Help With Getting PA Speakers. Knowledge or Suggestions Any One?

I am UK based and as opinions on what to buy are very subjective and may differ due to local availability I will not give specific recommendations especially as you have not indicated any budget restrictions. Here are a few pointers that may help you with your choices:

1. Decide on your budget size……how much to you want to spend/how much could you stretch to at a push if it means getting something better?
2. Passive or Active system……most of the major manufacturers provide either option and it comes down to personal preference but there are a few pointers to bear in mind. If you go for a passive system (ie Passive Speakers powered by seperate Power amp and Pre-amp or combination power/pre-amp) you do have the option to buy a very good amplifier with budget speakers to start with and then upgrade the speakers as your budget permits.

   With active speakers where the amplifier is built into the speaker (my preferred system) you have the advantage that the amplifier perfectly matches the speaker it was designed for, setting up is arguably a simpler process, less gear to cart about (albeit that the speakers are heavier) and if an amp goes down at least you can finish the gig with the other powered speaker/s. The disadvantage is that good active systems are expensive.

3. Depending on the type of venue and music you are playing you may eventually decide that you require a multi-speaker setup with at least a pair of full range tops and one or two sub-woofers for the bottom end but initially just go for a pair of full range tops which you will use for 90% of your gigs. Unless you can afford something like a KV2 system go for speakers that have a 12″ main driver in the cab, that will ensure you get some nice bass and a good allround sound that will be your main workhorse, in my opinion most 10″ main drivers do not cut it with the bottom end with the exception of my KV2 10″ tops which blow away most of the 12″ competition that I’ve heard.
4. Here in the UK and based on my experience I would advise anyone to look at systems from Mackie, RCF, Bose and KV2 but I know there are a lot of other systems out there which cost less and sound pretty good for the money.

   I would suggest you get out a bit and see what other people are using, go to your local supplier and listen to some systems that fall into your budget range and then ask again if anyone on the forum has any opinions on your selected options. Also go to the manufacturs websites to compare specifications and check out the reviews on third party forums/magazines etc.

   Don’t be too hasty for a quick buy, make sure that the system you choose will be powerful enough for the venues you are likely to play and also consider buying secondhand, there are some real bargains to be had and you may end up with a better system than you can afford to buy new.

   Personally I don’t like Behringer kit even though it is value for money and I believe that you would probably be wanting to upgrade this system very soon after buying but I have not heard the system you are considering so cannot be specific.

Hope this paved someway in your quest for a suitable system.

I would say that the EPA900’s woofers are too small for what you want. Considering your budget, maybe look at something like the Behringer B215D’s. 10″ woofers will lack any power in the low end.

I don’t know what the prices are like in the US but you may be able to pick up a pair of Mackie SRM450’s or even some RCF’s within your budget.

On the cheaper side are the Seismic units that Eric is considering in his post in this thread:
http://www.amazon.com/Seismic-Audio-Speaker-Powered-Speakers/dp/B004Y6YEEE/ref=sr_1_4?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1340534427&sr=1-4&keywords=Seismic+Audio+active+speaker

I haven”t heard them but the reviews are positive.