Hi all.

As the title suggestes I'm looking for a pair of good quality lightweight speakers for the band which my wife is the lead singer.
I currently use a pair of Yamaha F12's which I picked up 2nd hand powered by a Yamaha P5000S amp.
Coming through the PA are vocals, keyboards and accoustic guitar. If the venue requires I also have an 18" active sub (drums would be miked)
The F12's from what I've read were Yamaha's flagship model when new and the sound they produce I am happy with.
The main problem is their weight, 35kg each. Trying to fit these plus the sub and all the other gear in our Citerion C3 is not easy.

Hence the interest in the EV's.
My budget is £800 and about 20kg weight.

Just looking for any opinions on these or other suitable speakers.

Thanks

Jason

my 2p

The ZX4 is a nice box, some people think its 'plastic looking'..but the sound that comes out is clean and punchy, and EV's specs are quite conservative. I can't see you having any issues with them from a audio output point of view. They are nice (in my opinion) and will serve your purposes well, and be within your budget.

Simon

What sub do you have?

Knowing this might help us work out which tops would match best.

Josh

To be honest Yamaha are not really renouned for their speakers, although they soon maybe. ( has nexo been bought by them yet?)

If you like the sound from the f12's, I'm pretty sure you will virtually like the sound from almost anything.
I cannot comment directly as I have not heard the zx4's, although I have heard the zx5's, and these are great but these are made from better quality components, hence the increase in price.

So it's a 15" cab you are after?
Have you thought about a 12"?

Personally I'm not a great fan of 15" cabs for vocals.

Thomann do the HK Audio premium pro 15's for just over £300 a cab, THESE
I have heard and are not to big or heavy, weighing in at 21kg's each.

John Denim.


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Edit.
What Josh said!

The sub is a Samson DB1800A.
I'll only use the sub when required.

Jason

Yamaha P5000S amp

But have you heard the Yamaha F series John?

Yes, a friend of mine had the same f12's for vocals only in an band.

A bit 'harsh' for my tastes, he ended up changing them for some of your favorites, the sx300.

John Denim.

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CHANGING so soon Jason?

If you liked the sx300 then why not go for those?

[quote name='johndenim' date='3 Aug 2008, 7:11 PM' post='243041']
To be honest Yamaha are not really renouned for their speakers, although they soon maybe. ( has nexo been bought by them yet?)

So it's a 15" cab you are after?
Have you thought about a 12"?

Personally I'm not a great fan of 15" cabs for vocals.





I have only used 12" cabs to date, Vocals are my main concern so if 12's are better I'll stick with them.

Changing only out of need rather than choice, my wife cant lift the F12's into the car so if I'm not around the band can't play.

Jason

The SX300 are very nice speakers and you probably should have gone for there instead of the F12's in the last thread.

Josh

The reason is that the response is slower. (15")

A 12" cone is smaller and lighter than a 15", and can respond and move quicker, giving a tighter vocal.

John Denim.

Stick with F12's, but the more common F12's by Martin. You can pick a pair up used for between £600 and £700.

Surely not new though Rob?

Also an M3 controller is recommended by Martin to be used with all of the blackline range, which is around £400.

John Denim.

SX 300`s or SX 200`s would be ideal

You can pick up the later from as little as £299 2nd hand too.

Just my 2p`s worth - I own and use the 2 cab types above .

No, not new.

M3 controller? Never used one on an F12 yet, waste of time and money. If I have to grab the eq when using one it's a HORRID room or a DEAF muso. Nuff Said.

As you are an experienced and talented soundie Mr Beech I would assume you know how to work with many cabs, especially martin Audio.

Can I please ask why a suggested controller is a "waste of time"?
Is it just a ploy saying " we recommend 'x' controller"?
What exactly does a speaker controller do that an LMS can't?
Sorry for picking your brains again!

John Denim.



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please feel free to answer this Bob as you are on aussie time!

Thanks for your comments.

I'll happily go with the SX-300's, was impressed when I hired a pair, and they are very light
Just thought they may have been overtaken by a newer product.

Jason

The speaker controller IS an LMS. Its just fixed to various boxes and you need different cards and alot of fiddling about when swapping boxes. It makes them far from flexible. They do ALOT LESS, than you can with a digital LMS like the BSS Omnidrive, or on a budget the Behringer DCX2496.

The F12 is a fairly linear box to start with, and it means that the controller has little to do. It's main use as a crossover, this you can do with any crossover.

Waste of space is a little harsh, but you really don't need them. It's certainly not something that I'd use as my F12's go out and do a wide variety of jobs, from full range vocal pa's, stage monitors, in/front/outfills, delays, mid top boxes ontop of various subs, speakers for corporate environments. You name it I use them for it. The settings I require for each of these is different in terms of crossover points, relative gain to the rest of the system, delay, an sometimes eq. I simply can't do this with the M3.

Just my 2 cents,

But have a look at the ZX3. Its a new 12" box from EV, smaller and lighter than the ZX4. But may be better for vocals etc.

Just a thought.

Cheers Rob, yes I understand what a controller is but didn't know the capabilities (or lack of them) of the m3 and wondered if a more generic LMS would prove more efficient.

As a side note, I have been looking into the Behringer DCX2496, as a budget unit would you say it 'does what it says on the tin'?

John Denim.

Slightly OT but still



It does exactly what it does on the tin. Fantastic value for money.

If you want to have a play with one do let me know.

Thanks Rob, Sorry Jason.

Back to original topic.

I personally have not heard the zx3, but the sx300 will be good for you.
Maybe find a dealer and audition all of the cabs mentioned?



John Denim.

Just to keep you updated I've purchased a pair of ZX3's while holiday shopping in Hull this week.
Impulse buy, will be trying them tomorrow at a rehersal.

I'm going to start looking for a 15" active sub to use all the time, budget of about £500, all suggestions greatfully received.

Thanks

Jason

You may struggle to find a 'named' brand of active 15" subwoofer.

Is it possible that an 18" sub could be used?
I know your budget is quite low and an 18 will cost more, but a 15 will run out of steam long before an 18.

This by dB tech is the only 15" bass cab I have heard, but a bit over budget, there is also this which is under.

John Denim.

Thanks John

I have an 18" sub at present but its just too big for me to transport, hence the 15".
I've seen the DB sub 15 for £475 so that's my favourite at present.

Jason

BTW, used the ZX3's today and was very impressed, vocals were excellent and they are loud.

Why will a 15 run out of steam before an 18? Maybe a 15 and an 18 from the same range, but certainly not in general. Look at a Hisys118 and a TQ115 for example.

I hope you arent comparing turbo sound to peavey??

I was giving an example of how the general statement that a 15 will run out of steam before and 18 is not true.

Well, I was thinking of the same model, obviously it makes a difference if you compare a budget cab to a higher priced one.

I was just thinking that as Jason has some good tops, a single £500 active 15" sub would probably not be able to keep up with them.

John Denim.