Tower PA system, looking for recommendations and reviews

[Dropzone]

It is time to retire the old Mackie monsters and get something light weight and easy. Tell me your stories? Ta

[Dan Dare]

Depends on your budget. I ran large and heavy RCF cabs and, with advancing years, got fed up with lugging them, power amps, etc up and down the stairs to my flat. I did a lot of reading and was drawn to the idea of powered subs and compact line array tops. There are a number of companies that make such systems. I auditioned quite a few and settled on Fohhn. Not the cheapest, but made in Germany and good back-up for spares and repair. I run XS22 subs (12", but surprisingly large sounding and I'm not routing full kit and bass at very high volumes through them) and LX150 tops (twelve 4" drivers plus horn in each). Sounds like a giant hi-fi. Very good onboard DSP/eq, so matching to rooms is easy. The slight downside was the fact that they cost me £7k around 5 years ago, but you can't take it with you and they'll probably see me out. They haven't missed a beat and I'm very happy with them. Google Fohhn Linea LX150 (soundonsound.com) for a review.

 

Of the conventional sub plus top box systems I auditioned, I was very tempted by Nexo. Sound quality of a single sub plus two 10"+ horn top boxes was excellent and it was ridiculously powerful for its size. It needed additional power amps and processor, which added to the weight/number of boxes I would have needed to carry and was on a par with the Fohhn system, cost wise.

[Dropzone]

Thanks. Iime the look of the Yamaha stagepass but am worried about headroom

[Paul S]

My little blues rock trio splashed out on a pair of RCF EVOX 8 V2 , if that qualifies as a tower?

 

They are brilliant.  We use these for bass, vocals and, on occasion, drums - not so much for vlume but to get a good depth of tone.  Crystal clear and plenty loud.  You can place them behind you as, for some strange juju, they don't feed back and hence to some extent eliminate the need for monitors.  Not cheap - ours were £900 each B stock from Thomann.

 

[Dropzone]

Yep that's the sort of thing. Am at PMT in Portsmouth. Bose are not fit for purpose, JBL nice but couldn't handle the volume. No stagepass here so can't decide on that

[E sharp]

My mate has just sunk loads into a Bose pro8 set up. Used it last night with the ska band and said it was feeding back all over the shop. I’m playing with him next weekend. I’m not sure they’re man enough for a band. He can still change them as has a trial period through PMT. 

 

Anyone else used the Bose pro8?

[Owen]

2 hours ago, E sharp said:

My mate has just sunk loads into a Bose pro8 set up. Used it last night with the ska band and said it was feeding back all over the shop. I’m playing with him next weekend. I’m not sure they’re man enough for a band. He can still change them as has a trial period through PMT. 

 

Anyone else used the Bose pro8?

Bose kit is a lot of fun but there are WAY better options for the money. Get him to take them back asap.

[Owen]

The feedback could have been due to setup issues. I am not saying that Bose is prone to feedback. It is not.

[Dan Dare]

Yamaha Stagepass systems are decent for the money, but are essentially plastic boxes plus powered mixer. Better than most generic Chinese plastic boxes, but not really an improvement on the Mackies you want to get rid of, save for the fact that they will be lighter/more compact.

[bluedoughboy]

I dunno mate-those tower systems... they look flimsy. When pub gigs get a bit lively are they going to stand up to it? 

[grandad]

I ran the PA for a number of years and spent far too much money in the process. 

IMO:

1. Be quite sure of your power requirement, i.e. venue sizes. 

2. How many channels and what instruments. 

3. Transportation and storage. 

 

Most folk recommend the make of PA they've had success with. Working a PA with good results in different venues comes from experience, learning to listen & familiarity with your equipment. 

 

I'm most familiar with The Yamaha range and have owned most models. The FB suppression works well for me. 

 

The Stagepas is a super little package. I sold mine to a colleague who entertains a lot in old folks homes, (the best, most appreciative audiences out there), and he is thrilled with it. 

 

I sold my EMX5016f into EV SX300's to a colleague who in the main does WM Clubs and he is also thrilled with it.

 

So do have a look at the Yamaha range as I've had 100% reliability from them.

For my present needs I now use an EMX2 & a pair of DBR10's. The EMX2 powers my EV S-40 monitors if needed. 

 

At the music club I help run I've had experience with 2 stack/array, a Bose and a Mackie. For some reason I couldn't get on with them. The sound seemed all bass and treble with no warmth. Maybe it's just my old ears but I do prefer a woofer and horn. 

 

The great benefit of modern equipment is the lighter weight. Best of luck with your search, don't rush it, think it through. Let us know what you decide is for you. 

[WinterMute]

A little bit pricy, but FBT's Vertus system is brilliant and very compact, I installed a flown array from them 5 years ago, and they brough the vertus system in for a demo, we ended up keeping it as a portable gigging rig for concerts outside of the main theatres. http://www.fbtusa.com/vertus/

 

QSC's K series is very good too, depending on your needs, I use a K12.2 as a backline speaker, and it works very well, a couple of those on poles a sub or two would kick.

[BassBunny]

On 06/11/2021 at 16:42, Dropzone said:

It is time to retire the old Mackie monsters and get something light weight and easy. Tell me your stories? Ta

We were in the same situation and our vocalist bought a single Fender Expo for his solo work and it ended up, with a second one, being our go to PA. Forget the Fender badge as it's actually a re-badged LD Systems Maui 11. It comes in 2 parts with the "tower" section just unplugging, so easy to carry and really light.

First time I came in contact with is was a private function in a large function room. When I turned up there it was, just the one of them. No sign of the 4 box system we normally use and I just went " Of stinky poo". A 6 piece band with 4 vocals, keyboards with sequenced brass/strings and kick/overhead drums all going through it and I figured we were in for a disaster of an evening. Vocalist was confident it would be fine and the guitarist, who runs a largish PA company was in hysterics. He is used to massive line array systems and although quite dismissive of the situation was also a bit curious.

Anyway the evening went really well. The single unit was outstanding. It was loud, clear and easily heard all over the room. I was that impressed, I went out and bought a second unit and we used the pair of then for all future gigs, including some outside ones. 

The vocalist has since bought an RCF Evox 8 which he uses for solo stuff which is also amazing. Wouldn't go back to a conventional PA now but the band has now folded so I guess the Expos will be up for sale.

[Blink]

RCF Evox 8

 

Fantastic bit of kit.

[Dropzone]

Looking at the Yamaha in the flesh in 8 days time. It can turn into a 8 channel mixer as well

 

[Phil Starr]

Curious about the Stagepas so I've just had a look, it's a bit of an outlier with 1.5" drivers in the column compared with most others which are using 3" or even 4" drivers.

 

The problem is a lack of output 119db is claimed compared with 124db and 129db for the Stagepas 400 and 600. Your Mackies probably have a similar output to the 600's depending upon which ones you use so the Stagepas 1k is a lot quieter than your current PA. I don't think this is a potential band PA if you are going out with a drummer.

 

There are loads of other systems out there which are more capable volume wise, no criticism of Yamaha. I'm a long time user and these probably sound fab but not as a band PA.

 

I have to say I'm a big fan of the column systems though, I've heard the RCF Evox sounding great and had a chance to have a good listen to the MarkAudio Ergo at the South/west bass bash a couple of years ago and that sounded great too. I've played in a band with the LD Maui 28 and that was good too. The Bose though isn't really loud enough to be usable for a band IME

[scalpy]

We use the HK Audio elements. It has worked really well for all but one space (we not the loudest band in the world and a wedding marquee for 400 people was too big) You definitely have to run everything through it-drum kit as well as it sounds odd with a combination of stage sound and FOH. We use the 110 subs but I’d upgrade to the 210s when we’re back to full gigging schedule- doubles the power. The best thing about it is the spread, it’s very noticeable the comfortable volume is even across the room without the blasting the first 10 foot of the dance floor into submission that you can end up doing with some plastic box set ups. 

[Dropzone]

We are only doing pubs but don't need super loud, but don't want things clipping. The jbls were very close and they have a few different ones at PMT so we can have a shoot out

[Geddys nose]

The DBTechnologies  ES1002 are so good for the money very much like their stablemate the Evox12's ( I had both just the DB's now)  also the HK Polar 12's are very decent for the money.

[Dropzone]

Gonna be hard to try out anything they don't have. Very tricky

[Paul S]

PMT Southend ws where I tried out the RCF Evox 8 although I ended up saving quite a bit getting B stock from Thomann.  But if they have RCF there I do strongly recommend that you try it.

[DaytonaRik]

Does anyone have any experience in using any of these systems in a full rock band setting?  This would be a full band backline plus at least a partially mic'd drum kit (kick, snare, overheads)

 

We run our backline very quiet (for a rock band) and rely on the PA for the FoH heft - the 2 x 10 subs seem a little wanting.  We currently have an HK Pro/Linear 5 setup that's fantastic, but does take a little moving!  The recent purchase of a loading ramp for the van definitely makes a huge difference!

[WinterMute]

I've run full bands through the FBT Vertus, using the 18" sub not the 2x8, and with the higher powered columns, and they don't miss a beat, they'll handle small venue duties very easily, you can always double up for larger venues, they system is fully modular and self powered, add another sub and column per side and you're looking as some serious output in very well controlled line arrays.

[DaytonaRik]

1 hour ago, WinterMute said:

I've run full bands through the FBT Vertus, using the 18" sub not the 2x8, and with the higher powered columns, and they don't miss a beat, they'll handle small venue duties very easily, you can always double up for larger venues, they system is fully modular and self powered, add another sub and column per side and you're looking as some serious output in very well controlled line arrays.

 

As I'm already running active 18" HK subs plus tops then I'm not really saving anything re bulk/weight - plus I can just run the L5 15" active tops on their own for smaller venues.  I'm intrigued, but not convinced that it would be a cost effective or game-changing swap.

 

Edited November 22, 2021 by DaytonaRik

[WinterMute]

3 hours ago, DaytonaRik said:

 

As I'm already running active 18" HK subs plus tops then I'm not really saving anything re bulk/weight - plus I can just run the L5 15" active tops on their own for smaller venues.  I'm intrigued, but not convinced that it would be a cost effective or game-changing swap.

 

No, the FBT kit is proper pro-level stuff, it's not cheap but it's very good, If you're happy with the sound you're getting from the HK's I'd probably stay with them. However if you're looking to step up the quality of your sound, I'd definitely have FBT on the list of PA to demo.