I purchased a Harbinger MLS1000 Speaker system

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DJ Ricky B

DJ Ricky B

DJ Extraordinaire
Mar 9, 2015
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I decided that I want something new for my cocktail hours. I haven't used line/column array speaker systems before, and figured that it would be the better choice for spreading music around around a room/area. I have been using a Bose S1 Pro at most cocktail hours, or the American Audio ELSGO 8 BT. I try not to use the AA speaker because it's sound is just so poor. I use the Bose S1 Pro at most of my ceremonies, so I usually tear it down and head directly to cocktail hour with it and a speaker stand. Sometimes I pre set up the AA speaker, but I try not to do that just because I prefer for cocktail hour to actually sound good lol.

So I decided to purchase the Harbinger MLS1000. For those of you who have heard the MLS900 before, this newer system they came out with is a big improvement over it. This speaker system is very clear. I can see myself using it along with another one as a main system for a smaller party or wedding! It packs a lot of bass out of the 10" SUB.
I listened to it along with the Evolve 30 at Guitar Center. This puts out more bass than the Evolve 30. It's also like 95% as clear as the Evolve 30. I mean the Evolve 30 is a bit brighter, and really hits those high notes. Nothing against the Evolve 30 at all. The EV Evolve 30M has a very nice crisp sound to it, but this Harbinger system won my heart :)

Harbinger has come a long way over the last 10 years and have stepped their game up.

It also MAPs for $699 vs $1,299 for the Evolve 30. I also found this speaker ON SALE from Musiciansfriend.com for $200 OFF. It is only $499.99 right now! I told Guitar Center about it being on sale at Musiciansfriend.com, and they matched the price for me. So I bought it at Guitar Center and took it home.

I also like that this comes with SPEAKER COVERS in the boxes! The Sub Box comes pre packed in the cover. The two Columns come pre packed in a nice, thick carry bag!

$500 and it comes with covers! This imo is a great deal! I also have a nice sized tax deduction for this year. (I am running out of stuff to buy since I have everything I need)

It also works with my ALLSEES Battery Pack! So I can use it for an outdoor cocktail hour, or ceremony as well! :) Bluetooth paired right up from my phone in 1 second. I was impressed. It is a tall column too! Stands about 6' tall.

Harbinger MLS1000.jpg



I did do some research before I went and made the purchase. I watched this video comparison by this guy who owns both the MSL900 and the Evolve 30M to give me an idea of differences between the two. He also does a sound test.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERRH4NNJcYc



Then I watched this review and sound test on the MLS1000 from Expert Island. This guy even takes the grills off, and shows you what the drivers look like along with a sound test.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVdnVQu2quA
 
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Mucianfriends and Guitar Center are connected to each other and that's why they matched the price. Good luck with the purchase. Let us know over time your thoughts.
 
I will add that I listened to the Bose LI Pro 8. Man does it sound fantastic! Super Clear! It gives more bass than the L1 Compact for sure. I just couldn't bring myself to spend that kinda money on a cocktail hour sound system though. The Bose S1 Pro does fine for me for cocktail hour generally speaking. I just wanted something with more base that looked sleek, and can handle basically any size cocktail hour I throw at it and I think this Harbinger MLS1000 is perfect for that.

The Bose S1 Pro get's quite loud, but one draw back I noticed over time with the Bose S1 Pro is that it does not throw your voice out very far when talking on a microphone with it. You will sound good on the microphone with the BOSE S1, and it handles quiet ceremonies just fine, but if you are trying to make an announcement during cocktail hour particularly a loud cocktail hour where a lot of conversation is going on...I found myself making announcements, and some people would say it wasn't loud enough and they didn't hear me and I was cranking that thing. Only occured a couple of times, but I am hopeful this Harbinger unit will be better at projecting voice through a microphone.

I am more of a point source speaker kind of guy when it comes to main sound system, but I believe a pair of these could absolutely do 100 to 150 person weddings no problem, and I think a pair of these speaker systems would work wonders for a DJ who is doing a karaoke bar as well! They have Reverb knobs in the mixer section that seem to work quite well!
 
$499 does sound better than $1199. But come 5 years from now and my guess is you’ll get next to nothing for that speaker and you’d be able to get more than the $700 difference for the pro8. Plus a better speaker for those 5 years, and better customer service should something happen. That’s why I pay they extra money.

when I switched to the S1’s, I sold my 10yo compacts for $600 each, 2 were $999 and one 899 when I bought them, so I had about 10 yrs of great sounding light ceremonies/small setup speakers for about $360 each.

there is a reason why some companies offer discounts and others don’t.
 
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Harbinger is the house brand for Guitar Center. When I last dealt with GC over 5 years ago, they had no real in-house engineering staff to speak of. The marketing team would define the product and price point they wanted and then have various contract manufacturers bid on the business. This is not an uncommon practice in the industry, btw. Just because two speakers have the same brand label, the design team and factory building them could be totally different. So it is possible that the model MLS900 and MLS1000 have little in common. Of course, it is also possible that GC has built up their product development skills since I dealt with them.

BTW, Guitar Center bought Musician's Friend over 20 years ago. At the time, GC did almost all their business in brick & mortar stores and had almost no online sales. Musician's Friend had a pretty advanced online store for its time so it was a natural fit.
 
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Let me ask this. For cocktail why do you need more bass? What songs are you playing that you need lots of bass?
 
Scott Hanna said:
$499 does sound better than $1199. But come 5 years from now and my guess is you’ll get next to nothing for that speaker and you’d be able to get more than the $700 difference for the pro8. Plus a better speaker for those 5 years, and better customer service should something happen. That’s why I pay they extra money.

when I switched to the S1’s, I sold my 10yo compacts for $600 each, 2 were $999 and one 899 when I bought them, so I had about 10 yrs of great sounding light ceremonies/small setup speakers for about $360 each.

there is a reason why some companies offer discounts and others don’t.
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I agree but When you buy cheaper gear you don't really expect to get much in resale value if any it's almost disposable. That being said I sold one of my Transport 12s last week for $600. I bought one new and one used The new one I believe was $799 and if I recall the one I just sold I bought for $400 LOL
 
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Jeff Romard said:
I agree but When you buy cheaper gear you don't really expect to get much in resale value if any it's almost disposable. That being said I sold one of my Transport 12s last week for $600. I bought one new and one used The new one I believe was $799 and if I recall the one I just sold I bought for $400 LOL
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Also agree - but if you're selling quality, you should buy quality - and why throw 499 out the window when you can resell for more (if you decide to resell). In the event of an issue, the first time you have to rebuy it, you just paid for the better one.
 
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DJ Ricky B said:
Then I watched this review and sound test on the MLS1000 from Expert Island. This guy even takes the grills off, and shows you what the drivers look like along with a sound test.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVdnVQu2quA
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Ugh, overall, I like what the guy is trying to do with his review. However, he tries to sound technical about sound propagation when he takes the grills off. He gets a whole bunch of stuff wrong in the process. Most of you probably won't care but it annoys the crap out of me. I'll just sit in the corner and bang my head against a wall.
 
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ittigger said:
Also agree - but if you're selling quality, you should buy quality - and why throw 499 out the window when you can resell for more (if you decide to resell). In the event of an issue, the first time you have to rebuy it, you just paid for the better one.
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Resale value has never been a consideration for music gear, at least for me. My opinion, buy what works best for the application, balancing that against what budget you have to work with. Quality is great, but if something cheaper does the job just as well, if not better than the name brands, then I'm all about it.
 
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rickryan.com said:
Resale value has never been a consideration for music gear, at least for me. My opinion, buy what works best for the application, balancing that against what budget you have to work with. Quality is great, but if something cheaper does the job just as well, if not better than the name brands, then I'm all about it.
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Sorry I got to say this. When I have bought gear that was cheaper then a name brand usually I got burnt. Some purchases have been in an emergency. That was to use short term just to get by with. This unit looks nice. One issue I saw from a review I saw on Youtube it has no volume knob. Besides that for $499 I wouldn't expect too much. Remember GC is selling this to make money. They are not selling this to lose money. With a unit for that price they can't be using the best quality parts to use for this Harbinger setup. It more then likely will be parts to get by with. I bet if you examine this one and the costing over 1K, you will notice a big difference.
 
rickryan.com said:
Resale value has never been a consideration for music gear, at least for me. My opinion, buy what works best for the application, balancing that against what budget you have to work with. Quality is great, but if something cheaper does the job just as well, if not better than the name brands, then I'm all about it.
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I don't disagree - as I don't usually resell my gear either. That said, value retention still is / has a value - especially for the small difference in price. I offer quality so I try to buy quality. If you paid a performer 10k and they showed up with Pyle gear, would that bother you? If that same performer showed up with EAW gear, would your opinion change?
 
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ittigger said:
I don't disagree - as I don't usually resell my gear either. That said, value retention still has a value. I offer quality so I try to buy quality. If you paid a performer 10k and they showed up with Pyle gear, would that bother you? If that same performer showed up with EAW gear, would your opinion change?
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Biz Markie a few years back was charging $4,500/4 hours for private events. He showed up using run of the mill Mackie Speakers on stands. He also did not use a facade or make everything look extra nice. I doubt anybody who booked him cared :dontknow:
 
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DJ Ricky B said:
Biz Markie a few years back was charging $4,500/4 hours for private events. He showed up using run of the mill Mackie Speakers on stands. He also did not use a facade or make everything look extra nice. I doubt anybody who booked him cared :dontknow:
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Is your brand the same as Biz Markie's?

When I review product purchases, ultimately, I don't care what anyone else uses. I want to be comfortable with what I use. I want to know that what I have is fully reliable, fully supportable and pleasing to my customer base. While I also want to save coin, I want my customers to be pleased with my product - and I want that product to last years. I don't want to rebuy things over and over (been there, done that - quite a few times). For a product that cost 499 vs 1000 - over 10 years, you're talking about a $50 difference per year. Are your customers worth that difference?
 
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MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
Sorry I got to say this. When I have bought gear that was cheaper then a name brand usually I got burnt. Some purchases have been in an emergency. That was to use short term just to get by with. This unit looks nice. One issue I saw from a review I saw on Youtube it has no volume knob. Besides that for $499 I wouldn't expect too much. Remember GC is selling this to make money. They are not selling this to lose money. With a unit for that price they can't be using the best quality parts to use for this Harbinger setup. It more then likely will be parts to get by with. I bet if you examine this one and the costing over 1K, you will notice a big difference.
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There is no MAIN volume knob on the unit. However, They chose to to have a volume knob for each individual channel.

Next time you go to Guitar Center in your area. Ask to listen to both the MLS1000 and a Evolve 30M. You tell me if the EV Evolve 30M sounds a whole lot better. It really doesn't imo. Brighter, and the highs are maybe a bit more defined, but it has less bass.

I purchased the 3 year protection on the system. So if something happens to it in the next 3 years. I simply return it for a new one, or get store credit towards something else if I want a different speaker. And if nothing happens to it, I figure I will get my moneys worth out of it in 3 years time. If nothing happens to it and it still sounds great 5 years down the road then it was truly a great buy.

It seems to be built sturdy and the columns are pretty thick. I bet it holds up to mobile use just fine as far as the externals go. Only time will tell how it's internals handle.
 
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ittigger said:
Is your brand the same as Biz Markie's?

When I review product purchases, ultimately, I don't care what anyone else uses. I want to be comfortable with what I use. I want to know that what I have is fully reliable, fully supportable and pleasing to my customer base. While I also want to save coin, I want my customers to be pleased with my product - and I want that product to last years. I don't want to rebuy things over and over (been there, done that - quite a few times). For a product that cost 499 vs 1000 - over 10 years, you're talking about a $50 difference per year. Are your customers worth that difference?
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Absolutely! If anything were to ever happen to the speaker during an event, I always have my Bose S1 with me too.

This will sound great for cocktail hours. Everyone will be just as happy as if I had bought a Evolve 30M, RCF, or Bose and was using that for cocktail hour. Only Speaker Brand Snobs and Audio phyles are going to care about it, and you really have to be listening hard to distinguish serious differences between this one and higher price point column arrays.

Harbinger is putting out much better sounding speakers these days. It's not the Harbinger stuff from 2010.
 
DJ Ricky B said:
Absolutely! If anything were to ever happen to the speaker during an event, I always have my Bose S1 with me too.

This will sound great for cocktail hours. Everyone will be just as happy as if I had bought a Evolve 30M, RCF, or Bose and was using that for cocktail hour. Only Speaker Brand Snobs and Audio phyles are going to care about it, and you really have to be listening hard to distinguish serious differences between this one and higher price point column arrays.

Harbinger is putting out much better sounding speakers these days. It's not the Harbinger stuff from 2010.
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It may not be the stuff of 2010, but when something 'comparable' costs half, there's a reason. I know you don't want to understand this concept, but it's true. For cocktail hour, it may be fine. Also, the Harbinger comes with a limited 2 year warranty while the EV comes with a 3 year warranty.

While brand snobs and audiophiles may or may not care about it, you should regardless - as the performance is your product.
 
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