CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted July 21, 2003 CMS Author Share Posted July 21, 2003 In my quest for a reasonably priced small system for practice plus the occasional weekend-warrior small bar gigs up to maybe 100 people, I've run completely afoul. I'm a firm believer that a system has to start from the speakers and work backwords in the signal chain, so for this thread I'd like to concentrate on the speakers. My initial budget is ~$2,000 for mains. I really don't want to buy what I haven't heard or seen, so this removes Yorkville and Community from the running. I've heard and was impressed with the SR- JBL's, especially the 4732's. Sadly, $1,900 each is way out of my range. But $1,049 may not be, and that's what 4715's run. But I've never seen these used in a live situation, and I don't want to rely on just hearing them in a store. Would these alone do a fair job in small gigs until I can scrape up the additional $2,500+ or so for a pair of SR- subs and amplification? For this "phase-1" rig, I'd mic only the kick drum and rely on my big-assed bass rig for my bass volume. What I'm trying to avoid is disappointment with something like a Yamaha Club-series 12" or 15"+sub system or equivalent. If the SR's can provide passable function until I can get subs, I think I'd be happier. Yes, no, maybe so?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ATOMICDOG1 Posted July 21, 2003 Members Share Posted July 21, 2003 The 4715 is a dual 15" subwoofer, so you wouldn'be able to use them alone. I had a pair for a while, and I found that they work ok for country and blues but lack the low freq's for rock/hard rock/ r&B http://www.jblpro.com/pages/mi/srx/srx_product.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members abzurd Posted July 21, 2003 Members Share Posted July 21, 2003 Community is made right in your state so there has to be a relatively easy way to demo them. Also, there has to be a Yorkville distributor in your area as well. Isn't West Chester a suburb of Philly? I know Yorkville gets "a lot of play" around here. You certainly may like another speaker better, but it's worth and hour or 2 drive to demo some Elite series boxes. Good components, good price, good warranty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted July 21, 2003 Author CMS Author Share Posted July 21, 2003 Originally posted by abzurd Community is made right in your state so there has to be a relatively easy way to demo them. Also, there has to be a Yorkville distributor in your area as well. Isn't West Chester a suburb of Philly?I know Yorkville gets "a lot of play" around here. You certainly may like another speaker better, but it's worth and hour or 2 drive to demo some Elite series boxes. Good components, good price, good warranty. Yeah, you'd think this area would be lousy with Community Speakers.....their HQ is in Chester, about 10 miles from my home in West Chester. But I've yet to EVER see one of their products in person, new or used. My guess is because the franchise stores don't carry them, and the ma&pa shops don't carry PA gear at all. And the same goes for Yorkville in terms of them being scarce in these parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted July 21, 2003 Author CMS Author Share Posted July 21, 2003 Originally posted by ATOMICDOG1 The 4715 is a dual 15" subwoofer, so you wouldn'be able to use them alone. I had a pair for a while, and I found that they work ok for country and blues but lack the low freq's for rock/hard rock/ r&Bhttp://www.jblpro.com/pages/mi/srx/srx_product.htm I should have known I'd screw this up. Now I need to go figure out just which SR- cabinet I actually was looking at. Thanks for spotting this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted July 22, 2003 Author CMS Author Share Posted July 22, 2003 I must have been looking at the SR4725, not 4715. Opinions on using this alone for mains until subs can be afforded?? My own opinion is that if I'm going to make double the investment, people had better say "wow" when they here the system. Will the 4725's wow me in a live situtation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RickJ Posted July 22, 2003 Members Share Posted July 22, 2003 If you can swing it, get the 4726's. (You're only a coupla hundred away.) The 2447 HF driver in that box is quite a bit beefier than the one they're using in the 4725. The '26 also has better low end. In the future, it'll couple up perfectly with the 4719 dual 18 sub. And THAT will be a club/band system that will make people's jaws drop. Power them at no more than 1.5 times the JBL recommended "optimum" and you'll never have a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rickkreuzer Posted July 22, 2003 Members Share Posted July 22, 2003 Dittos on the 4726's. You'll be glad you did. I agree with you on your thought process. I did the same thing. Got great speakers then kept adding. Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted July 22, 2003 Author CMS Author Share Posted July 22, 2003 Thanks for the heads up. I'll check them out. One thing's for certain; this is a LOT more work than getting my bass rig sorted out. But the same principles apply...and I only screwed that up once, by buying an SWR Workingman's, which apparently is the equivalent of buying Mackie...lot's of money in marketing, little in R&D. But I learned my lesson and bought a great Ampeg rig after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Norsegod Posted July 22, 2003 Members Share Posted July 22, 2003 Back when I was going through the same process you are I did a whole lot of searches of this forum under SRX, mains. subs etc. We're talking hours upon hours.One thing I came across several times was a concept that 12 inch drivers reproduced the mids better than 15s and matching 15s with subs wasn't necesarily the best way to go about it.I can't speak with authority about any of this as I am a newbie, but I would strongly encourage you to search your ass off. you'll be surprised what you'll learn. I ended up getting a pair of 4722s first and a pair of 4718s later. I'm very happy with them. Most of the rooms around my area (Bozeman, MT) are small and the larger rooms usually have pro sound. I haven't even come close to pushing the system to it's limits yet. I haven't had the need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted July 22, 2003 Author CMS Author Share Posted July 22, 2003 Originally posted by Norsegod Back when I was going through the same process you are I did a whole lot of searches of this forum under SRX, mains. subs etc. We're talking hours upon hours.One thing I came across several times was a concept that 12 inch drivers reproduced the mids better than 15s and matching 15s with subs wasn't necesarily the best way to go about it.I can't speak with authority about any of this as I am a newbie, but I would strongly encourage you to search your ass off. you'll be surprised what you'll learn.I ended up getting a pair of 4722s first and a pair of 4718s later. I'm very happy with them. Most of the rooms around my area (Bozeman, MT) are small and the larger rooms usually have pro sound. I haven't even come close to pushing the system to it's limits yet. I haven't had the need. Excellent point, and I've been reading a lot of the same info as well. My only concern is getting decent sound out of them until I can get the subs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RickJ Posted July 23, 2003 Members Share Posted July 23, 2003 Norse,The problem in this case is he needs a full-range "starter" system that can deliver bass frequencies until he can afford to add subs. 15's can do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rickkreuzer Posted July 23, 2003 Members Share Posted July 23, 2003 I agree with the 12's producing better mids. I use 12's for my small set up. My long throws are the SR4735x's which use a 15. I don't really find that I'm eq'ing differently than I do using my 12's. In fact, I really like those 15's for this application. The vocals really reach out. I'm planning an upgrade to the SR4732x's for my regular club setup. Currently I'm just using a 2 way 12/horn. Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.