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PA speakers


JamesBass
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I'm looking to upgrade my bands PA currently I've sorted a nice new desk, but I'm still debating speakers, are there any particular recommendations that I should definitely look at? I'm currently debating between some 15inch Alto TS215's and some Yamaha speakers, budget is open ended currently.

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I'm ideally looking to go for powered speakers so I can spend more on speakers and not have to factor an amp in! Also an easier load in without amp.

I was looking at the Yamaha DXR series, I've heard great things about the Yammy speakers, and my experiences with their desks has always been great!

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Hi James

narrowing down a budget makes things a lot easier but if budget is truly open ended then have a look at the Yamaha DSR series of speakers I've used them on countless gigs with one of the sound companies i work for they're awesome and pretty indestructible the 15's have enough balls to handle most things inc kick drum and bass and they sound good out of the box without having to do much tweaking (which is my main bug bear with a lot of active speakers)

[url="https://www.thomann.de/gb/yamaha_dsr_115.htm?ref=search_prv_6"]https://www.thomann.de/gb/yamaha_dsr_115.htm?ref=search_prv_6 [/url]

on the other end of the budget scale (slightly) I've also used the yamaha dsr stuff and its great for what it is ( not as good as the DSR boxes but its a fraction of the price) its a plastic box which imo don't sound as nice and not as easy to neaten up as wood (black sharpie works a charm) but for what they are they're good and they won't break the bank too much

[url="https://www.thomann.de/gb/yamaha_dxr_15.htm?ref=search_rslt_yamaha+dxr_276909_0"]https://www.thomann....ha+dxr_276909_0[/url]

I've attached thomann links so you can see the speakers I'm talking about I'm a sound engineer for a fairly famous jazz club so feel free to give me a shout on here if you have any questions

cheers

chris

edit: i clearly didn't read the rest of the thread before commenting but yeah what everyone else said :D

edit 2: .....,,,..,.,..,.,.,..,..,.., (heres all the punctuation I should have used think of me as the ikea of commenters)

Edited by Chrismanbass
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[quote name='Chrismanbass' timestamp='1490552324' post='3265916']
Hi James

narrowing down a budget makes things a lot easier but if budget is truly open ended then have a look at the Yamaha DSR series of speakers I've used them on countless gigs with one of the sound companies i work for they're awesome and pretty indestructible the 15's have enough balls to handle most things inc kick drum and bass and they sound good out of the box without having to do much tweaking (which is my main bug bear with a lot of active speakers)

[url="https://www.thomann.de/gb/yamaha_dsr_115.htm?ref=search_prv_6"]https://www.thomann.de/gb/yamaha_dsr_115.htm?ref=search_prv_6 [/url]

on the other end of the budget scale (slightly) I've also used the yamaha dsr stuff and its great for what it is ( not as good as the DSR boxes but its a fraction of the price) its a plastic box which imo don't sound as nice and not as easy to neaten up as wood (black sharpie works a charm) but for what they are they're good and they won't break the bank too much

[url="https://www.thomann.de/gb/yamaha_dxr_15.htm?ref=search_rslt_yamaha+dxr_276909_0"]https://www.thomann....ha+dxr_276909_0[/url]

I've attached thomann links so you can see the speakers I'm talking about I'm a sound engineer for a fairly famous jazz club so feel free to give me a shout on here if you have any questions

cheers

chris

edit: i clearly didn't read the rest of the thread before commenting but yeah what everyone else said :D

edit 2: .....,,,..,.,..,.,.,..,..,.., (heres all the punctuation I should have used think of me as the ikea of commenters)
[/quote]
Hi Chris,

Thanks for this buddy! The DSR range would most likely be out of the price range, purely because of time constraints on upgrading the gear! I'm looking at £1500ish, £2K is a push but possible if I can convince the band to stick a bit more in each.

Desk wise we have opted for the Behringer XR18 desk, which is the one I use at work a lot as it's rugged, portable, and sounds great! Plus the iPad app is really stable and user friendly! The problem is the desk often runs through the house amp and passive GAE speakers! And if we run active speakers we use some horrible mackie SRM's.

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I used EV SX300's and SXA100+ for years and they are very good 12" ABS speakers albeit quite an old design now. Need to tame the top end now and again.

I've only used the cheaper Yamaha ABS models, 10" DXR. They are very good so the more more expensive range I imagine to be top notch.

It's a big investment so for a working band you need to make the right choice. PMT in Brum will demo their range so Portsmouth should do likewise. My advice is to not make a quick decision but think long and hard about your requirements:

. what's going through them at what sort of venue - size & power
. is weight and size a concern - storage and transportation.

A good set of covers is pretty much essential as is decent quality stands and leads. For powered speakers a pair of 10m IEC leads is handy.

I've mis-spent many £'s on PA over the years so hopefully you won't do the same. Some good advice so far, good luck.

Edited by grandad
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PMT are great as they are one of the few places you can get to try out a range of cabs. I do this the same way I audition hi-fi speakers, by taking an iPod loaded with 2 or three recordings I know really well with well recorded vocals and a good range of instruments to cover the frequency range. Shops get a bit twitchy if you take in recordings of test tones :)

Anyway after my last audition of 12's at PMT I decided the Yamaha DXR's, JBL EV were all good, and like others I'm a fan of the Yamaha reliability/build quality but that the RCF's are a class above all these in terms of sound quality, especially the ones with the bigger horn drivers. I found a faint but noticeable veiling of vocals in the DXR's, especially female vocals, which were the best of the rest. There was just so much more detail from the RCF 312's and the better one, now replaced by a new model was a really smooth performer. Out in the world of gigging bands the people who use QSC seem to get a really good sound, so I'd try and get to listen to them too if you can.

All of these speakers are terrific BTW and the limiting factor is going to be more about how you use them but for sheer sound quality I think RCF are currently the ones to beat.

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I'd suggest HK Premium Pros for your budget. I use 4 as monitors for larger gigs, or as out front speakers for small jobs where my main rig would be overkill. Have proper wood cabinets - much better than plastic - and are available active, with high quality onboard amplification, or passive. There are 10", 12" and 15" top boxes and several subs in the range. They'll surprise you with how good they sound. Much nicer than Mackie, EV, Alto and all the other other plastic PA cabs imho.

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My band got a pair of these last year. I cant tell you how fantastic we think they are. Coming from an old pair of passive Peavey's that almost takes two people to lift each one, i can now carry both of these on my own.
Very loud, and has a very nice punchy low end. works well with the kick drum.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Technologies-Opera-Active-Speaker-Monitor/dp/B00LIZDI78

These were recommended to me in a thread i started on here last year. The company are a sister company to RCF so have a good background.

Edited by dave_bass5
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