Speaker System ? What to suggest ?

[djmatthill]

Hi there ,

 

My church is looking to replace its current FOH speaker system ,

 

Now normally I would nt have to ask such a question , As im a firm Fan Of Electro voice , Ohm TRS & JBL and would have no problem speccing suitable kit and installing,

A bit of DSP to finish things off ,,, DONE! ,,,,, BUT!!!

as always budget is very Low.. Im being given a budget on £300 - £400 max.. Ideally we need a pair of full range 12" or 15" cabs..

 

Now For this kind of money im looking down the 2nd hand route of course ,

 

im thinking :-

 

Peavey Hi sys 2`s or EV S200 / sx 200/300, J - ALWAYS FLOATING ABOUT ON EBAY

 

OR

JBL M350 (rarely seem to come up 2nd hand)

 

My Wild Card suggestion is Bose 802`. Again a regular on Ebay for that kind of price...

 

another wild card - Studio Spares Audotirium Series ??? whats ur views on them???

 

Now the Church is about 10m long by about 9 meters wide , We ll be using speakers for Vocals , Keyboard and Acoustic Guitar, Plus for spoken word and General PA..

 

We currently Have a Unbranded 400watt a side OEM unbranded Amp to power them with...

 

 

What are your views please...

 

 

One other thing to consider is that in about 6 months we are going to moving to a Much Larger Building about ten times bigger , Now ill have a bigger Budget for a whole New installarion then , BUT I want to purchase a pair of speakers now that we CAN add to the New system,, Ie speakers must be future proof

 

Matt

[paulears]

The auditoriums are quite nice - reasonably well made, and have flying hardware. Quality control, being of Chinese origin means the possibility of a few annoying snags - one can sounded different - just a dry joint on the crossover board, that once remade, was fine - and they've been installed for a couple of years now with no problems. I quite like the sound, perhaps a bit hard - certainly not what I'd call a warm sound. For what it's worth, I also like SX300s - I've always liked their sound - quite big for a small flyable box. Two together make a nice centre cluster. Good for speech, not bad for vocals - if yoiu can get deep bass from somewhere else.

 

Peavey Hi-sys I don't like at all. Just boomy at the bottom and a bit sharp up top and a hole in the crossover area. I've yet to hear a good quality sound from a Peavey set up, and I know quite a few places who have them.

[djmatthill]

The auditoriums are quite nice - reasonably well made, and have flying hardware. Quality control, being of Chinese origin means the possibility of a few annoying snags - one can sounded different - just a dry joint on the crossover board, that once remade, was fine - and they've been installed for a couple of years now with no problems. I quite like the sound, perhaps a bit hard - certainly not what I'd call a warm sound. For what it's worth, I also like SX300s - I've always liked their sound - quite big for a small flyable box. Two together make a nice centre cluster. Good for speech, not bad for vocals - if yoiu can get deep bass from somewhere else.

 

Peavey Hi-sys I don't like at all. Just boomy at the bottom and a bit sharp up top and a hole in the crossover area. I've yet to hear a good quality sound from a Peavey set up, and I know quite a few places who have them.

 

Thanks Paul , I too am a fan and an ower Of EV stuff ( Iv got S200`s & SX300`S)....

 

Just been browsing on our german friends website ,, Seen these ,speakers

 

Now I remember years ago that a company called COMMUNITY used to produce some high end concert & touring cabs.. Is this the same company ?

If yes is this "New" stuff any good and worth a look in , or is it simply OEM chinese tat re badged ( as so many suppliers are selling)?

[Simon Lewis]

Community (like JBL etc.) manufacture top end boxes and lower cost units suitable for the MI market. I cannot give you a first hand account, but expect reasonable performance commensurate with the price.

 

However, whatever you buy now isn't likely to be scalable in your new building i.e. it's not likely that you can just add another pair of the speakers and obtain optimum coverage and directivity.

 

These temporary boxes may well serve other purposes, but your new building should really have a system designed to fit.

 

One local housechurch bought EV300s for its various congregations, with a view to making clusters out of them when they bought a warehouse. They 'work', but boxes designed for this purpose would have been so much better.

 

Simon

[johndenim]

TBH I would compare the sx300 to the peavey 200 impulse I have.

 

Both are plastic un-interesting boxes, about the same SPL, weight, etc.

But I find the sx300 a little more 'coloured'?

 

Also both have very little LF response although EV quote, "50 - 20 khz", compared to peavey "78 - 18khz".

[Simon Lewis]

TBH I would compare the sx300 to the peavey 200 impulse I have.

 

I wasn't trying to extol or criticise the EV box, but was merely stating the oft repeated axiom that just because a box works well on its own, doesn't mean you can array 2, 3 or 4 of them together ;-)

[johndenim]

It was Pauls post I was referring to Simon. <_<

Although the hisys 1 was nearly as bad as the hisys 2.

The Impulse gets tarred with the same brush which really isn't fair.

[djmatthill]

TBH I would compare the sx300 to the peavey 200 impulse I have.

 

Both are plastic un-interesting boxes, about the same SPL, weight, etc.

But I find the sx300 a little more 'coloured'?

 

Also both have very little LF response although EV quote, "50 - 20 khz", compared to peavey "78 - 18khz".

<_< oooo John , I would nt say that the Peavey Impulse were in the same boat as the EV`s...

 

If I remember rightly the Impulse series were basically the Hi Sys Series of Cabs but in a plastic box... They were only about £50 dearer than their plywood brothers..

 

Now I own 2 pairs of Sx300`s and reckon they Blow the socks off the Hi-sys & Impulse boxes Quailty & Durability .....

Although I do accept that some folk find the Ev`s a little Toppy , But good Eq and using the controller sorts this out.

Too many people use the EV`s fullrange without the controller.

Unlike the Bose systems the controller is not a must , But its reccomended and makes all the difference..

 

I really rate the SX300`s when used as Mid/Top packs along side a double 18" Sub and an active crossover type setup... Iv also used the Sx300`s with the dedicated EV controller , with a little EQ they do sound really good. I feel I can comment on this because I owned a full Hi-sys PA. x4 Hi-sys2`s , x2 Hi-sys 3`s , x2 Hi-sys 115xt , x2 Hi-sys 215`s.. I was a Hi-sys Junkie ..... For the Price it was bloody good stuff... But I upgraded to the Ev`s and have not looked back since ....Just my views though John .. <_<

 

Finally dont think Im Knocking the Peavey Impluse stuff.. For the Price it was amazing value Im still a fan of Peavey stuff , But the older stuff Hi-sys , impluse range etc...

The Newer PRO & UL stuff seems to be the usual cheap lightweight boxy sounding tat, Like someones screwed a couple of speakers in to a wheelie Bin. and fastened a speakon to the back ... :o

[Kevin Ross]

I will stay out of the current Peavey -v- EV debate and instead suggest that if you are going to be moving to a bigger venue soon with a corresponding increase in budget why not go for some speakers that can be redeployed in other roles such as floor monitors or delay lines.

 

 

 

Yamaha make monitor versions of their club V series and lots of other manufactures make wedge shaped FOH boxes that can double up as monitors, the trouble will be finding something within your price range but the odd gem does turn up on eBay.

 

 

 

I would say to keep an eye on eBay and see what comes up

 

 

 

p.s. I’m also not a fan of the newer UL series but at least they are light!

[djmatthill]

I will stay out of the current Peavey -v- EV debate and instead suggest that if you are going to be moving to a bigger venue soon with a corresponding increase in budget why not go for some speakers that can be redeployed in other roles such as floor monitors or delay lines.

 

 

 

Yamaha make monitor versions of their club V series and lots of other manufactures make wedge shaped FOH boxes that can double up as monitors, the trouble will be finding something within your price range but the odd gem does turn up on eBay.

 

 

 

I would say to keep an eye on eBay and see what comes up

 

 

 

p.s. I’m also not a fan of the newer UL series but at least they are light!

 

 

Hi

Kevin ,

 

I was thinking along the same track as you , Thats why I thought the Ev`s would be an option as they can be used as wedge monitors (with the supplied feet) and could also be flown/arrayed maybe ? may be? possibly - What do you think <_<

[Dave SA]

I think the Yamaha V series are great boxes for the money. They make excellent monitors on a budget. You'll also find no problem with them for FOH so long as you have a decent graphic. (Probably squeeze that into the budget if you're cheeky).

 

My 2p-ennence

[Kevin Ross]

I was thinking along the same track as you , Thats why I thought the Ev`s would be an option as they can be used as wedge monitors (with the supplied feet) and could also be flown/arrayed maybe ? may be? possibly - What do you think <_<

 

Yep they would work just fine like that. There are lots of different boxes to choose from that are wedge shaped for almost any pocket. I’m surprised this thread has not yet mentioned active/passive cabs yet so I might as well start.

 

 

 

Have you considered powered cabs that are wedge shaped?

 

 

 

That would REALLY stretch your budget so it might be worth sticking to the powered route especially if you are looking 2^nd hand on eBay

 

 

 

Side note, didn’t SSE have a load of stuff like this for sale not long ago? I seem to recall seeing some good stuff going for very cheep

[Simon Lewis]

and could also be flown/arrayed maybe ?

 

They can be bolted together and EV make (made?) a frame for such purposes. Using their prediction software gives what looks to be a workable array, until (from memory) you look at the higher frequencies, where there's considerable lobing taking place.

 

However, depending upon how big the new facility is, you might need something that has better pattern control and higher Q if it has to cover a greater distance (hence my note of caution about the type of box you buy now!).

 

Simon

[lostinvegas]

another wild card - Studio Spares Audotirium Series ??? whats ur views on them???

 

I have had a couple of these boxes for about 4 years now, they get used once a week at a local pub for local bands and small touring acts. They have never missed a beat. The ones I have are 2 x 15" drivers with a 2" horn. They sound a little hard but there is an option to bi-amp them which I have not tried yet. They are definatly an install unit as they weigh a lot and are very akward to carry about.

 

Chris

[djmatthill]

another wild card - Studio Spares Audotirium Series ??? whats ur views on them???

 

I have had a couple of these boxes for about 4 years now, they get used once a week at a local pub for local bands and small touring acts. They have never missed a beat. The ones I have are 2 x 15" drivers with a 2" horn. They sound a little hard but there is an option to bi-amp them which I have not tried yet. They are definatly an install unit as they weigh a lot and are very akward to carry about.

 

Chris

 

Has anyone any ideas who manafactures these for S.S. or what make/brand of drivers and cross over are in them?

 

 

Also what do you think of the idea of using a pair of Bose 802`s for this install....

 

Matt