Active Speakers

[MisterJames]

Hello All,

 

Ive just blown a my LD Rig and to be honest im glad... it wasnt the best. Im looking at going Active but my price range is restricted... Has any had experience with Samson Auro D415A?? Ive read some okay reviews and the bass seem to be mentioned as better than that of Mackie SRM450 V2 - I do mike up the kick on the drums? Will Mackie bring that out well, ive heard their bass is a little weak?

 

I'm also looking at JBL EON 515XT - I know these will do the job perfectly but they are £1300 for a pair!!! Mackie are £800 pair and Samson £400 Pair? - Can anyone help with this headache?

 

I run two vocalists, one 7 piece drumkit with over heads sometimes... Bass & electric guitar, saxophone from time to time and a number of violins?

 

Kind Regards

James

[cedd]

Why limit yourself to these 2 brands? The Yamaha DXR12's are around the Mackie price and are nice sounding boxes. A High School I work for occasionally has just installed a pair and they really do sound nice. The QSC K12's were also on our list of possibilities. I've listened to the 10's and they sounded pretty sweet.

 

Can't help thinking you're asking a lot of a 12" box with kit mics. If you blew your LD rig then what's to stop you pushing this one too hard? Ok, powered boxes are slightly better protected, and the brands you're looking at may go slightly louder, but I still wonder if you're just asking too much of them.

The only boxes on sticks I've ever had any real success with drum kit mics with were the Mackie SA1521's, and they were flipping loud boxes! Not fantastically good with vocals though.

[TonyMitchell]

I run two vocalists, one 7 piece drumkit with over heads sometimes... Bass & electric guitar, saxophone from time to time and a number of violins?

 

I'm in full agreement with cedd - that's one hell of a lot to put through what essentially are no more than "dj grade" boxes, you've virtually no headroom, probably explaining the death of your LD system.

 

For that input list, I typically spec 2 stacks of Q7 over twin QSUBs in a smallish (up to 300 pax) room.

 

If I were in your shoes, I'd be looking for some secondhand branded boxes, Turbo, Martin Audio, etc...the difference in sound quality will be immense, and if you buy wisely you won't have to spend a huge amount more than if you stay with new mackeys, et al. The other bonus with s/h professional cabinets is if you look after them, you should be able to sell them on in 2-3 years for similar to what you paid.

[J Pearce]

Turbosound do some smallish pole mount speakers that would happily cope with drum mics and full band (with subs). (TQ something or others)

A used pair and decent amp would be a far better investment for you if the funds and price can be made to line up.

[Dave SA]

Get a bigger budget or hire.

[MisterJames]

Hello,

 

Thats brilliant advice... I totally know what you mean with putting alot into them and expecting them to copre... The LD System was Dave 12 and it wasnt the best... Ive worked with older version of the Mackie SRM450 V1 and they never left me nor my predecessor who ran them hard... I also have a Mackie ProFx22 and its brilliant! - Would it help if I brought the Mackie SRM450 V2 with Mackie Bass cabinets?

 

Again thanks for comments everyone!

[smalljoshua]

I'm going to have to echo other's comments here, why are you limiting yourself to these two brands?

 

EV happen to make some very nice 15+horn active boxes that sound great.

 

http://www.thomann.de/gb/ev_elx_115p.htm

 

Slightly over your budget but well worth it IMO, I really prefer them over the Mackie (I haven't heard the Samson though)

 

Josh

[KevinE]

The last Samson powered cabs I saw were pretty decent; one of the better engineered far eastern efforts. There is alot of rubbish out there in that market sector!

[TonyMitchell]

Would it help if I brought the Mackie SRM450 V2 with Mackie Bass cabinets?

 

Whilst my knowledge of this brand's product range is somewhat lacking, I do seem to recall various posts on different sound forums about the "v2" of that box being prone to overheating and generally not being as reliable as the "v1", I don't believe that v1 and v2 come out of the same factory, so to speak.

 

If you do buy SRMs, do the audience a favour and at least get a half decent GEQ. My memorable experience of them (dunno if they were v1 or v2) was whilst in the capacity of LX op, unfortunately positioned directly opposite a band running them in a smallish room. My ears were ringing long after the gig.

 

On a serious note, listen to some different pro boxes before parting with your cash. Don't be put off by secondhand.

[J Pearce]

I've had trouble with the Mackie kit overheating and cutting out and also find their voicing a little bright and harsh.

[laolu]

I think I admitted more than once that I’m a Mackie junkie. Just because I had only positive experiences with them. I own some of the first generation 450s and can’t say much about the Ver 2, which is usually some kind of improvement. If it’s in this case, I don’t know.

 

I agree with what’s said above, you’re putting a whole band through them, that’s a lot. You need not one but two or three pairs of 450s (=6pcs.!) plus subs. Or some of the higher grade stuff, like Turbosound, Meyer Sound or Nexo etc. Which costs real money.

 

 

 

[MisterJames]

Okay - Its starting to sink in... Josh I've had a look at the EV ELX115P and the 12" version... Which is cheaper and doesnt seem to be any less powerful? Have you worked with these?

 

The kit needs to be portable... Im in this age where I like my sport Golf Hatchback so it has to fit in the boot or back seats. Ahhh this is never as easy as you think!!

 

 

 

ADDITION: As for turbosound, nexo << ive worked with them and yes they are extremely good but the price range is way to much for me.

[cedd]

And if you look at the QSC range you'll find that they're also largely the same power rating for all the cabinets.... from the 8" cabinet right the way through to the 12" cabinet. But that in no way implies that they'll be as loud as each other. As a simple measure, the maximum SPL on the 8" cabinet is 127dB, whereas the 12" cabinet is 131dB. It ain't all just down to power. There's a 2dB difference in peak SPL between the 15" and 12" EV cabinets as well. Not masses, but what you'll notice more is the change in voicing between a 12" and 15" cabinet.

What I'm trying to say is that there's far more in it than just power ratings. Take some time to listen to these things, but like I said in my first post, give those Yamaha DXR's a try. I really like them and if you fish around, they're not that bad price-wise either.

 

But I'd be looking to at least be adding a pair of subs to whatever you look to get in the future. That'll be where the big difference is made to your sound.

[TonyMitchell]

You need not one but two or three pairs of 450s (=6pcs.!)

 

...how do you position them @ foh? I've just looked them up and they have a 90deg horizontal pattern

[GDJ]

I have a Ld Dave 12 system which I use for presentation and Hotel DJ work very good for 100-150 people.Definitely not man enough for your needs.Just a thought but you say you've blown the rig what exactly is not working ?