Powered Speaker ?

[troyri]

Bars, crowd size 100-200.

 

What would be a good powered speaker set-up for this?

Subs and mains, just looking for amount of watts (per speaker) needed to cover, feel free to include brand and model numbers.

 

I know other things come into play here but for sake of argument. Micing everything, 4pc rock band, drums, 2 guitars, bass, 4 vocs.

 

Don't know my exact budget yet, but somewhere around 2500 total. I already have everything else needed.

 

Would prefer new.

[Bobby1Note]

Something like AudioEasts' package #4 would get you off to a good start; it's a bit more than your budget however.

 

http://www.audioeast.com/yorkvillesystems.htm

[MikeyParent]

Wait do you have a mixer or not? Mics?

[troyri]

We have everything, just need the speakers

[jwlussow]

Look at the JBL PRX system 1. Just add a single PRX sub for now. A pair of PRX612s and a PRX618 will easily cover 200. Add another sub later and you can easily do 300 - 350 indoors.

 

http://www.audioeast.com/jblsystems.htm

[abzurd]

IMO, I'd jump on this - http://www.idjnow.com/StoreModules/ProductDetails.aspx/PID=ART312A . They are phasing out that series and that price is $300 less than they sold for originally. You should be able to get subs and stay under budget that way too as you'd have $1500 left for subs.

[soul-x]

I have had all good experiences the RCF model Abzurd mentioned. If they can be had at that price, they'll be pretty tough to beat.

[troyri]

Those seem to be quite a bit lower on power than the others. Are they enough?

[jwlussow]

There is more to how loud a speaker is then the power. Efficiency makes a huge difference. Any of the speakers suggested will do what you want and more.

[monthlymixcd]

Yeah... the MaxSPL rating (from any reputable manufacturer anyway) is what you want to look at... and then i usually look at the frequency response at -3dB (not the range)... and then I look at the dispersion angles... and then things like size and weight. I really don't even concern myself with what the power rating of the amp is anymore. Any powered speaker worth considering has accurate specs for these categories and I'm rarely surprised when I finally get to hear something... except maybe when it comes to tone and then you can even be prepared for that if you have paid attention to the LF/HF Xover frequency spec.

[soul-x]

In my experience, I would guess the RCF compares pretty well with a JBL512. I haven't heard the 612.

 

For most practical purposes, 350W and 500w are the same.

 

Does anybody know if the 322 has been as steeply discounted?

[abzurd]

Don't buy into the "watt wars". In addition to the speaker efficiency being very important, the watts you read about aren't apples to apples. 2 examples:

 

Yorkville - They advertise the "program power" of the amp which wasn't really even "a thing" until powered speakers came along. Anyway, the amps in their speakers are really about 1/2 of what they claim. If you want to compare to the RCF spec, the LS700P is really around 350 watts and the NX55P is around 275 watts. I ran this very setup for a number of years and it was fine. In fact, it's great that acceptable SPL can be achieved with less watts. It means less power draw and fewer circuits needed.

 

QSC K Series - 1000 watts ..... right. The amps may be capable of it, but they are electronically limited and aren't delivering nearly that much, especially to the horn. No way the compression driver is ever seeing anything close to 500w - Doubtful the transients are 1/2 that. Watts are cheap these days and it benefits both manufacturing and marketing to use the same amps in the lows as high. Less parts to source and stock for repairs and the ability to print 1,000 WATTS in large bold text in print ads. It's still a quality product. I just find the advertising dubious.

[dcastar]

 

Bars, crowd size 100-200. What would be a good powered speaker set-up for this? Subs and mains, just looking for amount of watts (per speaker) needed to cover, feel free to include brand and model numbers. I know other things come into play here but for sake of argument. Micing everything, 4pc rock band, drums, 2 guitars, bass, 4 vocs. Don't know my exact budget yet, but somewhere around 2500 total. I already have everything else needed. Would prefer new.

 

 

:poke:

"Watts" means nothing. You want speakers with good sensitivity. Why is this - you ask? Take into consideration -- the law that 2x the wattage = +3db of sound.

 

(http://myhometheater.homestead.com/splcalculator.html)

 

Therefore :

Speaker A: Has 100db of sensitivity requires 500w of power to drive 127db of sound.

Speaker B: Has 97db of sensitivity, require 1000w of power to drive 127db

 

 

See where I'm going with this?

 

------------------

 

Anyhow, with a budget of $2500 for JUST speakers, you do have some great speakers in your range for crowds of 100-200.

 

The most popular including

QSC

KW series- a pair of kw122's over a pair of kw181 subs. Though this will likely run you close to $3500

HPR series- these were replaced with the KW's, but you might find these at bargain basement clearance prices. a pair of hpr122's over a pair of hpr151 or 181's would get things rocking.

 

JBL

PRX6 series. A pair of the 612m's over the 618 subs is another great option. Again, looking in the mid $3k range.

 

Other popular manufacturers around these parts:

 

RCF

Art 4 and 7 series

 

Yorkville

NX series

Elite series

 

EV

ZXa series

 

Overall though, you might want to increase your budget into the $3-4k range... a full set of speakers in the $2500 range will be good, but down the road you might want more.

IE;

"Buy Once, Cry Once."

and

"You can always turn down, but you can't turn up".

 

Hope this helps!

[335BoB]

Those RCF's would be great for me..

 

Buy Once / Cry Once is the way to go. I have NEVER regretted spending extra money to get what I really wanted and needed. BUT there have been times where I held back on the bucks only to regret it later.