Recommend me a single active sub for small to medium size venues

[franzbassist]

Hello folks

 

I am fed up of storing and lugging two large Peavey 1x15 subs around to every gig, so my band are considering moving to a single powered sub.  Budget ideally under £600 but we could go higher if needed.  Can anyone recommend something fairly compact and light that would do the job?  We don't play in very large venues, so it doesn't need to move a ton of air.

[Phil Starr]

Surprised no one’s offered any advice on this. First of all the low cost suggestion, why not try just one sub? If nothing else you’ll know one is enough for certain.

 

Theres an issue with subs that you don’t get small/light loud and cheap all from one speaker. Obviously without knowing a lot more about your band we can’t judge if you need a sub or how big it needs to be. I’ve seen one band locally gig with a single FBT 2x8 sub. Sub was only handling drums for them bass was backline but the kick sounded great even in a decent sized pub. I guess a 1x12 would have been equally loud. It can be done if you share prepared to manage the compromises. 
 

I’ve a pair of Wharfedale EVP subs. 43.5kg. I’ve recently bought an RCF 905 sub which is lighter and louder. 
 

Finally do you need a sub? £600 is quite a contribution towards some better tops which might add as much as a small sub to your PA.

[Dan Dare]

26 minutes ago, Phil Starr said:

why not try just one sub? If nothing else you’ll know one is enough for certain.

 

Finally do you need a sub? £600 is quite a contribution towards some better tops which might add as much as a small sub to your PA.

 

The OP is asking about a single sub.

 

I know I always say this, but putting large PA cabs on stands is not the best way to go, especially in small/cramped venues such as pubs where floor space is tight and they may get knocked over. Having them up on poles also lessens the bottom end because you lose floor coupling and boundary reinforcement effects. A pair of 10 or 12 tops on stands, plus a single decent sub on the floor, is the best use of resources.

 

We don't know what top boxes the OP uses, but £600, even added to whatever his existing cabs might be sold for, is unlikely to buy much of an improvement over what he already has unless they are really poor, which I doubt. As he has Peavey subs, he may well have their top boxes, too. Their PA speakers were generally decent, but heavy and bulky.

 

I'd look out for a used HK or similar powered sub. They can be had for the sort of money the OP is spending. I agree he is unlikely to get small and light for £600, but he should be able to find something of reasonable quality if he buys used. Carrying one is still an improvement on lugging two heavy old Peavey 15s.

 

 

Edited November 23 by Dan Dare

[franzbassist]

Thanks chaps.  Yes, one sub is the plan.  Happy to stretch the budget for the right one, and also happy (and already looking) at used options.

 

FYI tops are a pair of vintage Bose 802s.

[warwickhunt]

We use a 15" FBT sub (small and one person carry if need be) and it does great with a pair of QSC K10 tops.  However... small to small/medium is about its max; medium bordering on medium/large would be too much.  

[Phil Starr]

17 hours ago, franzbassist said:

Thanks chaps.  Yes, one sub is the plan.  Happy to stretch the budget for the right one, and also happy (and already looking) at used options.

 

FYI tops are a pair of vintage Bose 802s.

As I understand it these are passive speakers and are not going to drive to really high levels, and designed to work with subs crossing over at 180Hz with the recommended subs. Bose are not particularly forthcoming with specs.

 

in terms of what you specify then you won’t need 130db 18” subs and something compact and lightweight should be acceptable. All the sub needs to do is match the output of your tops. I don’t know how you are planning on managing the crossover? Almost all active subs have a stereo crossover built in but you’ll need to check. Some of them will have a single crossover frequency most will be switchable so look for something that crosses over as high as possible to take as much as you can out of your tops.

 

Im really reluctant to recommend anything in particular when I don’t know the tops well but FBT do a very competent 2x8 sub if you want something really tiny and I’d expect the RCF ART 702 would meet your needs. Both are above your budget new but you could pick them up used. 
 

Try your set up with a single Peavey though. If that works then there are a mass of 15” active subs that will match the old subs and be a lot lighter.

[Steve Browning]

I have an Alto TS312 which works very well with the Alto T312 tops. It has impressed the whole band with the depth and clarity. 

[Steve Browning]

 

I can add some qualification to this. I previously had a pair of Alto 15 tops and no sub. The band did an outdoor gig and someone had hired one of these. 

 

With just the tops, the sound just disappearted (as it often does outside). Plugging in the sub suddenly made it sound like an indoor gig again. It was quite a revelation, and I bought one within a few days.

Edited November 25 by Steve Browning

[Al Krow]

3 hours ago, Steve Browning said:

I have an Alto TS312 which works very well with the Alto T312 tops. It has impressed the whole band with the depth and clarity. 

 

Cheers Steve, that one's been on my shortlist too, along with decent lighting now that we've got a decent digital desk sorted! Just to clarify it's actually the TS 12S model, right? I think the TS312 is just a normal woofer not a sub woofer? Looks like it comes in at 26kg and delivers a whopping a 1250W RMS.

Completely agree about the impact of losing low end in an outdoor gig! We were doing the music for a 10K run and the band were asking why have you got the bass turned up so high on the FoH, so I turned it down to what we might usually have indoors and asked them to stand just a few metres in front of the speakers where the bass had faded to very little and that settled the debate!

 

The FBT 2x8 208SA which @Phil Starr looks intriguing given its light weight (20 kg) and compact size, and hopefully 600W RMS / 129sB SPL should add quite a bit, but at around £1k doesn't match the Alto (around £450) in terms of pricing.

[Dan Dare]

10 hours ago, Al Krow said:

The FBT 2x8 208SA which @Phil Starr looks intriguing given its light weight (20 kg) and compact size, and hopefully 600W RMS / 129sB SPL should add quite a bit, but at around £1k doesn't match the Alto (around £450) in terms of pricing.

 

It is more expensive, but subs are not cheap to get right. An active sub that costs £400 and odd new is going to be little more than a boom box - uncontrolled one note bass, little to no eq or facility to integrate with tops, etc - that will be a waste of money.

 

Good subs start at around £1k (less if you buy used, obviously - a rough rule of thumb is that good used gear sells for around half new retail, so the OP should be able to find something equivalent in his price range). Not bragging, but the active sub I use cost £3k. I auditioned a lot before buying and tried (and failed) to find something that cost less, did the same job and was as light and compact.

 

Buy once, cry once.

[Steve Browning]

25 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

 

It is more expensive, but subs are not cheap to get right. An active sub that costs £400 and odd new is going to be little more than a boom box - uncontrolled one note bass, little to no eq or facility to integrate with tops, etc - that will be a waste of money.

 

Good subs start at around £1k (less if you buy used, obviously - a rough rule of thumb is that good used gear sells for around half new retail, so the OP should be able to find something equivalent in his price range). Not bragging, but the active sub I use cost £3k. I auditioned a lot before buying and tried (and failed) to find something that cost less, did the same job and was as light and compact.

 

Buy once, cry once.

I can only add that the Alto has settings to match it to other Alto tops. 

 

It is pretty obvious that a more expensive unit will be better, but there is a budget here. My ears told me it was way more than a boom box. 

[keeponehandloose]

Don't dismiss a 12" sub. I've seen Yamaha DXS subs go for less than £500. 900watts RMS.

More than you'll need for pub type stuff.

[Dan Dare]

1 hour ago, keeponehandloose said:

Don't dismiss a 12" sub. I've seen Yamaha DXS subs go for less than £500. 900watts RMS.

More than you'll need for pub type stuff.

 

This. A 12 in a properly designed cab and with decent amplification is going to out-perform a less well executed 15 or 18 easily. Look at bass cabs. Companies such as Barefaced use 12s and everyone rates them.

[Jack]

I just sold my two rcf 715s for £500 each. Actually, I got talked down on the second one.