Customer Reviews

Roland PM-01 Personal Monitor

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just got one of these to go with my V-Drums Lite. I was apprehensive at first being only 15w, but a friend had the same setup and said he was happy with it. So, I took the chance. It is 15w. No doubt. However, I'm in a bedroom sized home office and it's fine. Not as loud as I would have liked, but it's loud enough to hear the drums clearly. Sound is crisp, highs sound clear. For the price (I got used at $100), and design to go with the Lite system, there's no equal. The next up would be the Roland PM-10 and that's $260+.

Bass is good, but will not rattle windows, or pound your chest, it's a 15w 4" midrange speaker in a band pass enclosure. But it's good enough for practice sessions. For the price to move up, I think I'll be happy with this until I'm a in a band and performing on stage in front of an audience, ie- not any time soon ;)

I purchased the Roland PM-01 Personal Monitor in order to be able to listen to my electroic drums and iPod while playing as an alternative to just using headphones. I'm not a professional drummer nor do I have aspirations about playing in that capacity. I just like to play along with music for fun. When I first got the PM-01 I was impressed with how well it is made. Has a nice heft, looks good, and feels like a quality product. It's easy to set up and use, just plug it in and it's set to go. Sound quality is okay, particularly the mids and highs, but volume is not great. The bass response is pretty marginal. My bass drum sounds very "thin" and muted. But then if you look at the speakers in the PM-01 you will understand...they are quite small. If you currently use decent headphones with your electronic drums, the PM-01 will sound somewhat underwhelming. If you use earbud style phones, maybe it will sound passable, but do not expect too much volume. After about 6 months of use, I decided that I wanted a little better sound and "punch". Not only from my electronic drum kit, but the music I play along with via my iPod. I gave my PM-01 to my son-in-law and bought myself a Simmons DA-50. Wow! What a difference. With a much larger woofer, bigger amp, EQ, and other features, the Simmons gives me just what I had hoped the Roland PM-01 would.

So in conclusion, the little Roland is not a bad product, just do not set your expectations too high. It is what it is...a nicely made, relatively inexpensive, modestly powered, personal drum monitor with so-so sound quality. If that's what you are looking for it does it's job. If you are after something that can play with a bit more volume, has better bass response, allows you to hear some of the subtle sounds your electronic drum kit can make as well as allowing the music you play along with to sound really good...don't get your hopes up too high.

I bought this to go with our HD-1 drums set. Reviews said it's quite good. But my experience so far is the sound is somewhat muffled. It's not as clear as I expected it.
(The sound on a cheap pair of headphones sound much better)

But as a compact speaker it serves the purpose of giving you the feedback you need as you drum.

I rated with four stars basically because the power input is only for 110V. I live in Chile and the voltage here is 220V, so I had to buy a power adaptor.
But the product is really good, fits perfect with the HD-1, and the sound is just what you need for this kit.