Members Metal_Storm Posted September 4, 2003 Members Share Posted September 4, 2003 I basically know nothing about PA's but our band and another band are about to start hiring a shed to jam at and basically neither vocalist has anythin to sing through so we were looking at getting a PA or something to sing through. Budget is extremely tight and it seems the most affordable and usefull option was this self powered speaker for $895 Australian (new). From what i understand it has the 400watt amp built in and its one speaker (not sure of speaker size) and the back allows for 2 mic inputs, gain/volume/high/low controls and a output so that it can be run with another similar speaker. We only need it for jamming so that the vocalist can hear what they are singing. The only other option was a 6 channel mixer/amp that came with 2 speakers. It was 200watt mono. I think the brand was Legend. Seemed very dodgy and we dont need 6 channels so id rather get more watts and less channels. Anyone know much about these "self powered speakers" and would you reccommend them for our situation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members abzurd Posted September 4, 2003 Members Share Posted September 4, 2003 Yep - Most likely that will be your best option. What brand is it? There are more than one company making active speakers out there. If you ever get to gigging you'll have a monitor or 1 Front of House speaker ready to go. Way smarter to buy 1 worthy piece of gear that can be used if and when you expand your system instead of the junk "PA in a box" for the same price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Metal_Storm Posted September 4, 2003 Author Members Share Posted September 4, 2003 Yeh well i brought a mate along with me who's a sound tech and he said the same thing. With that 200watt PA he said if you buy that and find out its {censored} youve basically gotta start from scratch and buy all new equipment whereas buying a quite decent self powered speaker wouldnt go to waste if we decided to upgrade (ie another speaker, good mixer etc) I know this sounds pretty piss weak but I cant remember the brand name although it couldnt have been a poor brand cause my mate would have said stay away from it. It was listed to cost $1095 but was on special for $895. It was also really good the way it was shaped, you could lie it down on a 45 degree angle and use it as foldback or buy a pole and mount the speaker on that to have it in an elevated position. Its obsene how much decent equipment costs. I was hoping to keep it to about 600 dollars but after shopping around thats completely unrealistic. I was just curious though if its a self powered speaker and they quote it as being 400 watts does that mean the AMP is 400watts or just the speaker?.In other words the amp driving the speaker is 400watts, twice the watts of the Legend PA and its two crappy speakers? Cause we really need that extra watts/small volume increase. We play metal so the drummers are very loud and my guitar amp is a TSL100watt valve head and 1960A cab so its got that to compete with too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JMS 2 Posted September 4, 2003 Members Share Posted September 4, 2003 I agree, one powered speaker is probably your best start (could've been a Mackie at that price). Easy on the TSL though ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Metal_Storm Posted September 4, 2003 Author Members Share Posted September 4, 2003 All that aside though i guess the basic question is would you guys reccommend that as a suitable, cheap option for what we're trying to do? Even if it ends up being a case of the speaker facing up at the vocalist from the 45 degree floor position that will still be good enough for now. We just need something cheap/reliable that will allow the vocalist to hear what he's singing when the band is jamming. Perhaps even with cleaver placement ideas in the room the rest of the band could hear the vocals? Even though i cant remember the brand name i know its not some piece of {censored} brand. Its not top of the range its but its still fairly decent. The list price was meant to be 1095 australian but its come down to 895 on special which works out to be $580 US. The store is very decent with their prices to. They usually do good deals pricewise on a lot of their gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Metal_Storm Posted September 4, 2003 Author Members Share Posted September 4, 2003 Is the self powered speaker definetely a better option than the 6 channel Legend 200watt mono PA? I think it is but i dont know anything about this stuff. Ill probably end up buying a seperate mixer (maybe an 8 channel) for recording purposes anyway so if need be in the future we could get another speaker and if more than 2 things needed to be plugged in that could be done via the mixer so i dont see the need for the Legend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SteelyD2 Posted September 4, 2003 Members Share Posted September 4, 2003 Jeesh, calm down, bud. Things work a little slower on this forum and some of us are just enjoying our first cup of coffee. As Abzurd said above, the powered cab sounds like a smart move for you. If it's a good piece of gear it will be able to grow with you. The flexibility to use as a wedge or on a stick is also a plus and your logic regarding speaker placement is spot-on. Given your geographic location, a more important question than the name on the cabinet should be, can you get it serviced locally? But, if you can provide the name and model of the cabinet, other suggestions regarding methods of use and things to watch out for may be forthcoming. Peace,D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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