Members Ray Charound Posted March 6, 2007 Members Share Posted March 6, 2007 Hey guys: Right now I have a little low-end PA that my band uses for practice. It consists of two small Peavey powered speakers and a Behringer (yeah, I know) mixer. It doesn't sound terrible, just a little on the weak side. I want to buy some more powered speakers and use the smaller speakers as monitors. I want to buy 4 speakers. I've got around $2400 to spend, including shipping and cables, so I need as much bang-for-the-buck as possible. People are probably going to suggest a better mixer, but that will come later - we're going to eventually save up and get a MixWiz of some sort. Right now, we just need more power. I have a few speakers in mind, but I'd like to know people's opinions on them: Samson DB500: 500 watts (400 low, 100 high), 15" woofer, $550 plus shipping Carvin LS1503A: 425 watts (300 low, 75 mid, 50 high), 15" woofer, $550 plus shipping Yamaha MSR400: 400 watts (not specified), 12" woofer, $550 w/ free shipping Out of those 3, I like the Samson b/c it's got the most power. The Carvin caught my eye b/c of the 3 way enclosure. I always thought those were supposed to sound better. The Yamaha seems to have the worst specs of the 3, but I was thinking it might make up for it in sound quality. I don't know, I haven't heard any of them myself. Mackie and JBL have speakers in my price range, but they're 10" drivers, which I'm already using. I'm sure there are other options in that price range, but if suggesting a different speaker, please keep it less than $600. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted March 6, 2007 Members Share Posted March 6, 2007 Both the Sampson and Yamaha are worth looking into further IMO. Ignore the power rating claims... all that matters with a powered speaker is if it has sufficient SPL output do do the job you need. A speaker system with 3dB less efficiency/sensitivity will require twice the power to achieve the same level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted March 6, 2007 CMS Author Share Posted March 6, 2007 And don't worry about driver size....as long as it sounds the way you expect/want, it shouldn't matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ray Charound Posted March 6, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 6, 2007 And don't worry about driver size....as long as it sounds the way you expect/want, it shouldn't matter. I was curious about that, thanks. Would it be a better option to buy 4 passive speakers and a good power amp instead of 4 active speakers? It seems I could get 4 Mackie S215 speakers plus a power amp for around the price of 4 active speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members preacherman672 Posted March 6, 2007 Members Share Posted March 6, 2007 A speaker system with 3dB less efficiency/sensitivity will require twice the poser to achieve the same level. I got a kick outta that, I may use it in my sig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted March 6, 2007 CMS Author Share Posted March 6, 2007 I was curious about that, thanks.Would it be a better option to buy 4 passive speakers and a good power amp instead of 4 active speakers? It seems I could get 4 Mackie S215 speakers plus a power amp for around the price of 4 active speakers. Many, probably most powered speakers are biamped. You'd be hard-pressed to find well matched amps for the price of an active speaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DJ Swydez Posted March 6, 2007 Members Share Posted March 6, 2007 If you a good negotiator and could maybe spend just a little more money, you could probably score 4 Peavey SP-5.5p speakers. The Peavey SP-5.5p is a 15" Biamped Speaker with 1000 watts max power and 130 dB peak output. It looks like a pretty good speaker, and you can get more info from Don who knows more about them (considering he works for Peavey). Good Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Al Poulin Posted March 7, 2007 Members Share Posted March 7, 2007 If you a good negotiator and could maybe spend just a little more money, you could probably score 4 Peavey SP-5.5p speakers. The Peavey SP-5.5p is a 15" Biamped Speaker with 1000 watts max power and 130 dB peak output. It looks like a pretty good speaker, and you can get more info from Don who knows more about them (considering he works for Peavey). Good Luck. Damn good negotiator is more like it. Those are 949$ each retail. I'll be receiving a Carvin LM15A very shortly I will be reviewing. For the price, they look like an excellent buy (and look way better than those 3 way LS cabs). 350 watts RMS built-in with neodymium 15'' woofer and horn - only 39lbs! You can plug up to 3 sources and have a 3 band built-in EQ with sweeping mids... 429$ + 30$ shipping. You'd be looking at under 2000$ for 4. The Yamaha you are looking at is OK but I believe has a max SPL of 121DB. The Peaveys DJ Swydez mentions reach peaks of 130DB! Two of those would be pretty cool and loud I think. A pair of Yorkville NX750Ps would be good too. Those Samsons are supposed to be good but heavy. Four of them would certainly rock the house.... Decisions, decisions... http://www.carvin.com/products/single.php?ItemNumber=LM15A&CID=LM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DJ Swydez Posted March 7, 2007 Members Share Posted March 7, 2007 Damn good negotiator is more like it. Those are 949$ each retail. Yes but I believe they were marked around $700 at the local GC the other day... street price is around $700-$750 I believe... so around $2500-$2600 would not be too much of a stretch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted March 7, 2007 Members Share Posted March 7, 2007 I got a kick outta that, I may use it in my sig Fortunately I design better than I type Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SilleeSpyder Posted March 7, 2007 Members Share Posted March 7, 2007 You can get 4 EV SXA100 speakers for that price, which in my humble opinion sound quite a bit better than the Samsons and are alot lighter. They normally go for about $620 each new. http://www.electrovoice.com/products/209.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted March 7, 2007 CMS Author Share Posted March 7, 2007 BTW, I'd just like to say...Ray Charound.....good work coming up with the screen name! :D NOT work- or family-friendly: http://www.gotwavs.com/0028375953/WAVS/Movies/Full_Metal_Jacket/cowboy.wav Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Preacher Will Posted March 7, 2007 Members Share Posted March 7, 2007 Yes but I believe they were marked around $700 at the local GC the other day... street price is around $700-$750 I believe... so around $2500-$2600 would not be too much of a stretch. That's my experience as well. Here in Baltimore they're streeting at $740.00. A pretty darn good price for the cab IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.