Audiocenter PL3 Series – Quality sound, competitive price
The Audiocenter PL3 is an extensive range of loudspeakers consisting of no less than seven models to choose from.
Aimed squarely at the installation and rental industry the versatility of the Audiocenter PL3 is what makes it hugely popular in South Africa.
Whilst it wouldn’t be termed an entry-level range of speakers, the pricing is reasonably keen and it bang-for-buck it is widely regarded as reasonably good value for money.
Anatomy
PL312
The seven cabinets in the Audiocenter PL3 consist of five midrange loudspeakers and two subs. The smallest of the series is the PL308 with its 8 inch woofer. The series then includes 8, 10, 12 and 15 inch variants [PL308, PL310, PL312, PL315] as well as a dual woofer version – the PL3152.
Each loudspeaker has a passive 2-way crossover with Beyma drivers and are full range.
Power rating starts at 200 watts on the 8 inch up to 800 watts on the dual 15 inch.
The subs have Audiocenter drivers and there is a single 18” and a dual 18” version, the former handling 800 watts whilst the dual can manage double that at 1600 watts.
Up Front & Personal
The Audiocenter PL3 is quite a sexy range of speakers. Yes I know that sounds like real geek talk but as you can see from the images the high density Russian birch plywood is finished off in matt black with matching grill. The red tweeter casing and moulded curved handles add to what is an attractive, business-like looking cabinet. The final finish is actually very good on the Audiocenter PL3 series.
PL3152
They look and feel like a more expensive range of speakers.
The subs have pole mounting sockets for placing the full range units on top and each sub has dual handles for transport.
The claimed SPL on the Audiocenter PL3 series is impressive and t be honest quite believable as the lasting impression of these is that they are loud…. very, very loud!
The PL308 has an SPL of 122dB and this rises all the way up to 136dB on the dual 15, PL3152. The subwoofers are even higher at 134 and 140dB respectively.
What does this mean? Well technically since this is a passive speaker range so they need external amps to drive them, if the SPL is as efficient as is claimed in their specification sheet, this should translate to each amp having to work just that little less to drive the sound. The higher the SPL the more efficient the drivers should be in pushing out sound.
They are loud. This I assure you.
Verdict
I like the Audiocenter PL3 range. They has a touch of class about them, look really neat and pro when set up and offer the basic functionality and feature set expected from a passive range. As I said earlier, they are loud, although some of this loudness may relate to the slightly brittle tops on the full range cabinets. My ears are a bit sensitive to top end, but nonetheless I did find a bit of EQing went a long way round of the sound, which is funny because their marketing material says that the DMF composite materials used for the hybrid horns makes for a very warm sound.
PL3118
The bass is tight, the midrange punchy and with a little curbing of the high frequencies it’s not difficult to get a desired sound, venue challenges dependant of course.
In a nutshell I’d describe the Audiocenter PL3 as offering a big wholesome sound.
Expect to pay
The rand/dollar exchange rate makes predicting prices really difficult at the moment as they continue to fluctuate and sadly not for the better.
Currently these are the prices you could expect to pay for the Audiocenter PL3 passive loudspeaker range.
PL308 – 8 inch woofer, 200 watts, SPL: 122dB – R 6,758
PL310 – 10 inch woofer, 250 watts, SPL: 124,5dB – R 7,360
PL312 – 12 inch woofer, 300 watts, SPL: 128dB – R 9,629
PL315 – 15 inch woofer, 400 watts, SPL: 128dB – R 10,230
PL3152 – Dual 15 inch woofers, 800 watts, SPL: 136dB – R 17,035
PL3118 – 18″ Sub Bass, 800 watts, SPL: 134dB – R 10,091
PL3218 – Dual 18″ Sub Bass, 1600 watts, SPL: 140dB – R 18,192
Audiocenter PL3 is distributed through Viva Afrika in Southern Africa
