The only clue was the passport on the office floor, but where was the missing PA system? Paul White investigates what seems to be an open and shut case!

The trouble with gigs, even small ones, is all the gear you have to take along, and all the setting up you have to do, especially the PA. What a great many musicians would love to see is a PA that can be folded up into a suitcase and carried in one hand. Of course, it would need to be reasonably loud, have a nice sound, and a comprehensive mixer — an on-board digital reverb would be nice too. In fact, while you're at it, why not throw in a couple of mics and all the necessary cables (these have to fit somewhere in the suitcase too), but it mustn't be expensive mind — let's say under a grand for the whole package? Is that an unreasonable request? You bet it is, but Fender have risen to the challenge by providing all of the above, not for less than £1000, but for less than £700! Not only that, but it really works.

At first glance, the Passport system looks like a large plastic suitcase with a central handle, but unfasten two catches, and it separates, James Bond style, into two speaker boxes plus a freestanding central column containing a pair of power amplifiers (125 Watts RMS per channel into 8 Ohms), an eight-channel mixer with digital reverb, and a storage compartment containing two Fender dynamic cardioid microphones in zip up cases, mic cables, speaker cables, and a power lead. The system isn't in the case — it is the case! Plug in the leads, a mic, and you're off. A rubber gasket seals the speakers to the central column during transit, so lugging the system up a fire escape in the rain shouldn't do it any harm.

SPEAKERS

Unlike typical '1x12 plus horn' PA speakers, the Passport cabinets have no tweeters, just four identical 6.5-inch paper cone drivers in a ported, pressure moulded polypropylene cabinet. The voice coils are around one inch in diameter, and the cones are mounted in fairly stiff surrounds — there's relatively little cone excursion, even at very high SPLs. Each driver has a 2 Ohm impedance, and the total cabinet impedance is 8 Ohms. Internal moulded ribbing and damping is used to combat cabinet resonances, and the front baffle has two large ports to help achieve a reasonable bass response.

The feed comes in through the front panel via a quarter-inch jack, which means that as it stands, 125 Watts per channel is the maximum output. However, a second pair of speakers can be connected if required; an add-on system comprising two speakers and an empty central storage tower will be available shortly. Even so, the speakers are surprisingly efficient at 101 dB for 1 Watt at 1 metre, and the overall maximum system level is in excess of 120dB SPL.

You might think that 6.5-inch drivers would be fine for mid-range work, but don't they roll off at both the bass and high treble ends of the spectrum? Yes they do, but not as badly as you might think, and in common with most other systems that employ multiple identical cone drivers, active equalisation is included to flatten the response. In this case, the system equalisation, which is mild compared with some other equalised systems, is built into the power amp section. The result is a bass end that goes down to below 70Hz. Although the top end doesn't hit the heady heights attainable from a good tweeter, it still provides plenty of detail with the undoubted benefit of a comfortable, natural sound unimpaired by crossover anomalies. For performers who need to amplify mainly vocals, or for those using acoustic guitars or backing tapes, this arrangement yields perfectly acceptable results.

If used free standing, the speakers tilt backwards at a few degrees, although for tripod mounting, standard 35mm top hat fittings are located on the base of each speaker. These may be removed and replaced by optional hardware for permanent installation. Because the speakers are mounted one above the other, with one pair offset from the other by 15 degrees, the dispersion pattern is similar to that of a traditional column speaker — you get a wide fan of sound in the horizontal plane, but a relatively narrow dispersion in the vertical. This is a great advantage in achieving uniform coverage, without wasting too much energy on the ceiling.

"There is something about the Passport system that is so right, and so neat, that even if you can't think of an immediate need for one, you'll probably want one anyway."

THE TOWER

The central tower contains a pair of bi-polar power amplifiers, run from a switch-mode power supply. The mains voltage is switchable in two ranges for 115V or 230V operation. Switch-mode power supplies are very tolerant of main voltage fluctuations, so even in severe brown-out situations, the amplifiers still deliver their full rated power. An accessory connector allows an optional power supply box to be plugged in which enables the system to be operated from a 12V car battery — the ultimate busking system or what? Directly below the amplifier heatsink is a trapdoor providing access to the mic/cable stowage department, and in the roof of the compartment are two car-type power fuses for the DC input. The power supply normally provides adequate power amp protection, but if anything dramatic should cause a fuse to blow, there's no problem with accessibility or obtaining spares.

The other side of the tower is completely taken up by the mixer, which has been designed with simplicity of operation uppermost in mind. All the designer dome-shaped knobs feature scooped pointer recesses, and all critical functions (EQ, pan, balance, masters, and system EQ) are detented at their nominal operating position to make setting up easier. Inexperienced users should find that putting all the controls at their detented position should give them a good starting point.

The mixer features four mono mic/line channels and two stereo channels, plus an effects send and a stereo return, just in case you want to use a more sophisticated effects unit. Patching in an external device to the send jack mutes the internal reverb. Insert points are available directly before the power amp section so that you could hook up a graphic EQ, limiter or some other processor.

There's even a Monitor mode, which allows the main mix to be routed to the left speaker, and a monitor mix based on the Reverb Aux knob positions to be sent to the right speaker. Both left and right channels have master level controls, so this provides a convenient way of setting up a monitor mix. The obvious compromise here is that there's only one set of aux controls, so the same knob determines both the monitor level and the reverb level. A Master reverb level control mitigates this to some extent, but in some situations, it may be necessary to turn the reverb off altogether in order to avoid an inappropriate mix. Rather than view this as a limitation, I feel it more reasonable to look at it as a piece of lateral thinking that has provided additional flexibility at little or no extra cost.

The first of the four mono mic line channels features Level, EQ, Rev/Aux, and Pan controls, the same as the other mono channels, but it also has a VIP (Vocal Input Priority) control for ducking. When a mic is plugged into channel 1 and the threshold set, the level of all the other mix elements, say, a stereo tape or CD machine, can be ducked whenever the mic is used. The ducking circuit is pre-fader, so once an appropriate degree of ducking has been set up, the effects remain independent of the master volume or channel volume settings. In ducking mode, the background programme ducks by anything from a mere hint to a radical dip in volume (depending on the VIP setting) whenever the mic is used, and when the mic signal stops, the signal ramps back to full level over a period of several seconds so that it doesn't sound too 'lumpy'. This is useful for DJ applications, conference work, general public address, and so on.

"In a live band context, I'd be happy to use a Passport system at pub gigs with my three-piece rock outfit..."

Unlike a typical mixer, the channels run left to right rather than top to bottom. Although most of the controls are self evident, the EQ needs a little explaining. Even the simplest mixers have high and low EQ, so why does this mixer have only one knob? Furthermore, why does the sound get less bassy when you turn the knob anticlockwise? As with everything else about this mixer, there's method in the seeming madness. During the research for this project, the engineers looked at how people actually used EQ in a live environment, then designed a single control to cover all the common options. At its centre detented position, the EQ is flat, but as you turn it anticlockwise, a high-pass filter comes in to counteract the proximity bass rise caused by typical cardioid and hypercardioid microphones. This corresponds to the blue section of the control dial; blue indicates a cooler sound.

If blue is cool, then red is warm, but this is no simple bass boost. Instead, the EQ produces a 'smile' curve where both the low and high end are boosted, but the middle is held back so as to produce warmth without muddiness or loss of detail. Having played with this EQ for a while, I have to concede that I rather like it, and as there's only one knob, all the inexperienced user has to do is turn it until the best sound is produced. Inputs are both quarter-inch jack and XLR.

Moving on to the two stereo line-only channels, these are configured in a similar way to the mono channels. However, they feature conventional high/low equalisers, providing the required control over ready mixed sources, such as backing tapes, CD players, keyboards or whatever. These controls operate at similar frequencies to those in most regular mixers. Inputs are on both stereo jacks and phonos.

Directly below the mixer channels are two large knobs for the master left and right output level control and a Mode switch. Mode switches between normal stereo operation and split main/monitor mode, where the monitor mix is set up using the channel Rev/Aux knobs. As mentioned earlier, this is rather a compromise, because the monitor and reverb send levels will be the same. However, the master reverb level control can be used to reduce the reverb level if the balance turns out to be an unfortunate one.

Next to the Master Reverb control is a system EQ knob, and this is essentially a 'tilt' shelving EQ, providing either bass boost with top cut or bass cut with top lift. Like all the EQ on this mixer, the degree of adjustment is limited to a sensible range, and the results are quite smooth and musical.

"Unpacking and setting up the Passport is a matter of moments."

The digital reverb itself is non-programmable and non-adjustable, other than in level. Technically, it's based on an 8-bit circuit and sounds more like a regular spring reverb than a digital device. While studio users would probably be appalled by it, in a live situation, it adds just the right degree of ambience and depth without muddying the sound. It's also very quiet, which is a major achievement for an 8-bit device. Very often, people take studio quality reverbs on the road, then wonder why the sound isn't as good as they expect it to be. I suspect the truth of the situation is that even a relatively dead venue has enough liveness to produce some reverberation, so providing you have a coarse reverb processor capable of generating a bit of pre-delay plus a few early reflections, the room ambience will fill in the rest of the detail for you. On the other hand, if you start with a really dense reverb, you may end up with a rather muddy overall sound.

Finally, the mixer provides two speaker outputs per channel on regular jacks, master insert points on separate send and return jacks (so you don't need Y leads), and there's a tape output on phonos. A jack is provided for an optional effects bypass footswitch, and for the connection of internal effects, there's a further mono FX send jack and a stereo return jack. Two LEDs above the power switch show the unit is switched on and warn if the protection circuitry steps in.

IN USE

Unpacking and setting up the Passport is a matter of moments. Despite being a relatively low powered PA system by modern standards, the speaker's efficiency means you can get a lot of level out of the system if the programme material is predominantly mid-range, such as vocals. Although you'd expect the system EQ to cause the amplifiers to max out when faced with high levels of bass, this is less serious than you might expect due to a piece of clever design work, which causes the internal system EQ (high and low end boost) to flatten out progressively as the power is increased. This complements the way the human hearing system responds to different levels and tends to produce a more even tonality at different operating levels.

When used with full-range material, the usable level is less than with speech only, but the performance is still surprisingly good, and although there's no really deep bass, the sound is still full and punchy, though in comparison to a Bose system, it is more 'middley'. At very high levels, the bass end starts to modulate the mid-range, but even then, the deterioration in quality is fairly graceful. To put the system power into perspective, I'd be fairly happy using the Passport to handle vocals only in a typical pub band situation — I think it's fair to say you'd run into the feedback barrier before running out of level — and for the solo performer working with a mic and backing tapes, there's enough clean power for small to medium pub and social club gigs. When feedback did occur, it too tended to favour mid-range frequencies, and it's possible that the cabinets are slightly more resonant than they would be in an ideal world. Better damping may improve the immunity to feedback and help counter the slightly middley tonality. Still, this was a pre-production model, so Fender have time to make any slight modifications needed.

Of course, there are lots more applications than band PA. The battery powering option makes this a good system for outdoor events such as fetes or school sports days, the compact, smart styling makes it a natural for conferences or lectures, and the smooth, natural sound quality also makes it an interesting option for more serious AV productions or multimedia events. The other surprise use is as an acoustic guitar amplification system. I plugged in my Washburn acoustic, which is fitted with a piezo bridge pick-up and preamp, and it sounded great. There was plenty of volume, the EQ suited the instrument, and the overall result was natural and detailed without that horrible scratchiness you sometimes get from systems with horns. Even the rather sparing reverb sounded fine, providing it was kept to a moderate level.

"There's a lot to be said for getting to the end of the gig, coiling up the leads, clipping on the speakers, and walking out with the PA in one hand and your night's earnings in the other."

CONCLUSION

There is something about the Passport system that is so right, and so neat, that even if you can't think of an immediate need for one, you'll probably want one anyway. I know this because I want one! Even if you have a PA, it's useful as a monitor system, a stereo acoustic guitar system, or merely to provide a little more distributed coverage down the far end of a long room. The battery option means that a single car battery will see you through a whole day's outdoor event without too much trouble, and the more you think about it, the more applications you think of. The hire companies will love this package!

In a live band context, I'd be happy to use a Passport system at pub gigs with my three-piece rock outfit, providing it was only used for vocals. There's quite enough level to carry vocals over an enthusiastically played drum kit, and although the on-board reverb is a trifle basic and 'sproingy' sounding, it somehow seems to work if you keep the level sensibly low. The solo singer/player using backing tracks should find the Passport ideal, whereas the extreme ease of use will be appreciated by schools, conference room operators, and small concert organisers. Although few musicians will need the ducking option, it's an excellent facility for any general purpose applications which involve a speaker and pre-recorded music.

When I first got the system to check out, I thought Fender had included the mics just for me to do the tests, but no, they're part of the basic package, as are the XLR mic cables and the speaker cables. What's more, they're not bad mics — see box. You do have to buy your own footswitch, but these can be very cheap, and there's room for it in the stowage compartment. However, I do think the unit could use a status LED to indicate whether the reverb is on or off when a footswitch is being used.

For me, it's the portability and convenience of this system that really appeals. That, and the fact that you can lift a cabinet onto a fully extended tripod without getting a hernia or dislocating your shoulder. If Fender could have added small wheels and one of those extending 'dog lead' handles to pull the Passport around by, handling could have been improved even further. Apparently this was discussed, but rejected because of the possibility of rattles.

On the value front, the Passport is unbelievable, and the secret behind the very low cost is the intensive use of injection moulding and imaginative design. Tooling for a project like this costs about the same as a street full of terraced houses in suburbia, but once the initial investment has been made, the manufacturing costs are actually very low. By keeping the selling price down, Fender can capitalise on the economies of scale and actually do rather well, but they have to sell a whole bunch of these systems worldwide to recoup their R&D costs. Fortunately, they seem to have got the basic design dead right. There's a lot to be said for getting to the end of the gig, coiling up the leads, clipping on the speakers, and walking out with the PA in one hand and your night's earnings in the other. Case closed!

Passport £699 inc VAT.

Arbiter Group plc, (Contact Details).