Subs again - Behringer Vs Alto

[Woodinblack]

Back to subs again. After the last discussion I had here about these I had decided to get an Alto 312s for the band as it was easy enough to store/transport and cheap. That was march. Obviously nothing happened as the world ended.

Now it looks like at some point maybe the world will unend and I am thinking of subs again. . I also now have an estate car thanks to bad parking of other people. Although still interested in the 312s (to go with my 2xTS212s) I can get a behringer B1500xp for a lot less money but more size and storage issues. So I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts / experience on this, I know the behringers and the altos are looked down on and there are better things, but that is where I am interested.

Just for clarification, the option here is a powered sub up to the beginning of the £300 or nothing (and note the behringer is a lot less than this). I know I can probably get great quality by spending many hundreds or thousands on RCF or Yamaha or QSC, but its not going to happen, although obviously if any of those are available in the sub £300 range I am interested in hearing about them.

[TwoTimesBass]

Couple of questions that might help with the debate:

What is the band lineup?

What scale of venue are you typically gigging in?

What instruments do you put through the PA?

Apologies if this has been part of the previous thread...

 

[Woodinblack]

Oh this is a 4 piece drums/bass/guitar/sax. 3 Vocals and sax primarily go through the PA, with guitar (although that is often dwarfed by the directional amp the guitarist uses, and as he doesn't use an IEM and points the amp at his feet he is always complaining it is too quiet). Me/drummer use IEM. singer is getting into the hang of iem, so often starts with it, but normally loses it at some point and needs the audience interaction. Sometimes the bass drum in some places. I don't put the bass through the PA, mainly because the PA wouldn't handle it.

This is pubs / small clubs / occasional outdoor.

Edited October 3, 2020 by Woodinblack

[TwoTimesBass]

I normally always run subs from an Aux on the desk rather than looping them into the main speaker to get more control of what gets sent, other than the kick i wouldn't send anything else to the subs unless you want a bit more from your bass.

From what you've said I'd question the need for the sub, it can create more problems than it's worth IMHO, unless there is a particularly area of your sound that you think is missing.

The Alto tops should be good for all the useful frequencies (other than kick/bass) based on that lineup.

If there's any way to demo/sale-or-return/borrow on the choices you have i'd do that first, then if you end up with a muddy mess in the low end you can change your mind ☺️

[Jack]

On 04/10/2020 at 00:01, Woodinblack said:

Sometimes the bass drum in some places. I don't put the bass through the PA, mainly because the PA wouldn't handle it. 

But do you want to? 

 

I remember the thread and voting for Alto as one of my bands has an all-Alto system and it's great. Seriously, the other band uses all RCF and I have 2 qsc k12.2 so there's plenty of good pa in my life and the Alto is good by any standard and great by its' price standard. 

 

Most people don't say the same about behringer. 

[Woodinblack]

3 hours ago, Jack said:

But do you want to? 

I would not be averse to.

3 hours ago, Jack said:

I remember the thread and voting for Alto as one of my bands has an all-Alto system and it's great. Seriously, the other band uses all RCF and I have 2 qsc k12.2 so there's plenty of good pa in my life and the Alto is good by any standard and great by its' price standard. 

 

Most people don't say the same about behringer. 

Cheers. I have actually never had a problem with behringer stuff, just wondered because they have their outlet on eBay which does some good prices.

I guess the thing now is I have all the time in the world to think about it!

[Jack]

1 hour ago, Woodinblack said:

I would not be averse to.

Cheers. I have actually never had a problem with behringer stuff, just wondered because they have their outlet on eBay which does some good prices.

I guess the thing now is I have all the time in the world to think about it!

In their defence I have a XR18 mixer that does a sterling job mixing for both bands and both systems, so I'm not anti-Behringer either!

Whilst I've not actually owned the gigging PA speakers, based on my experience with Thomann's own brand stuff (including my beloved Six Mix) I'd probably try the Box Pro stuff if I needed a super-cheap PA. Thomann have a habit of punching well above their weight. The dsp enabled 18" subs are only £322, you can have a pa with a 1kW 12" top and a 800W 18" sub per side for like a thousand pounds total and I'll bet it's decent enough, Thomann stuff always is.

 

[Newfoundfreedom]

I've got a Behringer PA (power amp and 15 inch tops) and I really can't fault it. Sounds great and it's a proper workhorse. I've though about getting some Behringer subs to go with it, but the only thing that puts me off is the shear weight of them. I was looking at 18's and I'm sure they were something like 48kg apiece.  

Despite the reputation, which I think is mainly people parroting what they've heard because they can't accept that low cost gear can be good. I've got loads of Behringer gear and it's always performed faultlessly and sounds great. 

Edited October 30, 2020 by Newfoundfreedom