Advice on compact speakers for events

[RGKSound]

Hi All,
Im keen to buy a some speakers for event hire and was looking for some advice. Ive done some research and have been down my local shop a few times to check the systems there, but wanted to hear some opinons on which would be ideal

Heres what I am after
- Light weight
- easy to assemble
- For event size of max 100 pax
- PA for DJ or 3 piece band

Budget - around 5000 USD

I would like to get 1 or 2 subs and stereo speakers

Here are the speakers that I have looked at
- Bose L1 Compact ( nice look, sounds good, but worried it may be too consumer image??)
- Mackie DLM series ( really harsh on the highs, not satisfied with the quality of sound)
- K-array ( awful sales, never even replied to my question after sending off 3 emails and calling a few times)

Would love to hear you guys opinon on these or other alternatives

[Sam Spoons]

I wouldn't choose the Bose for band or DJ work, fantastic for acoustic stuff mind you. I haven't heard the K-Array or Mackie DLMs (I have a Mackie DL1608 mixer which is fantastic but the DLM concept doesn't appeal). Conventional rigs are probably more versatile. Consider the Yamaha DXR/DXS or DSR series, 2 x 10s or 12s over 2 x 15" subs or, my choice, QSC K12's over one or two subs (in my case I already had a single EV sBa750 when I went shopping for the new tops last year). 12"s will be a bit more versatile if you choose to use them without the subs but 10"s will be lighter and work very well with subs, I'd go for two subs for the DJ stuff BTW.

[QwertyJuan]

We've rented that BOSE system here to see how it worked... wasn't worth the coin IMO. Didn't have the punch that you should have for the price. Sounded GREAT at lower volumes and with only 20-30 people in the room. As soon as we went to 100+ nobody could hear anything, and the microphones were feeding back terribly.

A downvote for sure for that BOSE system.

[OneEng]

Not a fan of Bose (you are going to hear that quite a bit, and there are good reasons).

5K is a great price point and you can get a really great system for that now.

There are two systems I would recommend.

The first (and my favorite) would be JBL PRX712's over JBL PRX718XLF's.

The second would be the QSC KW122's over KW181's.

My impressions of these systems (I have heard and used both) is that they are both very competent. The reason the JBL system is my personal favorite is that the XLF sub is simply the best sounding, highest impact sub in this price range.

The KW181's are not bad by any stretch of the imagination, they just aren't quite as pleasing to my ear as the XLF's.

If you are in the US, you should be able to hear these in a shop and decide for yourself.

Both of these systems will positively bury the Bose rig

[Dave Rowles]

Good systems listed above, but if you want more compact, have a look at the HK-Audio Elements systems. If you can get your ears on them they'll probably do all you want.

[RGKSound]

Hi all,
Appreciate the information yall provided

So ill look into

HK Audio Element system
JBL PRX712
QSC K10, 12 (the light weight is attractive)

I fear where I am at there seems to be no distributor for the HK audio which looks the most appealing

[Mike Stranks]

I fear where I am at there seems to be no distributor for the HK audio which looks the most appealing

Give HK a call.... I've always found them very helpful when discussing potential purchases and linked on-site demos....

[QwertyJuan]

Hi all,
Appreciate the information yall provided

So ill look into

HK Audio Element system
JBL PRX712
QSC K10, 12 (the light weight is attractive)

I fear where I am at there seems to be no distributor for the HK audio which looks the most appealing

I've ALWAYS wanted to try the K10 and 12's out... if you DO buy/try them, please let us know what they sound like. They've intrigued me with their small size and their "supposed" output every time I see them.

[Sam Spoons]

K12s are fantastic, I listened to 10 or so 12" & horn actives between £250 and £1200 and the K12s were my favourites. I've had them nearly a year and my opinion hasn't changed.

[QwertyJuan]

Nice to hear that!!! I've been wanting to try some out for awhile... they are so compact, with tremendous specs for a decent price.

What about the K8? We are using wedges at a church I attend, and would LOVE to try a K8 on a stand shooting the piano player in the face!

I bet they wouldn't need as much volume at that distance!

[Random Guitarist]

We use a pair of K12s in a local church as main speakers, they are very very good for the money.
Wonderful clarity, very good dispersion, effortlessly powerful.

The only thing I would say is I'm not sure about using one as a monitor, seems like they can be a bit bright if you're too close. I used one as a floor monitor for a digital guitar processor, and thart was (perhaps understandably) a bit too bright. Maybe could have tamed it with eq, but didn't have time that time.

No doubt there are other choices which other people prefer, but we listened to a few and thought the K12s were the ones. Very natural for spoken voice as well.

[RGKSound]

Hey guys, thanks a lot for the advice and feedback

Checked out the K12 and K10s today as well as the KW122 and also the KSub

The KW122 is the best in show clearer than the K12 in mid-high. However was very impressed with the K10. The guy didnt have it on at first since he was keen on showing us the KW, which was good, but the problem is all these are a bit bigger than what we want them to be. The K10s were perfect size, you can put them on a stand with 1 person only.

The sound quality difference between the K10 and K12 for me was not that noticeable, with the size advantage its looking like the winner

The Ksub was way too big for us, we would prefer 2 smaller subs with the K10 on top. Any suggestions on a good light sub welcommed

We will be checking out he JBL compacts this week also will let you guys know how that goes

Final point, the pricing for these QSC are really much cheaper than we were expecting to pay and much better than Mackie compact range, the BOSE ones (way too pricey), IMHO

[QwertyJuan]

Hey guys, thanks a lot for the advice and feedback

Checked out the K12 and K10s today as well as the KW122 and also the KSub

The KW122 is the best in show clearer than the K12 in mid-high. However was very impressed with the K10. The guy didnt have it on at first since he was keen on showing us the KW, which was good, but the problem is all these are a bit bigger than what we want them to be. The K10s were perfect size, you can put them on a stand with 1 person only.

The sound quality difference between the K10 and K12 for me was not that noticeable, with the size advantage its looking like the winner

The Ksub was way too big for us, we would prefer 2 smaller subs with the K10 on top. Any suggestions on a good light sub welcommed

We will be checking out he JBL compacts this week also will let you guys know how that goes

Final point, the pricing for these QSC are really much cheaper than we were expecting to pay and much better than Mackie compact range, the BOSE ones (way too pricey), IMHO

I can PROMISE you(without ever hearing the K10's) that the BOSE won't TOUCH those QSC speakers. At very low volumes, the BOSE would be every bit as nice and maybe nicer, espcially listening to CD's or MP3s. But when push comes to shove(in the real world), the BOSE system has no guts/balls/etc...

It seriously sounds like one of their home theatre systems and NOT a loudspeaker system(and thus performs as such).