Powered speakers

[Josh Levine]

Back down the gear rabbit hole... wondering about powered speakers for bars, parties, outdoor gigs, etc. not look to break the bank, but want something solid. Any thoughts on a pair of these? https://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHB115D

[onassis]

My 4 piece BG band currently uses a digital mixer + powered speaker setup with these. For vocals and acoustic instruments, most folks tend to favor 10" speakers. General consensus seems to be that 15" speakers are over the top for acoustic music, unless you're trying to run a bass through the PA. Most will use a separate bass amp, or possibly a subwoofer.

[Loubrava]

Powered speakers are great we switched over to them about 2 years ago. I tried out Behringer and they were are least favorite by a long shot compared to JBL, EV Mackie & Yamaha's if you can get to a music store go have listen. And as onassis says 15" is probably over the top. We ended up with Yamaha's 12" sound wise they were hands down the best sounding of the bunch in a similar price range.
Lou

[Josh Levine]

Those Yamaha’s are sweet... they are spendy though.

[Dave Sheets]

We use a pair of Alto T10 powered speakers for contra- these are inexpensive speakers in the same kinda price range as Behringers. They work but are not as nice, or as well built, as QSCs or RCFs. For inexpensive (cheap) speakers, I do like the Altos better than Behringers, the Altos seem be pretty clear sounding for a low end speaker.

Best of luck.

[TonyP]

I don't know what the new Behringer sounds like but when I was looking into them they were my least favorite too. Take a cd with you and compare if you can. I have a pair of the Behringer 8" and they are ok but not for bass. They seem more prone to feedback and I'm not sure if it's lack of rigidity of the cabinets or what.

The Behringer will get the job done and probably not quit on you but they just sounded kind of flat somehow compared to the Mackie, Yamaha, and JBL. I ended up with used first gen Mackie 450's, 12's. Plenty of power and no problem running bass through the mains which I prefer. But bigger speakers are heavier and if they would have been around at the time I would have gone QSC 10"s. I believe our sound out front is as crucial as our playing so skimping on sound gear ends up costing more in the long run.

[foldedpath]

I've used QSC K10's ever since they were introduced. Great sound, solid build quality. Not too heavy to lift up on a speaker stand or pack in the car, which is an important consideration at my age.

For amplified acoustic instruments, I think a 10" powered speaker is the sweet spot. A 12" can be good, but it will be heavier, and a 15" is overkill. If you really need strong bass, add a subwoofer. I've put bass through our K10's on occasion and it works fine. "Acoustic" acts don't need the heavy sub-bass used in modern Rock and Pop music.

[Josh Levine]

Those Alto tx10s seem like a good option for use as monitors or mains and if I outgrew them and got the Yamaha’s I could just use them as monitors.

[Mark Seale]

Agreed with foldedpath. The QSC K10 is fantastic. They may be a bit pricey, but they get the job done day in and day out.

[Br1ck]

I've had bad experiences in the past with Behringer products, but the host at an open mic I attend bought a pair of the 8" powered speakers for monitors. They sound great. Really. Everyone has liked them. We are at themercy of using some old Peavey 15"s at the venue that are past their prime. One night we turned the Behringer's toward the audience and killed the mains. Filled the room nicely.

But if QSC isn't in your future, Yamaha makes consistently good product. We're going to replace the venue mains with a pair.

[mandroid]

new switching power supply on Carvins amps cut the weight a lot, eliminating the transformer, which powered speakers do that?

[foldedpath]

new switching power supply on Carvins amps cut the weight a lot, eliminating the transformer, which powered speakers do that?

As far as I know, all the current powered speakers use Class-D (switching) amps to reduce the weight of the amplifier component. New magnet types can also reduce the speaker weight. After that, the main factor in weight is the thickness and rigidity of the cabinet.

The ones we're talking about here like the QSC, Yamaha, Behringer use plastic cabinets, which helps reduce weight, at the cost of acoustic rigidity and sound leakage. Some of these brands will have higher-end powered speakers with plywood cabinets that are acoustically better (more rigid, less leakage), at the cost of much higher weight. The plastic shell models like the K10 work fine in my experience, and they're sure easier on my back!

[Br1ck]

Class D amps have pretty much taken over the music gear segment. Powered speakers would be a lot less popular if they weighed fifty pounds.

[almeriastrings]

I also like the K10's. I also have a pair of K8's - don't let the size fool you. Those things are very potent too, and for say, a solo acoustic guitarist, sound incredibly 'fast' punchy and can more than fill a decent sized room...powerful little beasts. The QSC stuff is great... use mine with Touchmix 8 and 16 mixers. Also top grade stuff.

[jefflester]

The QSCs are pretty much the cream of the crop as far as what most folks say, me included. But for budget stuff, I highly recommend Alto. I've got TS112a I uses for mains or monitors and Tx10 for monitors depending on situation and have been very happy with them. Here's a previous thread extolling the virtues of the Altos:
https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/s...highlight=alto

[banjoboy]

Keep checking Amazon. I purchased to Alto TX12 speakers for the price that most places charge for TX8's.

[jefflester]

Keep checking Amazon. I purchased to Alto TX12 speakers for the price that most places charge for TX8's.

Based on your post in the other thread 2 months ago, I ordered a pair. But they have yet to fill my order.

[banjoboy]

Based on your post in the other thread 2 months ago, I ordered a pair. But they have yet to fill my order.

Yeah, it took them a while to fill my order. I didn't have any pending gigs, so it wasn't to much of a bother. Well worth the wait.

[Josh Levine]

I ended up grabbing a pair of those Alto Tx10s, been using them as monitors, they are great. They just went on sale for $100/each w/ free shipping at guitar center. https://www.guitarcenter.com/Alto/TX...ource=4GOA4D1A

[Tim Griffin]

Mackie SRM 350 work well

[Steve Lavelle]

I went one step down a from the QSC and one step up from the Yamaha with the PreSonus Air10 1200W 10". It has 2 inputs with seperate gains and a master gain with a lot of EQ options in a menu interface. I've used these as in many combinations of vocals and instruments, most commonly with a Radial tone bone for banjo and mandolin and a LR Baggs pre for guitar. had enough volume to use as a bass amp playing with a drummer in a small bar. One feature I'd like is the addition of phantom power on each input, but I just plug in power supplies for the pre amps instead. Very clear sound (lots of headroom for most medium size rooms.

[jefflester]

Yeah, it took them a while to fill my order. I didn't have any pending gigs, so it wasn't to much of a bother. Well worth the wait.

They have now cancelled my order for TX12s after almost 3 months due to lack of availability. I'll probably just buy a couple more TX10s since those are going for $99 now and I already have 2 (for monitors) and 2 TS112A for mains.

[banjoboy]

That's a good plan. I don't think there really is that much difference sonically between the 10's and 12's, at least not to this old boys ears. The 10's are lighter.