Members clund Posted January 19, 2010 Members Share Posted January 19, 2010 Hey everyone... I come here to get expert opinions and advice, So here is my situation. I'm in a Alt/Rock band, We have been playing out for about a year and have saved the money made from the gigs and are looking to buy new equipment (~$2000). Band consists of Drums / 2 Guitars / Bass / 3 Vocal mics / Horn player on some songs, and sometimes we have a Keyboardist who plays with us. We play med size bar gigs - 60 - 120 people. We mic the kick and snare / horn / and put a small bit of guitar and bass thru the PA to round it out (Most of the sound for those instruments is amp alone). OUR Current system is MixWiz 16:30 -> 'ringer 31 band EQ (i know - I want to replace) to an OLD Carvin PM900 - to JRX 125 (2x15) cabs and 2 powered 18" subs (1 JBL JRX and a Warfdale). We figure, the next purchase that will get us most bang for the buck is replacing the CRAP JRX mains. So I would like to go powered mains, and we are leaning towards the QSC HPR153i... We have gone to the local big box music stores and listened to a number of speakers and keep coming back to these. The clean mid range from these speakers are very warm, and I have read on this site that QSC gets some good props. I'm thinking of trying to package something like this from my local music store: E-Bay QSC 2-HPR153i w/ PX Does anyone have any better suggestions? Or any reason not to go with something like this?! Thanks for any advice!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members allexcosta Posted January 19, 2010 Members Share Posted January 19, 2010 Gonna have kick and bass on PA? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members clund Posted January 19, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 19, 2010 Gonna have kick and bass on PA? Yes... We run the Kick Drum and Bass thru the PA... A good amount of Kick, but not a whole lot of the Bass Guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jwlussow Posted January 19, 2010 Members Share Posted January 19, 2010 Those QSCs are good but HEAVY. Do you really need 15s over 18s? Subs are required for your setup and frankly, I'd lose everything but the Mixwiz. Are you using a crossover? Good 12s over 18s can give much cleaner sound then 15s over 18s. That will also save your back. Good 12s over good 18s can be a great sounding, extremely loud system that is easy to set up and take down. I would sell off what you have and pick up some powered 12s and powered subs. Look at the PRX718 subs for some real tight low end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MyNameIsRyan Posted January 19, 2010 Members Share Posted January 19, 2010 I love my HPR153s. Heavy as hell, but they sound awesome! 6 year warranty, and 150 buck rebate on each right now. I think until Jan 31st. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members clund Posted January 19, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 19, 2010 I was thinking the same thing for a while... Going with 12s over powered subs, but most manufacturers make their powered 12s with 75 degree conical horns. Will that still work for proper dispersion? I have also listened to the HPR153i side by side with the HPR 122i and the 153 just seemed much more full and rich sounding. (that was over a Pair of the HPR181i) What is the general opinion of the QSC K series? Are the HPR better over all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jwlussow Posted January 19, 2010 Members Share Posted January 19, 2010 I like the K Series with the exception of the K Sub. It is too small to have speakers on sticks attached. Since it is only 14" wide, it can easily fall over, especially if there is a speaker on a stick. The non-adjustable pole that comes with it is a thread mount and too short to get the tops up to the proper level. I assume they did this to make it as stable as possible. I'd be worried about them falling over whenever someone on the dance floor get's close to them. They do sound good, though. Honestly, we started sounding much better when we stopped trying to get the most impressive looking system. We had a huge one back in the 80s. It looked cool but it was a bitch to set up and move. We sound better (and louder) now then we did with our monster rig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members clund Posted January 19, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 19, 2010 Okay... So maybe skip the 3 way QSC's? -- Then lets go at it from a different angle. We have about $2000 to spend. We have 2 (different) powered 18" subs, neither is great and we plan to replace with better subs later (probably a year from now or so) and we want good sounding Mains for our setup (Listed Above) --- What do we get?! QSC HPR122i QSC K12JBL PRX512MIYorkville NX55p (only concern here is having to mail order them, without hearing ourselves)Anything else you can suggest?!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jwlussow Posted January 19, 2010 Members Share Posted January 19, 2010 I personally use and love the PRX512s. I'll bet that you will be happy with any of the speakers listed though. I know what you mean about the Yorkvilles. They are not readily available here, either. The people that have them love them so I wouldn't write them off completely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1tribe Posted January 20, 2010 Members Share Posted January 20, 2010 Its a tough call with your choices. The HPR is probably a nicer sounding cab than the K12 but it is 20+ lbs heavier. The K12 has some nice features and costs less. The JBL is right there in the weight dept. Dont really know how they sound but seem popular around here and PSW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gomer Pyle Posted January 20, 2010 Members Share Posted January 20, 2010 Yes., but not a whole lot of the Bass Guitar. Bad news, kind of like driving a car with three wheels, Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sickman Posted January 20, 2010 Members Share Posted January 20, 2010 I got a pair of JBL PRX 512s. They sound good and they're not heavy at all. In fact, they're probably lighter than the passive speakers we are currently using. We haven't used them at a gig yet, but I'm going to bring one out to practice tonight to try to convinence the band. Eventually I plan to pick up a pair of PRX 518 subs or maybe just one PRX 718. We tend to play places were most bands don't use subs, so I'll have to decide whether or not two are worth the money. I think you'd be happy with any of the choices you listed. For me, I wanted to keep the system matching a 100 plus pound sub was not something that would logistically work for me. It's all about tradeoffs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dcastar Posted January 20, 2010 Members Share Posted January 20, 2010 Hey Chris, I replied to your post over on the PSW forums... but figured I'd reply here as well. Consider buying my full QSC system? I might be willing to split it up.... could save you some money too...Ij73lPrBcuM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members clund Posted January 20, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 20, 2010 Dcastar... I replied... and I am VERY interested - but I am in Central Florida... I'm sure shiping costs would be outrageous! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members monthlymixcd Posted January 20, 2010 Members Share Posted January 20, 2010 I was thinking the same thing for a while... Going with 12s over powered subs, but most manufacturers make their powered 12s with 75 degree conical horns. Will that still work for proper dispersion? I have also listened to the HPR153i side by side with the HPR 122i and the 153 just seemed much more full and rich sounding. (that was over a Pair of the HPR181i)What is the general opinion of the QSC K series? Are the HPR better over all? Most venues (around here anyway) have the band play at the narrow end of a long room... a 75 degree pattern is just fine and perhaps better that wider dispersion in those situations. Are you running stereo FOH or dual-mono? While you lose a little low-end with the HPR122i vs. the HPR153i... you gain a little in intelligibility on the vocals. Not as quite as big a gap as exists between the 122i vs. 152i... but still there. And the cab 122i cab is lighter, of course. K series is fine... but I like the K10/K12 best as floor monitors as they have such a small footprint. FWIW - I'm starting to like the PRX512M more now that I've had several more opportunities to hear them live. They are also pretty versatile and can do FOH and monitor duty equally well and are in between the K series and the HPR122i weight-wise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members clund Posted January 20, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 20, 2010 Most venues (around here anyway) have the band play at the narrow end of a long room... a 75 degree pattern is just fine and perhaps better that wider dispersion in those situations. Are you running stereo FOH or dual-mono?While you lose a little low-end with the HPR122i vs. the HPR153i... you gain a little in intelligibility on the vocals. Not as quite as big a gap as exists between the 122i vs. 152i... but still there. And the cab 122i cab is lighter, of course.K series is fine... but I like the K10/K12 best as floor monitors as they have such a small footprint. FWIW - I'm starting to like the PRX512M more now that I've had several more opportunities to hear them live. They are also pretty versatile and can do FOH and monitor duty equally well and are in between the K series and the HPR122i weight-wise. We run stereo FOH -- But the only thing I try do do with stereo is put a little more guitar to the opposite side speaker from the Guitar amp on stage. And as for the HPR122i" getting more intelligible vocals over the HPR153i - I could see that if it was just a 12' instead of a 15" -- But with the HPR153i and the 6" mid range speaker (3 Way) - should vocals be even more pronounced then the 12"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dcastar Posted January 20, 2010 Members Share Posted January 20, 2010 It's no comparison. Once you hear a 3-way speaker, you'll never go back to a 2-way. The clarity from the 3-ways is nothing short of amazing. On small club gigs, we'll put up 2 K10's as mains and use 1 of the subs... and the singers immediately look at me like, "come on.... my vocals are lost in the mix"When purchasing my new rig... I almost refused to look at 2-ways... and actually did end up going with the Turbosound 3-ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted January 20, 2010 Members Share Posted January 20, 2010 It's no comparison. Once you hear a 3-way speaker, you'll never go back to a 2-way. The clarity from the 3-ways is nothing short of amazing. On small club gigs, we'll put up 2 K10's as mains and use 1 of the subs... and the singers immediately look at me like, "come on.... my vocals are lost in the mix"When purchasing my new rig... I almost refused to look at 2-ways... and actually did end up going with the Turbosound 3-ways. I disagree. Once you hear a really good 2 way you will never go back to mediocre 3 ways. The other disadvantage to 3 ways is the lack of pattern control in the mids. For some lower level or acoustic and jazz type shows, this can be used as an advantage though depending on the layout of the room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dcastar Posted January 20, 2010 Members Share Posted January 20, 2010 I don't think he has the budget for really good 2-ways though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members smitty0069 Posted January 21, 2010 Members Share Posted January 21, 2010 I disagree.Once you hear a really good 2 way you will never go back to mediocre 3 ways.The other disadvantage to 3 ways is the lack of pattern control in the mids.For some lower level or acoustic and jazz type shows, this can be used as an advantage though depending on the layout of the room.What's your opinion comparing similar quality cabinets? Really good vs. really good, or does any really good 3-way even compare to a really good 2-way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members witesol Posted January 21, 2010 Members Share Posted January 21, 2010 those qsc 153i are pretty nice mid-grade cabs. heavy indeed. I wouldn't call the HPR series mediocre. Other than that i'd prefer a 3 way system with two way biamped tops, preferably with 12s, like the 722 or qrx212 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members clund Posted January 21, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 21, 2010 AgedHorse... I have always trusted your judgement - in fact, I think I listed to you just before I got my MixWiz...... So on a budget of $2000, What would you get for tops? I would prefer powered, but I could do passive with an amp if all three are less than 2k. Considering we have 2 x 18" subs (one JRX and one warfdale) - I know they are not great, but they will have to do for another 6 months or so until we can replace them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted January 21, 2010 Members Share Posted January 21, 2010 So, I think the SRX-712's or 715's would be certainly on par with and IMO better than the 153i's, yes they do cost more but for the size/weight/package I think the additional cost is another advantage for most. If it were me, I would look at the SRX, maybe even the older SR's and frankly even the MRX would all work well (in unpowered) ordering the flyable versions of course if that's part of the job. Used might be a good option if you can find some in good shape. The SRX would come in a little over your budget (not much) but the others are below. If you want powered, it's tough to beat the PRX, the 512MI comes with flyware from the factory. Again a little over your budget but is powered and DSP processed too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hegmatronicon Posted January 21, 2010 Members Share Posted January 21, 2010 So, I think the SRX-712's or 715's would be certainly on par with and IMO better than the 153i's, yes they do cost more but for the size/weight/package I think the additional cost is another advantage for most.If it were me, I would look at the SRX, maybe even the older SR's and frankly even the MRX would all work well (in unpowered) ordering the flyable versions of course if that's part of the job. Used might be a good option if you can find some in good shape. The SRX would come in a little over your budget (not much) but the others are below. If you want powered, it's tough to beat the PRX, the 512MI comes with flyware from the factory. Again a little over your budget but is powered and DSP processed too. If the budget is $2k - wouldnt the PRX's be well under budget? I thought they were less than $850ea over there? Did they go up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted January 21, 2010 Members Share Posted January 21, 2010 If the budget is $2k - wouldnt the PRX's be well under budget? I thought they were less than $850ea over there? Did they go up? Was thinking of the flyable version and tax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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