Active PA spekaers?

[CoolCat]

this isn't a Home Recording question but....

I was looking around for a decent small Live PA. Son was needing one.
I'm leaning to Active Speakers, maybe even one for starters...

Been wasting money and time I think.

Starting with a Yamaha mixer little 10x2..then a crap Radio Shack 40watt and Radio Shack cabinet. $75...that was too lame.

So then the guys trasded and sold things to get a Altec Lansing Amp 100W (with some funky speaker wire jacks etc)...$150..it didn't sound much different than the Radios Shack setup...

then a friend sold a $200 PA/Mixer with two little Peavey Speaker cabinets which just sounds like crap...$150... turns out it was the speakers that sound like crap.

so today I went thru this pile of PA misfit pile....

and the best combo is the Yammie mixer into the AmpIN in the Mixer/Amp head (avoiding all the crackling pots) then into the Radio Shack speaker cab (mono).


Now I'm thinking whats the cheapest best way to upgrade?

I'm thinking this Yamaha Mixer into some actives will be best.
Band plays at Skateparks and 48ft by 200ft area...no auditoriums. Typical dnace bar sized places.

any suggestions/inputs on these Active PA speakers everyones selling now? any lemons to stay clear of?

 

[dintymoore]

I'm not big on active speakers because they tend to weigh a lot. Forget plastic speaker boxes unless you're going for a plastic sound.

I got 2 JBL's (12" + horn), two speaker stands and a Behringer PMX2000 all-in-one pa powered mixer and it's fine for small gigs. The total, out the door price was $800 new.

The worst thing wrong with it was the metal speaker grilles - they sound terrible! Just like garbage cans. So I remade one cabinet out of decent wood and a cloth grille and I plan to do the other.

 

[CoolCat]

thanks.

I've never owned or moved a active PA speaker.

 

[dintymoore]

Active speakers have amps in them. In general, the heavier an amp is, the better it sounds.

In the end, what you hear is coming from the speaker. In an ultimate world, you'd have the best gear in every step of your chain, but I'll always maintain that the start and finish of your music chain (the mics and speakers) are far more important than what's in between. Those are your transducers.

I think my cheap pa sounds pretty good because the JBL's aren't junk and I use a Sennheiser 441 which isn't a junk mic. So the start and finish of my system are pretty good. The Behringer all-in-one is pretty much crap but I don't push it. I don't use any eq for the most part. I don't need to because my mic and speakers are good. There's passive eq on my mic. Passive eq sounds good! When you get into eq it's often to fix something else that's wrong and usually you end up in a mess. The best is really good start and finish and no or very little eq. The same with recording. It makes for a very, very simple setup.

 

[moresound]

IMHO an active cab sounds much better than a passive cab.

 

[dickiefunk]

I picked up a pair of JBL EON 15 G2's when they were being discontinued over here for £500 a pair! These have been great workhorses and very loud!!

I use them to put 3x vocals, trumpet, sax, keys, bass and kick drum through as they do a great job.

I'm using a Yamaha MG 166CX desk with them which is working out well.

The only thing is I find the JBL EON's can suffer from a little hiss when cranked. Saying that I don't think I've ever used them beyond a 3rd of their power!!!

My whole PA - 2x JBL EON 15 G2's, Yamaha MG 166cx mixer, speaker stands + leads came to £800!! Considering the performance of this pa I would say it was a complete bargain!

 

[Lt. Bob]

the new top line JBL Eons are very light ..... 33lbs with 450 watt amps in them. They're not cheap but you'd be done with it if you got some.
Personally, I tend to prefer passive speakers but that's just a personal preference.
Either way can work fine and there's lots of choices out there.

 

[gecko zzed]

I have active speakers for my rig. I like active because of their flexibility. I've got Dbs, Evs, and Yamahas, and I can mix and match according to the demands of the venue.

Active speakers are heavier . . . but not by much. The EV actives are about the same as the EV passives I've got.

But in the end, the weight is really immaterial; it is either an amp on its own or an amp in a speaker.

 

[Lt. Bob]

I have active speakers for my rig. I like active because of their flexibility. I've got Dbs, Evs, and Yamahas, and I can mix and match according to the demands of the venue.

Active speakers are heavier . . . but not by much. The EV actives are about the same as the EV passives I've got.

But in the end, the weight is really immaterial; it is either an amp on its own or an amp in a speaker.

I don't see how actives are inherently more flexible.
I have multiple sets of passives and I do the same thing ....... bring what's appropriate for the venue. Often all I need for power is a Mackie 808 which works for any of my passives ...... if it's too much power for a small room I just turn it down.

I'm not trying to make a case for passives ...... either way works fine but I'm not seeing the flexibility advantage.

Having said that ....... I'd dearly love a pair of those new Eons. A friend has a couple and they're super light and really sound very good.

 

[CoolCat]

thanks for the inputs.

Looking at the EON's there are several to choose from.
250W 15" $349
280W 315 15" $499
450W 515 10" $799
EON 15 G2 look to be gone..

While $400 for one speaker sounds like a lot to me.... we have already spent $375 and still only have a misc. misfit pile of junk.

I did feel lucky to sell/craigslist, the two peavey speakers and the radioshack amp so recouped $150. I could probably sell the other stuff and grab one JBL powered.

Right now the Yamaha MG10 goes into a ROSS 400W Mixer/Amp (using the AMP IN which bypasses everything)....
and the Passive Radio Shack speaker cab, 2-way 15" and horn.

I could probably sell the ROSS head for $50 maybe $75.. and the cab for $40.
We have an Altec Lansing power amp but its not very loud even bridged at 200W that cost $150.

I'm thinking the Yamaha mixer into one of the JBL EON's at 250Watts...would be a good upgrade? I don't think I can afford the 450w EON.

 

[dickiefunk]

I've can only comment on the 450 w EON 15 G2's. I find these to be an excellent system with my Yamaha desk. The pre's, eq and fx all work well really well!

I've never used more than a 3rd of the power of my JBL's as they are REALLY loud so maybe a less powerful speaker would be fine though there is something to be said for having plenty of headroom on the amp so that you're not working it to the max all the time!

 

[dintymoore]

Right now the Yamaha MG10 goes into a ROSS 400W Mixer/Amp (using the AMP IN which bypasses everything)....
and the Passive Radio Shack speaker cab, 2-way 15" and horn.

What's killing you more than anything is the crappy $5 piezo horn in the Radio Shack cab. My JBL's cost $180 each about 4 years ago. To me they have what I'd call a pro sound, I've used them at many upscale hotels. They don't have piezo horns! I'll bet if you heard them through your system you'd be amazed.

I have used the EON's (a lot) and could never get past the fact that I could hear a plastic sound coming from the box. The amp and speakers are fine, but for me the plastic box is down right horrible.