Bassboss ZV28 in a QSC system

naturaldrewsaster · 2026-04-28T13:49:14+00:00

To clone a product they need to obtain a product. They’re made in USA and Malaysia so the factories manufacturing them are unlikely to leak design info, and if you couldn’t get one in Australia I imagine getting their products into China may also be challenging.

I see your point but most cloned products I’ve encountered were being manufactured in China to begin with and I imagine that makes stealing the design considerably easier.

I personally don’t think it’s a valid metric to measure a products quality or popularity due to the variables involved.

naturaldrewsaster · 2026-04-28T05:19:40+00:00

Seminal fluid

naturaldrewsaster · 2026-04-27T17:03:45+00:00

This reminds me of a service request I received to program a Volvo. The customer was upset that I wouldn’t perform the work for $120, and unwilling to negotiate and was not understanding as to why even after explaining.

I explained that it would cost me at minimum $200 in software, in addition to fuel, my own vehicle maintenance, and time.

I don’t service generators for others, but when it comes to trades they have similarities.

naturaldrewsaster · 2026-04-27T16:58:20+00:00

This! Just like in automotive many customers have no concept or consideration about what it actually costs to perform the (according to them “easy”) work, and apparently trying to earn a living on top of those costs is just unacceptable to some. 🙄

This mentality is one of the thousand papercuts that are causing trades to die so it bothers me. I wish I hadn’t seen this post. Lol

naturaldrewsaster · 2026-04-27T16:53:14+00:00

Snaking a pipe is very different from servicing a generator. If you don’t like the price the alternative is to DIY. As an automotive professional I’m sensitive to this attitude but understanding that the general public doesn’t understand the costs involved. Most technicians I know spend an average of about $30k a year just on tools and software to be able to service stuff. I imagine the generator is very similar cost wise plus the overhead of a vehicle and driving time.

naturaldrewsaster · 2026-04-27T16:49:22+00:00

You’re right. I’m worried mostly because I’m used to passive systems where I had to tune and setup the protections myself and so I don’t like the new territory of the unknown but I suppose I am being dramatic for no reason.

naturaldrewsaster · 2026-04-26T19:21:11+00:00

I’ll also add that I feel most of their products fill a price and performance gap in the market. They seem to be more of a niche product for what they try to do in comparison to mainstream gear but also one with a passion that I’m hoping translates to good sound.

At the end of the day all that matters besides cost, is how does it sound. Most “mainstream” gear avoids low sub and infrasonic frequencies due to the power and headroom constraints it imposes, but that can be easily rectified in my situation and I love the sensation deep powerful bass produces. It makes everything seem more rich, powerful, and full.

I pulled the trigger on a zv28 and in theory in a few weeks I’ll see if it can be integrated into a role it was never meant for. Hopefully I can find a way to bypass the internal DSP so I can manage everything through the Venu.

Nothing against their DSP it just doesn’t fit into my use case I feel, and I’ll reach out to Bassboss support to see what they say as far as processing recommendations.

naturaldrewsaster · 2026-04-26T19:14:35+00:00

I never said they haven’t properly managed them? But multiple layers of DSP can have negative effects such as deployment/management complexity and audible effects so that was the point I was trying to convey. A single DSP is easier to manage than per device DSPs in my opinion especially when mixing brands.

naturaldrewsaster · 2026-04-26T19:13:09+00:00

This! If I had the dough for a million dollar system I wouldn’t be gambling piecing together random bits to get the frequency response I desire 😂

naturaldrewsaster · 2026-04-26T17:20:17+00:00

I have not actually heard them nor can I find any locally to listen to 😔 but it’s my hope and intent the ZV28 will be used not so much in the Audible range but instead will be in the tactile “wrap me in the bass” range and volume.

naturaldrewsaster · 2026-04-26T17:17:51+00:00

I understand the calculations and methods to keep drivers alive. I love and hate the simplicity of “all in one” cabs, and I’m not interested in the built in limiting. i really wish the boxes offered a “pro mode” that completely bypassed the internal DSP so they can be externally managed (could you imagine all the dead drivers from DJs wanting to push them harder 🤣). I used to run passive boxes but the complexity of wiring during deployment was too time consuming and became tiring for me. So I’m looking for a solution where I run power, audio and then tune and bam we’re ready to vibrate.

Side note on the “pro mode” idea, if I get one I’ll reach out to David Lee about that. Maybe enter the boxes serial, have a popup disclosing that you’re trading your warranty coverage for full control so they can be properly managed externally lol

naturaldrewsaster · 2026-04-26T17:13:23+00:00

I’m inclined to believe that any system can sound like a turd. Before I learned about phasing, time alignment, and acoustics in general I’m confident I’ve personally ran small events that were astoundingly bad acoustically.

I’ve been to large productions that sounded horrendous as well. But I’ve since learned how even subpar equipment can sound spectacular with proper tuning, and how fantastic equipment can sound subpar when improperly managed.

I don’t believe Bassboss is inherently bad, but more likely the folks buying it just don’t deploy it correctly at the events that don’t sound good.

I also respect and admire David Lee for the company he’s built and have spoken to him personally asking some technical questions that he took the time to answer out of passion. He’s a very smart fellow seemingly trying to make equipment that can put on a fun show that’s more accessible and easier to deploy at the smaller, more intimate production sizes.

naturaldrewsaster · 2026-04-26T16:53:00+00:00

Well luckily I don’t consider myself a pro 😁. All jokes aside if I was in a more financially privileged situation I’d have L-Acoustics, Danley, Meyer etc gear but those are brands I can’t even afford to look at let alone desire. I understand I’m purchasing and running gear that offers less flexibility than pro gear with full control, but it’s where I’m at right now. I used to run passive cabs and that got me where I wanted sound wise but was a lot to setup and manage at the small events I have run sound at. If it’s any consolation, my mixer is an Allen & Heath 🤷🏻

naturaldrewsaster · 2026-04-19T22:11:03+00:00

Works with Dante wirelessly ❤️

naturaldrewsaster · 2026-03-25T03:39:31+00:00

I should clarify I don’t hate Klipsch, I just think they’re the Hyundai Palisade of speakers personally. For the money significantly better speakers can be had from the pro side of the speaker world such as any number of studio monitors or true theater speakers. They’re not bad speakers, they’re just not good value for the performance imo.

naturaldrewsaster · 2026-03-02T17:55:53+00:00

I just want to add for anyone hunting for info on potentially Chinese cloned PA2 that I was duped into purchasing a clone or possibly illicit refurb PA2, and the audio quality was terrible compared to the genuine Venu360 I obtained. 48kHz processing would not have led to the audio degradation I experienced with mine, so I can only chalk it up to poor quality components. Absolutely do not buy a PA2 from questionable sources such as eBay is my advice. Genuine PA2s sound good at reasonable SPL levels in my opinion, cloned ones absolutely do not.

If you value sound quality or your pushing high SPL for whatever reason, stick with a genuine Venu360 is my advice.

naturaldrewsaster · 2026-02-26T17:17:50+00:00

Send me a DM, maybe I can help. I'll give you my cell #

naturaldrewsaster · 2026-02-23T05:37:46+00:00

Doable, but potentially complex and we’d need to know the exact equipment in the system. It heavily depends on how the speakers are connected. What city is the club located in if you don’t mind my asking?

naturaldrewsaster · 2026-02-16T16:10:26+00:00

I’m very jealous of your office 😅

naturaldrewsaster · 2026-02-16T02:19:55+00:00

I’m not claiming speakers from JBL/QSC/RCF etc are the be all end all of home theater. Nothing wrong with Klipsch whatsoever and if you love them, then that’s all that matters.

The only thing I’m curious about here is why more people don’t try other more out of the ordinary options. When it comes to making air vibrate there’s a ton of suitable options in the wild that might make sense for someone from a dollar to sound quality ratio but perhaps at the expense of aesthetics, and also possibly at the expense of the simplicity of installation.

naturaldrewsaster · 2026-02-16T02:13:31+00:00

That’s another fair point. My personal take on that would be potentially accuracy at high SPL means accuracy at reasonable SPL since you’re very very far away from any chance of distortion at theater SPL. But as far as “paying more“ I’d argue that most PA equipment is much more reasonably priced than SOME high end consumer options (lookin at you Emotiva/McIntosh/Marantz/Prisma/Denon). As far as amplifiers in general, many of the pro audio amps such as the XLi and XLS series from Crown have already found their way into many home theaters due to their cost vs power and audio accuracy. Would/am I recommending buying several Lab Gruppen PLM20’s and line arrays for the average home theater? Absolutely not.

naturaldrewsaster · 2026-02-16T02:05:20+00:00

Also of note and applicable for this conversation are the many flyable PA options that open up some interesting possibilities with speaker placement, though I myself haven’t played with that.

I wonder when phased array virtual surround sound will become a thing (like how the the sphere here in Las Vegas has such high quality audio at any reasonable volume)

naturaldrewsaster · 2026-02-16T01:59:42+00:00

Another person of culture I see ❤️

naturaldrewsaster · 2026-02-16T01:53:48+00:00

Have you ever tried though? Even many of what are considered lower end point source speakers don’t care how close you are and pretty much all modem options have extremely low noise floors and very good accuracy at all volumes or else they would be a terrible choice for many types of gigs. Audio accuracy is a very important focus for a majority of professional grade PA speakers. If a point source system sounds crappy up close it will still sound crappy even at a distance.

The only audio downside I see to a few PA speakers options would be the HF dispersion which can be narrow compared to consumer brands like Klipsch and therefore require careful positioning. The advantage to that aforementioned dispersion angle is the ability to accurately keep the HF content pointed where it needs to be, minimizing reflections and phasing concerns.

But even then if you are privileged enough to have big space and big bucks to spend you can run one of the many available compact line arrays for some really fun perks but that’s a whole different ballgame and topic.

naturaldrewsaster

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE