(DM 112 ) / £705 (DM ) The Dark Matter Series from popular PA manufacturer Peavey is a range of active speaker cabinets aimed squarely at working mobile DJs. While not brand new (the Dark Matter Series was launched in the UK almost 18 months ago) these speakers have not yet been in Pro Mobile, but I felt like they deserved to be as they pack a real punch at this price point. 7744 As I’m sure will be the case for many mobile DJs who’ve been around for a decade or three, I have a history with Peavey.

However, unlike most, rather than owning Peavey speakers I used to sell them, when I worked at Premier Sound & Light in Bolton back in the early 90s. At the time, Peavey was prevalent in the disco and MI PA markets and the HiSys II was by far our bestselling speaker cab. Since then the industry has seen lots of changes and Peavey has been one of the brands to suff er the recession badly. The company’s UK base closed down and the brand’s position in the market suff ered accordingly.

However, Peavey has come out of the other side of this tough time and is now in a strong position in the UK having teamed up with well-respected distributor Barnes & Mullins. A host of new and exciting products have been released by Peavey over the past couple of years and chief amongst them – from a mobile DJ perspective – is the Dark Matter Series. Dark Matter builds on the rich heritage of Peavey while using modern technology to deliver active speakers that meet the needs of today’s mobile DJ.

The Dark Matter Series comprises four models, two full-range cabinets and two subs. I had the opportunity to try out a pair of DM 112 cabinets alongside a pair of DM 115 Subs. The DM 112 is a full range speaker cabinet containing a compression driver with a 1.4” titanium diaphragm and a 12” woofer, while the DM 115 Sub is a vented subwoofer enclosure loaded with a 15” driver. Also in the range is the larger DM 115, a full range cabinet with a 15” driver, as well as the matching 118 Sub, which incorporates an 18” driver.

I defi nitely think that for the venues that most mobile DJs fi nd themselves working in, the DM 112 / DM 115 Sub pairing is certainly the most relevant. The best way I can describe the aesthetics of these speakers is to say that they are ‘normal’, both in terms of size and appearance. The DM 115 Sub is constructed from wood and has a design that places the 15” woofer above a large vent, with a full-coverage perforated steel grille providing protection to the speaker cone.

The DM 112, meanwhile, is constructed from injection-moulded plastic but is fi nished with the same heavy-duty steel grille. I like the fact that the Peavey designers have opted for a neutral look for both cabinets, especially the DM 112, unlike many other brands who feel they need to make some kind of a statement with their plastic cabs. Both cabinets are manageable in terms of their weight, with the DM 112 coming in at 15.9 kg and the DM 115 Sub weighing 32.3 kg.

Both units also feature heavy- THEP AERATV EOYF D AADRVKE MRTAITSTINEGR duty recessed handles on either side to aid with lift ing and carrying, while the DM 112 has an additional handle at the top. As you’d probably expect from DJ PA, the full-range cab has a pole-mount built in to its base. This means that it can either be raised up on a speaker stand or a pole (supplied) connected to the matching mount on the top of the DM 115 Sub. For added fl exibility, the full range cabinet can also be used as a wedge monitor when laid on its side.

In fact, thanks to the clever design of the rear of the cab, two diff erent wedge angles can be achieved depending on if you lay it down on its left side or its right. The DM 112 uses Peavey’s exclusive Quadratic Throat Waveguide technology for a wide coverage angle of 110 by 80-degrees with virtually no distortion even high sound pressure levels. It also incorporates bi-amplifi cation to drive the woofer and compression driver independently for maximum effi ciency and is fan-cooled for maximum reliability.

When it comes to connectivity and control of the DSP (Digital Signal Processing), I’d say Peavey have opted for a minimal approach but have covered all of the bases. The single input socket is a combination XLR and 1/4” jack, while an additional XLR socket provides a ‘Thru’ connection to allow other speakers to be daisy-chained. The input level can be switched between Mic and Line, while a Ground Lift switch is provided to allow hum generated by a ground loop to be avoided.

A back-lit LCD display and single push-to-select rotary control allow access to the unit’s DSP presets: EDM, DJ, Rock, Country, Acoustic, Hip Hop, Voice, Church and Floor Monitor. It is also possible to create a custom setting thanks to independent Bass and Treble control, and a delay setting can even be chosen should you wish to position extra speakers a long way down a very large room. The DM 115 Sub also has a single combination XLR and 1/4" jack input socket and Thru XLR output.

In addition, it also off ers a further pair of Hi Pass XLR outputs for connecting to active mid/top cabinets (DM 112s for example). In addition to a Level control, two further dials allow the Cross Over frequency to be fi ne-tuned as well as the Peavey Kosmos C Bass Enhance circuitry to be implemented. The best way I can describe this is professional version of the ‘Bass Boost’ switch from the stereo most of us had as kids. However, in this case, it’s not all or nothing!

You can implement as much of the bass enhancement as you feel is appropriate and it does make a noticeable diff erence, giving more richness to the low frequencies… more oomph! So, what do the Dark Matter speakers actually sound like? Pretty darn good is the honest answer. If you were PEAVEY DARK MATTER PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaavvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr at so inclined, a pair of DM 112 speakers on their own could cover a small venue adequately.

However, unless the gig is in someone’s living room, I ALWAYS think DJs should use separate subs for a more rounded sound, in fact it’s a major bugbear of mine! When you do add in the DM 115 a Subs the overall sound really is superb – rich bass, plenty of clarity and enough power to cover the variety of room sizes that most mobile DJs fi nd themselves confronted with on a regular basis. With solid build, good sound quality and understated – yet attractive – design, the Dark Matter series continues the Peavey legacy of mobile PA in style.

All in all, these are solid good-value speakers that sounds as good as it gets for this sort of money. THE EARLY DAYS