Al Krow Posted April 7, 2019 Author Share Posted April 7, 2019 (edited) 33 minutes ago, LukeFRC said: BTW how are you outgrowing your current setup? I would look at using IEM. - if not for everyone then just the musicians where it would make the difference to bringing your foldback needs and volume down. Haha - see earlier in this thread for brief discussion on IEMs. John beat you to the punch on that one! Edited April 7, 2019 by Al Krow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 36 minutes ago, Al Krow said: Haha - see earlier in this thread for brief discussion on IEMs. John beat you to the punch on that one! Well John is right! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted April 8, 2019 Share Posted April 8, 2019 14 hours ago, Al Krow said: Genuine Q - have you A/B'd the Alto and the RCF or are you going on reputation (and I agree RCF has a great reputation and our PA speakers have never let us down). I know this wasn't directed at me, but in one band we have Alto (2 TS115A tops and 2 TS118A subs) and in the other band we have RCF (2 310A tops and one matching 1x12" sub which I forget the model of....) Guess which band is the loud band???? I truly believe that Alto is the best of the budget manufacturers. I counselled against buying the Alto system in the first band. I'm the most tech-minded and I was to be the soundman, and I KNEW that the Alto system would be budget carp but it's actually really, really good. They're decent speakers by any measure and they're amazing for the money you pay for them. As for the RCF, the 3 series are their cheapest series, they're not the 7s or the HDs. Are they better than the Altos? Maybe not noticeably so, maybe they are. I dunno. I can't tell any difference between the ones which we have, which are Alto's most expensive speakers and RCF's cheapest speakers. Having said that, I might be tempted to go for the RCFs. To me the real advantages are that you have 3 matching speakers (and matching speakers have way more uses) and the RCF will undoubtedly have better resale value. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted April 8, 2019 Author Share Posted April 8, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, Jack said: I know this wasn't directed at me, but in one band we have Alto (2 TS115A tops and 2 TS118A subs) and in the other band we have RCF (2 310A tops and one matching 1x12" sub which I forget the model of....) Guess which band is the loud band???? I truly believe that Alto is the best of the budget manufacturers. I counselled against buying the Alto system in the first band. I'm the most tech-minded and I was to be the soundman, and I KNEW that the Alto system would be budget carp but it's actually really, really good. They're decent speakers by any measure and they're amazing for the money you pay for them. Another vote for Alto from someone who has tried them. Excellent, thank you. 2 hours ago, Jack said: Having said that, I might be tempted to go for the RCFs. To me the real advantages are that you have 3 matching speakers (and matching speakers have way more uses) and the RCF will undoubtedly have better resale value. Hah! The prospect of having something that is half the volume and 25% lighter week-in week-out far outweighs, for me, the prospect of an extra £30 or so resale value in 4 years time, if / when we come upgrade! Besides the RCFs wouldn't quite be a matching set: the 310s I have are the older Mk2. And with happy Alto users crawling out of the woodwork, as they already seem to be doing, they are soon likely to be in demand! Edited April 8, 2019 by Al Krow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chienmortbb Posted April 8, 2019 Share Posted April 8, 2019 I agree that the RCFs are very good. Stevie of this parish measured Phil Starr’s RCF310 Mk3 and it was superb but the latest iteration of the Altos are also very good. In listening tests at Absolute music in Poole, I thought both the Alto 10s and 12s stood up well against all the usual suspects, QSC, RCF and Yamaha. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted April 11, 2019 Author Share Posted April 11, 2019 (edited) On overall compactness / weight / power / cost I'm finding it hard to better the Alto TS308 as a decent little floor monitor. Given the positive feedback from folk who have owned or just heard them, I think that's where I'm landing for our band. Either way, it should be a step up in sound from the Behringer B205D. We've got our next pub gig in a couple of weeks when we can put it through its paces. Edited April 11, 2019 by Al Krow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Starr Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 I used the Behringer 205 as a personal monitor and upgraded to the TC Helicon. It does sound nicer and you do have fx built in, I still use it but the Behringer in a loud band works better as it's limited frequency response means it is less prone to feedback which comes in fairly early with the TC. However after some experimentation I've ended up with the RCF 310's Mk3 they just do the job so well and at that price I wouldn't look anywhere else at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubster Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 Notice a couple of cursory mentions of subwoofer. We bought an ALTO TS212S 12” sub and it totally transformed our pa. We had up until then been using QSC k8. Being able to decouple bass and bass guitar from your RCFs will free them to do what they do best. Rather than flipping a coin and buying blind into IEM, new Alto another RCF etc. , why not rent a decent sub (not saying ALTO necessarily) - RCF perhaps appropriate crossover that could be ideally matched to your 10”s? Guarantee it will bring a smile to everyone’s face. Oh yes, we make sure the drummer carries ours!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted April 12, 2019 Author Share Posted April 12, 2019 Sounds good...BUT IEMs are not on the agenda for us for now. As the Russian mafia boss said to his wife when she asked for a divorce, we ain't looking to spend that amount of money just yet! 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubster Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 Al, ,we have also been using ALTO 3 series (312) as drummer’s personal monitor. The new 300 series stuff is very good. However, drumMer has now gone over to IEM with his other band so has now decided that is a better/lighter way to go. Still stand by the idea that you should give a whirl to a decent sub prior to anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted April 12, 2019 Author Share Posted April 12, 2019 (edited) 18 minutes ago, Tubster said: The new 300 series stuff is very good. 👍 excellent, that's really good to hear and another vote of confidence for Alto. 18 minutes ago, Tubster said: Still stand by the idea that you should give a whirl to a decent sub prior to anything else. Gonna be tricky to do that "prior to anything else" given what the cat dragged in a couple of hours ago...😀 Edited April 12, 2019 by Al Krow 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubster Posted April 14, 2019 Share Posted April 14, 2019 could you please review and give an update? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 1 hour ago, Tubster said: could you please review and give an update? For sure, but bear in mind we will be primarily using it as a monitor for vocals and it will be replacing a Behringer 205D. I'm going to be VERY disappointed if it doesn't match up / improve on that! Our next gig is in a couple of weeks, so that will be its first outing. What use would you be looking to put it to? I should also be able to A/B against my RCF310A for you at home, (as a one man band with an acoustic guitar or Bass VI) but I'm not sure how useful / relevant that would be! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubster Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 Pretty much exactly the same as yours, minus the Bass V1. Would be very interested in hearing how it goes up against the RCF but please don’t go to too much trouble! Also considering a pair for friends who have a duo doing “flamenco fusion”. They need “compact and light plus great sound” - yea right! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted April 15, 2019 Author Share Posted April 15, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, Tubster said: Pretty much exactly the same as yours, minus the Bass V1. Would be very interested in hearing how it goes up against the RCF but please don’t go to too much trouble! Also considering a pair for friends who have a duo doing “flamenco fusion”. They need “compact and light plus great sound” - yea right! Ok sure, I'll (i) put some guitar and vocals through (at home) and A/B the Behringer B205D vs Alto TS308 vs RCF 310A Mk2 for you and report back - likely to be this coming weekend and (ii) let you know how we get on with it as a band monitor in a couple of weeks time. Edited April 15, 2019 by Al Krow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubster Posted June 1, 2019 Share Posted June 1, 2019 How is the Alto 308 working out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted June 2, 2019 Author Share Posted June 2, 2019 On 01/06/2019 at 08:53, Tubster said: How is the Alto 308 working out? It's been waiting patiently in line for a while to get tried out, behind a bunch of other bass gear, but got unpacked yesterday and tested with a six string at home. Plenty of power and articulation. Good solid build. Straight forward to use. Then got its first outing with the full band last night and seemed to do the job just fine! Can't see any reason why this won't be a keeper as our new floor monitor and replace our current Behringer B205D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubster Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 Thanks Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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