PA Systems

Today I am going to review the Yamaha Club V Series S215 Dual 15″ Loudspeaker. 

At just over 100 lbs and with dimensions of 19.5 x 23.5 x 45.9 inches, the S215 is the kind of speaker you might typically see getting unloaded off of a truck by some sweating roadies when it’s time for a rock concert or giving your future brother-in-law a minor back injury as he tries to one-man (“don’t worry I got this bro.. AHHH! my back!) it onto the stage for your sister’s wedding. 

At just a glance, it’s a solid unit.  In fact, I have seen these speakers used at various musical events, from church events, to open mics, to rock concerts, to live DJ sets. 

These puppies get around, and understandably so.  The Yamaha Club series of loudspeakers are what most consider to be all purpose speakers, so you can use ’em for almost any type of event, and they excel at producing what I might call a “lively” sound. 

The ones I have are definitely not small. 

Here is an example of these particular loudspeakers in action.  The sound quality of this performance is bad, but you can get a sense of the size of event you might use these for.

Don’t you just wish you were there?  Anyway, I have been using my pair of S215V’s for a couple of years now as they sit in the music room at my high school, where I am the teacher. 

We use them mainly for, well, various types of playback during classroom exercises.  Quite often, I’m playing things for my students and I don’t know if they know this, because kids these days are so entitled, but they’re getting treated to some very good quality sound that they probably don’t deserve. 

I’ve been known to play them Bach on these babies, or sometimes on lunch break I throw on some Orbital and let that bass vibrate my chesticles. In the ’80’s, my teachers used to play things on a boombox and it sounded like crap.  Big step up here with these S215V’s. 

Occasionally we use these speakers for assemblies, and I usually have to lug them down to the gym on a dolly or with the help of a strong student.  Since I’m the music teacher, they expect me to be an audio engineer as well, which I’m not. 

That said, I’ve used them for a few concerts myself with my band.  In my classroom, this pair of speakers are currently hooked up to a Behringer Eurodesk SX3242FX Mixer, and coupled with a Yamaha MSR800W 15″ Powered Subwoofer. 

We do a lot of ensemble pieces, using a wide variety of instruments, and often more than one vocalist, so having all of this equipment at our fingertips is very useful! 

Even the shy kids can be boosted so you can hear what they’re actually doing.  Nowhere for the shy singers and guitar players to hide when I crank this baby up!

High Quality Sound From Yamaha

Loud or quiet, the sound quality from these units is overall great.  I’m sure there are people with better ears than me who work in the music industry, but my ears work ok, thank you very much! 

In the classroom environment that I use this speaker in, the S215V provides quality sound, and a real punch.  The classroom I work in is fairly large, and these speakers have no trouble filling the room whatsoever. 

At fair-sized venues, these speakers are really in their element.  In fact, I’d say these speakers are a bit big for my room, but hey, they were there when I got there. 

They tend to stay in one spot, too, because they’re not the lightest speakers to move.  They do have nice handles, but that’s more for when you have to carry them down the hall, not drag them a few inches here or there.  

In our class, it’s not hard to point them in one direction or another, as they are somewhat directional in nature, but moving them around the room is a bit of a task.

Aesthetically, what you get with these Yahama Club V Series S215 Dual 15″ Loudspeakers is a trapezoidal cabinet design, a black carpeted surface, and a real rugged, utilitarian look overall. 

Every once in a while, I remove the odd hair or two from the speakers, or I give it a good vacuum, because they do collect dust.  I want them to be presentable when I take them out, and they’re not hard to keep clean, honestly. 

These speakers are big, black, and they stand there like monoliths in my classroom.  They appear to be more normal-sized in the gym, or at an outdoor event.  People have asked me if they have any XLR jacks in the back.  Nope, just 1/4″ jacks.  Here’s what the back looks like.  Sorry it’s blurry.

There has been one or two times where I really crank them up, but there’s no way I could max them out at school.  Windows would break. 

Using my Behringer, I can easily keep things in check in terms of volume, and I can do some EQ’ing as well to make the sound better depending on what is playing through the speakers. 

The bass is very clean, I will say.  And it’s deep as well, even on it’s own.  As I said, we have the MSR800W’s as well, and their inclusion in the setup wasn’t my choice. 

The two were purchased together, and sometimes I don’t even use the subwoofers as the S215’s have a great subwoofer.  When it comes to the bass of the S215’s, the crispness of the low end comes in handy in certain venues which can get muddied up by an overly bassy sound. 

As far as longevity goes, I think these speakers were in my class for a year before I arrived.  I’m honestly not sure how long they’re supposed to last, but they seem fairly invincible to me. 

I’ve never noticed anything that makes them seem like they’re old except maybe some dust.  A quick vacuum and they look new again.  I feel like these speakers will most likely outlive me, but we’ll see.  Highly recommended!

PS: I also used these speakers to mix an album I produced recently.  The sound coming from the speakers is fairly honest, so it was useful to listen to tracks on these speakers both quiet and loud.

PPS, and here’s a video I found online that shows how they make these speakers.  I showed it to my class, and they thought it was pretty cool.  Check it out.