Yamaha Stagepas 500

One neat design feature is the way the mixer stows in the back of one of the speaker cabinets for transport while the other cabinet includes a storage compartment for mics, leads and other small accessories. The speaker cabinets, which have rugged metal grilles to protect the drivers, are ported to extend their low end response and measure a compact 342 x 298 x 544.5 mm where the tweeters drive into a moulded flare to control their directivity and to increase their efficiency. Connection to the speakers is via jack cables that are included with the package.

Unlike the Stagepas 300, the Stagepas 500 speakers can fit onto standard 35mm stand tops without the need for adaptors, which is a big practical improvement. Setup is extremely fast, and with this model there are 10 mixer channel inputs in total with both monitor and record outputs making it easy to record your gigs 'off the board'. Four of the input channels can accommodate line level or balanced microphones and have the standard XLR mic connectors with globally switchable phantom power for capacitor microphones or active DI boxes. The remaining inputs accept line level signals such as keyboards, modelling guitar preamps and so on.

The way the mixer is configured is that the four mono microphone/line inputs are augmented by three stereo line inputs where the first stereo channel can be fed from either a stereo or mono line-level source. There are XLR and quarter-inch jack inputs on the mono channels while the stereo channels offer quarter-inch jacks on channels 5/6 and 7/8 offer both jack and RCA phono connectivity. Channels 9/10 have RCA phono inputs only and there are no pan controls on any of the stereo channels. For EQ, each channel has simple two-band cut/boost, centre-detented controls operating at 100Hz and 10kHz, offering a range of +/-15dB.

Mic/Line switches set the input sensitivity for the mono channels where the mic input is designed to take standard low impedance, balanced microphones. Channel levels and the master output level are adjusted using rotary controls. Further to the main speaker outputs, the mixer also provides line-level outputs on both jack and phono that can be used to feed additional PA components, such as active speakers or power amps as well as for recording. The jack outputs are designated monitor outs while the phonos are intended for recording and there's a separate monitor output level control. Adding powered speakers is also a useful way to set up a simple monitoring system, for when you have nobody to adjust the mix for you, a monitor feed that mirrors what the front of house PA is doing gives you a very good idea of what you sound like out front. The optional BMS-10A adaptor allows the mixer to be supported on a conventional mic stand, which is a useful way to keep it within reach on stage. Note however that the main speaker outputs are also on jacks so you must take care not to plug anything into the speaker outlets by mistake as the amplifier output power could cook it!

Considering the power of this little mixer, it is extraordinarily compact and fairly light. The shell is made from a robust type of plastic with metal threaded inserts on the back to accept the stand adaptor. All the knobs are colour-coded according to function and the panel legending is nice and clear. A small fan keeps the circuitry cool and mains is via an IEC cable, all the controls and connectors being on the mixer top panel. A recessed slide switch activates the phantom power and when stowed, the mixer locks into place via two fasteners that can be rotated using a small coin or screwdriver. Because all the connections are on top, the mixer can be used while in the stowed position if required.

Most integrated PA systems these days include some form of built-in effects and here Yamaha start from a position of strength because of their extensive legacy of high quality studio effects processors. The digital reverb, which offers just a single preset designed for sung vocals, is based on SPX technology. There are no conventional sends on each channel so you can't apply different amounts of the same effect to each input — you can only decide whether to have it or not. However, channels one and two also feature compressor/limiters, which can be useful for evening out vocal levels, though be warned that excessive use of compression on vocal mics, especially in small venues, may increase the risk of feedback. Even so, if you have a singer who occasionally delivers louder than expected lines, the limiter setting will help avoid overload distortion. If you choose to add compression to DI'd instruments such as bass or electric guitar, feedback will not be a problem and even acoustic guitars can benefit from a little compression as long as you don't get too close to the feedback threshold. When the compressor switch is on, the channel compression can be adjusted only by adjusting the channel's input signal level at source whereas turning it off leaves a limiter active to intercept excessive signal peaks. In practice, this means the action of the compressor, when active, is largely beyond the user's control, though your ears will soon tell you if it is helping or hindering for any given situation. A single six-section LED meter monitors the output level where a Speech/Music button (that changes the overall system EQ to cut bass and add presence for speech) is mounted below the meter along with the power LED. Chrome bar handles protect the mixer control and also give you something to pick it up by.

When it comes to reverb, there is no adjustment there either, other than in overall level, but the quality of the reverb is actually very good. Being pedantic, I'd have rolled a little low end off the reverb output just to clean it up a little but it works pretty well offering a generic plate kind of sound with around a two second decay time, and providing you don't add too much, takes the dryness off the sound without getting in the way. The EQ also manages to do a good job for general warming, thinning or brightening, again if used sparingly, and if you feel the vocal sound is too 'full' in the Music switch position, a dB or two of top boost combined with low cut fixes it nicely.

For music reproduction the system delivers a decent low end as long as you don't push it too hard, though when playing full range music at high levels, the Speech setting actually works well for maximising subjective loudness as it takes out some of the very low end making life easier for the speakers. Unlike many smaller 'plastic' speaker systems, the mid-range also comes across pretty cleanly which is important in projecting clarity and at lower-to-moderate levels the performance is better than some domestic so-called hi-fi music systems I've heard. At very high levels the sound gets a bit muddy but that's no more than you'd expect from a system of this size and power rating.

Overall I'm very impressed with this little system, not least with its performance-to-price ratio and build quality. I also love the compact format and the way the mixer stashes out of harm's way in the back of one of the speakers. For the small band, duo or solo performer this must be close to the ideal system, and though more effects options might have been nice (a choice of a handful of reverbs and delays for example), the one reverb that you do get will carry most situations. In two words, very impressive!  0