Yamaha Speakers Review: Stagepas 300

By: Hiram LeCedre—August 19, 2008 12:00PM
"The Yamaha Stagepas 300 is a portable PA system that includes all the features and conveniences that a gigging musician can possibly need for small to medium venues."
Yamaha Stagepas 300

Product Summary

Pros

  • 2-way, 150 W per channel PA speaker system
  • 8-channel powered mixer with XLR and phone plug inputs
  • Equalizer, reverb, and speech mode features
  • Total weight of 40 lbs. (18 kg.)
  • Awesome value

Cons

  • No cons except in a perfect world it would be nice to have the roll case as a standard feature!
Yamaha Stagepas 300 with rolling carry case

A recent vistor asked us the following question:

Hi...I just bought a Yamaha S90 ES (happy). It is my 4th Yamaha keyboard but the first without speakers. Conflicting reports on how to produce decent sound everywhere?! Some say live monitors, others say Keyboard Amp. My budget is thin now; maybe an article about this would be useful? It would help me. As well as my acoustic Yamahas, this will be used in a teaching situation and small recital halls.

thx,

Ron Sandor, BC, Canada

Ron's question is an excellent one because a lot of us musicians don't fully understand just what to look for when choosing the proper sound system for our needs. Does more wattage, bigger woofers and tweeters mean better sound? No, there's more to it—THD (total harmonic distortion), S/N (signal to noise ratio), and frequency response are just a few examples of common specs that are overlooked. How do we make sense of the craziness?

Well, my goal for this article was to find the all-around best audio solution for my YamahaMusician.com visitors. A solution that addresses the needs of both gigging and studio musicians. A solution that doesn't compromise sonic quality for portability. And, a solution that, I think, is affordable for musicians.

Yamaha Speakers/PA System of Choice? Stagepas 300

Imagine your band is gigging with you and you have a guitarist, bassist, drummer, vocalist and you're the keyboardist. Just think of all the sound equipment you would need to lug! This gig, however, is different. It's the gig of your dreams! Relax; you arrive in style with your new Yamaha Stagepas 300 speaker system nicely tucked away in a soft padded rolling case (optional) weighing in at less than 40 lbs. (18 kg.).

The Yamaha Stagepas 300 is a portable PA system that includes all the features and conveniences that a gigging musician can possibly need for small to medium venues. They're also perfect for studio musicians who every now and then gig but also want descent monitors. First off, the Stagepas 300 comes with not one but two speakers. Forever gone are the days you will ever have to perform in mono again! I personally loved these speakers because they look good while being rugged and they even act as an accessory compartment for storing the mixer and other items while traveling!

The sound that I've witnessed coming out of these speakers/monitors is just stunning! With a wide and flat frequency response—55 Hz-20 kHz, 1% THD at 1 kHz (100 W + 100 W 6Ω) and 150 W per channel, this PA system has some serious muscle to produce crisp clear highs and punchy bass.

Yamaha Stagepas 300 on-board mixer

Now that is nice and all but I haven't even touched on the features of the onboard 8-channel mixer that takes this PA system to a whole other dimension.

8-Channel Powered Mixer

In addition to bringing life to its two 150 W passives, the Stagepas 300 has 6 more channels that allow you to connect anything with an XLR or phone plug connection to it. Plus, each channel has its own HIGH/LOW equalizer, REVERB and volume controls allowing you to make precise adjustments when you need to. Lastly, the Stagepas comes with a pair of REC OUT jacks for connecting to an external recorder, and a pair of MONITOR OUT jacks for connecting an external powered speaker for monitoring purposes if you should need it.

Conclusion

The Yamaha Stagepas 300 is the perfect solution for musicians who want a sound system that's great for both live sound and monitoring situations. What's more is that the Stagepas comes with an 8-channel mixer with both XLR and phone plug inputs and two 150 W speakers. For a price tag of around $600, I was sold and I think you will be too.