maybe ten sessions total. But I could. Every time I touch the thing I come away slightly impressed at it's capabilities for the price point. It isn't impossible to impress me, but I've owned a lot of rack gear in the last 20 years.

[Grant Bunter]

My personal experiences with DBX have been no better than Berry reliability wise (issues with a driverack 260 & 2 different EQ's, YMMV).

I'm kinda loathe to buy more Berry, but it's often hard to beat on features without spending quite a bit more. The Bunker BPD-1+ looks like it's worth a second look though.

Fair enough re DBX V Berry. I own a couple of DCX's and DEQ's. One DCX is in a "DJ" rack for my BFM gear. The 2 DEQ's (FOH and mons 1 & 2) and the other DCX is in my rack for live sound. Purely from the viewpoint of cost expenditure (and not at all considering reliability) it occured to me after purchasing all that, that a single Driverack would have put the same capability into the live rack as a DCX/DEQ combo, with less RU space and less overall cost.

The Ashly NXP amps appear to include a full Protea DSP in them (though only programmable via PC), so theoretically a single 4ch amp could run a 4 sub/4 top BFM system! (The power ratings at different impeadances are odd though - surely they can't put out the same power into 8, 4, & 2ohms???).

Any particular model? Was it the nx-1.54?
My brief search for specs on these amps only showed the same output for 4 and 2 ohm loads (but greater than the output for 8 ohm loads). Suffice to say that the same output for 4 and 2 ohm loads simply means that the power supply isn't capable of providing the extra amperage required to supply the 2 ohm load to the same extent it can supply the amperage required for the 4 ohm load. I commend Ashley in this regard. It seems they are being brutally honest and stating up front that this is the case, rather than throwing out an inflated unrealistic figure.
Refreshing in this day and age lol.

Mostly I need more EQ options than my DCX can offer me, Preferably with RTA (which seems to be the glaring omission of the Protea) & remote. Options are something like the DEQ2496, a standard dual 31 band EQ, or a new DSP that will do the lot...

I'm sure you could sell off your DCX if you went with the Bunker audio unit, which would give you all you need in 1RU. At least here, DCX's seem to sell for about 75% of RRP on Aussie e-bay.
I really like that they also tell you how to make up the patch lead so you don't have to spend another $40US...