Need advice on upgrading mains

[Randyman]

Soulvillemusic,

You don't seem long winded to me- I appreciate hearing what it takes to figure out what kind of sound works. Being in a loud band fighting volume wars in a live gig situation is very challenging. I'm always aware that what i'm hearing on stage is not necessarily even remotely related to what the audience hears, and being able to play and trust you've got a good mix out front takes good equipment, experience and technique.

 

MonthlyMixCD: wouldn't the KWs be a side step? Guess we won't know until we get more end user reports.

[soulvillemusic]

Thanks ya'll. You

[witesol]

hah! had me a few YZ250s in my day...

 

I'm trying to score a pair of the Yamahas to test.

 

The EV ZXa5 is a really rocking cabinet too...has the components from EV's small line array

[soulvillemusic]

Oh yea

[witesol]

i gave up motocross like 7 years ago. plaster casts don't mix with a telecaster!

 

I love my 181i and can somehow load them up by myself reasonably. my choice for tops is between the unknown Yamaha and the QSC KW152. I like the idea of matching brands, i know it matters little...it just feels righter

[monthlymixcd]

 

The EV ZXa5 is a really rocking cabinet too...has the components from EV's small line array

 

 

...similar components anyway. BTW, if they had a ZXA3 I would say that the OP's decision would be an easy one...

[Chickentown]

I shudder to think of lifting them alone, but at your budget 4 used yorkie u15p's would make for a great rig with silky upper mids and highs. They have a 60 degree horn which makes them nice for those long narrow rooms or places with reflection problems. They also work really well arrayed.

 

One drawback is that they are a little more squat than many boxes and don't sit high enough when ground-stacked with some subs.

 

...but golly, they do sound nice for vocals

[banddad]

I've heard the Meyers sound really good.

Another intriguing option is the JBL small line arrays (VRX?)- I've heard these - and was inmpressed by their sound quality, and they fit the bill for lightweight and an upgrade.

[Shaster]

I use the Yorkville Unity U15's and am quite happy with them.

 

If I'm not putting them on subs, I use crank stands. At 81 pounds it's fairly easy with cranks BUT at 81lbs, mounting them on stands is living a little dangerously - even when the stands are rated for that.

 

I don't crank them much higher than if they were sitting on a UCS1 sub. Even then there's no telling what the drunken masses will do.

[soulvillemusic]

I don't think the coverage of the VRX is what I'm looking for and the powered versions are expensive. Granted, four of them outdoors sounds kick ass. I've always heard great things about u15p's. They get tons of love over at PSW. The big decision will come down to whether I just say screw the weight and go for full on quality or try to keep the new speakers light weight so I can lift them myself when using sticks on subs (which I do a lot).

 

I picked up some used Audix D'2 yesterday and needed some more D mic clips so I thought I'd head up to GC last night to get the. I figured while there I'd listen to some of MI grade speakers they carry. I was interested in at least looking at and hopefully hearing the Mackie HD's, JBL PRX's and QSC KW's. I'm on the north side of Fort Worth and have three GC's within 30 miles of my house. I decided to head up to the store in Lewisville because it's a little closer to me. I go into the pro audio area and they have absolutely NONE of these speakers! The live sound room was stacked 10' high JBL MRX & JRX, Yamaha club stuff as well as a bunch of the crap GC carries like CV, Harbinger, etc. The nicest powered speakers they had there was a pair of K10's. Some of you who live in areas where there are REAL pro audio stores should feel lucky. DFW is a big music market and to the best of my knowledge there no good store around me to look at good quality speakers. Bummer.

[Craig Vecchione]

Tell them to bust out a pair of what you want to hear. If they get the vibe that you're a buyer and not kicking tires, they'll do it...they have for me in the past.

 

I would be looking at SRX or VRX. What is your concern about coverage with them?

[monthlymixcd]

...and have three GC's within 30 miles of my house. I decided to head up to the store in Lewisville because it's a little closer to me. I go into the pro audio area and they have absolutely NONE of these speakers! The live sound room was stacked 10' high JBL MRX & JRX, Yamaha club stuff as well as a bunch of the crap GC carries like CV, Harbinger, etc. The nicest powered speakers they had there was a pair of K10's. Some of you who live in areas where there are REAL pro audio stores should feel lucky. DFW is a big music market and to the best of my knowledge there no good store around me to look at good quality speakers. Bummer.

 

[RANT ON]

See, this is what I don't understand... they outfit all of those stores exactly the same... it's all cookie cutter layout with as much high-profit-margin crap as they can stack and we, the consumers, are offered virtually no choice at all... it's all "We can order that for you". No $h!t... I can order that for me as well... from the Zzounds website with free shipping and no tax. WHY OH WHY can't they see that they could really benefit (especially in a 3 store market like DFW) if they specialized a little and had one monster Live Sound store, one monster Drum shop and one with mostly Guitar/Bass crap?!? A motivated buyer would easily drive that 30 miles to try out something they are considering. You could still have a smattering of everything that a "C" level store has near the registers of each to grab the impulse buyer... AAAAaargh!

[RANT OFF]

[Craig Vecchione]

 

 

 

Could be they've tried this in the past and found that cheap sells. Look at Behringer, the poster-child for bottom of the barrel. Who bought Midas?

[Rezrover]

 

 

 

Probably the same reason they've got a handful of really good(& expensive) guitars and a whole bunch of cheap ones.

[monthlymixcd]

 

Probably the same reason they've got a handful of really good(& expensive) guitars and a whole bunch of cheap ones.

 

 

... not that any of them are set up right... but I see your point.

[soulvillemusic]

I'm a business owner so I understand the concept of selling what people want. I'm sure they stock that stuff because it's what the masses are buying and it has decent profit margin...or it has low margins but they sell a lot of it. Either way it's obviously what's most profitable for them. It would just be nice if they threw some of us looking for higher grade PA gear a bone. Oh...they have SRX 728's in there but you'd have to believe they stock those for the DJ set. I'm not slamming DJ's but if you have the subs why not have the tops?

 

By the way Monthlymixcd, I was just referencing the 3 stores on my Fort Worth side of town. There's at least 3 or 4 more in Dallas. There are a lot of GC's in DFW metroplex. GC has pretty much killed off all the small stores. Oh well....I actually like buying online anyway to save the tax. Guess that's why we all put so much stock in the reviews people put on these forums since a good portion of us probably never get to hear what we're buying before we buy it.

[The Chinese]

 

I have a pair of these and they are a great sounding speaker. http://cgi.ebay.com/EAW-NT59-Powered-Speakers-EAWs-best-sounding-speaker-/130450481377?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e5f7460e1 These are a little out of your budget but they do have the make an offer option. My band uses pretty much the same rig you are using now. We have 4-535s and 4 qsc hpr subs. The EAW does sound better than the 535s and is not too heavy at 65 pound each.

 

 

These EAW's sound better than almost anything out there... I installed the NT's into a rehearsal studio, and they are simply phenomenal...

 

HOWEVER -

 

The NT59 & NT29 have been discontinued, and KOL's track record of part avail... well, not so good. The $2500 he's asking is about $600 too much imo.