RCF ART745's A Users Guide.

[Phil Starr]

I've had these for almost two years now and I wanted to put something down to help others make choices when they come to buy their PA. My experience with them over 30+ gigs has been generally good but there have also been a few issues so that what I thought would be my forever speakers certainly haven't been perfect so for me this is a chance to re-evaluate.

 

I'm not generally too prone to GAS, I love my basses but regard bass amps and speakers as just utilitarian tools of the job. I've reached a stage in life when I have all the things I properly need and all my band money goes into a pot to pay for my music. For years my PA was based upon the old Yamaha S112IV and a Behringer amp, then I upgraded to a well used second hand Wharfedale EVP system. The last band I joined had their own PA using QSC 12A2's until the singer left and took her PA speakers with her. That gave me time to save and plan for my 'dream' PA speakers. I decided that what I wanted was one pair of speakers that would do everything. Everything a very ordinary covers band would be called upon to do anyway. Loud enough to fill any indoor space we were ever likely to play, to make a decent fist of playing outside but portable enough that I could pack everything into a decent estate and compact/light enough to make setting up manageable. Also something that could cope with bass and drums without being concerned or needing subs. I'd previously had subs but they only came out once or twice a year so I was storing stuff I didn't really use. I felt the QSC's just fell short of the last bit and that I needed 15's to get drums and bass loud enough without having to compromise. I auditioned speakers and thought the bigger horn drivers just sounded better for vocals and plumped for RCF 735's as being the best I could afford when a pair of 745's came up used and I pulled the trigger.

 

OK the good stuff. They've been utterly reliable and plenty loud enough even in outdoor events with 250+ people. We have E-drums and I go out now with no back line so all the bass and drums go through the PA. We've used them for all our pub gigs too so the Swiss Army knife theory worked out. The sound has been outstanding, we've had punters and promoters commenting positively more than ever before and you kind of grow in confidence when you hear just how good it can sound. Vocals are really well presented. The speakers have behaved faultlessly. They came with covers that don't need to be removed which speeds up set up and break down.

 

The down side is that they are huge. They won't stand upright in most cars and are too tall to go through most car doors upright, laying them on their sides takes up a lot of space  and packing the car can be a struggle. They don't feel heavier than the QSC 12's but something that big is still an awkward lift onto the stands. That's ok on one off gigs but it gets a bit old after a year or so. Being big makes a one handed carry difficult and they bang your legs a lot. You don't need that much power for most pub gigs and big and heavy means less stability on the stands. They are also quite imposing/space hungry in some of the smaller venues and frankly are overkill in most of the places we play. The bass is prodigious too and is generally rolled of heavily at 50Hz in most venues. We don't often need the extra that the 15" drivers offer and bass is sometimes overwhelming on stage.

 

The other thing I didn't consider is comb filtering. When the bass is coming from two different speakers separated by a few metres you get significant cancellation and the bass sounds unnaturally loud or quiet as you move round the audience area. With subs you can push them together but you can't do that when your subs are also your PA speakers. It's not noticeable indoors as the wall reflections are significant and you don't really get bass dead spots but it's been really noticeable in some of our outdoor gigs.

 

It's a really boring conclusion to say that a couple of speakers costing £1135ea sound really good but I have to report that they do, it's also true that for most bands they are going to be enough to handle all your needs in a single pair of speakers without subs. TBH I don't think we've ever needed to drive them hard. The thing is though that we are carrying way more than we need for most gigs, in fact nearly all our gigs. With my duo we take a couple of RCF310's and they also sound good with a great vocal sound. I carry one in each hand and they pop up on the poles almost by themselves. I've started to wonder if a couple of slightly better 10's plus a decent sub wouldn't match the 745's, be just as quick to set up and more convenient more of the time. So in conclusion I'd recommend them but say ask yourself if you really need something that big.

 

Interested to see what other users think and to see what anyone else's experiences are with other PA speakers

[jimmyb625]

I have the 945's, not the 7's, but in response to your point about transporting them, I'll just say: Skoda.

 

🤣

[Phil Starr]

7 hours ago, jimmyb625 said:

I have the 945's, not the 7's, but in response to your point about transporting them, I'll just say: Skoda.

 

🤣

Funnily enough I'm looking to buy a new car and the Skoda Superb estate was on my list.

 

How are you getting on with the 945's?

[Chienmortbb]

Interesting thread Phil. It begs the question whether the speaker per side setup that we all tend to use is ideal.

 

Would some venues be better with just one? As most venues are unsuitable for stereo, one well-placed, high spec speaker might be more than adequate. The power alleys and valleys at the low (sub) and could be improved by putting two speakers adjacent to each other in bigger venues.   As many know, I loathe the "tea chest bass/sub on a stick" systems that Bose made famous, as I have yet to hear one that sounds good (I have heard LD Systems, Bose, Yamaha but still to hear an RCF EVO system to be fair). However, they almost act as a point source, and that has benefits in terms of coverage and feedback reduction.

 

As for adding subs to a 10" speaker setup, I am starting to come to that conclusion myself. The RCF ART 712s that I auditioned recently could not handle any real low end and though not in the class of the ART 745/945 made a good job of everything above 100Hz. They would still need a sub to get a clean undistorted low end.

 

I bought a pair of Wharfedale Titan Active 12s from Phil a while back and in all honesty, they would do the same job as the 712 if crossed over to a sub in most situations. AS Vocal only, as they are currently in my band, they are more than adequate.

[3below]

2 hours ago, Phil Starr said:

Funnily enough I'm looking to buy a new car and the Skoda Superb estate was on my list.

110,000 miles on mine now, BF dubster, Bass amp,mixer, Singers LD PA system, stands etc, bags - all fit in the boot with the seats still up.

 

@Phil Starr a really good informative read

[jimmyb625]

4 hours ago, Phil Starr said:

Funnily enough I'm looking to buy a new car and the Skoda Superb estate was on my list.

 

How are you getting on with the 945's?

I really like the 945's. Strictly speaking they belong to the theatre, not me, but as I run the theatre I've made an executive decision...

I've not noticed any comb filtering effects, but from memory I've only ever used them indoors, most commonly supported by a single sub, to "clean up" what goes to them. 

I agree that they can be a bit of an unwieldly beast though and I'm thinking that a stand upgrade may be prudent.

I "only" have a Skoda Rapid saloon, but even that has a huge carrying capacity. I think with a Superb estate, you can probably carry a small planet! Plus, there's rumours of a VRs version on the horizon, for your inner hooligan!

 

[jimmyb625]

By a strange quirk of fate, RCF have just announced the Mk5 version of the 7 series.

 

https://www.rcf.it/en/products/by-family/details/-/of/serie/ART+7+SERIES/3/4

 

I'm a little surprised by this, as I thought they wouldn't bother, now the 9 series is out.

[Jack]

13 hours ago, Phil Starr said:

Funnily enough I'm looking to buy a new car and the Skoda Superb estate was on my list.

 

How are you getting on with the 945's?

The answer is Subaru Outback. 

[Phil Starr]

17 hours ago, jimmyb625 said:

By a strange quirk of fate, RCF have just announced the Mk5 version of the 7 series.

 

https://www.rcf.it/en/products/by-family/details/-/of/serie/ART+7+SERIES/3/4

 

I'm a little surprised by this, as I thought they wouldn't bother, now the 9 series is out.

RCF have always done this, fairly constant marginal improvements. The Firphase improvements in the crossovers did tidy up the midrange which was already good by industry standards. They introduced that piecemeal at first and then rebranded everything as IV series. At one point they were selling mk2,3 and 4 speakers all at the same time. The latest thing is XBoost which looks to be DSP operating on the bass frequencies, hard to tell from the blurb on that link but it would seem to be some bass boost combined with some clever compression to protect the speakers. They did this already on the Mk4's so my guess is some more tweaking rather than anything radical. Expect Mk5 for the 9 series soon.

 

I guess they just keep the design team working constantly to keep them together and with driver production in-house prototyping must be streamlined. The marketing is clever too, there are RCF's at just about every price point and you can always pay a few pounds more for something genuinely just a little better. All the sizes in all the colours

 

The good thing is that last time they did this there was a sell off of the old Mk2 and Mk3 kit and I got some ART310 Mk2's for a knock down price from Andertons. I think Thomann had the reductions as well. If anyone is thinking of buying new it might be worth keeping an eye open.

[Phil Starr]

Note to self: I don't need more speakers!

[jimmyb625]

1 hour ago, Phil Starr said:

Note to self: I don't need more speakers!

You can never have enough...