karl Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 I'm sure this has been covered before but my searches haven't turned anything up. Some friends of mine have a small amateur theatre company who perform at all sorts of venues (theatres, church halls, pub function rooms, chapels, etc.) I've been helping out with lighting and sound. I'm more of a lighting person and have some lighting kit which we've used in a few of the venues. So far all but one of the venues have had some form of sound kit that I could plug my laptop into but we've got a few shows coming up were that isn't going to be the case. The obvious answer would be to hire some kit but the performances are scattered through the calendar so continually having to pick up/return the kit would be a pain and daily hire costs mount up quicker than weekly/monthly hires. All proceeds from the shows go to charity so keeping costs to minimum is the aim. I'd like to buy something that I can use to handle the sound when necessary. Trouble is I'm struggling to know what the best options are and I could do with some thoughts. Relevant details-Venues : various sizes and types (larger venues tend to have their own sound systems).Use : music and sound effects from laptop.Audience : 40 - 100.Budget : as little as possible (<£150).Must be smallish for transport and storage and quick and simple to set up. So far I've thought about-1) An accoustic instrument amp with balanced XLR microphone input (via DI box) e.g. Stagg 40 AAR. 2) Powered monitor speaker (or a pair).3) General purpose powered speaker (tend to push the budget). I realise we're not going to get astounding performance from any of these options but if we can just produce enough sound for the audience to hear then that would be better than nothing. So are any of these ideas even remotely practical or is there something better that I've missed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam.spoons Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 An Alto Truesonic TS110A costs £200 and is as good a value as you'll find anywhere. It has two inputs which will handle balanced or unbalanced mic and line levels on combo sockets (XLR or TRS jack). I voted with my wallet and have a couple as extra monitors/small gig or loan FOH. They really are very good and exceptional VFM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbsy Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 Have a look at a Behringer B212D. I bought a couple for a specific project about 18 months ago and have been impressed enough that I now use them on a lot more things than I thought possible. They can can line or mic level inputs and have very basic EQ built in which can be useful sometimes. They're shaped so you can either use them on a stand or on the ground like a monitor. As mentioned, I use two but put more through them than it sounds like you need. Since you're talking smaller venues than I needed them for, you might also look at the cheaper B210D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GR1 Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 Also look at the Studiospares Fortissimo range. The 3 options listed here represent a good selection of what is out there. Although buying used may be cheaper I wouldn't do so in this case. The charity will benefit from the guarantee and documentation that buying new enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilary Watts Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 A youth theatre group I am involved with has recently bought a Yamaha stagepas 400 system for performances at local venues where there is no PA. That's way over your budget but at the same time they bought a QTX QR12PA system for outside performances where it can run on an internal battery. I was rather dismissive until it arrived and was pleasantly surprised by the sound quality - and it also looks a lot more solid than I expected. I haven't heard the radio mics yet but even if you ignore them you seem to get quite a lot for your money and it's just £10 or so over your budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shez Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 When that QTX first came out, one of my suppliers brought one around for a demo. The concept is great but the execution is rather lacking. Sound quality was just about adequate but nothing special. The built in player for memory sticks / cards didn't work at all. The radio mics sounded pretty horrible and didn't work beyond about 10m away. They were intially asking >£400 which was way too high but for the current price, it may find some uses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 http://www.terralec.co.uk/speaker_cabinets/jb_systems_portable_pa_system/33427_p.html Very basic but at £135 each are they budget friendly. NO they will NOT sound like good cabs but nor will anything else for that price. There are several designs of powered disco speaker in plastic cabinet with integrated amplifier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Srobo512 Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 http://www.thomann.d...e_stand_set.htm Probably wont sound too good but for your budget, you'll be hard pushed to find something decent... Sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam.spoons Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Tonight I've used my Altos Truesonic TS110As for an open mic I run every month. It's an acoustic guitar society and I set up 2 mics and 2 x DI's (it's mostly solo acoustic guitar/vocalists some guitars without pickup systems). I usually take a pair of QSC K12s and a single Yamaha DXR10 monitor, all driven by my Mackie DL1608. I used the Altos tonight as I had loaned a pair to a friend for a small gig and she returned them tonight. They were the sole amplification and leave me highly impressed, at the lowish levels I was working they were not noticeably inferior to my more expensive speakers delivering a smooth and balanced sound and they cost me less than half the DXRs, and 1/3rd of what I paid for my ex-demo K12s. I can't recommend them highly enough if budget is a serious issue. I mentioned above that I thought one would do the job for the OP and, having just checked, can be had for under £190 here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karl Posted September 29, 2015 Author Share Posted September 29, 2015 Just thought I'd let you know what I've gone with in the end. I looked at all of the various suggestions and the one for the QTX QR12PA led me to the various other powered speakers in their range. I eventually opted for two QTX QR8As on the grounds that they're compact, offer enough punch for what I need and having a pair gives versatility and resilience. I used them for the first time last weekend and they did what I needed. They sound alright for their size and price and can easily provide sound for the small venues in question. OK, they're never going to match big expensive kit but for what I need they're just the job. The only slight downside is they lack a balanced input which is available on some of their big brothers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam.spoons Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Good to hear you're sorted karl. The lack of a balanced input shouldn't be an issue 9/10 times and careful positioning and cable routing should help most of the others (old thyristor dimmer boards can be a nightmare though). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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