passive v active speakers for FOH

[manleyelop]

Are the any pro's & cons of using active v passive foh speakers,ive always used passive but have my eye on a pair of Electro-voice ZLX-15P 15 Inch Active PA Speakers which i could maybe use as powered monitors anyone used these speakers?

[Sam Spoons]

Passives :-

Lighter (but often not much)
Only one cable
probably 'showerproof'

Active/Powered :-

Cheaper
Built in speaker protection
Amps and speaker drivers well matched
Redundancy (if one fails you can still get the gig done)

EV are usually good but the ZLX is the cheap range.
15" speakers often don't sound good for vocals, 10" or 12" are usually better.

[manleyelop]

EV are usually good but the ZLX is the cheap range.

so these are cheap speakers by Ev?

are they any good ?

[Sam Spoons]

I bought an EV ZX1 sub which I think may be the same range as the ELX and didn't like it so sold it on. A good few years ago in 2013 I A/B'd a Dynacord A12 (basically a re-badged EV ELX IIRC), QSC K12 and Yamaha DXR12s and the Dynacord was the one I liked least.

Text from my assessment :-

Conclusions, Alto TS112A is fantastic value at £250, decent sounding and pretty loud. Dynachord A112, meh (no better and twice the price). The Yamaha DXR112 is significantly better (especially the top end, detailed and clear) at £530. The Yamaha DSR112 is better again (the top end is incredibly detailed and a lot better even than the DXR) but is £860. The RCS Art 412 is meh, (softer slightly less detailed than the DSR112). The Mackie SRM450 sounds slightly distorted at all levels in this company, The RCF ART 722 very good but £1100 and I still preferred the Yamaha DSR112 over it. My favourite is the QSC K12, smoother and more accurate sounding than the Yamahas (my previous favourites) they sound the most natural of all the boxes I have listened to (they make even the DSR112 sound slightly nasal) and at £750 are only moderately silly money so I'm just negotiating a price on an ex-demo pair.

I bought the K12s and 3 DXR10s for monitors.

[manleyelop]

I bought an EV ZX1 sub which I think may be the same range as the ELX and didn't like it so sold it on. A good few years ago in 2013 I A/B'd a Dynacord A12 (basically a re-badged EV ELX IIRC), QSC K12 and Yamaha DXR12s and the Dynacord was the one I liked least.

Ok cool i reckon i won't bother with the ev's then im looking for some decent tops for multiple purposes one to use in my rehearsal room that clients use (i have a pair of LD Stingers they sound sweet i like the sound but clients who don't know what they are doing keep blowing the compression drivers now and again costing me money) Yamaha speakers seem to be a lot tougher than these.
& two to use as stage monitors when i do live gigs must admit i like the yamaha DXR12's not cheap though.Im on a budget so trying to make use of gear i have here

The Yamaha DXR-12 are active correct?

[Sam Spoons]

DXR12's are indeed active/powered, I use DXR10s for monitors and occasionally for FOH, they are excellent and come with a 7 year warrantee (subject to registering). They are definitely a cut or two above your LDs and will usually look after their drivers. TBF if the 'clients' try hard enough they could still probably manage to blow them up

[manleyelop]

DXR12's are indeed active/powered, I use DXR10s for monitors and occasionally for FOH, they are excellent and come with a 7 year warrantee (subject to registering). They are definitely a cut or two above your LDs and will usually look after their drivers. TBF if the 'clients' try hard enough they could still probably manage to blow them up

They have blown the LD speakers up twice now but then they don't pay for the gear

do you reckon i could use the DXR12's for stage monitors?

What do you reckon to the LD Stingers?

[manleyelop]

What do you reckon to Yamaha DZR12 would they do the job seen a used pair

[Sam Spoons]

DXR12s make excellent monitors DZR is the budget range and not as good as the DXRs..

[manleyelop]

DXR12s make excellent monitors DZR is the budget range and not as good as the DXRs..

Are you sure the Yamaha DZR12 12'' Active PA Speaker are more expensive

[Wonks]

DZR are the new flagship range Yamaha FOH speakers. Sam was thinking of the DBRs.

Haven't seen any proper reviews of them, they are still pretty new. On paper they are great and really loud.

[manleyelop]

DZR are the new flagship range Yamaha FOH speakers. Sam was thinking of the DBRs.

Haven't seen any proper reviews of them, they are still pretty new. On paper they are great and really loud.

Hi wonks
I haven't i was enquiring about some DRX12 & they mentioned they had some DZR12 as B stock but they may still be over budget for me
im wanting something for my rehearsal space & to use as stage monitors

[Sam Spoons]

DZR are the new flagship range Yamaha FOH speakers. Sam was thinking of the DBRs.

Haven't seen any proper reviews of them, they are still pretty new. On paper they are great and really loud.

Yup, sorry my mistake. If you can afford the DZRs they look seriously impressive on paper (an almost unbelievable 139dB SPL for the DZR12).

Probably overkill for your needs TBH, too posh for the rehearsal room and louder than necessary for monitors (you'll hit the gain before feedback limit well before they are approaching that 139dB SPL).

Cheap and robust for the rehearsal room I'd have said. Monitors need to be loud enough and light and compact.

[Dave Rowles]

If you're on a budget then I'd seriously consider the new Alto 300 series. Seriously loud for the money if you have a graphic to tame them a little. I used a couple on an install recently and I didn't feel bad about hitting the budget for once.

[manleyelop]

DZR are the new flagship range Yamaha FOH speakers. Sam was thinking of the DBRs.

Haven't seen any proper reviews of them, they are still pretty new. On paper they are great and really loud.

Yup, sorry my mistake. If you can afford the DZRs they look seriously impressive on paper (an almost unbelievable 139dB SPL for the DZR12).

Probably overkill for your needs TBH, too posh for the rehearsal room and louder than necessary for monitors (you'll hit the gain before feedback limit well before they are approaching that 139dB SPL).

What do you reckon to the DRX12 for p.a im thinking i could use them for the rehearsal room plus live stage monitors ?
it's more than im wanting to spend but i need some speakers plus some live stage monitors so something multipurpose

[Sam Spoons]

My DXR10s are great. I mostly use them for stage monitors but they are good for FOH too (and occasionally get used in that role). The 12"s will be excellent too I'm sure.

[manleyelop]

My DXR10s are great. I mostly use them for stage monitors but they are good for FOH too (and occasionally get used in that role). The 12"s will be excellent too I'm sure.

OK great ive never heard them you see,i have a very old pair of S115v here had them for ages a pair of LD Stingers but need something for dual role purposes like i mentioned.i use EV Tour x 1152 tops for my p.a but wouldn't use them in my rehearsal room lol

[Sam Spoons]

I might be inclined to devise some tweeter protection and leave the LDs in the rehearsal room. I used 'polyfuses' in a pair of passives a few years ago they go OC if asked to carry too much current but reset when they cool down.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resettable_fuse

[manleyelop]

I might be inclined to devise some tweeter protection and leave the LDs in the rehearsal room. I used 'polyfuses' in a pair of passives a few years ago they go OC if asked to carry too much current but reset when they cool down.

[url=http s://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resettable_fuse]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resettable_fuse[/url]

Just had another band in today & it looks like they have blown the tweeter at one side again so what's the solution to stop this happening it's costing me a fortune in repairs

[Sam Spoons]

When you replace the tweeter put a suitably rated 'poly fuse' in series. I can't remember what I used but it would depend on the impedance of the tweeter drivers and their power handling......

[manleyelop]

When you replace the tweeter put a suitably rated 'poly fuse' in series. I can't remember what I used but it would depend on the impedance of the tweeter drivers and their power handling......

Thing is i know nothing about that side of things but i do have a repair guy who fixes them (making alot of cash out of me at the moment)

i have multiple rehearsal rooms some large & some small i only seem to have this problem with the LD speakers the yamaha's seem to have zero issues

[Sam Spoons]

It could be the amp being overdriven into distortion or simply too much power for the speakers either way talk to your guy about tweeter protection. It is cheap and easy to fit and, while it isn't completely infallible it certainly helps. Some speakers use a simple car festoon bulb in series, when it gets hot the resistance goes up and reduces the current getting to the tweeter driver, the poly fuse is a more modern solution that does much the same job (it goes open circuit when more than the rated current flows). Both will effectively mute the tweeters before they blow if they are the correct value but automatically unmute them when the over current is removed.

If your clients are undisciplined enough to regularly blow tweeters I would not be letting them loose with my brand new DXRs

[manleyelop]

If your clients are undisciplined enough to regularly blow tweeters I would not be letting them loose with my brand new DXRs

most clients are great but the odd few just don't know what they are doing & ruin my gear but i do seem to be having issues with the LD speakers right now the tweeters keep blowing when a band just hasn't a clue what they are doing not sure about buying the DRX in there right now OR Ever to be honest

Perhaps getting a cheap pair of Yamha s115v will be the answer they seem much tougher speakers (although i could be proved wrong) still it's not easy finding a used pair locally,what is there equivalent in yamaha speakers these days?

how about Yamaha C115V Concert Club V Series Loudspeaker any good?

Im using a Yamaha P7000 power amp with the LD stingers im wondering if the P7000 amp is too much for them kinda pissing to close to the wind? but saying that i have used that amp with them speakers many times with zero problems but then im using the gear

LD Stingers:Power Capacity (Cont./Peak):
350 W / 700 W
Frequency Range: 58 Hz - 19 kHz
SPL (1 W / 1 m): 99 dB
Max SPL: 124 dB
Impedance: 8 ohms

Yamaha P7000
power output at 1 kHz:
750 watts RMS per channel at 8 ohms

[Sam Spoons]

The amp and speakers seem pretty well matched WRT power. The problem is that if you drive the amp into distortion it will destroy the tweeters. You would normally notice the distortion and back things off a little off you were driving the rig but your clients probably don't have the experience to realise what they are doing.

I don't know your Yamaha passives but maybe they have some kind of tweeter protection?

[manleyelop]

The amp and speakers seem pretty well matched WRT power. The problem is that if you drive the amp into distortion it will destroy the tweeters. You would normally notice the distortion and back things off a little off you were driving the rig but your clients probably don't have the experience to realise what they are doing.

I don't know your Yamaha passives but maybe they have some kind of tweeter protection?

They are just the old type of Yamaha S115v many yrs old but still going strong

looking at that spec i thought the LD speakers are 350 wat rms but the yamaha P7000
is 750watt rms i assumed that was almost double

Yamaha S115V Specifications
Woofer: 15-inch.
Tweeter (diaphragm): 2-inch titanium.
Frequency Response (-10dB): 55Hz - 16kHz.
Power Handling (noise/program/peak): 250/500/1000 watts.
Sensitivity: 99dB.
Dimensions (approximate): 19 x 28 x 15 inches.
Weight (approx. ): 60.5 lbs.
Enclosure Covering: Carpe

Crossovers
The S115V features crossover networks that divide the signal going to the woofer and compression driver, constructed with oversized coils, high voltage capacitors, and power resistors designed to provide the best possible sound quality and minimize loss. Overload protection is also included to protect the S115V's components.

i guess it's a pair of or the Yamaha C115V Concert Club OR DRX12's if they have the same speaker protection & lose the LD speakers im not sure the LD stingers have the same speaker protection so that may be what's causing them to blow the tweeter with inexperienced users