Active or passive?

Active unless there would be a substantial increase in quality I would go passive

1 Danley SM80 over 1 Danley TH-118 sub per side would cover 500 people. With amps and processing I think it would be within your budget.

That would be a great sounding passive option.

killer system!






your budget also gets you 4 of each in my favorite brand RCF

www.rcf.it

www.rcf.it

for this a look like this & a little bit more portable s26.photobucket.com

There are a lot of good speakers in the $2.5 - 3k and under range but to get to the great speakers you jump into the $4k & up range. I guess my main questions would be who is your target audience and would they notice or care about the sound quality difference between a QSC KW153 and L'acoustics 112P (just using that as a high end speaker example)?

your budget also gets you 4 of each in my favorite brand RCF

www.rcf.it

www.rcf.it

for this a look like this & a little bit more portable s26.photobucket.com


That system looks amazing but are there any draw backs to the RCF NX-L24A?

And how many people can you do with this setup?






It's no different than asking the question why did you pick up that new Pioneer mixer/CDJs/Controller you can do the same with a rack mount dual cd player through Virtual DJ that you bought 20 years ago.

The reason you get the professional gear is for your own personal pride in what you do. I have a job that pays me well enough to invest heavily into my gear before I transition into music full time. I believe people cannot take you seriously unless you take yourself seriously. I believe what I want and already has will at the end of the day no matter what success or failure I will know I did everything I could to produce the absolute best service period. And I will have no regrets.

That's my reason.

I was in the same situation a few years back when I was purchasing my own sound rig. I decided to buy the best I could afford and have no regrets about doing.

Thanks for understanding. That's how I operate in my job and it's helped me become successful. Other guys used to ask why I go above and beyond because we are all on salary. I would always say because I do it for my own personal pride. And no matter if I fail I have no regrets because I did the best I could.

... OR, go this route:

www.rcf.it

www.rcf.it

That TT5-a you mentioned is around 90 lbs per speaker. That'll wreak havoc on your back at the end of a gig. The TT2-a is a somewhat manageable 75 lbs but still may not be very feasible if you're running solo.

That Danley route is next level stuff but you mentioned "powered". Plus, the SM80 outruns a single TH-118 and would make you invest in more subs. According to Danley, it's THAT LOUD.

Here's another powered top that's pole mountable and with a 4" high compression driver: www.jblpro.com

It's bigger brother, the JBL VP 7212DP lacks a pole mount and is heavier + more expensive.
Your mentioned RCF 4PRO 6001A 3-way top doesn't pole mount and weighs over 120 lbs. Not a good look.

If I were starting fresh and looking for a powered sound system, I'd go this route: Watchwww.youtube.com

Damn that RCF NX L24A system does look sweet how many people could you do with that system? 4 tops and 4 subs Like typical gym prom looking for the club feel?

I was looking at the RCF NX L24A hard but was afraid it didn't have the mids and highs like the RCF TT5-A.

You think I should wait for the RCF NX L44-A

youtu.be

I believe on that video I posted, the owner said he played a gym of 900 with that setup. I'm guessing that was a stretch and he was straining his levels the entire night. I wouldn't recommend it.

You might as well wait until the NXL44-A comes out. To me, either that RCF guy is a midget or those 44-A's are awkwardly large. I'd want to see and hear them in person and insure I wouldn't mind totting them around. The NXL24A just seems very easy to manage yet still steps on most any 2-way 15" box out there (according to the PSS guy I talked to in the video).

Luckily, there are several RCF 8004A users on this board so they can speak to their portability and performance. One thing, if you spend this much money on a powered setup, are you going to stay brand-centric? I would...

It would be a bi-amped system so the simple solution would be to turn down the SM80s. This system would give him room to grow should he need it.

You could also go with powered JTR Orbit Shifters and passive Noesis 3TX. Real close to Danley SQ but thousands cheaper.

One other thing to remember is that as you get into these higher end systems your source material is going to have to be top notch. Low quality files sound extremely bad. Plan on using 320kb MP3s or wav files for playback.

Here is a comparison video of the Danley SM80 vs the D&B Q7. Not my type of music but a good comparison. Slap on some good headphones and take a listen.

youtu.be

And this is probably a bigger speaker than you would need but here is a video of the Danley Jericho playing a song from 600 feet away.

youtu.be

In addition to what others have recommended (Danley & D&B) I would look at a Dynacord Cobra 2 or 4 system. Easy, modular ,sound good without much tuning.

Man you guys are the best thank you a lot! Every post I've read about speakers ends up in some kind of argument about the reason someone wants the system. I appreciate everyone who responded I definitely have some more speakers to research

Ooh that Danley system gives me goosebumps. Ive heard quite a few accounts of the TH118s being godly. Not to derail the thread, but I love the looks of them so much I am strongly considering building my own TH118s.

I've heard and used the Cobra system many times, and its amazing. Pretty surprising what comes out of the system with such few boxes. Used 6 subs and 2 (2 top 1 far) box per side at an outdoor concert for 2000 people, and it help up easy. Sound could be heard hundreds of feet away.

Don't you own KV Audio speakers? If so, are the tops 10" or 12"?

How does the 2.2 sub compare to these 18" subs out here?

I have the KV2 EX-12 tops. Those may be getting switched out next year though.

I've only compared the 2.2s vs the kw181s side by side. The 2.2 kills the 181 in sound quality, punch and output. The 181 goes a little lower.

i remember someone saying they owned vrx918sp's and they sold them for 2.2s cause they sounded better …..cray a 12" sounding so good


i always wanted a pair but never did pull the trigger

What are you trading the EX-12 tops for and why?

They are 8 years old and starting to show their age. I could get them sanded and refinished but I have been contemplating getting some newer gear. Haven't decided on anything yet. I may just get new EX-12s as the next speaker I want would be $4500 a cabinet and that's not going to happen.

Can definitely sound good but just can't hit the ultra low frequencies the bigger woofers can. With cats putting sub 30 hz bottom in tracks these days you miss out with the smaller boxes, heck, even a lot of 18s don't go below 45 in real world usage.

I am in the process of transitioning from passive MacPherson M2X, M12X, etc to active powered speakers. The closest powered boxes would be Meyer, of course, but the price is somewhat prohibitive. I am becoming very impressed with RCF's higher end cabinets. For your purposes, I would definitely check out the new ART 745 boxes. These have 4" compression drivers with a 2" throat, and a 15" woofer. Crossover point is at 650 Hz, giving you a lot of vocal warmth, and great intelligibility. 500w into low, 200w into horn. They scream. In a good way. With the exception of the ART 745 specifically, I would stay away from the ART line. Look at the TT22a for a great 12" top to use with a sub, or the TT25a 15" to use with or without a sub. The NX-L44A and the TT-2A and TT-5A are all great options. I haven't had a chance to check out the NX-L44A, but if it performs anything like the specks look like, it's going to be spectacular.

Have you had a chance to hear the RCF NX L24-A? Very curious about these.

Hey Guys,

I've owned the NXL24A for over a year now. I love them! I get compliments everywhere i go about sound quality and overall clarity. I plan to get a pair of NXL44a this year (2017) for my over 750 person events. The NXL24a get a bit bright once you start pushing them hard.

I also own the RCF 4pro 2031A, I really like the 4-pro line, but it doesn't even slightly compare the the clarity of the NXL24a.

I dont recommend the RCF TTL line unless you will utilize the extended networking and DSP functions. Which for DJ work, you wont.

I have 4 of the NXL 44's and just a fair warning; one cabinet per side will not do a 750 person party. 2 per side stacked is a completely different animal.

Brian, I was debating on getting another pair of the 24a over the 44a so I could double stack the tops for max output without needing delays. What are you thought on it?

getting another set of 24's and the stacking hardware would make be a smarter choice.

A fairly new line from DB-Tech is also a column array system and stack able.
The IG4T version looks promising.
www.dbtechnologies.com

I looked into these a couple of months back. If I remember correctly the guy from Trinity ProSound said that the RCF NXL-24As sounded better.

Agreed, I would pick the TTL line in a heartbeat if I were doing theater or talking head stuff. But for DJ gigs I don't see the need to upgrade.

I also own a pair of NXL-24A with 4 8004-as and it's a beast of a sound system. I have yet to find a ballroom that will allow me to push them!

I'm also considering getting an extra pair of nxl-24a to stack for larger outdoor events.

Wondering if they really increase spl when stacked or is it only vertical coverage?

It's been a while since I've seen a post from you Xio. You've definitely come a long way from your review of the Ev Elx115p. Congrats on your the growth of your company. I too live in Florida and have watched from a far. Keep up the good work.

I am looking to build a mobile DJ rig as well, wanted great SQ with that column array look & throw. I just pulled the trigger on 2 db IG4T's over a db sub18H. The plan is to run these stacked in mono, most wedding parties aren't dissecting your stereo field anyway?!? I choose this over the RCF nxl-24a's on top of a 8004/3 because of price (about $1.5k less), portability (ig4t's are about 12lb lighter per box) and the ability to steer the beam up or down 20 degrees (who knows if this is some phasing gimmick?)

I am interested in what the OP goes with? the pic of the nxl44's looked awesome, but could one person set that up and would it even fit in the majority of indoor rooms that weren't theater style?

I'll post a video of my rig when it is all put together.

First gig with the new rig tonight, 300+ ppl in a 150' long, narrow barn. WOW, blows the etx 12" over the etx 15" sub out of the water...

Thank you,

Yeah, I've been hidden from the online community a little bit, but still working hard down here in Miami! :p

Here is a pic of my setup with 2 db Tech IG4T's on top of a db Tech 18H. The cool thing with the stacked speakers is that the top box is mounted upside down to couple the HF drivers, this gives you a pole socket on top, so I got a 20" pole and mounted a Chauvet WashFx and KintaFx on top. In addition there is powercon in/out on each box so I made a cable to power the light fixtures right from the box, thus I only need one power cord run to my subwoofer and that powers the whole stack.

I was running the turbo sound ip2000, which is not bad, but I was getting a lot of complaints that they couldn't hear speeches in the back of the room and it was a mid-heavy(muddy) system. I A/B'd these side bye side and the difference was astounding, even my wife who is a nurse said that I wasn't playing the same track.

I only have one stack, so I run it in mono with everything panned left on my board, no complaints. especially with a 10 min setup and it fits in my suv. I had it out for a 800p dance in the big ballroom at the Sheraton downtown Columbus OH. It was awesome and it was only at about 70%.

My only complaints are the noise floor, there is a subtle hum to the speakers when you get close even when nothing is plugged in. I think this is common for powered tops though? When the gigs die down in a month or so I will bring them in and try to get an eq on them that will take it out.

The other complaint is that they are too loud when stacked if the room is not big enough and the coupled HF can get aggressive. Outside this is an awesome problem because the HF carries really far, but inside with 40p on a dance floor 10' away it is a lot of HF energy, so I just turn one box almost off or put some eq on it.

It was between these and a RCF Nxl24a system, both are awesome, mine was lighter and cheaper which pushed me to the IG4T's. I bought mine though Trinity Pro Sound in CA. John was awesome to work with, gave me a great price, lowest quote by $400+ and spent a lot of time sharing his knowledge as an audio production co with me (that is worth a lot of $ in my book) give him a call 209-832-8023

This is a safe pic of my rig:
drive.google.com

Yeah, I saw their review of those and they raved about the sound. I wonder how the IG3T's stack up to these considering they go lower and would be better stand-alone.

The only thing I do stand alone is a ceremony or other spoken word stuff, the ig4ts work great, I don't know who would do a dance with no sub though??? I went with the 4t's for the height and the weight difference, plus you get more surface area (thus more air movement) with 4 6.5" vs 2 10"s

thanks for the rig photos guys, cool to see

Your setup is the one I have been most seriously considering. Would you mind PMing me the price you paid?

Call the number in my post, John will give you the same deal, but around 4k with all the hardware.

You played speech and spoken word with only one 18" sub and a couple of column stack of IG4T speakers? 70% sounds about right for that...

Not much speech and spoken word, lots of Ayo & Teo...

Here's a review of the RCF 905AS II that people are high up on... Watchwww.youtube.com

I own the 905asII they are great little speakers . But the new amps and the processing options are quite shaddy ... i'm not realy sold by this . I own TT25A mkII too so i know what i'm talking about . They are slow when selecting a preset . And the clip light does not work like on the old amps . They have a type of pre limit wich is quite misleading for me . I onestly don't know when this speakers are in clip :-/

Sorry to bring this thread up again, but I figured I'd post here instead of making a new thread.

I'm looking to upgrade as well. 50% of my weddings are 350-450, and the other 50% are 500-650. I've been debating between the following, but I can't make up my mind:

Option 1 -
4x RCF 8004-as
4x RCF NX-L24a

Option 2 -
4x 8004-as
4x NX-45a
2x NX-32a

Would love to hear thoughts on which one I should go for. Been struggling to make a decision...

If you already have some traditional speakers for situations where the NX-L24As won’t work well then I’d go with them. If not the flexibility of the NX45 and NX32 as stand alone speakers in multiple areas is probably a better bet imo.

The thing with the NX24L is that it isn’t very special or noteworthy unless you plan on ALWAYS using them 2 per side stacked. Stacked 2 per side it is a wonderful system.

I say this as an owner.

The NX 45 and 32 are nothing special either but are a great value. Using them two per side is not idea b/c of the coverage pattern will cause series comb filter issues.

8004 is a nice sub but the 8003 can be had for a lot less and it is VERY close to the same spec as the 8004.

I would like to have flexibility for smaller parties I take on once in a while, especially since I’m spending this much.




Thoughts on other speakers/setups that might fit my use case?

I’m assuming you are getting good pricing for the RCF so based on that this is my recommendation.

Danley Sound Labs: 2x SM80 tops and 2 x TH118XL subs and 1 x DNA20K amplifier. The amp is 4 channels , 2 ohm stable, and can drive 2 more subs should you decided you wanted more. This rig will easily get you in 500-800 person range and will sound better than anything you will ever hear in the price range.

Search YouTube videos for Danley SM80 and see for yourself.

Join the Danley Facebook forum to see and learn more.

It seems dangerous to run a whole system off a single amp. That amp goes down and your fuuuuuked. Unless you carry back ups but that gets pricy.

The party in this video uses eight 15” tops (mixed makes and models, powered and unpowered - Turbosound TXD151, Yorkville EF15P and YAMAHA DSR115), Something like four dual 18” subs of mixes sized boxes and four DIY 21” d&b clone subs. It crushes and can easily get too loud if the DJ gets carried away. The crowd size gets up to around 800-1000 on and around the dance floor which spills out of the frame of this video. You can easily do half that number with the systems you are looking at.

www.instagram.com

I also really like how fuller sounding boxes like the NX32A & NX45A sound compared to tall skinny boxes for dance floors. Long distance audiences the line array thing projects further better but dance floors where your kind of close to the music... full range boxes have the funk. Even if they are high passed*

Thoughts on the Martin Audio CDD Live 15? I’m seeing a lot of comparisons between the SM80 and the Live 15’s, not sure if a pair of Live 15’s could cover a wider room (150’).

nxl24a is the way to go:

Bring 1(mono) and put it on am 18" pole on the sub for under 120ppl

bring 2 stacked (mono) on a sub and the other sub backwards in cardio for under 400ppl

bring all 4 in 2 stereo stacks with all 4 subs in any config for outdoor events up to 1k ppl

you can save some $ by going with the dB Tech version Ig4t (I own them)

great for your business and unique, (not a box on a tripod)

I would a DJ want to use cardio?

payday loans at 25%? nah

I'm actually quite anxious to use my 3 BassBoss subs in cardiod mode (two forward and one backwards). I get a lot of bass rumble on stage with turntables and figured this would help. I'll test it out in the spring. Funny thing is that I've done a ton of larger gigs and only ever had to bring two of the sub cabinets out! These things just pound!

Which Bassboss subs do you have?

SSP118 - single 18 version. Love 'em so far.

Are there any clip lights on the ssp1118? Have you ever pushed them into protection?

I’d use pro audio star and get the affirm payment plan I did that with my rcf evox 8s. They were roughly 3000 with bags and I paid about $283 a month for I think 10 months. So I made money using em as I paid em off so I never came out of pocket really

Yes - there is a clipping light.
No - never hit it.

I've pushed these into territory that QSC subs (HPR and KW series) just can't handle without clipping and audible distortion. They just take whatever I throw at them.

financing from a actual store is different than a payday loan.

payday loans are scams due to high interest. Its a known fact, its not even an opinion. note that there is no mention of interest anywhere on the link that was given. Theres a reason for that, because its higher than any other form of credit you can get. Its a bad idea

Im not against financing, i use paypal credit all the time when they have 24 months no interest with purchases over 600$. but thats zero interest.

Plus 1 here on those subs! Got my pair of those Bassboss SSP118 since 2016 and never looked for anything else. Last year the subs got paired with Bassboss DV12 and that sound coming out is just clean and pleasing even at high spl. I always had issues with my tops from JBL, QSC, RCF and EV when it comes to a large and wide hall like Hilton, you guys know that those are usually large. The DV12 will take care of that easily no matter where you are in the room. I’ll keep these for a long time and just satisfied with the results with every setup.