New RCF Art-9 Speakers

[acidbass]

2 hours ago, EBS_freak said:

That's why the middle number of the most interest as that indicates what horn is in the unit. The more you can crossover and send to the horn, the more you free up the woofer... and vocals through a decent horn will tend to outperform vocals through a woofer.

Agreed.  There's a difference in x-over frequency too between the *35 and *45 speakers.  The latter sends a lot more to the horn which makes the woofer more efficient for bass and kick drum (although I would still always hi-pass both)

[Owen]

So, is the 945 a step up from the 745? I have a secret hankering for a 745 but maybe I should change allegiances. 

[bassmansam]

On 19/10/2022 at 18:44, Owen said:

So, is the 945 a step up from the 745? I have a secret hankering for a 745 but maybe I should change allegiances. 

Wondering the same

[SumOne]

 

The 9 series 15" woofer range has big price difference:  

 

• 945 (650Hz crossover) 135dB  £1,229
• 935 (800Hz crossover) 133dB  £930
• 915 (1800Hz crossover) 131dB  £655

 

As far as I understand, they basically have the same housing, same amp, same 15" woofers, the same frequency response.  So the almost £600 extra between the 915 and the 945 is down to the 1.75" horn vs the 4" horn, and that is important for higher range stuff like vocals and as it also affects the bass output because it means the crossover is a higher frequency so the woofer can concentrate more on the bass. So I'll rule out the 915 with that quite high crossover point, and I'll need to rule out the 945 on cost, which leaves the 935.

 

......But considering that the 932 with 12" Woofer & 3" horn is cheaper, has a lower crossover frequency, is smaller, 5.4kg lighter (18.8kg vs 24.2kg for the 935), the same 133dB, I'm thinking that's probably the one for me*.  

 

• 932 (700Hz crossover) 133dB, £825

 

 My question is: Is the 15" woofer significantly better for use as a bass cab than the 12"? It goes down to 45Hz vs 50Hz, that is the only advantage I can see on paper (and  I do play dub/reggae on a 5 string so perhaps those low Hz are important), other than that is it going to be worth the extra size, weight, and cost? 

 

 

*(not that I'm in the market to buy right now, I'm actually trying to sell bulky bass gear ahead of a house move...doesn't stop me internet window shopping to plan for the day I can buy stuff back again though!) 

 

Edited February 3, 2023 by SumOne

[warwickhunt]

5 minutes ago, SumOne said:

 

My question is: Is the 15" woofer is significantly better for use as a bass cab than the 12"? It goes down to 45Hz vs 50Hz, but other than that is it going to be worth the extra size/weight and cost? 

 

 

I doubt that the 5hz difference will be solely down to the driver size and I'd have to ask myself whether you could hear it (added to which I'd generally have a filter taking out everything at that sort of point and below anyway).

[SumOne]

2 minutes ago, warwickhunt said:

 

I doubt that the 5hz difference will be solely down to the driver size and I'd have to ask myself whether you could hear it (added to which I'd generally have a filter taking out everything at that sort of point and below anyway).

 

Yes, hopefully it wouldn't matter. I had the Q-strip pedal which had a 45Hz HPF and it was usually difficult to hear if it was on or not unless doing very low sub/synth type stuff and listening on headphones or studio monitors.

[jimmyb625]

5 hours ago, SumOne said:

 

The 9 series 15" woofer range has big price difference:  

 

• 945 (650Hz crossover) 135dB  £1,229
• 935 (800Hz crossover) 133dB  £930
• 915 (1800Hz crossover) 131dB  £655

 

As far as I understand, they basically have the same housing, same amp, same 15" woofers, the same frequency response.  So the almost £600 extra between the 915 and the 945 is down to the 1.75" horn vs the 4" horn, and that is important for higher range stuff like vocals and as it also affects the bass output because it means the crossover is a higher frequency so the woofer can concentrate more on the bass. So I'll rule out the 915 with that quite high crossover point, and I'll need to rule out the 945 on cost, which leaves the 935.

 

......But considering that the 932 with 12" Woofer & 3" horn is cheaper, has a lower crossover frequency, is smaller, 5.4kg lighter (18.8kg vs 24.2kg for the 935), the same 133dB, I'm thinking that's probably the one for me*.  

 

• 932 (700Hz crossover) 133dB, £825

 

 My question is: Is the 15" woofer significantly better for use as a bass cab than the 12"? It goes down to 45Hz vs 50Hz, that is the only advantage I can see on paper (and  I do play dub/reggae on a 5 string so perhaps those low Hz are important), other than that is it going to be worth the extra size, weight, and cost? 

 

 

*(not that I'm in the market to buy right now, I'm actually trying to sell bulky bass gear ahead of a house move...doesn't stop me internet window shopping to plan for the day I can buy stuff back again though!) 

 

From what I've seen, there's been a change in the cabinet design internally, which includes a different (wooden) bracing arrangement. 

They still seem to relatively rare beasts out in the wild, so there's not a huge amount of user reviews available.

[matt1968ie]

On 19/10/2022 at 10:31, AxelF said:

I had a pair of 935s arrive yesterday - only used them individually at low volume with the bass direct into them last night to try and stay on the neighbour's good side! They sounded fantastic though, I plugged in direct initially to see how they were, expecting them to be a bit harsh on the top end maybe but they sounded great. I then put my normal pedal board in between which has a NUX NBP-5 preamp/cab SIM and it sounded fantastic - very punchy with a ton of low end available. I had them on the linear mode, will try the stage and boost settings when I can run them at a decent volume.

 

Will use them in anger at a gig on Friday night - we stick everything through the PA and have a silent stage so it'll be a good test for them, I can't wait to hear them.

Hi Axel I only just joined , but reason for this was to find out what you actually thought of the RCF 935a cabs , I'll give you my feedback also ,it will be very interesting to read what others say about these , a lot of YouTube clips on DJs using speakers but for bands and vocals different story when it comes to what is best , looking forward to raising new topics here in BASSCHAT ...

[matt1968ie]

On 03/02/2023 at 21:02, jimmyb625 said:

From what I've seen, there's been a change in the cabinet design internally, which includes a different (wooden) bracing arrangement. 

They still seem to relatively rare beasts out in the wild, so there's not a huge amount of user reviews available.

Hi your correct there is not a lot of user reviews on these 9 series by RCF , are they actually good, best or just ok especially in a band situation and what's the correct or best DSP setting to use , marketing can lead you astray and make you believe a product is the best , but is it 

[AxelF]

1 hour ago, matt1968ie said:

Hi Axel I only just joined , but reason for this was to find out what you actually thought of the RCF 935a cabs , I'll give you my feedback also ,it will be very interesting to read what others say about these , a lot of YouTube clips on DJs using speakers but for bands and vocals different story when it comes to what is best , looking forward to raising new topics here in BASSCHAT ...

I love them, I use them mainly with a 5 piece indie pub covers band and we run a silent stage with everything through the PA (bass and guitars DId and e drums) and they handle everything brilliantly.

 

Every now and again I get a hankering for a sub, but this is usually when we've not gigged for a while, and as soon as we gig again I realise it would be overkill for the venues we're playing. I've not tried an outdoor gig with just the 935s and no sub, but I've never felt they lack anything for an indoor gig.

 

I've only gigged them in linear mode and we have them pole mounted.

Edited September 28 by AxelF

[matt1968ie]

6 hours ago, AxelF said:

I love them, I use them mainly with a 5 piece indie pub covers band and we run a silent stage with everything through the PA (bass and guitars DId and e drums) and they handle everything brilliantly.

 

Every now and again I get a hankering for a sub, but this is usually when we've not gigged for a while, and as soon as we gig again I realise it would be overkill for the venues we're playing. I've not tried an outdoor gig with just the 935s and no sub, but I've never felt they lack anything for an indoor gig.

 

I've only gigged them in linear mode and we have them pole mounted.

That was fast Axel , yes I too use them in Linear mode FOH going through my Presonus 16:4:2 digital desk , now I also have them pole mounted on my Behringer 1500XP subs , ok yeah the subs are cheap and cheerful but they do pack a punch , but do I think I really actually need subs with these tops , honestly I don't know ,I have been told a few times at venues to turn the subs off , the manager would say what's that boom boom at the back of the room LOL , but as for the tops ,I'm lost cause I find myself browsing the web and looking at other tips for tops , I run backing tracks through these and vocals and acoustic and electric guitars and keyboards , yes I'm a oneman band LOL 

I'm really fussy when it comes to sound and I like to hear what's coming out the front but standing beside them I can't hear the true sound of what is actually going out front of house , I do have a monitor but from speaking to a few sound engineers and bands Im being told that these are not a very warm sounding speaker , one band member a drummer said he was at a wedding and the band were actually using 935a's and he said the sound was very brittle and bright no warmth , and like you saying they are brilliant, yeah they are quite good but there's something just not right with them and I can't put my finger on it , the system I had before this was the dynacord power Max 5 and I can tell you I used this with my 5 piece band and never an issue but I had to move it on as it was getting on in years ,but a great all round pa , since moving to digital world I honestly can't say I'm fully satisfied, it it the desk is the speaker and the way i have it setup , Linear at 2 on the clock , and the subs underneath , the guitars sounds great also the keyboards , the backing tracks hmmmm , the mic I use is the Sennheiser E945 I'm a Baritone Tenor and tried many mics and honestly in my opinion this is some mic , I have the Neumann. Kms 105 and this don't like the 935's as it always sends that silent high piercing squeel and you find people putting hands up to their ears wondering what it is , but the E945 I'm really happy with it works well for all genres , so that's my take on my 935's I really don't know someone suggested I go for a good 12" like Yamaha or dynacord or even the evolve 50 but driving keyboards through these would not cut it , I'm happy to see you and band like the 935's yeah I might go back to the drawing board and reset my whole pa and desk and come at it all from a different perspective, I will come back to you as I have a gig of 300 coming up and I just might leave out the subs altogether and take the tops back to 12 o clock and not use my treble to hard and see how this goes , all the best for now , hope you can make some sense out of all I said here Lol

 

[matt1968ie]

13 minutes ago, matt1968ie said:

That was fast Axel , yes I too use them in Linear mode FOH going through my Presonus 16:4:2 digital desk , now I also have them pole mounted on my Behringer 1500XP subs , ok yeah the subs are cheap and cheerful but they do pack a punch , but do I think I really actually need subs with these tops , honestly I don't know ,I have been told a few times at venues to turn the subs off , the manager would say what's that boom boom at the back of the room LOL , but as for the tops ,I'm lost cause I find myself browsing the web and looking at other tips for tops , I run backing tracks through these and vocals and acoustic and electric guitars and keyboards , yes I'm a oneman band LOL 

I'm really fussy when it comes to sound and I like to hear what's coming out the front but standing beside them I can't hear the true sound of what is actually going out front of house , I do have a monitor but from speaking to a few sound engineers and bands Im being told that these are not a very warm sounding speaker , one band member a drummer said he was at a wedding and the band were actually using 935a's and he said the sound was very brittle and bright no warmth , and like you saying they are brilliant, yeah they are quite good but there's something just not right with them and I can't put my finger on it , the system I had before this was the dynacord power Max 5 and I can tell you I used this with my 5 piece band and never an issue but I had to move it on as it was getting on in years ,but a great all round pa , since moving to digital world I honestly can't say I'm fully satisfied, it it the desk is the speaker and the way i have it setup , Linear at 2 on the clock , and the subs underneath , the guitars sounds great also the keyboards , the backing tracks hmmmm , the mic I use is the Sennheiser E945 I'm a Baritone Tenor and tried many mics and honestly in my opinion this is some mic , I have the Neumann. Kms 105 and this don't like the 935's as it always sends that silent high piercing squeel and you find people putting hands up to their ears wondering what it is , but the E945 I'm really happy with it works well for all genres , so that's my take on my 935's I really don't know someone suggested I go for a good 12" like Yamaha or dynacord or even the evolve 50 but driving keyboards through these would not cut it , I'm happy to see you and band like the 935's yeah I might go back to the drawing board and reset my whole pa and desk and come at it all from a different perspective, I will come back to you as I have a gig of 300 coming up and I just might leave out the subs altogether and take the tops back to 12 o clock and not use my treble to hard and see how this goes , all the best for now , hope you can make some sense out of all I said here Lol

 

I have actually used them outdoors with the subs and was very impressed to be honest, a lot of YouTube clips on speakers but there practically all DJs , for us musicians it's trial and error,  I do like my 935's Axel and I want to be 110% sure before I make that final decision to move them on and spend more money and instead of moving forward and up ,end up going backwards and regretting 

[Phil Starr]

I'm a little surprised by some of the comments here. I use RCF 745's purchased just as the 9 series were being launched. I've found them to be a great workhorse speaker capable of great sound limited mainly by my own skill and by time costraints setting up quickly in strange venues. I've never needed more volume or to use subs even at outdoor gigs and recorded music can be played back at hi-fi quality if the source material is good. The downside is the size and weight of the things. I've no sense that these speakers are harsh but they are revealing in the way that studio monitors are revealing and you'd expect to hear more from these than from lesser speakers which might be veiling something that you wouldn't have noticed before.

 

Moving from the 3 series (discontinued) to the 7 series and now 9 series does bring you more rigid cabs and bigger magnets on the bass drivers with maginal improvements in sound and maximum volume. RCF are really clever with tempting us with marginal gains but there are lots of sensible choices.The big improvement in sound quality though is to move from the 1" to 3" and 4" horn drivers with the lower crossover points, real gains in the mid-range to be had there. The ART range  are pretty much all great speakers as are the more expensive Yamahas. Obviously I'm most familiar with the 745's but I'd expect a slightly improved bass performance from the 935's and the 745's to score highly on vocals.

 

I gigged last night with a couple of ART 310's plus two as monitors. Electric duo with programmed drums, packed pub with maybe 2-300 people  and no backline so all the kick and bass were through the PA we were plenty loud enough and even ran an extension speaker into an outdoor seating area running on a single floor monitor. We were plenty loud enough for one of our bigger audiences with still some headroom and bass was well forward in the mix with a little compression and HPF applied just to round off the peaks and keep the speakers comfy.  This is just to say that while you can't be prescriptive you don't absolutely need subs and to be honest if you are going to use them you don't need 15" tops. Paying more to extend the bottom bottom octave from your tops by 5Hz when you know you are then going to use a crossover to remove the whole bottom octave makes no sense at all.