Speakers suggestions … Please Help

Hey Fassool,

Decent size bedroom :-). Especially the height, more than usual here. Quite frankly a bit of a worry, especially if it is empty.
Although I am (no longer) a big fan of passive set-ups (they are essentially the pits if you do mobile work, compared to the easy of use and redundancy of active speakers), but since this is more of an installation sort of thing, that’s what we’ll run with.

Various questions to answer before getting any advice from me 8-):

• In what way will the speakers be used most, practice or full room gig?
• Do you want a 2 or 4 speaker set up?
• What max. sound level are you looking for (high volume is too relatively)?
• What budget do you have?
• How much space do you want the speakers to occupy?
• Do they have to go on speaker stands or is ceiling/high wall mounting the speakers (flying) an option?
• Do you want speakers in the middle of one side (next to DJ stand/booth?) or at the outer corners?

Enough questions for now.
Greetinx,
C.

Same questions apply 🙂

Plus:

• Fixed installation or mobile?
• Passive or Active preference?
• Size of room/crowd?

Greetinx,
C.

Hi,

Thanks for the compliment.

I am not gonna take the purist approach to the active/passive discussion, but will give you my opinion based on experience and today’s equipment quality.

With the introduction of digital amps (far superior to analogue I think) which can give more power at a higher quality with less heat generation and taking up space, I don’t think there are very good reasons NOT to go active. This is especially true for smaller setups (less than 2-2,5KW). For bigger systems there might be reasons to stick with the passive set-up, especially when using digital amps with DSPs (Digital Sound Processors).

In your case, active or passive, both would do fine. And since you already have the speaker cabling in place, I’d say go with passive.

Next point, practive vs full room. I would use a monitor speaker next to the DJ stand (especially if your controller has booth out) and just use that for practice. I use a single Numark NPM-100 DJ Monitor because it is much better suited for the road, has WAY more power than KRKs (100W RMS) and I find is easier for the purpose than the KRK studio monitors (I have two of those too for mix down and mastering purposes by the way). I only use 1 (ONE!) monitor speaker, your other ear will be in a headset anyway and I like the clear left (booth monitor)/right (headphone) separation. Might be just my old ears.

Then when you have a full room all you need to do is switch on the main amps and you can just keep using the booth monitor for mixing purposes.

In your drawing speaker option 1 shows the speakers behind the DJ equipment. I personally prefer being behind the speakers and not the other way around. It’s better for the ears (use a simple dB meter app on your iPhone if you have one to check the difference in sound level between 1m in front and 1m in back of speaker) that way. And by using a monitor you can still have the direct sound needed for good mixing.

I haven’t heard the PRX-series yet, so can’t comment. I am a big Mackie fan and their S512, based purely on spec analysis, is 4dB higher SPL (1W/1m). Now if you realise that to get 6dB more output you need DOUBLE the amp power, you can see how a more efficient speaker allows you to get a smaller/lighter amp. Don’t know how prices compare where you are though. On Amazon the Mackies are priced at just under 300USD, the JBL at almost 500USD, add to that the fact that you can get a smaller amp (which should cost less) and it’s a double save.

Best advice here is: ALWAYS listen before you buy. Preferably listen in A/B comparison to the speakers you have shortlisted. I would definitely listen to the Mackies too, that is just me though.

Obviously you want to buy 8 Ohm speakers, so when you add two more later on you can still use them (total will then be 4 Ohm which is not problem for an amp. If you have 4 Ohm and add another set of 4 Ohm total will be 2 Ohm, not all amps like that very much). If you decide to go for 4 speakers right away, you might want to consider 10″ speakers with a nice subwoofer (or two). The price difference between 12″ and 10″ will help pay for the subwoofer (at least partially). You’d need an extra amp for the subs though!

This setup should get you a very nice, deep, boomy bass in the room you describe and plenty of mid, mid/high, high in an even volume all over the floor.

Might want to look at RCF too (ART310) or HK Audio (some interesting array speakers). Again, just make sure to listen and compare before you buy.

I am not gonna burn myself on amp advise, there is so much out there. I’d opt for some of the more high end brands. Not a big fan of Behringer, DAP, Skytec and such when it comes to amps. They are too important for the sound your speakers produce and you will get nice speakers whether it’s the JBL’s, the Mackie’s or something comparable.

Good brands that I know of are Crown (XLi-series), QSC (not sure about the budget series) and Yamaha. Make sure to determine what you need by way of DSP/Crossover (depending on 2 or 4 speakers, yes or no subwoofer(s)).

Hope that helps a little with your research.

Greetinx,
C.