The POWERED SPEAKERS Thread

[Floyd Tatum]

If you liked your Eon 10s, you'll LOVE these.

 

They look good.

[Dave Ferris]

These links might be better served here, considering the ongoing interest in keyboard amplification.

 

http://www.dynacord.com/wDynacord/en/produkte/detail.php?market_id=7&category_id=1&family_id=3&product_id=19

 

This could be a good Mackie/Eon alternative if you have the $$ to spend. $1300, in the Ev SXA360 price range w/ a mini-mixer. (see PDFs)

High quality German parts. Mic input w/ phantom power. I heard the Sennheiser 945 mic and some CDs of Steely Dan and James Taylor through this....studio monitor quality. I want one.

 

http://www.electrovoice.com/products/414.html

http://www.sweetwaveaudio.com/sales/electro-voice/zxa5.php

 

This is the newest EV speaker and amp technology. If you gotta have 15's this would be hard to beat, price and weight.

 

 

 

 

[Dave Ferris]

Fwiw:

 

http://www.music.mcgill.ca/composition/Files/Media_and_Documents/images/Speaker-Tests/speaker-tests.html

[ADino]

May I ask...those using the Accugrooves, which model ??

Im not familiar w/these..

 

Danka, A.

[WWW]

AccuGroove T112 or T115 , or one of seach (ala Babodoshe)

[HammondDave]

Yesterday I played an outdoor concert in Laguna Beach using my two EVSXA360's. It was a large crowd with with a venue-supplied PA. We set up the amps with the guitar player splitting his Marshalls on the left and right, and I split the EV's one on the other side of the drummer and the other as a monitor wedge behind me. The stage volume was very loud, especially for our band.

 

I was very impressed with the EV's as both the organ and piano sounded excellent, even at loud outdoor concert levels. The EV's were set at 12:00 and I only had the Speakeasy set at 8:00. So there was not much of a boost from the preamp.

 

The real test was the piano at high volume. There was no midrange boominess that I used to hear from my old Mackie SRM 450's. The EV's were even up and down the piano keyboard.

 

The organ sound was amazing. The high end screamed, and the growling distortion came through without any mid-range muddiness. The bass was full and certainly not overbearing. However, if you play pedal bass then you may want to add a subwoofer or go the Accugroove route.

 

The sound guys were quite complimentary about the EV's. They use EV passive monitors and FOH and were quite interested in the sound of these. The EV's obviously passed the test, plus it sure is nice for this 53-year-old to pick one up and easily carry it. I decided to keep them.

 

 

[octa]

i just got a traynor k4 a couple of weeks back & it really isn't putting out like i'd like. it distorts out pretty early for a 300 watt amp. (it may be defective) - - - i'm looking for a bigger & cleaner sound now & thinking about the qsc PLX1804 along with the accugroove speakers.

 

i can't afford to get both speakers right now. will running one speaker for a little while be okay?

 

 

-----

for bass playing, i have an acoustic 470 bass head with an SWR goliath III 4 10" cabinet. i'm thinking of selling the SWR & using the 2 accugrooves along with the acoustic for bass gigs. i guess these accugroove cabs are great for bass too?

 

-------

 

side note: i play a nord electro & i'm hoping to get a nord lead 2x soon. -- i can't believe i haven't run across this very informative keyboard site sooner.

 

[SK]

The AG's are full spectrum bass cabinets - you'll be happy. And you can run one speaker from the PLX1804, no prob. I use two Tri-112L's, but have used one for smaller space gigs.

[octa]

thanks SK. i traded the traynor k4 for the QSC PLX1804 (& it's on the way).

 

 

[jarrell]

Quick question about the SXA360's - The manual sez:

 

"The 1⁄4- inch input is in the center of the XLR connector and can

accept unbalanced or balanced lines (TRS 1⁄4-inch). "

 

But does it actually use the input as balanced, or just use tip and sleeve (and therefore create a unbalanced connection)? Just curious...

[SK]

Good move, octa. One cab is nice, two cabs really bring it to life. Let us know what you think.

[jarrell]

Does anybody have any experience with the RCF ART522A's? Wondering how they compare with the EV SxA360's...

[billyM]

This thread is a little quiet. but let's see what happens. I'm on the hunt for some self power speakers. It's always a bit tricky to audition them in NYC. Often the PA guys dont' have keyboards and its in another building or whatever...

 

So I'm thinking I just record my keys and stick it on an ipod. I bring the ipod and a Y cable. Perhaps that would give me a good idea. I mostly play piano/organ nord Electro/Korg CX-3 and Roland RD-700SX. Any drawback of using an ipod for auditions? I'm not so good with that impedance business...

[ITGITC]

Any drawback of using an ipod for auditions? I'm not so good with that impedance business...

 

I wouldn't think so.

 

Of course, it would be best if you could bring your keyboard with you when you shop.

 

Be sure to hit some low notes in your recording as well as some cymbals, bell tree, etc. to test the high frequencies.

 

Better yet, be sure to record a few measures of solo piano. It's pretty tough for a PA speaker to get it right.

 

I used to like to use "Dark Side of the Moon" to check out the bass when I auditioned speakers. I also used to like "Aja" because it's such a well-recorded CD.

 

Don't worry about the impedance. You're fine with that.

 

Be sure the volume is consistent between one speaker and another because if one is louder, chances are you're going to think it sounds better.

 

Good luck.

 

Tom

 

[Dave Ferris]

[Moonglow]

I just picked up a gently used pair of EV SXA-250s with nice thick, custom-made covers. These were treated with kid gloves. Very happy!

[bhodaway10]

Has anybody tried the EV ZX4 series?

 

15-2-Way with EVS15SF woofer

DH3 1,25 titanium HF driver

400 Watt cont. 1600W Peak

High sensitivity (100dB)

Adjustable monitor angles 45° and 55°

Large Format 90° x 50° EV horn

[reidmc]

There was a thread on the new EV ZxA1 recently (although it was hijacked after two posts). Has anyone demoed them yet?

[JeffLearman]

I just picked up a gently used pair of EV SXA-250s with nice thick, custom-made covers. These were treated with kid gloves. Very happy!

I just commented here on an ebay listing for these that seemed impossibly low, and regret not pulling the trigger on them myself!

[jimkost2002]

FWIW, I am using QSC K 12's. The. Best. Ever. for keys. My setup: MacBook Pro Running Logic Instruments Suite. NI Komplete 6 and B4 (Scarbee EP's soon!). G-Force Synths and M-Tron Pro. Ivory. Omnisphere. IK Amplitubes (2, Fender, Jimi Hendrix) and on Wed May 12 a VAX 77 controller(!!!!!!!!) Interface is a MOTU Ultralite MKll Hybrid and I use Monster Balanced Cables

 

I have played every conceivable keyboard or am in a live or studio setting (including Rhodes(es) with Fender Twins and Boutique Guitar amps costing upward of 40k.

 

These QSC's are clean, powerful and easy to carry. When I carry them myself, I don't need a chiropractor and when a road crew does the job, they always thank me after the gig!

 

It's helpful to understand that, as a keyboard player we have different sonic needs than other instruments, so using guitar or bass amps creates anomalies that are inconsistent with full frequency output.

 

Also, PLASTIC CABINETS ARE BAD BAD BAD BAD!!!!!!! The Speakers need to be housed in a STABLE ENCLOSURE! PLASTIC is NOT able to withstand a vibrating speaker without give and rattle.

 

K 12's. Amazing. Amazing. Amazing. (and I never gush about gear!)

 

I Just want to let other working keyboard players about this. Let me know what you guys think!

[Dave Ferris]

 

[bhodaway10]

Accugroove just released their "minigroove" system :

 

Basically a 3 way speaker (8" woofer, 6.5 mid, 2" tweeter) along with an optional sub (2 - 8 inch speakers).

 

http://www.accugroove.com/minigroove.pdf

 

They also released their synergy amplifier along w/ some new cabs. No stereo units however.

 

http://www.accugroove.com/combocabs.pdf

 

 

[VLH]

For stereo @ 6 lbs amp, Power 2 with one of these:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/IPR1600

[Dave Ferris]

[Phil Aiken]

Accugroove just released their "minigroove" system :

 

Basically a 3 way speaker (8" woofer, 6.5 mid, 2" tweeter) along with an optional sub (2 - 8 inch speakers).

 

http://www.accugroove.com/minigroove.pdf

 

They also released their synergy amplifier along w/ some new cabs. No stereo units however.

 

http://www.accugroove.com/combocabs.pdf

 

 

Anyone tried the mini groove with keys?

[Bobadohshe]

My, what useful information.

[Bossbandbob]

Thinking of lightening and simplifying my rig for this one man band thing I do with 2 keyboards (one for organ another for piano), vocals and Ipod for backing tracks with two heavy mixer KB amps. So I need good tone from top to bottom. So far I have played small-medium rooms & backyards. I did one gig in a large theater but went out through their PA to FOH.

I like the idea of the built in mixer here: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/StagePas500/

Anyone know how these sound? Or have suggestions for any better all in ones? When the specs on these say 54 lbs. is that each or both together?

I also play in a full rock band where the Ipod is no longer in the equation and the vocals go to the PA.

[therealvicz]

Zombie thread!

 

I use Stagepas 300s, I'm really pleased with them. The mixer is useful also has direct output for FOH and can easily use a single unit as on stage wedge if necessary. One downside is that they are rather heavy but 54lbs will thankfully be for both (checkout the 250M which weight is given at 28lbs).

 

They are probably seen as a bit old fashioned by most of the pro's here who mainly seem to love QSC K10s.

[Halluxone]

IT'S ALIVE!!!!! The Stagepas series are a nice intermediate quality system that is versatile enough for you to submix keys, run an MP3 player during breaks, and pack it up in a portable format. But like the previous poster mentioned, a small submixer like a Soundcraft or Allen and Heath + QSC K10's work great for me...small footprint and if anything somehow goes wrong with one of the components, I don't have to send in the whole enchilada! +1 on the K series, but you may want to check out the EV's and Yamaha DXR series. They get some love here too.

[Waynester]

I have used 2 x EV SXA 360`s for onstage stereo monitoring of my keyboards at all my gigs here in England, they are unbeatable for reliability, sound quality and everything else.. i have owned and sold JBL Eons, Mackie SRM and Dynacord AM12, they all sucked... i wouldnt buy anything else again