Replacement Speakers

[warrenstuart]

Hi, I'm looking at replacing my speaker and/or amplifier system and maybe going powered/active and wondered if anyone has any tried and tested suggestions?

 

I'm looking for the same thing we all are really I guess, as light weight and portable as possible whilst at the same time packing the maximum punch with the biggest bandwidth at a reasonable cost... so I'm not asking for much really! :** laughs out loud **:

 

I'm currently running a pair of EV ZX4s for some functions, or EV SX300s with SB122 subs for others or a combination of all of these powered by a QSC PLX3002 amplifier. More often than not for the average wedding reception in a hotel I run just the ZX4s which are ample.

 

Type of use is mobile DJ.

 

Thanks in advance :)

 

Warren.

[sam.spoons]

Tempted to say 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' but I do like active speakers (now I can afford decent ones that is http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif).

 

Suggestions (from personal experience and choice) in order of price/quality/loudness. Alto Truesonic TS112A @ £250, Yamaha DXR12 @ £550, Yamaha DSR12 @ £795 or QSC K12 @ £750.

 

I bought the QSC K12s for FOH as I preferred the sound to either of the Yamaha speakers (but many others on here prefer the Yamahas) and Yamaha DXR10s for monitors.

 

Re Subs, probably best to choose your tops and buy the matching subs but mix and match rigs can work well (I have an old EV SbA750 with the K12s as it's what I already had)

[OneEng]

They are a little bigger, but I think a pair of DXR15's would do DJ music exceptionally well..... without a sub.

 

All of Sam's suggestions are good too, but as with your current rig, for DJ music a sub would be advisable with any 12" or smaller top for DJ music.

[warrenstuart]

Tempted to say 'if it ain't broke don't fix it'

Yes this has been said to me more than once! It's also been said "you'll only end up going back to EV"

 

Thanks for some of the suggestions, trouble is you really need to take a pair of speakers to a gig to audition them properly and that's easier said then done even hiring them.

 

Warren.

[sam.spoons]

Tempted to say 'if it ain't broke don't fix it'

Yes this has been said to me more than once! It's also been said "you'll only end up going back to EV"

 

Thanks for some of the suggestions, trouble is you really need to take a pair of speakers to a gig to audition them properly and that's easier said then done even hiring them.

 

Warren.

 

I don't know the ZX4s but I've never been a fan of the SX300 and I wasn't especially knocked out by the EV ELX12P when I auditioned them. The ELXs are good, to be fair, but the Yamaha DXRs and especially the QSC K12s were significantly better to my ears. Others on here will differ I'm sure, it is subjective. The only disappointingly bad speaker I tried was the Mackie SRM450 mk2 (and I have worked with mk1s for several years and liked them). I auditioned powered 12" speakers from Yamaha (DXR and DSR, QSC K12, EV ELX12P, Dynachord A 112A, RCF Art 512 and 722, SRM450, Alto Truesonic TS112A and a couple of others I can't remember. My top three, QSC K12, Yamaha DSR12 and Yamaha DXR12 on that order.

 

OTOH I do like my EV SbA750 sub

[warrenstuart]

Thanks for the info, I heard a pair of QSC boxes (think they were 12s) and a single K sub a few years ago and seem to remember they sounded nice, maybe I'll try and listen to them somewhere.

I run a QSC amp that I've had for years and never had any trouble with it at all (tempted fate now!) so that must be a good advert for them.

 

Warren.

[warrenstuart]

Just to add something different into the mix I listened to a pair of EV ZXA1s and a ZXA1 Sub yesterday, didn't plan on it just walked into the shop and there it was set up, and I was very impressed!

 

Warren.

[sam.spoons]

They are significantly less powerful/efficient that the others discussed here. 123dB max against 132dB ish of the others (except the Truesonic at half the price which is only 127dB), I'd expect them to be lacking on a gig even if they were impressive in the shop (unless you only do fairly low powered gigs).

[warrenstuart]

They are significantly less powerful/efficient that the others discussed here. 123dB max against 132dB ish of the others (except the Truesonic at half the price which is only 127dB), I'd expect them to be lacking on a gig even if they were impressive in the shop (unless you only do fairly low powered gigs).

 

Yes I had a look at the specs on the EV website today and 6db is a lot to be down, 1 or 2db is a struggle to notice but 6db is quite noticable.

[azlan]

They are significantly less powerful/efficient that the others discussed here. 123dB max against 132dB ish of the others (except the Truesonic at half the price which is only 127dB), I'd expect them to be lacking on a gig even if they were impressive in the shop (unless you only do fairly low powered gigs).

 

Yes I had a look at the specs on the EV website today and 6db is a lot to be down, 1 or 2db is a struggle to notice but 6db is quite noticable.

 

Its the difference between an amp running flat out or running 1/4 of its max power to do 123dB in headroom terms, which is quite significant in terms of not clipping the amps, and keeping everything running nicely

[hollowsphereaudiovisual]

Warren

 

Have you ever considered speakers from KV2 Audio? They offer passive cabs from their ESD range and active from their EX range, not as expensive as you may think.

 

http://www.kv2audio.com/en/products

 

We have a demo rig of ESD12's and ES1.8's in stock, plus we can pull in any KV2 audio gear for if required.

Drop us a line, we can advise specific discounts on any of the KV2 audio speakers that you may want to purchase.

[warrenstuart]

Warren

 

Have you ever considered speakers from KV2 Audio? They offer passive cabs from their ESD range and active from their EX range, not as expensive as you may think.

 

http://www.kv2audio.com/en/products

 

We have a demo rig of ESD12's and ES1.8's in stock, plus we can pull in any KV2 audio gear for if required.

Drop us a line, we can advise specific discounts on any of the KV2 audio speakers that you may want to purchase.

Hi Adrian

 

Thanks for the reply, I've had a look on the website and they look like good speakers but I'm afraid the weight is too heavy for me, plastic boxes is the way to go where I'm concerned even if the trade off is less bass response I'm afraid :(

 

Warren.

[warrenstuart]

Just an update to this, I tried some Martin Audio F15s side by side with my EV ZX4s at a gig the other night as I was working with another act and the sound man was more than happy to let me try them.

 

Well to say they are so expensive and seem to really get "bigged up" by a lot of sound professionals I was very disappointed. I didn't alter any of my EQ settings and instantly the nice crisp highs I get out of the EVs had dropped into the background and I'd lost bass too... which really suprised me going from a plastic to a wooden cabinet as I expected a better low frequency response from the F15s !!

It was almost as if I'd gone from a smiley face EQ curve on the EVs to a flat response on the F15s but I hadn't touched a thing.

I then hooked up an EV on one side and an F15 on the other and panning from one to the other also showed up how much louder (more sensitive I guess) the EVs are.

 

So I'm asking myself now (as already posted earlier by someone) if it ain't broke should I be looking at fixing it???

 

Warren.