These Things By Behringer Any Good?

darthed1981

Looking for something to have my own open mic setup to build a bit of confidence...

Is this any good (needs to be able to keep up with a DSL40CR at small room volume).

https://www.andertons.co.uk/behringer-pk115-passive-800-watt-15-pa-speaker-system/

Snags

Er. The URL says it's passive, which implies you need an amp to drive it. Although the Anderton's blurb implies it's active ...

If you don't crank the DSL then one of the basic Behringer personal monitors will be fine, and take up less space.

Musicwolf

Behringer make a PK115 (passive) and a PK115A (active) speaker.  The Andertons page seems to be something of a mash up of the two, but the pic is certainly of the active version.

No idea how good they actually are, but I suspect that the answer is 'not very'.  You get what you pay for, and these are cheap.

Jonathangus

Is this for front-of-house, personal monitoring or home practice?  In any case, 15" is excessive, I reckon.

darthed1981

Snags said:

Er. The URL says it's passive, which implies you need an amp to drive it. Although the Anderton's blurb implies it's active ...

If you don't crank the DSL then one of the basic Behringer personal monitors will be fine, and take up less space.

Thanks - I thought the URL was weird as the built in media player etc (good for backing tracks I thought) implies active.

What would be an example of one of the more basic monitors?

Jonathangus said:

Is this for front-of-house, personal monitoring or home practice?  In any case, 15" is excessive, I reckon.

Basically so I have my own little open mic setup.

Got a couple of options for maybe doing a bit of an open mic set, for places without a proper vocal PA.. so was thinking something basic like this, plug in my mic and plug my guitar into my amp... and away...

15" is pretty huge for a small venue though, good point!

This better?  https://www.andertons.co.uk/behringer-active-250-watt-8-pa-speaker-system/

Thanks to all!!

Snags

Ed, when you say an open mic setup, do you mean to run one? Or for home practice simulating one?

If it's for attending someone else's, they won't thank you for turning up with your own PA (and it's a ballache for 3 songs!). 

darthed1981

Snags said:

Ed, when you say an open mic setup, do you mean to run one? Or for home practice simulating one?

Sort of the latter really.

There might be a couple of places where I could have a space to make a bit of noise in semi private where there wouldn't be any kit either.

ESBlonde

Behringer powered boxes in general feel underpowered and a bit ‘lifeless’ when put beside some of the competition. (Generalisation here, I’ve not tried all of them and certainly not the latest flush).
Look at Yamahas showbox. Plenty of used powered monitors with a used mini mixer can get a good bang for your buck. Online purchase might be a coolmusic bp60 or bp80 ( I had a bp80). 

Good reports about the Joyo BSK 60.

look up some YouTube reviews, particularly the BSK60. You can spend big and get great sound but you will pay more if battery/rechargeable capable, so decide if that’s important to you.

Snags

darthed1981 said:

Snags said:

Ed, when you say an open mic setup, do you mean to run one? Or for home practice simulating one?

Sort of the latter really.

There might be a couple of places where I could have a space to make a bit of noise in semi private where there wouldn't be any kit either.

OK, so if this is just for you to get used to stuff at home, I'd honestly say the best thing to do is:

• Turn the DSL down so you can sing over it unamplified
• Set up a mic on a stand, don't worry that it's unamplified
• Stand in front of the mic, play and sing into it

It's the geometry of playing/singing into a mic that tends to throw more than the amplified sound.

If you still want to have a crack with amplified vocals you'll probably want a basic mixer so you can add some reverb to the vocal, as dry it will probably sound a bit gash. But if you're OK with that, then for home use to "get the feel" something like the Behringer EUROLIVE B205D will do you fine and upset Mrs Ed less. (https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=0315-AAG)

Otherwise look for something like a second-hand Alto TX130 which should be <£100.

darthed1981

Snags said:

darthed1981 said:

Snags said:

Ed, when you say an open mic setup, do you mean to run one? Or for home practice simulating one?

Sort of the latter really.

There might be a couple of places where I could have a space to make a bit of noise in semi private where there wouldn't be any kit either.

OK, so if this is just for you to get used to stuff at home, I'd honestly say the best thing to do is:

• Turn the DSL down so you can sing over it unamplified
• Set up a mic on a stand, don't worry that it's unamplified
• Stand in front of the mic, play and sing into it

It's the geometry of playing/singing into a mic that tends to throw more than the amplified sound.

If you still want to have a crack with amplified vocals you'll probably want a basic mixer so you can add some reverb to the vocal, as dry it will probably sound a bit gash. But if you're OK with that, then for home use to "get the feel" something like the Behringer EUROLIVE B205D will do you fine and upset Mrs Ed less. (https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=0315-AAG)

Otherwise look for something like a second-hand Alto TX130 which should be <£100.

Many thanks @Snags !!

ScreamingDave

It's worth having a look at the HH Vector range.  I have a couple of the 12" versions for our PA and their pretty good, have built in media players, Bluetooth etc.

I also have a couple of Behringer Eurolive E1220, which have been going strong for about 15 years, so no worries about Behringer stuff's reliability, judging by that.

maltingsaudio

FWIW I think you’re better off looking at an acoustic guitar amp with a mic input than a cheap PA speaker , something like the Roland or Marshal Soloist or older  Trace Elliot acoustic amp. They will sound better and easior to set up .

TimmyO

Snags said:

• Turn the DSL down so you can sing over it unamplified
• 
  

<snip>

. But if you're OK with that, then for home use to "get the feel" something like the Behringer EUROLIVE B205D will do you fine and upset Mrs Ed less. (https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=0315-AAG)

I think the first thing there is unrealistic - You don't need much guitar volume at all before your unamplified singing is all over the place (for me anyway) - straining where you wouldn't actually strain, and as 'singing practice' it becomes a very different experience - remembering the song structure practice maybe but not the quality of singing practice. 

I was going to mention that Behringer B205 - it's a copy of the Mackie SRM150 which is what came to mind when I read the OP - for a small personal monitor or for practicing at home it seems like a decent bet 

Snags

Well, as someone who's regularly practiced playing and singing a song whilst playing through a DSL, without amplifying my voice, I'd disagree

It's perfectly possible to set the amp to a level that's equivalent to an unamplified acoustic. If you're practicing the singing and playing together aspect, you don't need perfect tone or stage volume, because that's not what you're practicing at that point.

Obviously it's more fun to practice it all with a full band at gig volume, but it's not necessary. 

ScreamingDave

Snags said:

Well, as someone who's regularly practiced playing and singing a song whilst playing through a DSL, without amplifying my voice, I'd disagree

It's perfectly possible to set the amp to a level that's equivalent to an unamplified acoustic. If you're practicing the singing and playing together aspect, you don't need perfect tone or stage volume, because that's not what you're practicing at that point.

Obviously it's more fun to practice it all with a full band at gig volume, but it's not necessary. 

Yeah, I agree with this.  I do it all the time.  Set the amp at a low volume and get Alexa to play the backing track.  it works fine.

ScreamingDave

maltingsaudio said:

FWIW I think you’re better off looking at an acoustic guitar amp with a mic input than a cheap PA speaker , something like the Roland or Marshal Soloist or older  Trace Elliot acoustic amp. They will sound better and easior to set up .

This is a really good idea.  I have a Blackstar Acoustic Core 30 which has both a guitar (kinda dedicated more to acoustic guitar) and a vocal channels.  It has built in effects, and a vocal enhancer, and could easily be used as a front end to then go into the PA on open mic night.  That way you also have a personal monitor as well, and don't have to change you settings from practice.