Good low cost stage monitors - Alto TX-8
I had been meaning to do a brief report on these for a while. They do not look as nice as those Charlie built, however! Despite the utilitarian appearance, in the six months or so that I've had a pair on test, they have proved reliable and surprisingly excellent sounding for the very low price tag. You would not use these for a heavy metal act, or even a loud electrified country outfit, but for an acoustic duo, trio or smaller band they might be ideal. I have shown one here next to a QSC K8 for comparison. Not only is the K8 many, many times the price of the TX-8, it is also very much more sophisticated (in-built DSP and loads of input options). It also weighs a whole bunch more. The TX-8's are feather light in comparison: 5.53Kg/12.2lbs vs 12.12kg/27lbs - you can pick up a TX-8 in one hand to carry it. The TX-8's offer 140W RMS (280W peak), though it is a single Class-D amplifier vs a dual 500+500W RMS Class-D configuration in the K8.
Obviously, the K8 is the better speaker. It also costs around $650 vs $140....
So, how do the little TX-8's sound. I'd say they sound really, really good providing you do not push them too hard. They are not muddy, nicely directional, and seem to work very well indeed as a lightweight, low-cost 'wedge' (they have a nice slope facility built into the cabinet). The input is balanced XLR and is about as simple as it gets. No DSP. No EQ. Just a gain knob (normally you'd do all the EQ on the AUX outs from your console). It does offer quite a wide gain range, though, from dynamic mic up to line level and there is a built-in limiter. There is also a 'though' link XLR output.
I really can't fault these at the price. Compact, super-light weight and they sound very acceptable. If you A/B them directly with a QSC or similar then yes - there is no doubt that the QSC sounds superior. You do get what you pay for there...but... for low cost speakers, you really can't complain, or at least I can't. They get a thumbs up from me.
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