Active Speakers

sw67 · January 2018

Looking to replace our heavy passive speakers and power amp with a couple of active speakers. We only do pub gigs with vocals and guitars through pa ( guitars are just for a bit of spread ) . Budget is £800ish and we would prefer new. Not sure if we should go 15 or 12 inch and have been looking at alto and Mackie srm450. Any other suggestions

ICBM · January 2018

12s, always. If you need more bottom end than you can get from them then you need a sub and not bigger speakers.

I would avoid Alto and Mackie from the ones I've seen for repair. Also avoid Wharfedale.

It's harder for me to positively recommend some because I only see the stuff that breaks usually!

But you could get a pair of these Yamahas for £810, and I have never seen a dead Yamaha powered speaker.

https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/yamaha-dbr12-active-pa-speaker?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&gclid=Cj0KCQiA1afSBRD2ARIsAEvBsNktLwLfLIJbV6WIfU9NoEizcAaptRGrWVBmvS5Nvaw6WP4sAqMCTJAaApJIEALw_wcB

sw67 · January 2018

Cheers john - just ordered 2 from bax shop for £698. Have 60 days so plenty of time to test

andyoz · January 2018

I see you've ordered but agree Yamaha or RCF in this price range are hard to beat. These are a solid buy and nearly in budget. Most of this gear sounds decent unless you push them too hard. https://m.thomann.de/gb/rcf_art_712_a_mk_iv_b_stock.htm?o=12&search=1514855483

midlifecrisis · January 2018

ICBM said:

12s, always. If you need more bottom end than you can get from them then you need a sub and not bigger speakers.

I would avoid Alto and Mackie from the ones I've seen for repair. Also avoid Wharfedale.

It's harder for me to positively recommend some because I only see the stuff that breaks usually!

But you could get a pair of these Yamahas for £810, and I have never seen a dead Yamaha powered speaker.

https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/yamaha-dbr12-active-pa-speaker?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&gclid=Cj0KCQiA1afSBRD2ARIsAEvBsNktLwLfLIJbV6WIfU9NoEizcAaptRGrWVBmvS5Nvaw6WP4sAqMCTJAaApJIEALw_wcB

whats the problem with Altos? i appreciate they are at the budget end but ive had a pair for nearly five years, gigged at least once every two weeks and sound great, never had a problem, is it that if they do go wrong they cant be repaired?

ICBM · January 2018

midlifecrisis said:

whats the problem with Altos? i appreciate they are at the budget end but ive had a pair for nearly five years, gigged at least once every two weeks and sound great, never had a problem, is it that if they do go wrong they cant be repaired?

The two in the rehearsal room we use have died after only a few months - one dead, the other sounds distorted on peaks. Now OK, a rehearsal room is trial by battle, but even so that's not very good really.

The power modules use standard modern Class D output sections which are hard to repair if they fail, or usually uneconomic even if possible. They're not designed to be repairable.

andyoz · January 2018

Have you ever had to look inside the RCF Art series @ICBM ;;. The amp modules look like they are a cut above many in that price range so interested if you've ever had a poke at them?

ICBM · January 2018

andyoz said:

Have you ever had to look inside the RCF Art series @ICBM ;;. The amp modules look like they are a cut above many in that price range so interested if you've ever had a poke at them?

No, not seen any so far.

John_A · January 2018

Having tried a few before we bought ours the RCF 7 series were the best sounding IMO at that sort of price, went for the 710a's and a pair of subs, If I didn't have the subs would have probably gone for the 712's. The Alto's look like a bargain on paper, but for volume and clarity the RCF's are in a different league

andyoz · January 2018

Sort of confirmed my suspicions that RCF are knocking it out of the park.

We've got some of their TT series and they seem to have trickled down the R&D to their cheaper lines. Most of their gear is still EU made (Italy)

They're sister brand dB Technologies is worth checking out too if budgets really tight.

hassleham · January 2018

I bought some SRM450's for my band a few years ago as they were the best speakers within our budget. We've gigged them hard for the last 2 and a half years with no issues!
Have heard very good things about RCF though, would be tempted if I was looking for a new pair but currently no need as the Mackies are doing fine along with some JBL subs.

firepaulmusic · January 2018

andyoz said:

Sort of confirmed my suspicions that RCF are knocking it out of the park.

We've got some of their TT series and they seem to have trickled down the R&D to their cheaper lines.

They're sister brand dB Technologies is worth checking out too if budgets really tight.

Been using RCF 310s on top for years and love them. Paired with two Db 15" active subs there's not much they can't cope with.

bennyg85 · January 2018

I'm on the hunt for some RCF tops and would appreciate some insight on how they've changed the years from Mk1 to Mk4.

Also, having come from the world of passive speakers and amps (Peavey), how efficient are these? We play in max 500 capacity venues and I've been looking at the Art 3 series 12s and at 350w I'm concerned about headroom. However, everything I read suggests they have lots of power. I will take subs to bigger venues but would like to mic the kick without subs where required.

ICBM · January 2018

bennyg85 said:

I will take subs to bigger venues but would like to mic the kick without subs where required.

Don't. You will stress the top cabs and restrict the power available for the rest of the programme if they're having to cope with the peaks and frequencies of a kick drum, and it probably won't sound very good even at lower volume either - the speakers won't have as much response down there and you'll actually end up turning up the lows further and making the problem even worse.

It's *always* far better to use subs if you need those frequencies in the PA.

andyoz · January 2018

Seems a bit of a stretch to get them to cover 500 people. That sort of size is really the realm of 3 way tops and subs. What sort of music?

bennyg85 · April 2018

bennyg85 said:

I'm on the hunt for some RCF tops and would appreciate some insight on how they've changed the years from Mk1 to Mk4.

Also, having come from the world of passive speakers and amps (Peavey), how efficient are these? We play in max 500 capacity venues and I've been looking at the Art 3 series 12s and at 350w I'm concerned about headroom. However, everything I read suggests they have lots of power. I will take subs to bigger venues but would like to mic the kick without subs where required.

Any advice to offer? Quite tempted to buy Yamahas new for the 7 year warranty now.

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