Funktion-One Rig

[tom_1987]

I'm thinking about buying a Funktion-One rig

Resolution 2, F218's and everything that goes with it.

 

I just really want to see what all you peeps thought of it?

 

Tom

[jono1]

What will you be using it for and how much are you looking to get?

 

Its a great sounding system for the right event. And while it can perform well in most sectors I think that it really excells in dance type scene with others in the price range far better at the live sound. Although that said I dont think anyone would turn their nose up at someone who turned up with F1 gear.

 

Rex on here is a pretty good ambasador for f1 I think, Has a good size rig he runs and does it very well so he may be a good guy to comment on this if he's about, as im sure he could give you info on the pro's and cons of running it as a system.

 

What amps and processors you looking at?

 

I run a lighting company so am not a noise boy at heart but have had alot of 1st hand experience with this system.

 

Jon

[Rob_Beech]

No good for a plumber is it!

 

What do we think of it? Well I think its VERY good stuff, and I'd be happy to have some in my hire stock (and may do soon) but it all depends on your application, if you tend to do school metal bands then you'd be wasting your money, if you only do small pubs for folk bands, again, you'd be wasting your money. So it really does depend what you intend using it for.

 

Do expand on "everything that goes with it"

 

 

 

Edit : what Jon said rather more quickly

[Ben Lawrance]

One thing I would add is, don't just buy it cause its cool. Make sure that if you decide to get it (and spend lots of money) that you have an action plan on how to make the system re-coop the cost.

 

An F1 system that sits in a lock up doesn't earn money. An F1 system that is out every weekend will make you a rich man.

[SteveAATW]

As an install user of F1 I can honestly say it's the best kit I've ever heard and ever worked with. We're a dance club and for that use nothing comes close to touching it. Some people would have you believe it's not that much different from the later turbo stuff, but the clarity on the top end really does make people sit up and notice - the numer of punters we had staring at the speakers when we first put them in was a bit of a revelation.

 

That said it's not limited to dance - pretty much anything sounds good over the F1 systems, be it live, classical, dance, reggae. You'll hear stuff in records you've never heard on a PA system before.

 

The Res 2 is a great box - it has a suprising amount of power for its size, the only thing to watch is if you push it hard it won't sound quite as open and dynamic as a Res 4 or Res 5 system at the same level, but that's mainly because the 15" LF driver is stretched across a wider range and the axehead is loaded for wider dispersion.

 

I've heard it against d&b, Turbo TMS, Flashlight, Floodlight and Aspect, Martin Wavefront and Nexo Alpha - so far nothing has come close to touching it. The pain free listening experience is nice too :)

 

Not sure what amps your planning to use but if you can go for the E series, especially on the bass, the sound is phenomenal :)

 

I would agree with what Ben has put though - as good as it is make sure your customers will appreciate it and be willing to pay for it. There are some negative pre-conceptions about the gear kicking around and some people aren't fans of how powerful the bass is but if your users will appreciate it then go for it, at this moment in time there's nothing else out there I'd rather buy!

[Brettmasters]

I'm thinking about buying a Funktion-One rig

Resolution 2, F218's and everything that goes with it.

 

I just really want to see what all you peeps thought of it?

 

Tom

 

 

Tom, Hi.

 

Firstly I will admit that we are a Funktion-one rental partner.

 

 

We have extensive knowledge of the Res2 and Res4 and F218 combination so does Rex and Nick Taylor who are both on here so they may add thier 2ps worth.

 

A Res2 and F218 is a very capable system and will cope with anything you ask it to do, however, the Res4 F218 combination would be better suited to Live work if that is what you are doing.

 

With all Funktion-one systems it is not all about the speakers. Every single part of your signal chain must be of the highest Quality or you will suffer, poor desk, Poor amps, Poor DSP, Poor engineer or at the top of the list, Poor DJ with MP3 (if your doing dance work)

 

Must haves!!

Amps, MC2-FFA-Lab gruppen

DSP, XTA, BSS omni drive-Lake contour

Good cable, 4MM will be best

 

So you will be looking at,

1x MC2 E45-Bass

1x MC2 E25-Mid Hi

1x XTA DP226

2x Res2

2x F218/F121

 

 

With any Speaker system it is down to your own personal preference and you will find 100 people that love Funktion-one and 1 person that won't like it. Make your own mind up!!! Despite what some may say, Funktion-one is one of the best systems on the market for live work and in my honest opinion sounds better than anything else and is by far the best at doing Dance work.

 

Any speaker at this level will do most of these very well.

 

Have you taken a rig out and used it? if not, find your local rental Partner and hire a rig for the day if you can't find one give me a shout and we will set a demo up for you, they are Free!!

 

We are all friendly people especially down at Funktion-one who I am sure will give you a demo too.

 

 

Hope this helps

 

 

Brett

[bigglesuk]

With any Speaker system it is down to your own personal preference and you will find 100 people that love Funktion-one and 1 person that won't like it.

Or rather 100 people might not like it and maybe 10 may! The debate about Funktion-one has come up here a few times and the majority tend not to like it.

 

My main gripe with the system is it's look. Yes, I know the most important thing about a speaker system is how it sounds.... but that leads me onto my point. A speaker system is designed to be listened to, not to be seen! I can remember watching Glastonbury and seeing a sidefill on stage and it was shouting "HEY, LOOK AT ME, I'M A SPEAKER" when I should have been watching the artist performing.

 

Getting back on topic, as everyone else has said only get the system if it will: -

 

a) be the right system for you and the use it would get

and b) will you make your money back.

 

Adam

[SteveAATW]

You can get them in black and with full scrim nets/grills if you want though - least you have the choice, most other companies its the same old boring black box or nowt, for a lot of F1's applications the look is an important part, granted for live work its not relevant but installed in a dance club they can add a lot to the look of the place - as much of a fan boy statement as this will sound you almost know its going to sound good before you fire it up.

[Rob_Beech]

Adam, I think those that DON'T like it don't like it because of its look, and then again its not necessarily that they don't like its look, they are just concerned that its look may not quite be suitable in some environments, which I agree it isn't. But I really don't think you can knock the sound at all.

 

 

Edit : and there we have it, Steve's solved that one

[Simon Lewis]

Tom,

 

Other posters have provided some good information. Are you thinking of using this rig to "break your way into the industry"? (from your profile!).

 

It's certainly a system that will have potential revenue, but you may just wish to consider that those hiring such a system would also expect every other piece of gear to be top notch too, together with backup, experienced crew and support.

 

I'm not suggesting that you avoid buying this level gear, but would suggest that you consider all of the other costs inherent in such a system!

 

Simon

[Brettmasters]

With any Speaker system it is down to your own personal preference and you will find 100 people that love Funktion-one and 1 person that won't like it.

Or rather 100 people might not like it and maybe 10 may! The debate about Funktion-one has come up here a few times and the majority tend not to like it.

 

My main gripe with the system is it's look. Yes, I know the most important thing about a speaker system is how it sounds.... but that leads me onto my point. A speaker system is designed to be listened to, not to be seen! I can remember watching Glastonbury and seeing a sidefill on stage and it was shouting "HEY, LOOK AT ME, I'M A SPEAKER" when I should have been watching the artist performing.

 

Getting back on topic, as everyone else has said only get the system if it will: -

 

a) be the right system for you and the use it would get

and b) will you make your money back.

 

Adam

 

 

I don't agree.

 

I come up against a lot of people that say "oh, Funktion-one its not for live work"

 

My reply is: Why isn't it and try it.

 

The reply, in order is ERMMMMM and ok.

 

If you are buying a speaker system on looks alone then you have your priorities in the wrong order. The design is based around one simple ethos, pure sound. a thick mesh, scrim or block of foam does without doubt restrict a speaker from breathing/causes friction so Funktion-one have left them off. If you don't like the look you are more than welcome to order one as they are a Standard part on the parts list for ALL Resolution products.

 

As someone who has an interest in PA sytems you will naturally be drawn to look at the pa or equipment so I don't really think the "look at me im a speaker" argument is a good reason to claim a system isn't very good. more to the point, if you were distracted that much the artist can't of been that good.....

 

I do remeber talking with an engineer who said, I didn't really like the funktion-on system and I asked why. his reply was: I had to re-EQ my desk programme (digital). so picking the bones from that and further into the conversation I found out that what he actually had to do- was take his EQ out of his programme and nearly everything was returned to flat. What an inconveinieance to have a system that needs nearly no EQ.

 

so, slightly off topic and I don't really want to cause a ripple but are people frightened of a Funktion-on system as it will show off thier mistakes and/or poor mixing skills........??

[bigglesuk]

You can get them in black and with full scrim nets/grills if you want though - least you have the choice, most other companies its the same old boring black box or nowt, for a lot of F1's applications the look is an important part, granted for live work its not relevant but installed in a dance club they can add a lot to the look of the place - as much of a fan boy statement as this will sound you almost know its going to sound good before you fire it up.

 

If you are buying a speaker system on looks alone then you have your priorities in the wrong order. The design is based around one simple ethos, pure sound. a thick mesh, scrim or block of foam does without doubt restrict a speaker from breathing/causes friction so Funktion-one have left them off. If you don't like the look you are more than welcome to order one as they are a Standard part on the parts list for ALL Resolution products.

I agree with what you have both said and I did know you can get them with a scrim. Just to me and many others (especially when thinking about corporate work) the speakers just shout at you with their looks. I have no issue with not having a scrim, but the purple and silver look is very "in your face". I know this makes them distinctive and can look great in a club but there are many situations where this would not be suitable (corporate/churches etc).

 

Why do they need to be so distinctive? The people who will buy them do so by listening and thinking "that rig sounds great" not "that rig looks great".

 

At the end of the day, if everyone thought the same the world would be a boring place.....

[SteveAATW]

They will mould the GRP axeheads in most common colours - silver, violet, black, white, grey, cream etc and the boxes can be painted in any colour you like too, granted its not a point they advertise but all you have to do is ask.

 

For churches I don't think the de-facto standard of black or white cabs really works either - most stuff that goes into churches (traditional ones at least) ends up getting customised anyway. For corporate work yes it may be an issue but I'd say an F1 system for speech re-production is probably not the best solution to most corporate situations, it's the one situation where most line arrays can do a good job. F1 would work and work well, but just slightly OTT I think...

 

Out of interest did anyone ever have a prejudice against turbo because they were blue, or is this just an F1 thing? - I was only a nipper back then!

[Pete]

I did a load of fashion shows where I suspect F1 was suggested for its looks.

[waster]

Get in touch with Stefan at Audio Plus. He's got stacks of the stuff and would be a good person to talk to about it all.