Recommend me cheap active PA speakers

[razze06]

Our band needs to replace our tired (and very heavy and bulky) PA system, which has been with us several years, and with another band several years before that.

We normally use it for gigs of up to around 150 people in a medium-sized room. We have two pole mounted full range HZ cabs, driven by a 350W+350W studiomaster 700d power amp. We run three vocal mics, and occasionally keys and electronic drumkit through it. More often than not, we find that we run it at full pelt, both at the amp and at mixer controls. Perhaps the rooms we work have bad sound characteristics, or the speakers are not very efficient, don't know.

We are essentially looking for something less bulky but equivalent in terms of loudness, so we were thinking of getting active speakers, and perhaps a subwoofer to help out with the e-drumkit.

Budget-wise, we are looking to stay under the £700 mark. Anybody has any recommendations?

[ikay]

Mackie SRM450s? Good quality kit and built to last. Been gigging mine (older V1 models) for over 10 years and still going strong.

[thinman]

Having a sub will help the tops out a lot by taking away the need to produce the bottom end. I run a pair of db Technologies tops (405s) which are just used for vocals and a bit of keys at small gigs.

I've then got a pair of BFM T39 subs driven by a Studiomaster 700D (like yours) which we use when we want to put a bit of everything through the PA - the kick drum being the main thing that needs more clout. In retrospect I should have got some smaller tops - 10s or 12s rather than 15"s as a common view is that those drivers handle vocals better than 15's.

Bear in mind if you have a sub you'll need something to act as a crossover (you don't want the lows going to the tops when you have a sub). Many active subs have one built in that will give you a feed out to send on to the tops.

I'm looking to get another top to use as a spare and to use for monitoring so have been looking again. You'll find a lot of good comments about Studiospares' Fortissimo range - these are apparently made by Sound King and rebadged by Carlsboro with a nice mark-up that Studiospares don't put on.

Lots of people recommend the Mackie SRM450s but they may bust your budget. db Technologies are a little cheaper - the 10 or 12" versions may suit your budget and be fine when you're not putting an electronic kit through them. Below that then you're probably looking at Studiospares or something like the Thomann own brand stuff.

Another option may be to get your drummer to get his own amplification for the drums - you need a far bit of output for them to compare with an acoustic kit!

[razze06]

The soundspares stuff looks very interesting, shame about the poor design of the website

Would you recommend mid-hi tops and a sub, or a sub with a crossover and full range tops?

[JTUK]

If you are lucky you might find some Martin ICT's and a controller for that money SH and they will do the job ..and some.
The bigger 500's are very worthy but are passive...and your power might not be enough for the 500's

Maybe you might find a pr of active RCF 10/12's for tops for a little bit more money..??

Subs are a minefield.... getting the power out of them is the easier part, getting a focused sound is something else.
We tried Mackie and others and all have been lacking...
And then, do you go 2x115 or 1x118..??

[thinman]

[quote name='razze06' timestamp='1352131323' post='1859118']
The soundspares stuff looks very interesting, shame about the poor design of the website

Would you recommend mid-hi tops and a sub, or a sub with a crossover and full range tops?
[/quote]

The active speakers we've been discussing here are supposedly full range but you won't get high levels of output from them when used that way. If you couple them with a sub via a crossover you will achieve higher outputs but it's a bit of a compromise solution (but it can work fairly well). You then have the option of using the system without subs in small venues as I do (though your electronic drum kit might predicate always using subs to get a good kick)..

There are packaged systems out there. e.g. HK ones that consist of a small pair mid/hi tops and a sub. I've not known a full band use that sort of thing - probably more a karaoke solution.

As has been mentioned above you may be able to pick up better brands second hand. RCF are certainly well rated in the active bracket.

Another option is what I did and having built my bass cabs to a Bill Fitzmaurice design I then built a pair of T39 subs. They sound great and are very efficient needing only a smallish power amp to drive them. The down-size is their size - the 39 refers to their height in inches! Bill does a wide variety of PA cabs that can be run standalone or with subs.

[razze06]

Our current PA does have a sub, an active down-firing monster that weighs about as much as a small planet and never sees the outside of the drummer's garage.

Essentially, all we need is a PA for small to small-medium venues (pub, small hall, etc), which can fit in a smaller storage space and doesn't weigh as much as the old one. For anything bigger than that we are planning to hire.
The point of the electronic drumkit is to be able to play at lower volume without losing dynamics (as much as you can with an e-kit, but you know what I mean), so the power needed is a little less of an issue.

The package deals look interesting, I shall keep looking around while we build up the cash