What Speakers Should I Get?

[Ste69]

I was thinking about maybe getting a 1000W PA system to use for band gigs at small venues and also slightly larger venues. I want a system that is powerful enough to be used outdoors as well as inside. I would put my budget at around £600 as I am only a student and when I have more cash can upgrade to better equipment. I was thinking about maybe getting the Thomann T-AMP 2400 which provides 1200W at 4 ohms or 650W at 8 ohms, is this a good option? If it is what speakers would you recommend? I was originally looking at Peavey Pro-15's but I'm not entirely sure. Any advice or help would be much appreciated. :)

[SteveAATW]

That is a very small budget for anything new that you'd actually want to use, you might pick up something like a second hand Peavey HiSys, JBL Eon or EV SX200 system on ebay for that sort of money, keep your eyes open!

[Ste69]

Is the 1000W PA available from maplins any good at all? If I remember I think the speakers were actually 500W peak so it would be less that 1000W.

[Rich]

Is the 1000W PA available from maplins any good at all? If I remember I think the speakers were actually 500W peak so it would be less that 1000W.

 

It depends on your ears! I'd say they sound like rubbish, but you may think they sound good. Have a listen and form your own opinion.

 

Your budget is very tight.. I'd say look 2nd hand our think about building your own cabs.

 

Lastly, don't forget that watts don't really indicate quality or suitability in a PA system. Look for answers in the sensitivity and frequency range.

[Ste69]

Where could I find out more about what the sensitivity and stuff means?

[SteveAATW]

Judging speakers on their power ratings is a very misleading way to try and gauge how 'loud' they are. Yes the speaker might be capable of sinking 500W, but with no idea of the efficiency of the driver and cabinet you have no idea how much of that electrical power is being turned into sound.

 

For instance a Funktion 1 Resolution 2 SH has an 80W 8" Midrange driver and a 50W 1" HF Compression Driver.

 

A Yamaha AX-15 has a 1" Compression Driver and a 15" Midrange driver with a combined power handling of 400W.

 

So, if you go by power rating you think the AX-15 is louder. Thing is you'd be so wrong it's untrue, as anyone who's heard these units would testify. The sensitivity can give you a better idea:

 

The Res2SH 8" is 106dB (1W at 1m) and 1" 107dB. The AX-15 is 98dB - significantly less. But even then, the sensitivity is subject to variations in how you measure it.

 

Then theres the whole issue of sound quality, which is one big minefield of opinions, arguments and brand zealously!

 

Don't take the power rating as a guide to anything though - especially in Maplins, I'd recommend not buying anything from there but connectors, tools and cable! Likewise, not all xxxxW amplifiers were created equal

[Bobbsy]

Is the 1000W PA available from maplins any good at all? If I remember I think the speakers were actually 500W peak so it would be less that 1000W.

 

No.

 

Even ignoring sound quality for a second, I know a number of my son's friends who have been lured by the cheap Maplins prices and bought amps there...and every single one has suffered reliability problems any time they're pushed even remotely hard. The thermal protection seems to cut out at the drop of a hat.

 

Save up and buy better or try to find some second hand decent gear.

 

As for finding out about Sensitivity etc., check out the books section here in the BR, but two references that you might consider would be the Yamaha Sound Reinforcement Handbook (pretty much a bible for sound guys but organised as a reference rather than an easy read) "Audio Made Easy" by Ira White (very simplified, a fun read, but the tech info provided is a good grounding).

 

Bob

[paulears]

Nobody has mentioned the source material yet. The OP says a band in a small venue. So if the venues are small, I'm guessing that the PA will be mainly used for vocals, perhaps a few other instruments such as electro-acoustic guitars, sax mics, etc? Electric distorted guitars, drums and bass using their own amps/speakers that are no doubt loud enough anyway, won't be connected.

 

If I've guessed right, then a small mixer, maybe with onboard amp would be best.

have a look here

Dirt cheap, great for a small venue like a pub, and has everything you need, and enough left of your budget for a mic or two!

 

It will be loud enough for a small venue - will hold its own against moderate band amps, and for vocals and other mid band sources, sound not bad. There are some downsides, of course. Outside will be ok if the audience are close in, but don't think about covering a large area. It won't be happy if you stick bass sources and drums into it. It does have a large number of inputs that won't get used, I guess - but you might even be able to hire it out as a small pa to people who want a few radio mics on the go, like amateur dramatic societies in the local hall?

 

It isn't a rock and roll PA with bags of volume and bucket loads of bass, but at the price - it seems very good value.

 

Bear in mind these are not mega-long life, ultra reliable, high price ticket items - but I'd be happy specifiying one of these.

 

http://images4.thomann.de/pics/prod/108921.jpg

[Ste69]

I already have a 32 channel mixer. I just wanted a PA system that would be loud enough to be used outdoors from time to time.

[paulears]

Sorry misunderstood your use of the word system - didn't realse you just want amp and speakers. Well, I have a pile of those 2400s you mention. They have been 100% solid and dependable. Speaker wise, I think peoples comments stand. What kind of music - what is going through them, when you say outside, do you mean a small band in a garden, a bigger oe on a flat bed trailer, or Glastonbury.

 

Without info we keep wasting our time guessing what you mean.

[Ste69]

Sorry paulears. There would be a variety of different music going through them but mainly bands like rock metal or indie. When I say outside I mean like small gigs outside for example something like a school summer fete that has a band playing in one section of it.

[djmatthill]

Hi Just thought Id put in my 2p`s worth.

 

Just been nosing on Ebay and found this

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Class-d-CD15128-1-Co...bayphotohosting

 

before everyone starts saying how rubbish it is , for £630.00 you get a

 

pair of 12" + horn mid tops ,

 

pair of 15" bass bins

 

a 900 watt amp

 

and a little mixer .

 

Now we all know that this equipment isnt top quality JBL / Turbosound etc gear and BUT for £600 notes it seems very good value. The equipment is BRAND NEW and is being sold by a professional sound company in Mansfield who build the cabs in house. Their advert states that free demos of the above system are available at their showroom.

 

It comes with a 12 month warranty , and if any problems do arise at least you can take the equipment back to them rather than having to pay huge shipping costs to Germany like Thomann ?.

 

I know a couple of DJ`s who use class D equipment and they are satisfied with it.

 

Not Professional gear I admit but for £600 surley good value.

 

PLUS , its only 76 miles from where the poster of this topic lives roughly !!

[Rob_Beech]

Might go and have a demo myself I'm only down the road. I don't intend to buy any by the way.

 

The thing that they accidentally left off the specs is the sensitivity figure. The last specs for Class D speakers I saw were in the 92dB 1w/m range. This is not really going to cut it outdoors, yes its cheap and finding something that will cut it outdoors for this budget is going to be tough.

 

Rob

[Ste69]

What sensitivity would be best for outdoor use?

[Rob_Beech]

Its not a matter of what would be best, its a matter of what is needed, the sensitivity gives you an output level in dB, for a given input power at a given distance, usually 1watt/ 1metre. there are speakers with a sensitivity over 15dB higher than some of these class D boxes, much louder boxes, for less work on the amps.

It's also about the control, how the sound travels, is it controlled in its dispersion (this is only really possible down to a certain frequency) or is it a simple box that pretty much sends sound everywhere, the more controlled it is the easier it is to use multiple speakers together in some form of array to cover the entire audience.

 

 

Robl