DB Technologies Fifty Line Plus

R

Ryan Taylor

Freshman
Dec 6, 2012
14
0
0
Newcastle, Australia
Hi all,
does anyone have any experiece with these active speakers?
http://www2.livenation.fi/pdf/252.pdf

I have just purchased a set but have yet to pick them up. . they were simply too good a deal to pass up. . for a RRP of close to $12k (1 x FL18, 1 x FL15 and 1 x FL10 per side) I could re sell them for 25% of that and not lose out. .

Any opinions, experience, good/bad/otherwise?

Cheers,
Ryan
 
Re: DB Technologies Fifty Line Plus

Ryan Taylor said:
I agree. . they remind me kind of like a cross of HK gear and Kv2 gear. .
I just hope they sound somewhere approaching those 2 brands!!
Click to expand...

If they sound anywhere close it was a bargain. The KV2 stuff is incredible. I have not heard the HK. I like the idea of the split box active tops. Gets the weight down for each individual box.
 
Re: DB Technologies Fifty Line Plus

Hi Ryan,

I saw those boxes on ebay. I reckon you did alright.
I've used them and thought they were good. Not quite up there with the newer db stuff (T12) but still quite nice.
HK's equivalent system would be the "Projector". Having used both, I would give the Fifty Line slightly higher marks.

Cheers,
Darren
 
Re: DB Technologies Fifty Line Plus

Darren Scaresbrook said:
Hi Ryan,

I saw those boxes on ebay. I reckon you did alright.
I've used them and thought they were good. Not quite up there with the newer db stuff (T12) but still quite nice.
HK's equivalent system would be the "Projector". Having used both, I would give the Fifty Line slightly higher marks.

Cheers,
Darren
Click to expand...

Cheers Darren.
Thanks for your comments! That gives me some confidence. On par with HK projector is certainly high praise. . more so when you factor in what they cost me! If they're even a little better than the HKs then that's awesome!
I've always liked HK stuff.
I think these are configured slightly differently, from memory the Projector has 2 single 18 subs then a 12"/horn mid high?? Could be wrong there.
These dBs are 18, 15 and then a 10"/horn.
I'm interested to hear them actually. . the fact you can drop the 18 and run them just with the 15 and mid/high box is handy for small accoustic or speech only gigs. . less to carry is always good!

I've just gotta organise freight/pickup now as I'm in NSW!

I also agree with Eric re the mid/high box being actively driven by the 15. . means there is the least weight in the box you have to lift the highest!
One downside I guess is having to use at least the 15 with the top box. . although to be fair a single 10"/horn box isn't going to do much on its own anyway and would struggle without a bass cab.

Matt you may be right about them not getting to the states. . any info I have found on the net seems to be European in origin. Very little in America it seems.
There is still an online retailer here in Australia that lists some new stock. . I guess that's handy if I want to add another pair of the subs to the rig. (and by if I mean when). .
 
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Re: DB Technologies Fifty Line Plus

A few years ago I tried out either the 40 or 50 line, forget which. If I remember correctly I was considering purchasing them and contacted the manufacturer several times by email and never got a response. That put me off the product from a business point of view but not sonically. Also I think the mid/high's are actively crossed. I think I had a 2 core NL4 linking it to the amp and only got either mid or high forget which.
Andrew
 
Re: DB Technologies Fifty Line Plus

andrew gissing said:
A few years ago I tried out either the 40 or 50 line, forget which. If I remember correctly I was considering purchasing them and contacted the manufacturer several times by email and never got a response. That put me off the product from a business point of view but not sonically. Also I think the mid/high's are actively crossed. I think I had a 2 core NL4 linking it to the amp and only got either mid or high forget which.
Andrew
Click to expand...

Yeah it uses a 4 core NL4 from the 15 up to the 10 cabinet which has the high and mid signal. . it's actually a 3 way amp in the 15 cab and no amp in the 10 cabinet (which isn't a bad thing considering that's the one you have to lift up over your head!)
The 18 has it's own amp and gives a high-passed line signal to the 15 (the 15 runs full range when you don't use it with the 18).

For what it's worth I emailed dB tech last night to see if they had manuals available for download for these discontinued lines. . they replied with the files attached in about 1/2 hour.

Ryan
 
Re: DB Technologies Fifty Line Plus

Well they're finally here!
Of course they turn up right when our (Australian) weather is doing it's level best to melt everything through the day (43 celsius/110F) and then threaten to flood the place in the afternoon so an outside test wasn't achievable.
Set them up inside instead.

Very punchy sound . . the horn loaded 10" in the top box seems to help with that, also quite clear. In fact inside they matched the fidelity of the 5.1 system that's in the lounge room (although obviously walk all over that in terms of SPL).
For near-field/small rooms you can switch a 6dB pad on the 10/horn top box to calm them down when listening up close. . with that switched out they were a little harsh up that close but with it switched in very very smooth.

Since it was all playback I had the 15/10/horns running stereo with the subs on an aux. They can also be set up simply with a full range signal to the subs that then has a high-pass out for the tops (that way running the whole 18/15/10/horn in stereo) or a link out from each amp that can run the whole rig from one mono feed if you so desire. The value of running the tops in stereo in a live situation I guess is another debate. . I'm hoping on getting them permanently in a venue near home, and if they end up in a room that does a bit of playback work as well I'll set them up stereo. . when it's band work it's no problem to just leave everything panned centre. Being active, you don't have to do the 'stereo is nice but I need double the amp channels' stuff of passive boxes.
The subs on an aux seemed to work best. There are adjustable sensitivity controls on the sub amps (as well as the top amps) to get a sub-mains balance but I like that flexibilty from the desk rather than climbing behind the stack with a screw driver.
The benefits of aux subs in keeping the vocals and other 'mud' out of the subs is also well documented.
For playback applications it's also nice to go from a nice even 'rock 'n roll' sound to a doof doof club sound just with the adjustment of an aux send.

Can't wait to let them loose with a band and see how they go!!

IMG_6744.jpgIMG_6748.jpgIMG_6751.jpgWP_000706.jpg
 
Re: DB Technologies Fifty Line Plus

How are the subs doing for SPL compared to the rest of the system? Looks like you could use 1-4 more per side.
 
Re: DB Technologies Fifty Line Plus

Caleb Dick said:
How are the subs doing for SPL compared to the rest of the system? Looks like you could use 1-4 more per side.
Click to expand...

One more a side would be a good start for sure. 4 a side would be killer but way out of my budget. Inside in the house it was no problem but the brief run I gave them outside had them (subs) with the limit light flashing pretty easy before the tops even sounded like breaking up.
That was pretty sub-heavy dance music though and before I had the subs on an aux. No EQ or anything it was just a 'run and gun' quick test as it was about 9pm by the time I got them all stacked up.

In a venue the subs would probably be better off clustered together but that leaves the high end components way too low if they were to sit on the ground without the subs. Might have to look at making some stands to get the 15/10/horn at a decent height without relying on sitting on the subs.

I need to work out what/where they are going to be spending most of their time doing to see if it's worth getting at least another pair of subs. To be fair though, another 2 subs would cost me more than I paid for the whole system. . including the freight!:?~:-?~:???:

I'd ideally like another 2 complete stacks. . giving the choice of 2xsubs/1x15/1x10+horn per side or when coverage is an issue, stacking a full 2 subs/2x15/2x10+horn per side. The 15 and 10/horn would make a pretty capable side fill as well. (assuming you can get them high enough).

For what I paid for them, they'll make a pretty capable pub/bar rig for rock style stuff. . a reasonably succesful local band I used to work for got away with 2 Yamaha Club IV 15 + horn and a pair of 15 passive sub cabs for years . . These in similar size rooms should yield both an SPL and a clarity improvement. . and they cost me about the same!
 
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