UK – Phonophobia emerged in the late 1990s as an audio-only supplier, before expanding over the years to become the full-service provider it is today. Specialists in audio, lighting, rigging, staging, power, and LED video, the company offers complete production supply and hire for tours, festivals, and one-off events. With an extensive stockholding across all of its disciplines, Phonophobia is particularly favoured by other production companies as a one-stop dry hire supplier.
JBL loudspeakers have been part of the Phonophobia inventory for almost three decades, and having recently identified space for a versatile and dry-hire friendly option for medium-format applications, the company recently made a significant investment in the new JBL SRX900 powered line array, as owner Mark Chant explains:
“We’ve been a JBL user for ages. We were hiring and installing Sound Power boxes a quarter of a century ago, and we did well with VerTec and VTX, both of which delivered without any worries. We’d heard about the new SRX900 prior to launch and believed it would sit well at a level where customers have concerns about trucking weight or maybe around things being too technical. Our initial investment in the SRX900 was for a long rental where there were issues concerning amplifier locations and space in general – we needed something light and tidy, and it proved to be a great choice. Off the back of that we added a significant amount to our rental stock and it’s become one of the busiest lines we keep.”
Available in dual 6.5” and dual 10” line array loudspeakers, with 15” and 18” subwoofers designed for both flyable and ground-stacked configurations, the JBL SRX900 Series provides modular flexibility which scales with system requirements, application needs, and budget. Best in class acoustic performance, efficient built-in amplification, and sophisticated DSP, come together in a reliable, rugged package which is easy to deploy across a wide range of use cases.
Following its initial investment in 13 x SRX906 and 6 x SRX918S, Phonophobia now holds a total stock of 33 x SRX 906 (dual 6.5” line array), 28 x SRX910 (dual 10” line array), 10 x SRX918S (18” sub) and 18 x SRX928 (dual 18” sub).
Mark continues:
“In a relatively short space of time we’ve used the SRX900 on installs, a lot of full productions, and loads of dry hire. The fact that it’s self-powered is a huge bonus – we’ve created our own carefully-considered infrastructure systems to make deployment very quick and easy. It’s compact and incredibly light so there’s an immediate saving in trucking weight and space – regular dry hire customers love being able to truck a festival-sized PA in a long wheelbase van and still have payload available.”
“We have a few long runs in the winter months where weather is always a concern, but the design of the boxes and their rain covers enable them to survive weeks out in all weathers with no reliability issues. It’s fair to say that the SRX900 systems have now become a go-to choice for many customers – the systems really do sound great.”
The JBL SRX900 is distributed in the UK by Live Technology for whom Mark is full of praise:
“Their support is excellent, and they respond immediately to any questions or issues we might have. We had a particular project last year where we needed SRX910/928 in a hurry for another venue, and although it was very short notice, the kit all arrived on time, everything went in smoothly, and the client was over the moon. It was another deployment where we just walked away knowing everything would be fine.”
