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Topic: Purchasing Speakers - Page: 1

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Well back to square one. I went out to hear various speakers to help make up my mind on which to purchase yesterday, and what I discovered is that the EV15'S put out a lot of good sound and solid bass. I also listened to Peavey 15's which sounded good with good deep bass, but just wasn't pushing the watts I was looking for. I came back home and read reviews on both speakers, and I still found negative reviews complaining about the cabinet of the EV'S, and sound quality of the Peavey's. I didn't even both with the Mackies. Obviously a pair of EV's ran about $1,000.00, which I really don’t want to pay but it seems I'm dammed if I do and dammed if I don’t. Today I'm going out to listen to the Alto's although I have already read negative reviews stating they’re easy to blow like the Mackie’s, but never the less I'm going to check em out. I don't want to be cheap and cheat myself out of quality but, I don't want to break the bank either. The salesperson really pushed the Ev's and they sound great as well. I am going out today to look at a long time brand that not too many people talk about today Gemini. My intent is to get started and let the speakers pay for themselves and hopefully the upgrade. As always if there's any input that my VDJ family can provide please don't hesitate. I'll get back with you all and let you know how things went.

Thanks
 
Posted Thu 27 Jun 13 @ 5:06 am
Of the brands you mention, I would go with the EVs. Don't skimp on sound, it's the most important thing for DJs.

Gemini would be bottom of the list for me. They're not exactly known for their speakers, whereas EV are.

Other brands to consider are RCF (the brand I use), JBL, FBT, Yamaha (some now co-designed by Nexo) and QSC.
 
Yamaha DSR115 Powered PA Speaker 15'' 1,300 Watts (Biamped) meaning 2-amps. one for the tweeters & one for the woofers. not like most other powered speakers one amp pushing everything. i've been using these for the past 4 years or so. never,never,never no problems & i don't use bass cabinets. http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i-YAM-DSR115-LIST and check out http://www.zzounds.com/item--YAMDSR115. this is where i always get my gear from. (Cause You Can Make Payments) american musical supply has em for = 8 Payments of $125.00 Or
5 Payments of $200.00. and zzounds has them for 8 Payments of $125.00 also. i would bookmark both websites cause its the 1st places i look when buying gear. making payments is a no brainer, rather than dropping alot of cold hard cash on the spot.....
 
My k12s sound pretty good, but I'm going to trade up for the 15" 3 ways pretty soon. Good sound is the most important part of being a mobile dj. Lost a few gigs back in the day when I worked for someone else. My competition was terrible at djing, but he was running 4 18" with 15" tops. I was using Yamaha 15". My setup sounded ok, but his was ridiculous. He got the regular gig, and I was never brought back.
 
PV, Alto, Gem - Avoid

Just get some FBT's, RCF's even the EV's you talk about, you don't have to buy new. You could buy nearly new or immaculate used which would still be more than the cheap stuff but you getting 5 times the product.

PS,

By the time you've replaced the cones and horns on the cheap speakers you could of bought those decent ones, honestly take it from me I've done it.

If you already have PV speakers why dont you add a single powered sub, i.e. RCF 902 AS or 905 AS.
 
Have any of you gone to a local (respected) speaker repair shop?

Talk to the technicians who pull speaker apart and repair them.

I've done that. Time after time they tell me QSC are closer to the top of the line.

Also, it doesn't matter what speaker you get, if you don't know how to properly tune it and use it, you will get crappy sound.

Don't let your ego get in the way of learning.

I've seen tons of djs with great speakers and terrible sound.

The speakers are a part of a complete sound system.

But, over all k series or Kw series Qsc speakers can blow your expectations if done correctly.

 
Establish a budget first, and then make a decision. Or just say puck the budget and get any QSC. I have Mackie, and have never had a problem, but the QSCs, were not out when I bought mine.
 
Well, Today I went to my local GC and listened to the Alto's, and EV's. For the money the 800watt Alto's sounded great, the Ev's were louder and just flat out STUPID with the EV 18" Sub. I also saw the QSC's but they're out of my price range right now. They had a 15 Mackie SRM for $699 that also sounded great. I spoke with the saleperson (a young but old sound head), about the negative responses of the Mackie's. He said that alot of times dj's try to make the speaker do what it's just not made to do. Hip hop gigs you need a sub, or blow the crowds minds with skill. What I learned was to only do gig that your equipment can hold, or get a damn sub. Thanks VDJ family for all your help.
 
Just buy two EV ZLX speakers. They sound good and it will cost you less than 1,000 dollars. I recommend this website because they have great deals. I recommend that you call them on the phone because you will get a cheaper price. Another good pair of speakers are ALTO TS115 But, I would go with the EV ZLX because they can handle more watts.

http://www.proaudiostar.com/live-sound/loudspeakers.html?manufacturer=EV

I used to have QSC k12 speakers and got rid of them within a few months. They sound good but, I wanted a speakers that sounds good and has very good low end at a high volume. The JBL Prx615m speakers are excellent.
 
USED SPEAKERS

I gotta say that I feel more comfortable with buy new speakers than used. Obviously the new speakers come with the warranty's and all the bells and whistles. If I buy a used pair of speakers and something goes wrong, Im just out of my bread. Where do you all buy used speakers from that you're comfortable with?.
 
Like when you buy a car, you buy the owner.

You get to tell from experience of having been in the industry a while, prehaps it's best you buy new, you don't seem like a gambaling man.
 
I own both the EV ELX115P's and the ZLX 112P's.
I can tell you that they both sound great.

If your on a budget, get the ZLX's. Best bang for your buck!
You will want to get subs as soon as you can though. Subs make a HUGE difference in sound. I run QSC KW181's with either of my EV's and it sounds amazing.

Another thing to think about is this...

If you have Subs, you don't need 15 inch speakers. 10 or 12 inch will be more than enough. If your planning on getting subs, save some money and save your bank by getting 10 or 12 inch tops.

Again, I personally recommend the EV ZLX 112's. Great sound, great features, great price.
 
I never gig without a sub, ever. It's only one more thing to bring in. It's not like we are talking about 4 foot high double 18s.
 
I think your sales guy's advice is quite correct. Many people who complain about speakers being to easy to blow are prob trying to get them to do things way outside their ability. Speakers that are run within there limits with a clean signal dont tend to fail.

Sound quality is a very subjective thing. One mans meat is very much another mans poison. Comments on sound quality should only be used as a guide. The ultimate decision is yours based on what "your" ears tell you.

If you need a bigger sound then use a bigger system. As with the first point, far too many people expect Rolls Royce sound for Beer money or complain when they have to take an extra box or two to the gig. Unfortunately the laws of Phisics dictate what can be done with a certain size of system. Bigger space, bigger boxes and more power! Simple :-)

Good luck with whatever system you choose.

Daz
 
Just a quick note on those Peavey 15's. You mentioned that their wattage is not loud enough. Keep in mind that even though they only put out 400 watts, you can connect them to a set of passive speakers for another 400 watts. I suggest the JBL JRX125 Dual 15" 500 watt cabinets if you don't mind lugging around 2 extra speakers. They have a built in crossover for the bottom woofer and sound great. With JBL quality they are practically unbreakable.

DJ James
 
DJ James,

You can't link dual 15's to a 15" cabs, even if his PV's were 8 ohms he'd be down to 2 ohms as the duals are 4 ohms and that could blow his amp depending on what he has, and even if e has an amp has that capability I wouldn't recommend it.
 

jamesvanek wrote :
Just a quick note on those Peavey 15's. You mentioned that their wattage is not loud enough. Keep in mind that even though they only put out 400 watts, you can connect them to a set of passive speakers for another 400 watts. I suggest the JBL JRX125 Dual 15" 500 watt cabinets if you don't mind lugging around 2 extra speakers. They have a built in crossover for the bottom woofer and sound great. With JBL quality they are practically unbreakable.

DJ James



I was happy with my JRX125 until I bought PRX625.
 
Charlie Wilson wrote :
DJ James,

You can't link dual 15's to a 15" cabs, even if his PV's were 8 ohms he'd be down to 2 ohms as the duals are 4 ohms and that could blow his amp depending on what he has, and even if e has an amp has that capability I wouldn't recommend it.


I stand corrected, Charlie. Thanks for pointing that out. The output is for 8 ohms, the JBL Duals are indeed 4 ohms. You would need a 8 ohm speaker that could handle 400 watts or more. The Peavey PV115 2-Way 15" fits the bill for this one.

DJ James
 
Anyone ever heard of Wharfdale speakers?
 
djsmack11 wrote :
Anyone ever heard of Wharfdale speakers?


Yeah...
Don't get them.
 
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