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Recommendations for new speakers ...


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Hey everyone, my band is looking to purchase new speakers (tops and bins) and i was looking to get some recommendations from all of you on brands of speakers and how much power you think would be good.

 

A little background on the band .. it's a six piece band ... acoustic and electric guitars, bass guitar, keyboard, drums, and vocals. On the most part we play wedding type of gigs in banquet halls that can hold anywhere from 300 to 800 people.

 

What do you guys recommend for tops and bins ?? And how much power do you think each speaker would need for our gig needs ?? and for tops, would you recommend going 12" or 15" ?? Looking for un-powered speakers as we already have power amps.

 

I've been looking at EV QRX series 112's or 115's and 118's or possibly something like EV Xi-1123A/106F or EV Xi-1152A/64F for tops and EV Xi-1191A for bins. Doesn't have to be EV, open to other speakers as well. Either way, your recommendations will help me in a big way as this is a big investment for us. Your help and expertise is very much appreciated !!

 

Thank you in advance !!

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Old JBL MPro's ... (ya, can't wait to get rid of them) ... and we have a qsc plx3602 and a qsc plx3102. If we have to purchase and amp or two to go with new speakers, thats also ok ... so you don't have to match speaker recommendations with what power amps we have.

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Oh and, can you recommend any other type of speakers ?? Playing in a band for a few years now using JBL speakers, i'm just not convinved with they're quality. Listening to some EV stuff ... they just seem so much more clear sounding then JBL. Whats your guys take on using that EV Xi Array speaker as a top ?? I played a gig back in May, kind of a cultural folk festival weekend, and the organizers hired a sound company to cover the 3 bands playing that weekend. The company used those EV X Arrays as tops .. one on each side, they sounded really nice to me ... anyway, thanks again for the help !!

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EV's are fine too, I prefer the SRX-712's over 718's myself. I don't have any problems with the good JBL stuff. I don't discriminate against any of the good stuff.

 

Do you think that perhaps your dislike of JBL may relate to something with your setup or operation? I'm working tonight's show with a full JBL touring rig and it's plenty fine.

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The step up from the MPro series to the SRX line is a huge step. I currently have an MRX rig (the replacement for the MPro line) that usually gets the jobs I take done. I get to guest for a friend with a pretty extensive SRX rig and generally jump at the chance. We've used as many as 6 SRX 722's and 8 SRX 728's and never been left wanting. To get any better you have to go line array and the processing that goes with it IMHO. I know I'd never have a need for any more than that rig.

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How much power do you guys think i should need for the types of gigs we play ?? Like i said earlier, we play mostly weddings and banquets in halls that hold anywhere from 200 to 800 people. Sometimes gigs with 1000 people as well, but generally up to 800.

 

There are some things i don't understand with respect to speaker power. I look at the EV QRX series ... so the 112 or 115 and the 118 sub ... the tops are cont. at 400W and the bin at 800W .... Now i look at the JBL SRX 712 or 715 tops and the 718 subs .. the tops are 800W and the bins are 800W .... should the bins have more power than the tops as per the EV's ... or does it really matter ??

 

And my other question was, what are the advantages or disadvantages of using a 12" top compared a 15" top, or vice versa ??

 

Thanks again !!

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I believe there's a Long & McQuade in Toronto, and an Axe Music, either could set you up. L&M have yorkville. I have use a pair of Unity15's over a pair of LS800p's for 7 years. Lots of use and only blew out the horns doing an outdoor festival this summer. I honestly just didn't have enough gear. It worked fine the 2 years before but the festival had simply outgrown what my gear can do.

 

I CAN blow the doors off of any bar in the area, and get compliments about how my stuff sounds ether than 75% of the stuff in bars in the city. So that's a compliment to the gear and what it can do.

 

Yorkville now makes powered Unity15's. 900w I believe. It always better to have lots of headroom, and not need it, than to not have enough, and end up blowing something.

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I'm starting to narrow down my choices to the following ...

 

EV - QRX 115's and QRX 118's or 212's and 218's

or

JBL - SRX 715's and SRX 718's or 725's and 728's

 

Do you think it would be adequate to have the single tops and subs or would the dual be a better choice for my purposes ??

 

And, can you help me a choose a power amp for each of the speakers listed ...

 

I run 2-way Mono, perfectly fine for my needs and i'd rather not bridge or bi-amp anything ... one amp for the tops one for the bottom ...

 

Much appreciated !!

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Power is an insignificant part of this really. Ignore it when comparing speakers at this level.

 

I would use the 12" over the subs personally.

 

Power around the continuous rating and use a Driverack 260 system controller set up correctly.

 

Another option is the PRX-618 and 612, probably the most reasonable compromise regarding performance without having to spend some money to get the stuff set up correctly. Incorrectly set up, the typical passive system probably won't sound as good as the PRX-600 system which has been set up by the factory engineers who have better access to measurement tools and speaker processing knowledge.

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IF you have enough speakers and amps to cover the desired area at the desired SPL.

 

Have you done any basic SPL calculations yet to determine how much you will really need regardless of the speaker chosen?

 

Do you know what your target SPL versus frequency is? At what distance and splay angle?

 

I think you are jumping to conclusions (or theorizing them anyway) without understanding your real needs.

 

I wouldn't choose the 15" tops with subs personally. You pay a size/weight/cost penalty and I find the sound of (most) 12" cabinets to be superior due to how the 12 operates around the HF crossover point versus a 15 in terms of polar response.

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