le freak 1 Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 Hi all , I got some alto ts115a speakers last year and as good as they are they are just not powerful enough for me ? For some reason I am alway clipping them , and when the sounds starts to fade on them it takes forever to get the sound back to the stage where you basically need to turn them off ?? ( any advice on that would be nice too:) I would like just a little more power and have a grand for a new pair of actives , 15" ones for the times I leave the boom box at home but still have a bit oomph. I was told to get jbl eon 515xt but have read some bad bad reviews from djs ??? Any advice would be appreciated Link to post Share on other sites
McCardle 1 Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 Personally, i'd throw a bit more into the budget and go for the QSC K12. 1000 watts RMS of punchy power per cab packed into a speaker physically similar to the size that you have now seems to be a decent and worthy upgrade in my own opinion. I'm not a fan of JBL personally, i've never auditioned the speaker in question, but I haven't really been impressed by the sound from various other models in their range. "The voice of the devil is heard in our land" 'War doesn't determine who is right, war determines who is left, and you wont win this war.' Link to post Share on other sites
le freak 1 Posted March 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 cheers for that , yeah like the look of them but just a bit too pricey for me , i have a resident place and only do maybe 10 mobiles a year so dont wanna go too expensive, how about these i seen , do you think they would give a bit more power than the altos, cheers j http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121280149954?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT Link to post Share on other sites
McCardle 1 Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 (edited) Well, if a choice between the JBL and the RCF then I would be choosing the RCF, but thats just my personal opinion. Also look at the FBT MAXX range, these are expensive new, but can sometimes be found second hand in good condition for around the price you are looking to pay. When comparing speakers, don't just consider the wattage, but also the SPL figure. This is an indication of how efficient the speaker is at turning the raw power from an amplifier into actual sound pressure which can be heard. The higher the SPL, the better quality and more efficient the speaker is. So for example, a 500w rms speaker with a 130db SPL will actually sound louder in real terms than a 500w rms speaker with an SPL of 94db, even though they are running at the same wattage, the higher SPL will sound louder So the best advice is to always choose a speaker which has the best combination of SPL and wattage that you can afford. The Alto has a continuous SPL of around 123db, which makes it quite impressive for what is effectively a medium quality active speaker, however the RCF has an higher SPL of 129db, which combined with the extra 300w rms per cab wattage, will make it sound considerably louder than the Alto's 400w / 123db rating Edited March 19, 2014 by McCardle "The voice of the devil is heard in our land" 'War doesn't determine who is right, war determines who is left, and you wont win this war.' Link to post Share on other sites
le freak 1 Posted March 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 interesting , for someone thats keeps his eye on a db limiter every week im suprised ive never really looked at db readings on speakers, .... now then .. the 515xt have a 132db rating but only 625 rms ,... so does this make it louder than the 700rms 129db rcf ? , jeeez , and they say football is a funny ole game haha . is it just sound quallity you dont like on the jbl ? or have you heard any other horror stories as i thought jbl would be very reliable, if so i suppose im best to go and give them a listen and see what i think . cheers j Link to post Share on other sites
McCardle 1 Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 (edited) the 515xt have a 132db rating but only 625 rms ,... so does this make it louder than the 700rms 129db rcf ? Yes, it can do. I know its generally accepted that in a lot of cases, a 350w 130db speaker can sound perceptively louder than a 500w 96db speaker, when used in the same application with the same material. Lots of people generally assume that watts is the be all and end all of speaker design and if its not loud enough lets bring in more muscle in the form of upping the power and crank up the watts!, but its a bit more complicated than that, and whilst watts does play a part, its not the end of the story, and SPL ratings are just as important, and its no use just upping the wattage, if the SPL remains poor because very little of that extra power output you have invested in, actually makes it out of the speaker as usable sound. Although in the examples i've seen in various places, the difference between any given db examples, have been pretty significant, i.e 96db vs 130db, the two figures which you quote 129db and 132db are very close and on a comparison between similarly priced speakers, so i'm not sure how that would affect the equation. I'm sure that there is some clever maths / science formula used to work it all out, but Maths isn't my strong point one thing is certain however and that an upgrade of both power and SPL from the Alto's to either of those speakers in your shortlist will bring an improvement, although which one of the two options would be the best one would be down to personal opinion. There is no such thing as the best speaker, just the one which works best for you, in your venue(s) and meets your requirements. is it just sound quallity you dont like on the jbl ? or have you heard any other horror stories as i thought jbl would be very reliable, I've not heard this model, but I think the JBL range I have heard, lack warmth and sound a little harsh, vocal wise and it reminds me of an overzealous compressor limiter / DBX system working on overdrive. Perhaps this is why they tend to be favoured by vocalists and bands, who seem to rave about them more than DJ's, as they maybe do enhance vocal frequencies, but in my opinion that type of improvement, doesn't make recorded material sound natural. But thats just my personal thoughts, either way you could sit 1000 DJ's down in a perfectly acoustically balanced concert hall to listen to 100 different brands of speaker and you will never get anywhere close to 100% agreement on which of the 100 brands sounded the best. So sometimes it is better, if you can, to actually hear them for yourself, before making a purchase, especially when its something expensive. Edited March 19, 2014 by McCardle "The voice of the devil is heard in our land" 'War doesn't determine who is right, war determines who is left, and you wont win this war.' Link to post Share on other sites
le freak 1 Posted March 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 cheers for that , some good info in there and very much appreciated , speaker shop is it then . cheers j Link to post Share on other sites
le freak 1 Posted March 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2014 hi , got a chance of a pair of alto black 15" speakers for a grand , 1200w rms ! .... have you heard these by any chance ? im guessing i will get more power out of these than my 400w altos even though i cant seem to find the db rating. cheers j Link to post Share on other sites
McCardle 1 Posted March 21, 2014 Report Share Posted March 21, 2014 (edited) These? http://www.mcqentertainment.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2307 The spec sheet is here:- http://www.altoproaudio.com/downloads/black/spec-sheets/Black15_Specsheet.pdf According to the manufacturers datasheet, the Max SPL is 134db. Nearly 29kg per cab though, so make sure you stock up on porridge and weetabix :yes: No i've personally not heard them, (for most gigs I use the same ones which you are upgrading from). But with that wattage and SPL it seems a good deal, especially as they retail for around £800 to £900 per cab. I'm thinking that they are second hand / ex demo, if so you should be able to at least get to hear them before buying? Edited March 21, 2014 by McCardle "The voice of the devil is heard in our land" 'War doesn't determine who is right, war determines who is left, and you wont win this war.' Link to post Share on other sites
le freak 1 Posted March 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2014 yeah thats the ones , might go check them out as i did like the sound of the ts115a ....., will give them a dumbell lift as well cheers j http://www.glasgowsoundcentre.com/bargain.php#black Link to post Share on other sites
McCardle 1 Posted March 21, 2014 Report Share Posted March 21, 2014 Maybe not a good idea openly advertising a link to them if you are seriously thinking of buying them, especially as there is only one pair available, and loads of DJ's love a genuine bargain....... :msn-wink: "The voice of the devil is heard in our land" 'War doesn't determine who is right, war determines who is left, and you wont win this war.' Link to post Share on other sites
fester 0 Posted March 22, 2014 Report Share Posted March 22, 2014 I would also add EV and dB Tech speakers into your choices. Both make some excellent cabinets and you can pick some up 2nd hand for a bargain. But of course, sound is always a very personal and subjective issue. You really can't beat having a proper live demo. When you're spending a considerable amount it's worth the time and effort to visit your local dealer or even take a road trip round a few dealers and have a good listen to as many different speakers and brands as you can. Craig Dance Sounds Disco http://www.discosheffield.co.uk Link to post Share on other sites
le freak 1 Posted March 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2014 cheers guys Link to post Share on other sites
le freak 1 Posted March 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2014 good shout on the db speakers , the altoblack 15" sounded good(though a little light on bass) but they are far too heavy and mounting on a pole is a no no, I listened to the db 715dx opera speakers 700w and was suprised how good they sounded and how light they were and eneded up buying. Link to post Share on other sites
le freak 1 Posted March 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2014 Ended up buying db 915 actives , Turns out the 715s are only 400rms which is well hidden in all descriptions I have read . Crafty these speaker mobs 1 Link to post Share on other sites
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