Speaker recommendations

[peacefulone61]

I have a black box theatre that was a converted barn. it is roughly 40x60 with 11' ceiling heights at the sides and 35' fly space in the middle. The space has much of its old wood as the outer walls.

The speakers are at the best at the end of their life and need to be replaced.

While it is a flexible seating space I only have seen really three seating options set up, thrust, Procinium and then seating on two sides. Because of this I need the ability to have at least 4 main speakers. And then 4 other speakers to Handel ambient noise and sound effects I also have dance shows in the space periodically that would like the ability to have a sub.

It has been a few years since I have even looked at speakers and was looking for recommendations. I am looking for 12" passive speakers that can be rigged on pipes. And a powered sub.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jkowtko]

You may find that powered speakers are becoming very popular, and you tend to be able to get better sound out of them more easily.

I don't have any recommendations for passive speakers. For subs I have Mackie SRS1500 and have been pretty happy with them.

-- John

 

[peacefulone61]

You are right I should not limit myself to passive speakers. Do you have a suggestion on powered ones?.

You may find that powered speakers are becoming very popular, and you tend to be able to get better sound out of them more easily.

I don't have any recommendations for passive speakers. For subs I have Mackie SRS1500 and have been pretty happy with them.

-- John

You at

 

[jkowtko]

Me personally?

For mains:
=======

I have Mackie SRM450 and am still very happy with them after 10 years. $500-600 each.

QSC K-12 are also a very popular item and reported to have smoother, flatter response than the Mackie's, so that would be my "upgrade" choice. $600-800 each.

I have also tried Yamaha MSR400 at the local high school ... they seem fine too although feels like a bigger, heavier speaker.

I personally do not recommend:
* JBL Eon -- have never heard one that I thought sounded good
* Mackie SRM350 ... don't like them, even as a fill speaker. Not worth the money
* Anything lower end than the SRM450 in price, I find doesn't sound good.

For fills:
======

I have some Anchor AN-1000x that I bought used for ~$80 each, that I use for center fills and stage monitors. Great bang for the buck. Don't be afraid to buy used ... some of this equipment is nearly indestructible, and with replacement is still far less than the price of a new unit.

 

[Mike R]

One thing I might consider is having 2 speakers per seating area. This allows you to have a stereo image for each section of seating.
Part of that is personal preference, but if you are doing dance in there, it helps prevent cancelation from taking a stereo track and combining it into a mono signal.

 

[AlexDonkle]

What's your budget for the project?

While I like powered speakers for some projects, one aspect that's important in a black box is weight since you'll be rigging this up and down whenever you change seating in the venue. Also if your existing amplifiers are still good, it'll likely be cheaper to keep using them with new passive speakers.

Working on new schools, we'd likely use Tannoy VX series (mid/high end), or JBL AE series (lower end) for the situation you're describing.

 

[peacefulone61]

Our budget is probably 8-10k just on the speaker side of the sound system.

 

[themuzicman]

One thing I might consider is having 2 speakers per seating area. This allows you to have a stereo image for each section of seating.
Part of that is personal preference, but if you are doing dance in there, it helps prevent cancelation from taking a stereo track and combining it into a mono signal.

You're never going to get stereo sound in a theater, I prefer to call a L/R in a theater "super mono". When I design most systems of theater I do L/R/C, where L/R carry band/playback and the Center carries vocals. Without knowing the content you produce in the room, I would suggest a few delay lines (2 or 3) that get fed vocals. If you really have processing, then each vocal line can be split up into "inner" and "outer" allowing you to pump a little L/R in to the outer set, but I tend to ride delay lines in musical theater and reinforced plays solely as vocals if I am short on processing.

 

[BillESC]

With your budget, take a look at Electro Voice's ETX series. Excellent quality build and performance.

http://electrovoice.com/family.php?id=313

 

[DeadCheerios]

I am a big fan of the JBL PRX 712.
They are a powered speaker, right in your price range and I quite like the sound. They don't have a ton of low end but with you wanting to get a sub that doesn't seem to be a problem.
You can get them quite loud without losing clarity as well which I absoutley love.
http://www.jblpro.com/www/products/portable-market/prx700-series/prx712#.VvleQ9IrI-U

 

[Dane Boulton]

+1 for QSC K12/Ksub and EV ETX series awesome boxes.

 

[jwh78]

In pro audio circles the Yamaha DSR112 is widely regarded as probably the best price/quality trade off in this segment.

I have personal experience with the K12, and it is a capable system. However, the DSR112 have a much beefier tweeter driver, thus outruns most of it's similarly priced competitors when pushed hard.

 

[jwh78]

KSub should only be considered if you have tight restrictions on space or weight. There are much better alternatives out there.

 

[TimmyP1955]

Yorkville U15, either the powered or passive version. If 50 degrees will do, one box will do. If you need 100 degrees, two boxes array well with minimal interference (unlike many boxes). 150 degrees, no problem - add a box.