Electric Guitars   Bass Guitars   Acoustic Guitars   Guitar Amps   Effects Pedals   Keyboards   Microphones   PA Systems   Mixing Desks   Studio   Software   Accessories   Books & DVDs   Home Contact Us FAQ Forums

Sound On Sound's review of the Collins CAS300 Active PA Speakers as featured in Sound On Sound's Live Supplement, September 2005 Edition

Text copied with permission from Sound On Sound Magazine

 

The Collins CAS300 active PA speakers look much like other similar plastic PA speakers — but the big difference is that you won't have to stretch your own plastic too far to buy a pair, as they come in at around half the price of most of their competition.

The format of the Collins CAS300 speakers is familiar: a 12-inch bass/mid driver, plus a horn-loaded 1.25-inch titanium compression driver, powered from a bi-amped power pack. This delivers around 300W (230W bass/mid, 70W HF) at maximum and there's a built-in limiter to ward off clipping when the system is pushed beyond its normal operating levels. The cabinets, which have reflex ports in the lower front corners, are tapered towards the rear, which helps reduce cabinet resonances and also makes it possible to use the speakers on their sides as powered floor monitors. According to the documentation, a five-band equaliser is built into the active crossover system, presumably to flatten the response as much as possible. User adjustment is limited to basic high- and low-frequency EQ. As I’d expect, the horn is designed to give wider horizontal than vertical coverage (the spec shows a nominal 90 x 40 degrees).

 

These speakers are a little smaller than most of the powered systems I've looked at (420 x 565 x 310mm) and they are certainly lighter, at just 20.5kg each. Overall, the construction seems tough and it is possible to pick up one speaker in each hand via a recessed handle in one side of the cabinet. It's a little harder to lift the speakers on to stands however, as the handle is less than ideally placed for this. A blue LED comes on to indicate that the speaker is powered up and a second, red LED lights when the limiter is goaded into action. This is mirrored by a further peak LED on the rear panel, which is sensible, as it allows the musicians to see how hard their system is working. Rubber feet are fitted for floor or table use, though a standard pole-mount socket is also moulded into the base, and that's normally the best way to use this type of speaker. Unusually, for a budget system, there are also fly-mounting points for use in permanent installations.

 

In traditional fashion, all the controls and connections for the speaker are on the rear panel, which also doubles as a heatsink for the power pack. Audio inputs are available on both XLR and quarter-inch jack sockets, with power coming in via a standard IEC socket and 'kettle lead' — as IEC cables seem to be called by many of the musical fraternity. A further XLR works as a signal link for 'daisy-chaining' further speakers. There are three rotary controls for adjusting the sound, one a level control and the other two for tonal correction at the high and low end of the range (I left these in the flat position for all my tests). A further button with status LED allows the user to select between mic- and line-level operation, so that the speakers can be used directly with a dynamic microphone, without the need for a mixer.

 

Performance

On paper, the frequency response of the CAS300 extends from 50Hz through to 18kHz, though the low end has rolled off significantly by the time you get down as far as 50Hz. Driver sensitivity is shown as 97db SPL @ 1W/meter, but what really matters is the maximum SPL, which in this case is 110dB SPL. This is seven or eight dBs short of what more expensive systems tend to be able to deliver from a similar power rating, but it's still plenty loud enough to handle vocals and non-bass instruments in small-to-medium venues, as our tests confirmed.

 

These speakers stay clean-sounding until they are driven into limiting, and even then the limiter keeps the worst signs of excess at bay. There is a slight tendency for the speakers to sound harsh, which increases with volume, but this also helps vocals cut through in a difficult room. The sound is perhaps less forgiving of acoustic guitars fitted with piezo pickups, which can end up sounding more scratchy than usual. One of our tests involved running an outdoor pub gig featuring a band with acoustic guitars and basses fitted with pickups, all fed into the PA along with the vocals. The guitars were a little ‘edgy’, but the sound held up surprisingly well and even the bass came through reasonably solidly — though without the depth that adding a sub-woofer would afford. As the volume crept up throughout the evening (I wasn't mixing this one!), the guitar level pushed the limiter into almost continuous action, whereupon the sound took on a slightly squashed character, but it really wasn't bad, even with the red light permanently on!

 

Conclusion

The CAS300s are budget speakers, and that shows up in their slightly aggressive sound and in their maximum SPL capability. That said, you can get a great vocal sound out of them (especially if you have a good equaliser in your system), at sufficient level to be heard clearly over an amplified backline at typical pub levels, and adding a sub would give you a very cost-effective full-range system. They may not have quite the sonic finesse of a more sophisticated system but they get the job done, they are very affordable and they're compact enough to fit into the back of just about any car. If you're on a budget and looking for a small PA to get you started, the CAS300s are a good choice, as if you move up to a more exotic system you can still use the CAS300s as powered monitors or to provide extra FOH coverage in larger venues.

 

Collins CAS300s

Pros

• Very affordable.

• Respectable vocal sound at 'pub' levels.

• Compact.

 

Cons

• Slightly abrasive sound, especially when driven hard.

• Maximum SPL of 110dB may not be enough for some applications.

 

Summary

Although built to a price, the CAS300s turn in a very decent performance, even when driven into almost continuous limiting.

What our customers say

Resources

Track TNT Parcel   Reviews of Electric Guitars   Other Equipment Reviews   Learning Resources 
Other Shopping   Bands to See   Studios to Use  

Resource and Learning 

Copyright Musik Produktiv MMV - Home of Electric Guitars Online