KVR Audio

Adambomb337 · Post by **Adambomb337** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 7:04 am

What type of portable PA speakers would you recommend and why?

I don't really know anything about them...

C00kie · Post by **C00kie** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 12:50 pm

The ones with amplifiers built in. Far easier to set up... And second-hand to cut costs or get some better stuff on the same budget.

How much power do you require? How big (nr of people) will the venues be? What's yor budget and expected quality? Any limitation on dimensions or weight you can transport?

There's too much stuff to chose from... I work with PA's regularly, but don't know much about them either.

Adambomb337 · Post by **Adambomb337** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 8:03 am

Do you know of a way to test how much power is being used?

I'm not really sure what the maximum audience would be...

I don't have a whole lot of room. I can probably fit only 2 speakers that have dimensions close to 686 x 430 x 444mm (27 x 17 x 17.5 in.)

I want them to have great quality. If the price leap from best quality to just below best quality is huge, then I'll go for just under best quality.

I really like the bose portable PA speakers but they are so freakin expensive. Anyone know how to get them cheaper or know of a cheaper company that makes speakers like that?

thanks C00kie!

C00kie · Post by **C00kie** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 8:35 am

I'll tell you what I regulary use with my band: HK Audio Elias
Like shown here but with two tops on each side:

It's 450W each side: 300W for the subwoofer, 150W for the top satellite. Big enough for gigs in bars, small festivals and small theatres. Serves about 150 people max I think. In bigger spaces than say 30x40 meters you surely need more power. And this is not enough power to get the stomach-punching bass kick. You need a seriously bigger system for that.

Probably this is a bit bigger than what you can handle, but you'll get the idea. Dynacord and ElectroVoice have interesting smaller setups thaht sound pretty well.

You can also opt for a full-range system on two stands, but a subwoofer will give you better bass. You could use one subwoofer and two full-range speakers on either side (then make sure the sub has a stereo cross-over)

Good luck!

Adambomb337 · Post by **Adambomb337** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 5:58 am

Thanks! What does a stereo cross-over on a sub do?

C00kie · Post by **C00kie** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 10:57 am

A cross-over splits the signal into above and below a certain frequency. So the freqs that the sub plays aren't going to the other speakers anymore.

Especially when using one subwoofer with an integrated cross-over you have to make sure that it's stereo. So it takes all below say 120Hz itself (in mono) and sends the stereo signal with all above 120Hz to the other speakers.

Adambomb337 · Post by **Adambomb337** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 11:43 pm

Do most PA speakers have cross-overs too?

C00kie · Post by **C00kie** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 8:17 am

Adambomb337 wrote:Do most PA speakers have cross-overs too?

Anywhere you see more than one speaker size on the same channel there will (or should) be a cross-over somewhere. E.g. with a mid-sized speaker + tweeter in one cabinet it's inside the cabinet. E.g. on 5.1 home cinema sets it's probably in the box that contains the six amps (could be the receiver, could be the subwoofer cabinet.)

The thing to watch out for, is the case where you get a subwoofer that doesn't have outputs to send to the side speakers. It may filter out all frequencies it doesn't need itself, but you also need the complement filter. If those two filters don't match then there will be mayhem going on around the cross-over frequency: either too much or too little in that range, it doesn't sound very pleasing.

C00kie · Post by **C00kie** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 7:13 am

Oh, just thought of something....

Don't buy a PA yet. Rent! And rent a different setup each gig, so you can find out what you like best.

Adambomb337 · Post by **Adambomb337** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 9:11 am

That's a good idea. Thanks again C00kie!!

Portable PA speakers?