RCF monitors

[richie1575]

Hello All

 

Hope we had a good Christmas!

 

Having used a pair of ART310mk4 recently as pub band monitors, I was very impressed! Nice and light and more compact than the SRM450 V1 I historically used!

I’m planning to buy a pair, but my question is should I pay the extra for 710’s? I note they are heavier and unlike the 310, the RCF blurb doesn’t mention Neo drivers in the 710! This seems odd for the better/more expensive unit!

Can anyone in the know shed any light on this? A bit of extra headroom is always nice but are the 710 worth the extra money?

 

Thanks all!

 

Richie

[Brian]

Does the 310 currently have Neodymium magnets?

 

I have a pair of mk3s which definitely don't. The mk2s did, along with an analogue amplifier, but then the price of Neodymium went through the roof so RCF went back to Ferrite magnets but stuck a digital amp on-board for extra power to counter the lower efficiency of the driver. AFAIK, the price of Neodymium is still high and so I'd be surprised if RCF had gone back to it.

[richie1575]

Does the 310 currently have Neodymium magnets?

 

I have a pair of mk3s which definitely don't. The mk2s did, along with an analogue amplifier, but then the price of Neodymium went through the roof so RCF went back to Ferrite magnets but stuck a digital amp on-board for extra power to counter the lower efficiency of the driver. AFAIK, the price of Neodymium is still high and so I'd be surprised if RCF had gone back to it.

 

That’s useful info Brian- thank you! I’m guessing I won’t let that be too much of an influence! I like the 11kg of the 310mk4... think I’ll stick to them! They do everything I need to be fair!

 

I’d appreciate any other input if anyone considers 710 to be significantly better!

 

Thanks!

 

Richie

[Alec]

You have to be careful which of the 710s you're talking about, as there's 4 different generations from the Mk 1 to the Mk 4.

 

Mk 1 had neo drivers and were 11.2kg. Mk 4 are non-neo and 14.2kg. (All based on RCF published specs).

 

I've got the Mk 1s and they're cracking little beasts. I had the opportunity to compare them with 310s years back and I remember preferring my 710s but that there wasn't that much in it.

 

If I was comparing 310s with today's Mk 4s, the 310 might win it on weight and price - not sure how much any of the technology upgrades in the Mk 4 would help, though.