Eboy87, keep in mind some of these responses are about the driverack series, rather than the driverack PA. There is a huge difference between the DRPA and the DR260, even more so with the DP480. Most processors are priced well over a thousand dollars. The DRPA goes for about 500 bucks. So, if you're a believer in the "you get what you pay for" theory, that's 500 dollars directly proportional to cheap processing.
Justifying your use of this thing really depends on your
system and what you do with it. Secondly, do you use anything besides EQ and compression? You're certainly aren't going to use the
crossover if you're running full ranges. You're not going to be touching the delay if you don't own delays, much less own other speakers. And while the room mic tuning may sound cool, you'll still have to buy an expensive
flat frequency (or close. the flatter, the more accurate)
microphone designed for tuning/analyzation.
I'd sugguest you go out an demo one of these units to see if it's worth it. In my opinion, it's that big of a
gain in your traditional full range "PA". However I do think it'd be a good
purchase for a basic theater or soundman who needs or wants to experiment with a little more than basic
FOH processing. It'd be great to have around for if you wanted to delay and
effect speaker, you're renting subs,
etc. This thing will work as a basic set it and forget it digital
crossover/eq. But if you need to tune to a new room on the fly. It's not the most user friendly right of the bat. Sure you can get familar with the
unit, but you aren't going to have the speed like you would with a regular outboard eq.
One thing I should mention that the Driverack PA makes a loud awful sound when it powers up and down. It's such an awful sound, some have reported a few damaged drivers. However, the other driverack products (260, 480,
etc) don't make the sound. But, make sure you
power up correctly or you'll scare everyone, or even possibly cause some damage.