Passport Venue PA Speaker System

This is a super high quality system. Overall, this thing is totally 5 stars. CHOOSING BETWEEN THE THREE MODELS I bought both a Fender Passport Event, and also a Passport Venue. I like the Event because it has Bluetooth which works really well for playing some music from my iPhone before the event starts. The weight between the Venue and Event is negligible. They essentially weight the same. In terms of output, the Event can hurt my ears, and the Venue can BLAST my ears out. I didn't think a speaker without direct power to each speaker could be SOOO loud. The main draw for the Venue, for my use, is the fact that you can record the audio coming out. Since I'm using these for a conference, I wanted to be able to record some of the presentations. I was wondering if the audio quality from the built-in recorder would be good enough to release as a paid product, and I'm happy to report that it is. The recorder built in is actually really nice quality. That's a HUGE selling point as far as I'm concerned. I just wish the Venue ALSO had Bluetooth. Ugh! SOUND QUALITY I'm very happy with the sound quality for speakers. Again, I'm primarily using this for a conference, so that's what I'm mostly concerned with. If I were using this for a music use, I'd probably want a little more bass than what it gives, but you can add a bass later if need be. BUILD QUALITY I love how these speakers fit together in a suitcase design. This makes them so much more portable than other systems and is much less of a hassle. They are quite heavy when it's together in the suitcase, but it's workable. CONNECTIONS I'm disappointed that the XLR inputs are not dual-purpose XLR and 1/4" they are ONLY XLR. That's a bit of a pain because the audio coming from my wireless mic system comes out as 1/4". If you found this review helpful, could you take a second and hit the "helpful" link so my reviewer rating can go up? Thank you!

Product is of excellent quality and far exceeded our expectations. I ordered this product for the company I work for. We intended to use it for an outdoor picnic and figured it would be wise to invest in something we could use down the road, rather than rent for $150 for a one-time use. We are exceedingly glad we did! The only complaint I could lodge against it is that the storage compartment for the wires/microphone is a bit snug to contain the power cord, the speaker cables, the microphone and its cable, as well as the headphone input jack for hooking up a phone/computer. It's snug, but works with some fandangling. The clarity of the speakers was surprising! We were able to hear details and adjustments for volume/mixing the mic and audio was excellent. Build quality seems very good without being over-engineered and bulky/heavy. It transports well and its a nice neat package. It looks professional and I expect it will last a long time with proper handling and usage. We had more than enough power for our outdoor setup, though it wasn't windy at all. We only had it turned up about half and it was audible from every angle we needed. I'd recommend buying one of these, especially if you plan to have more than one event. Rental equipment is great for special occasions where you need a larger setup (for a dance where you want lots of bass, for example), but if you want some background music and the ability to make announcements to a group, this should be more than adequate for small-medium gatherings. We've since used it for music during a dodgeball tournament and it was just nice to have available. You might be surprised how often background music/amplified speaking comes in handy, especially when this is tucked away in a closet somewhere for quick access.

First the good stuff - the speakers in this system are really good sounding. They are not harsh, like PA speakers usually are, have a really neutral sound that is good for many types of music, and also have a very smooth transition from on-axis to listening off to the side. They’re one of the few PA style speakers I’ve heard that I could put in my living room and listen to CD’s on. If you’re doing mostly voice, or music fill, this system is really hard to beat. However, it runs out of power quickly, So if you are expecting enough thump to dance to, this is not the system for you, as everything runs out of power together - not enough amp power, and the speakers won’t handle any more. The system is really well matched, it just doesn’t play super loud - I upgraded to the Yamaha Soundpas 600BT, so read my review on that system, which is the absolute opposite of this one. A few minor points. I bought the package with the Fender speaker stands, and they don’t fit the speakers. The speakers have a fitting in the bottom of them so you just stick them on the end of the pole, and the Fender stands have a double-sided post with a small end and a big end. The big end will not fit in the speakers, period, and the small end is really loose - the speakers will spin on the stand and flop down a little. I fixed this with a few turns of gaffer’s tape on the post to snug the fit, but Fender needs to fix this. The Yamaha speakers fit the stands perfectly, and also have a lever you push down to clamp the speaker to the stand - much better design. Lastly, while it’s clever to have everything buckle together into a suitcase, it’s a pretty cumbersome suitcase. I prefer Yamaha’s design of two speakers with handles on them, with storage on the back of the speakers for the mixer and cables. In summary, I really like the sound of this system, and would have loved to keep it, but it just didn’t play loud enough. Is it loud enough for dancing after a wedding? Only if it’s a small wedding, and they don’t want to feel the bass. Fender should come out with a matching portable subwoofer for this system, as it would make it just good enough for me. As it is, it’s good for conference use, but I found the Yamaha Soundpas far more flexible, for a little more money.

I consider the new Passport Mini to be more of a guitar amp than PA... and that is really where its value lies. The amp modeling in this little busker is split evenly between acoustic and electric amp models and the Mini takes my Fender Tim Armstrong Hellcat concert acoustic/electric and my Fender American Standard Stratocaster equally well. The fact that it works well with electric guitars is what sets it apart from other "micro PAs" as well as other small acoustic amps - most of which also include XLR inputs for vocal mics. The DSP (digital signal processing) in the Passport Mini is the same used in Fender's highly acclaimed Mustang line of modeling amps and the 65 Twin Reverb and 57 Champ models will really bring a smile to your face especially when you consider the tone is coming from a box you can hold in the palm of one hand! The acoustic models really enhance my Hellcat's tone as well. Those wanting more tonal variety and deeper editing will find the Fender FUSE software compatibility (again, the same program used in Fender's Mustang line and the popular G-DEC amps) very easy and intuitive to use. This little gem isn't going to replace 100 watt or higher PA systems and it cannot accommodate a duo unless one person is only singing and the other is only playing. What it is perfect for is for those who self-accompany and play for intimate small room audiences, or poolside, campfire side, street corner busking and the like. For those types of gigging, you can do very well with just the Passport Mini, your acoustic/electric or electric guitar and a dynamic mic and mic stand... no need for pedals or stompboxes or any other muss or fuss! Very simple and highly portable!

Wonderful piece of kit for gigging guitar players/singer songwriters. It is very well suited to amplifying an acoustic guitar and vocals. The reverb channels are superb... it will make your acoustic guitar and your voice (assuming you have a good one to start with) sound like a mixture of warm butter and salted caramel with a hint of the hips of a beautiful woman. It is also plenty loud to fill pretty much any coffee shop or local club venue. It weighs like 45 odd pounds so you'll need some sort of hand truck to move it around if you are gigging regularly. It comes with a power cable and cables for the speakers and a nice compartment in the center console to store cables and other accessories as well. If you want to plug in your guitar and/or a mic, you'll need to get cables for those separately. I should also note that it is not well suited for amplifying an electric guitar. Tube amplifiers like a hot rod deluxe, or the blues junior, or a blues deluxe, or twin reverb are best suited for electric guitars so you can add that to your rig when you go play live. It is very expensive, but worth every cent. I've had it for ~8 weeks now, and still get chills when I hear it live. Highly recommended.

My husband wanted to go cheap on speakers and I read reviews like a hawk before doubling our price to buy these. We throw a huge outdoor party annually and these save us the cost of a DJ. We have been experimenting with their sound to see how well they hold up outside. They are exceptional and I would pay double the price. The sound quality doesn’t suffer no matter how loud they go. The clarity stays at the highest levels (and I think you can hear them a few states away if you turn them all the way up.) These aren’t backup speakers - they are a lifetime investment. The quality is amazing and the price is well worth it. We purchased the venue model and no regrets. Just pure love. Well done, Fender.

I already own a Vox mini 3 so I will compare it with the Fender Passport mini. The Vox mini 3 only has 3 watts and the Fender has 7watts. Not a huge difference but noticeable. The Fender mini has a more durable build then the Vox mini3, it has a metal protective plate for the speaker, and a metal handle which doubles as a stand to prop the amp on an angle. The Vox mini 3 only has a 1/4 inch line input for the mic channel while the Fender mini has both the XLR and 1/4 inch connection. But the biggest difference is the amp selections, the Vox mini3 has roughly 11 different presets while the Fender mini has 24. The Fender presets can also be customized with the USB connection and Fender Fuse software. Add to that the Fender has a full blown tuner vs. the Vox mini which only tunes the low E string. The Effects offerings on both amps are about the same, and both have an aux input so you can jam along with your favorite mp3's, etc. Headphone amps are available on both models as well. And both amps can be powered by an included AC adapter or batteries. In summary, while both amps are relatively the same size/weight I would recommend the Fender Passport mini. Having more preset choices, better sound, a full blown tuner, and durable build quality the Fender mini is the better purchase. Get one today and rock on!

This is a good little system for using one or two instruments and mics. Not really designed for much more than that. However, it is powerful enough for small outdoor venues and great for most indoor venues. It all fits together in one easy to carry unit.If you are looking for a small compact unit for one or two instrument and vocalists, this is a good choice. I also own the Behringer system that costs the same. The Behringer sounds better and and has more input options. But there are pros and cons to each unit. I prefer the Behringer system The Fender system is much more compact and easy to carry and store. But, if you want just a simple portable PA system this would be a good pick.