Reasonably Priced Large Format Line Arrays

B

Brandon Blakeney

Junior
Jan 14, 2011
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Laurel, MS
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Doing some research and getting quotes on Large Format Line Arrays (i.e. dual 10" , 12", or more) My budget would probably be 1-3K per box at most, that is just the reality of the economics.

Boxes so far that meet this criteria:

TVI C210, C212, etc...

Peavey Versarray 212

What else can you guys think of? I'm not really interested in buying worn-out, beat to death tour boxes...and no JBL!
 
Re: Reasonably Priced Large Format Line Arrays

Neither model you list is a large format line array. Seriously.

If you want a "real" one of those you need to figure you budget around $6k-$10k per box. Seriously. At the top end of those figures you can presume to include a pair 1 ton CM or Chain Master hoists.

We've been through this before, Brandon... figure out the coverage you need and the SPL the clients expect. Figure out how many of which speakers you need to achieve those and see what it will cost.

At our shop, we had to take an honest look, and soon discovered there is no $3,000 box that would do what we needed. Raise your budget or significantly lower your expectations.
 
Re: Reasonably Priced Large Format Line Arrays

Brandon Blakeney said:
and no JBL!
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This is a very strange requirement. It is not 1975 any more, and you should not judge their old boxes by modern standards. Their recent stuff certainly is no outdated child's toy, and an enormous number of people use it for gigs literally as large as possible, and as small as possible. I have no idea what anything costs, so I don't know what you can get, but it's not like there isn't a ton of great used JBL gear that will perform like new (or better) with some of today's DSP enabled amplifiers. Of course, the same is true for many other venerable manufacturers who continue to lead the market - I just think starting out your "looking for 10 gallons of line array at the 1 gallon price" thread by knocking off one of the oldest players in the book is pretty short sighted.
 
No experience with the TVI stuff, every time I've heard Versarray I couldn't help but think 'Meh'. Our 725/728 rig stomps the local Versarray guy's rig IMO. A bunch of used 4886 would be an awesome rig, not large format mind you, but easy to rig and quite capable in numbers.


Sent from my iPhone
 
Re: Reasonably Priced Large Format Line Arrays

Every box you listed is a small format box, MAYBE mid sized, but that's pushing it.

If you're trying to meet any riders, you're wasting your time even looking at anything you listed. If you're buying PA just to buy PA, then you're also wasting your time, and money.

If you're actually looking at buying a real rig and not just wasting our time throwing around names, tell us a budget, what kind of crowds you want to cover and what kind of material you want to do.





Evan
 
Re: Reasonably Priced Large Format Line Arrays

Shane Presley said:
Eaw 730? Scott larochelle was moving some around those numbers.....
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Thanks Shane!

This is true we are moving some of our 730's which will put a beating on those boxes you mentioned....Not a large format box though. I will say this, we have done 8000 people rock shows with 10 per side no problem....PM me if interested....
 
Re: Reasonably Priced Large Format Line Arrays

Tim McCulloch said:
Neither model you list is a large format line array. Seriously.

If you want a "real" one of those you need to figure you budget around $6k-$10k per box. Seriously. At the top end of those figures you can presume to include a pair 1 ton CM or Chain Master hoists.

We've been through this before, Brandon... figure out the coverage you need and the SPL the clients expect. Figure out how many of which speakers you need to achieve those and see what it will cost.

At our shop, we had to take an honest look, and soon discovered there is no $3,000 box that would do what we needed. Raise your budget or significantly lower your expectations.
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What is the definition of large format line array then? weight? coverage? SPL? driver size?.......Forgive me if I'm thinking of "mid-sized" line array.

Also, just to be clear I did list the Versarray 212 and not the 112. While I have not personally heard the 212 I know it has several times the HF section of the 112, as well as (10) MF drivers. Has anyone heard that box maybe on the Jagermeister Tour?

As far as JBL, I'm just not a fan and I'll leave it at that. Just as some of you are entitled to your opinion of Peavey, I'm entitled to my opinion of JBL.

As far as what we do, typically 2-4K people outdoors at most. To say that any piece of equipment isn't rider friendly is a little ambiguous, I've seen riders that called for a 12 channel mixer and speakers on a stick ;)

I talked to a guy this week that runs a 12 box TVI C212 and does national artists all the time, certainly not The Stones or AC/DC but recognizable country artists. I just wanted to find out if there was anything I was missing in my price range.
 
Re: Reasonably Priced Large Format Line Arrays

Brandon,

Large format = Large dollars. End of story. If you don't have 400,000 of them you aren't going to get a large format system. "System" implies lots of subs, a truck, chain motors, rigging, insurance and amps.

I find the JBL comment interesting, as JBL is one of the most expensive line arrays you can buy. Coincidentally, owners of JBL line arrays get to make more money with it than owners of off brand systems.
 
Re: Reasonably Priced Large Format Line Arrays

Tim Duffin said:
Brandon,

Large format = Large dollars. End of story. If you don't have 400,000 of them you aren't going to get a large format system. "System" implies lots of subs, a truck, chain motors, rigging, insurance and amps.

I find the JBL comment interesting, as JBL is one of the most expensive line arrays you can buy. Coincidentally, owners of JBL line arrays get to make more money with it than owners of off brand systems.
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Large format=Large dollars.......ah......so if someone were to produce a less expensive product that matched SPL, coverage, and reliability of a more expensive, established brand then it is inherently junk? I'm not saying that any of the boxes I mentioned do match the "big" brands on specs, but this is a for instance.....
 
Brandon Blakeney said:
Large format=Large dollars.......ah......so if someone were to produce a less expensive product that matched SPL, coverage, and reliability of a more expensive, established brand then it is inherently junk? I'm not saying that any of the boxes I mentioned do match the "big" brands on specs, but this is a for instance.....
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It doesn't exist or everyone would use it.

Sent from my DROID RAZR
 
The big dollar line arrays cost big dollars because big dollars were spent on R&D and testing. It would be extremely unlikely that anyone could match these designs at a lower price point without resorting to some 'unethical' tactics to do so.


Sent from my iPhone
 
Re: Reasonably Priced Large Format Line Arrays

Brandon Blakeney said:
I talked to a guy this week that runs a 12 box TVI C212 and does national artists all the time, certainly not The Stones or AC/DC but recognizable country artists. I just wanted to find out if there was anything I was missing in my price range.
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I've heard that same story from plenty of other providers, usually with rigs that really blow eggs. They win the bid for some county fair based on price and then do a sucky job of it. They'll brag about what artists they provided for, but fail to mention the act almost walked on the show because of the substandard equipment. Not saying this is the case with your TVI guy, but just beware of that when someone tells you such a thing.
 
Re: Reasonably Priced Large Format Line Arrays

Tom Manchester said:
I've heard that same story from plenty of other providers, usually with rigs that really blow eggs. They win the bid for some county fair based on price and then do a sucky job of it. They'll brag about what artists they provided for, but fail to mention the act almost walked on the show because of the substandard equipment. Not saying this is the case with your TVI guy, but just beware of that when someone tells you such a thing.
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I'm not saying it's the gospel truth but that's what he said and he seems to be an honest enough guy that does a fair amount of work in this industry. I was hoping that there would be more people on here that had stepped out of their "comfort zone" and tried some other products and give these guys who have worked on hard on these products a chance.
 
Re: Reasonably Priced Large Format Line Arrays

As someone who has been on Versarray and TVI boxes, I wouldn't spend my money on either if I were in the market for a speaker system. I'd rather buy some used conventional boxes by a major player. A friend of mine in a small midwestern town when looking to upgrade from his proprietary cabinets did exactly that and praises his new (used) system each time we talk.
 
Re: Reasonably Priced Large Format Line Arrays

Grant Conklin said:
Here are a few boxes to consider in the under $3000 category:

VTC EL210 List $3299 .:: VTC Pro Audio - EL210 ::.
RCF NXL23-A MAP $3199 RCF - NX L23-A
Nexo Geo S12 List $3680 GEO S12 - Nexo

Depending on your actual SPL requirements, one of those may do the trick.

Grant
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I've always enjoyed the Nexo Geo S systems, both the 8 and the 12. I've mixed on the VTC a couple times at the same place and thought they were decent, although I wonder if they have any rider acceptability.
 
Re: Reasonably Priced Large Format Line Arrays

I really liked the S8 for a compact array. Takes a lot of them to make a line but they sound very good and put out a surprising amount of audio for their size.
 
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