Goodbye Maui 5s.

[Excalibur]

I was sure I'd done a thread on the Maui 5s, but I can't find one. Suffice to say that they have exceeded all expectations, and managed to cope with jobs they should never have been asked to do.
The one reason why I was sold them was that the previous owner felt, as I did, that LD missed a trick not fitting them with a link output, as they did on every other system. Why oh why do you fit something with an excellent all purpose mixer, but miss out a slave output?

So, I swapped a heap of small boxes and some money for a pair of Maui 5s, and was delighted to find how versatile and convenient they were. Never ever let me down, and always did the job well.
The niggle about the slave output never went away, and while I got a tiny mixer to circumvent the issue, it was never needed. It's never gone away, and the larger systems have been on my radar for a long time.

Well, young Mr Neen recently acquired a pair of Maui 28 slaves as a part ex, which he wasted no time in informing me of. Well, when I headed up there for NYE, he fired them up on demo, and negotiations began. We even brought a 5 in as an A-B test, and it was astonishing to hear what they could manage against their big brother. They just have no right to do what they do.
Not surprisingly, negotiations ran aground immediately, as i wanted them as an adjunct to the 5s, and Andy wanted the 5s as part ex, since he had many jobs for them. I couldn't envisage losing the 5s, and much discussion, soul searching, and ideas passed rapidly between Andy, Shaun and myself.

As I mentioned elsewhere, we were having a bit of a pick'n'mix of kit for the three gigs that night, and let's just say that the inevitable happened, and Andy did his gig with a pair of 5s and a smug grin, while I had a pair of 28s either side of me, and an expression of awe.
Each now has kit which will be the most valuable to its new owner, and all I have to do now is to sell my beloved Stinger tops and subs, which are only going out about once a year. The for sale thread will appear before too long.

[Imagine]

Welcome to the club - we wear big beards (assuming Steve still has his 28's).

I've only ever ONCE had mine struggle, and to be honest that was in a marquee where I should have known better. For literally EVERY other gig I've done last year....they were excellent

Those little subs shouldn't be capable of producing what they do....it's insane for an 8" woofer to make anything like that amount of noise. OK - they're never going to give you chest thumping bass, but then I don't tend to do those sorts of parties.

On the other side of the coin....I'll shortly be looking to acquire either a 5 or an 11 for ceremony duties. No use for a pair of them (unless I can get a good deal on a pair of white ones)....that's for later in the year though....

[rth_discos]

On the other side of the coin....I'll shortly be looking to acquire either a 5 or an 11 for ceremony duties.

My recommendation is the 5 is the best option for ceremonies. I have a pair, and they are my weapon of choice for background music for the wedding breakfast too. Amazing how little feedback they give when paired with a wireless mic. One in each corner and the room is covered beautifully, without the person sat in front of the speaker being blasted.

For the weight difference, the 5 is the one I'd go for - plus they are far more discrete, being smaller.

And you might want to consider the new battery version. Sadly, that wasn't available (or even announced) when I bought my Maui 5s. It would have come in very handy.

I've had one ceremony so far that was outside in a location that had now power whatsoever (see pic). For this, I borrowed a battery powered QTX speaker, but would have much preferred the battery Maui 5. Network with celebrants - they are the ones who tend to end up doing their ceremonies in the middle of nowhere - somewhere that isn't licensed for a civil ceremony, but means something to the couple. Get the introduction through providing sound for the ceremony (including wireless lapel mics) and it's then an easy upsell for the rest of the day and evening entertainment...

[Excalibur]

Well, I've got to give an update on this. Andy's 28s were the Mk1 slave units, and I was mindful that they were significantly quieter than the later model G2. First gig, no sweat, it was a small room. Second gig, big room with a band, and I think I asked more of them than was wise. Added to that, it seems they perform better with both line inputs used on each unit, which I hadn't done.

So, back to Andy they went, and he soon had a customer for them who's overjoyed with them. He kept the 5s as he had lots of work for them, and I got a lot of lights which I had been after for ages. This leaves me with big boxes for big gigs, but not a light, easily portable stick rig. So, now what do I do?

Turns out that there are a couple of budget offerings on the go, with perhaps a bit of shared ancestry. The Gemini WRX 843 and the SubZero SZPA-L68( which is Gear4Music's own brand ) Unfortunately, it wasn't going to be possible to hear the Gemini for quite a few days, and guess what came up on Ebay?

A pristine secondhand Maui11 Mix. Thomann still have stock of them, so it was possible to get a matching pair, and hopefully I'll have the pair by next week. I'll keep you posted.

[Imagine]

Are you finally sorted then?

The 11's won't be any louder than the 28's - the specs say so!

OK - I know yours were the Mk1's and mine are the MkII's and there's a LOT of difference.
I'll be out with my 2's again this weekend in a fairly huge hall. After lifting the DXR15's onto stands tonight....I'm knackered

[rth_discos]

I was going to make a recommendation, until I noticed you are now sorted.

But for the benefits of others, I'll still make it.

The Evox J8 is the new, cheaper, plastic cab version of the Evox 8.

Initial reports are that it is very similar in sound to the Evox 8.

I have the Evox 8 and I still love it. This new option is ideal for those who want to keep costs down.

And, they have an all white version coming out for those who like the white look...