New system advice

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Karl Barnes

Sophomore
Aug 28, 2012
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London, England
Hi folks,

I never thought I'd be posting one of these questions but:

A band I work with regularly have decided to buy their own system and have asked me to recommend some systems.
Budget = £4000
Types of venue played = small theatres, up to 300 people.
They play rock music that uses bass pedals.
Obviously the requirement is for loud, but clarity needs to go with that.
Size is also plays a part. They want a powered system to avoid having to drag an amp rack around.
The rest of the system is based around a X32 with S16s, etc.

So far it's been a fairly easy decision for me; 2 x JBL PRX712 over 2 x JBL PRX718XLF.
However I need to validate this decision. Is that the best we could get?

I am aware that for roughly the same money the guys could get:

QSC K12 + Ksub
Yamaha DSR112 + DSR118
dB Technologies F12 and Sub 15D

To add some cloud to the mixture, we've had someone mention dispersion to us.
I have thought about this and figured that we could add a pair of 8" tops for centre fill duties (K8 or DXR8, etc - both outside of budget, and not part of the requirement at the moment).
The person who mentioned dispersion suggested that 4 tops of the same brand and model would be better.
For instance, they have suggested:

4 x Yamaha DXR12 over 2 x DXS15 or DSR118.

To me that looks like a step back. The DXR range is a lower range than the DSR range, isn't it?

Obvioulsy we'd need to hear some demos before committing, but can anyone comment on the options laid out above?
Are they good, bad, etc (is the JBL system the best one to be considering)?
Should anything else be considered?

Thanks in advance.

Karl.
 
Re: New system advice

Hey Karl,

This one comes up pretty regularly, so I've been curating the "Quick & Dirty Bar Rig" spreadsheet for the better part of a decade now. Regardless of what you think of the equipment choices therein, the whole point is to show that the speakers are a small part of the cost of having a real PA system, about 45% in this latest version which allocates more dollars to loudspeakers than in the past.

http://www.bennettprescott.com/downloads/QD_Bar_Rig.xls
 
Re: New system advice

Bennett,

Thanks for taking the time to answer that.

We already have our own mics, DIs, IEMs, cables, stands, cases, mains distro, and so on, so the bulk of what's in that spreadsheet is already taken care of.
We are not just starting out.
Also, we don't play bars.
All we are looking at is a FOH system to use at those venues we play at that don't have a suitable one.
I realise that there is no one-size-fits-all solution, but something that will do the job most of the time will do.

Having settled on the JBL PRX system, I guess I was looking for someone to tell me that I was making a mistake and that I should be looking at something else instead.

We are hiring at the moment, and whilst that eliminates the cost of ownership, it adds logistical problems that are becoming harder for us to overcome.
If we had our own rig that we could store with our lighting rig, we wouldn't have the hassle of organising PA hire, pickup, etc for those gigs where we need it.
We have a small tour coming up later in the year and we need to hire for around 50% of the gigs.
Looking at the amount we would be spending on hiring systems, we could get our own system and have something to show for the money.

Thanks anyway.

Karl.
 
Re: New system advice

Karl Barnes said:
Having settled on the JBL PRX system, I guess I was looking for someone to tell me that I was making a mistake and that I should be looking at something else instead.
Click to expand...

Rock music in a 300 seat theatre is right on the limit for a PRX set-up, but none of the other options at that price will be any better in that respect.
The Yamahas might have the edge, but it is only a matter of taste.
If you need to play LOUD, then you probably should look at a second hand Nexo Alpha, but the weight will be about twice that of the PRX. Same goes for d&b or Meyer set ups of LOUD rock capacity.
I'd just get the PRX, then supplement with extra subs and add another set of tops and split the program (music into subs and one set of tops, vocals into the other set of tops.
 
Re: New system advice

As Per suggested, 300 seats at rock levels would be pushing it for a PRX system with only a single sub per side, but you would get by IMHO. It would be better to have 4 subs and 2 tops for rock for such a venue IME.

For the price, it is a tough rig to beat.

I seriously dislike the KSub and wouldn't recommend them even to people I don't like.

The KW122's over the KW181's on the other hand are a very nice setup as well. If you don't mind the extra size and weight, a pair of KW153's over a pair of KW181's is an absolutely outstanding combination which would be a better setup for a 300 person room than the 12's over subs IMHO.

The DSR112 tops are outstanding. I use these over PRX618S-XLF's. They are the loudest and punchiest tops in their class (with the possible exception of the new Yorkville's that I haven't heard yet). Still not as good as the KW153's.

The DSR118 is anemic compared to the XLF.
 
Re: New system advice

I got an email from Studiospares recently - they had the new 18" Turbosound Milan sub reduced to around £650, with lesser reductions on the new Milan tops. I was surprised but I guess it's a sign of the new regime, previously you rarely saw big discounts actually advertised openly on Turbo gear.

Might be worth giving that system a listen, as on your budget you could afford 4 subs - to suit what sounds like quite bass heavy music.

I noticed the new Milan range has an 8" as well, which could potentially fulfill centre/front fill duties.

Sent from my GT-I8160 2
 
Re: New system advice

Guy Graham said:
I got an email from Studiospares recently - they had the new 18" Turbosound Milan sub reduced to around £650, with lesser reductions on the new Milan tops. I was surprised but I guess it's a sign of the new regime, previously you rarely saw big discounts actually advertised openly on Turbo gear.
Click to expand...

The Milan range is now available through Maplins as well, of all people.
I think The Music Group really want to increase their exposure to potential customers; whether going that far will actually improve their reputation or not might be another question of course.
Cheers,
David.
 
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