I work at a high school auditorium as the general , all around , do everything guy . Including the resident sound engineer . I'm considering buying new speakers next year and I would like to find some that accurately reproduce the signal that is sent them . I'm just talking about speakers that are marketed as full range here , some I've used seem to be stronger in the lower mid range and some may be stronger in the upper mids . I know there are a ton of variables involved that affect the way sound is reproduced from mic to speaker to ear , so I guess what I'm asking is what brand of full range speakers ( 15 " , single or duals ) do forum members like and why . I'm mainly interested in nice , clear reproduction of vocals . Thanks
Full range speaker choice .
- Thread starterwhaleboat
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Equally important is how big is the auditorium, and what do you want to do with the speakers- stands on the stage? Install them somehow?
MisterTim
Active Member
See I was actually going to say SX300s, but I thought somebody might yell at me for that, because nobody seems to like EV around here. But seriously, I LOVE my SX300s. A lot. (don't remind me about the time the director kicked one off the stage. But that's another reason I love them; they're so well built.)
Hmm, haven't really gotten an anti-EV vibe here. I'll never buy a different brand of speaker!
There are 14 3" long screws holding the front to the back of the Sx cabinets. I was thoroughly impressed when I had to take apart an Sx100 to change the connector. They sound pretty good, too!
I've never compared the Sx300 to the Zx3, but I can tell you that I like the sound of the Zx1 better than the Sx80, so I assume the Zx3 would be excellent, plus that truss clamp looks pretty nifty.
You are going at this a bit backward. Selecting speakers based solely on brand and without any regard to the application makes no sense. Before you can discuss what is a good solution, you have to define the problem. So first figure out what you need from the speaker, any relevant factors like the pattern, output, frequency response, sensitivity, size, weight, mounting, cost, etc., then start looking at models.
What do you plan to use to power the speakers? That would definitely be a factor in several ways.
If you are most concerned with vocals then why are you discussing wanting "full range" and single or dual 15" drivers? Either there are other criteria involved or you might want to consider some other options.
As you noted, what the audience hears is a function of much more than just the speakers. You can have a speaker that is ruler flat from 20Hz to 20kHz in an anechoic chamber and get a totally different response at the listeners in a real application. Speakers are not headphones and the room acoustics, how the speakers interact with the room and each other, the aiming and installation of the speakers, the system tuning, etc. are all going to effect the overall sound. So again, the application can be a factor and knowing more about the room, expectations, the rest of the system, etc. would probably help.
I typically like coaxially aligned drivers for vocal clarity, but there are so many other considerations, including budget, that this alone does not really define any particular products.
While I agree 100% with every thing that you said Brad, I think I caught where he said "portable" which throws many of the variables out the window. Sounds like it is going to be a system that may be used in many rooms/applications, (as education often does, one widget to do everything under the sun, from teaching kids how to tie their shoe to analyzing advanced physics)
Since the OP started by noting that they work at a high school auditorium and are the "resident sound engineer", I assumed that indicated the speakers were related to that role. Whether that is a valid assumption or not and what function the speakers would serve in that role is unknown based on the information provided. However, your comments seem to reinforce the point that the application is a major factor in equipment selection and discussing products without addressing the application is of limited benefit.
Many of the issues noted are still relevant even in portable applications. In fact, it can make aspects such as whether you really need a larger, heavier box with 15" driver(s) and performance aspects such as output with the apparently existing amplification potentially even more relevant. Talk to rental and staging companies and you find that the type of events and venues they plan to support have a major bearing on their equipment choices.
The room , not including the stage , is roughly 75'x75' and seats 1,000 . The pit and aisleways are carpeted the floor of the seating areas is concrete . The walls are concrete filled cinderblock and the cieling is sheetrock angled in a sort of series of inverted steps . I have Renkus-Heinz TRX-121 speakers , 12 inch woofer with 1 inch HF driver and horn suspended L/R/C above the audience at 23 feet . I know the relationship between speakers and acoustics can be very complex , but where this question arose is awhile back I built a couple of stands 4 feet tall and set them on both sides of the stage just outside of the proscenium opening , on top of the stands I placed EV Eliminators with 15" woofers and HF horn . Even if I run both sets of speakers through the same EQ the EV's seem to accentuate from about 630hz to maybe 1.25khz . whereas the Renkus Heinz seem to be stronger from 630hz down . That's just what it sounds like to me , I'm not real good at identifying frequencies by ear . I thought maybe the differences had to do with the speakers , that maybe different manufacturers design their speakers to accentuate different parts of the sound spectrum . I realize speaker placement plays a big part in how they sound , but I was curious to hear from people if they thought that various manufacturers might sort of season their product to taste , so to speak . Thanks
I've used the RH TRX 121's you've mentioned (well, not the exact ones, but my school has a pair). I ran them off a QSC amp.
I was pleased with the sound I got out of them, and without any major work (i could've whipped out SMAART, but it was mainly for pre-recorded playback at the time).
Yes, that's an application difference, but for me it only really affected how I set up the system (or didn't, in this case).
Of course different speakers will sound differently; that's why you eq as individually as possible.
And, from what I've heard, yes, there are rock boxes, there are vocal boxes, and there are in-between boxes...
Also, just out of curiosity, are the RH horns oriented correctly? (it's either that model or the SGX 61's that do that, can't remember atm....)
A couple of points but where did you listen? It is pretty common to find some speakers whose sound differs significantly as you move off axis horizontally and/or vertically. At one of the shows when Dave Gunness first brought out his new Fulcrum Acoustics products I was listening to some of them and walking around to hear how the sound varied. Dave mentioned that was glad to see someone doing this as it was something he focused on, and one reason why his mid/high and full range designs are coaxial, but most people just listened on axis and thus missed the off-axis variations exhibited by some competing products. With some products, depending on the relationship to the speaker sometimes just moving a little bit can audibly change the response heard.
As already mentioned, the system processing can also have a significant effect on what you heard. If you really wanted to compare the speakers you should probably do so without EQ and processing as anything you do may affect the two boxes differently.
Finally, yes, speakers do definitely have different responses. Sometimes this is intentional for assumed applications and sometimes it is simply a factor of the design and construction. But an actual flat response is typically not desired for anything other than monitoring applications.
As already mentioned, the system processing can also have a significant effect on what you heard. If you really wanted to compare the speakers you should probably do so without EQ and processing as anything you do may affect the two boxes differently.
Finally, yes, speakers do definitely have different responses. Sometimes this is intentional for assumed applications and sometimes it is simply a factor of the design and construction. But an actual flat response is typically not desired for anything other than monitoring applications.
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