Active Or Passive.... My Big Question!

[georgeyhal 0]

Hi guys,

 

One of the main reasons i joined this forum was to ask this question: Active or Passive?

 

But before you give me an answer let me give you a little infomation about my situation!

 

Ok, im in my last year at college, I have a weekend job which gives me about £100 a month.

 

I have already decided i want to be a laptop DJ - seems much cheaper - and i have an external sound card called a "line 6 toneport UXII" with this i can plug it into my laptop and have the master channel going through it and headphones channel coming out of the laptop jack.

The program i use is called "Virtual DJ" and it allows me to mix tunes and have a projector display showing a selection of sonique file visulizer's and what song is being played at the time (Very cool)

 

The problem is that I have no lights or speakers, i dont mind renting lights, but i DO want a pair (or more) of speakers. THE QUESTION IS will i get more speaker for money if i buy active speakers or an amp and passive speakers? MY price range is up to £500.

 

Thankyou very much for any info.

 

George

[TonyB 0]

Have you got/budgeted for a mixer (somewhere to plug the mic in)?

 

For your budget probably be best to go active and I would suggest either the Warrior PR15a's or the Warrior gig rig.

[DJB 0]

As already mentioned - the Warrior 15" active cabs are very good. Powerful and good enough bass for most mobile disco situations. Agreed that a good mixer will improve your work and sound a lot - so try and budget for a decent output source and cables to the speakers (or amp if you decide to go passive). :Thumbup:

 

It's all down to you really - personally, I prefer being active - I find it easier and less hassle to think about amps, crossovers etc. But, we could debate on here all day about reliability, heat, cable runs, sound etc. It really is down to you - sound is such a personal thing. :scared:

 

What have you used before? Do you understand the difference between passive/active clearly? What have you looked at or heard and liked? Also, what gigs are you planning to do - as £500 will get you an 'ok' system, but nothing capable of large student crowds etc. :nono:

 

I use mackie SRM450s, which are a little out of your budget - but very similar to the Warriors, if I'm honest - it's a shame I didn't save the hole in my pocket and buy the cheaper warriors. :wall:

 

Ben

[x4cs 0]

Hi guys,

 

One of the main reasons i joined this forum was to ask this question: Active or Passive?

 

But before you give me an answer let me give you a little infomation about my situation!

 

Ok, im in my last year at college, I have a weekend job which gives me about £100 a month.

 

I have already decided i want to be a laptop DJ - seems much cheaper - and i have an external sound card called a "line 6 toneport UXII" with this i can plug it into my laptop and have the master channel going through it and headphones channel coming out of the laptop jack.

The program i use is called "Virtual DJ" and it allows me to mix tunes and have a projector display showing a selection of sonique file visulizer's and what song is being played at the time (Very cool)

 

The problem is that I have no lights or speakers, i dont mind renting lights, but i DO want a pair (or more) of speakers. THE QUESTION IS will i get more speaker for money if i buy active speakers or an amp and passive speakers? MY price range is up to £500.

 

Thankyou very much for any info.

 

George

 

 

the thing to note here is that some of the cheaper end of active speakers are crap. they have no depth in sound. if you want some actives, best bet is to get down to your local DJ shop and have a listen to some. you will need to invest in a decent set to get a good sound.

 

for your budget, you will get a decent passive set of speakers, perhaps some NJDs (maybe the NJ581) which have celestion drivers and sound really well with the right amp.

 

personally, unless i was buying absolute top end actives, i would buy passives and an amp.

 

HTH

[DJB 0]

The warriors in discussion certainly have plenty of "depth" for disco use...maybe not Drum&Bass happy, but - certainly much better compared to the Peavey Pro15s I had - and they impressed me at the time.

 

Another option of course, is second hand - you can find some right Gems on ebay...HK lucus systems / Mackie / RCF. Or even passive stuff - like JBL, Martin Audio etc. I seem to remember a friend of mine picking up a pair of Martin Audio F15s for £550.

 

Ben

[wwfc 0]

another vote for the w-audio 15s.

 

bought a pair recently and used them last night for the first time, plenty of bass, build quality is excellent and the come with padded covers.

 

bargain at £440 del.

[Commander 0]

I would recommend a pair of Tapco Thumps [TH-15A] as i own a pair and they are awesome. They are active speakers with 200watts per speaker [400 watts rms]. Each speaker has it's own eq's [top, 2 mid's & a low] and the bass they give out is stunning. The sound is crystal clear and they also look quite meaty. I got mine for £350 [new] from a mate but you can get them for £400 brand new.

 

I mix drum & bass and they certainly do the job. They can also be used to play to upto 150 people!

 

[disco4hire 1]

 

The problem is that I have no lights or speakers, i dont mind renting lights, but i DO want a pair (or more) of speakers. THE QUESTION IS will i get more speaker for money if i buy active speakers or an amp and passive speakers? MY price range is up to £500.

 

George

 

My advice would be to buy the best you possibly can first time, if you buy cheap gear you will end up buying twice, and lose a lot of your cash on the rubbish you bought first time. Personally I would look for a S/H pair of Mackie 450's on ebay, if you are careful you should be able to find a good pair for around £450. If you are lucky there will be enough left over for a useable mixer (someone on here had some new citronic mixers going for about £30) and at that price you can't go wrong.

[Bouncy Dancefloor 0]

If you are lucky there will be enough left over for a useable mixer (someone on here had some new citronic mixers going for about £30) and at that price you can't go wrong.

 

that was me, still got a few left