anyone use the RCF Art 902 sub?

[sweetie]

Looking to downsize my active sub and found this for a good price with warranty but will one suffice? Would appreciate if anyone who has heard or used it could comment. thanks

[spin mobile disco]

I have heard one in a demo at a local dj shop. Not bad it is loud however it is not a 905 if you see what I mean. If having only 1 sub i would say get the 905. I do not think the 902 is up to the job on its own you would need a pair for any audiences over 150.

[sweetie]

thanks. the 905 spec is a spl of 131dB v 130dB for the 902.
Think I'll give it a listen anyways

[spin mobile disco]

spl isnt everything the tone is different as well.

[gaza]

Can anybody answer this for me.

Whith the cheaper active subs, the spl and the sensitivity is usually lower, so does this make the high pass out signal that goes to the mid/ tops( via the amplifier) lower and in doing so make the mid/ tops perform worse?

[gaza]

Anyone

[gaza]

So, no takers on this question.

[paulg]

No, it makes no difference at all.

Back to the 902's. Depends on the size of venue but let's say for a busy medium sized WMC concert room, one wouldn't be enough. For a small room in a pub, one would do. Of course, it depends how you define bass. A lot of people on here use Db sub15D's and they rave about them. Personally, I think they are hopeless but that's probably more to do with my idea of what bass should sound like. I went through some fairly lengthy testing / demo's of all the RCF subs and in the end went for the 18 inch Digital 4 Pro. At a claimed 134db, one of these is enough for most situations.

[sweetie]

No, it makes no difference at all.

Back to the 902's. Depends on the size of venue but let's say for a busy medium sized WMC concert room, one wouldn't be enough. For a small room in a pub, one would do. Of course, it depends how you define bass. A lot of people on here use Db sub15D's and they rave about them. Personally, I think they are hopeless but that's probably more to do with my idea of what bass should sound like. I went through some fairly lengthy testing / demo's of all the RCF subs and in the end went for the 18 inch Digital 4 Pro. At a claimed 134db, one of these is enough for most situations.

thanks, so i should stick with the qsc hpr151i that has a dpec of 133dB?

[Andy Goodtimes]

I use 2 RCF 902s for prob about 95% of my work. If someone told me a year or so ago that I would be going out with just 2 compact 12 inch subs I would have laughed. They are awsum and I really don't think anyone should say different unless they have actually taken them out in various types of venues playing various types of music.

I have lots of different bits of kit as I do sometimes have more than just me out working and I also do a lot of big hires. I have some double 18 Ohm bins, Martin Audio single 18s, some big old EV double 18s...forget what they are called and 3 pairs of the DAS single 18s. I also have a Bose PAS with 2 of the add-on amps and a total of 8 B1 bins.

I started using different kit depending on venue size, number of folk and type of music etc. Now I have got fed up of all the extra work and on my small SWB van which is the one I go out in personally I carry the Bose and a pair of 902s and pair of 710s. Its the 902/710 combi that I use most. You can get bogged down with specifications though, basically that system is about as small as you can get away with for most work, it is 3.5k RMS and I have lost count of the bands that have turned up with a couple of Sprinters full of junk, they stack speakers to the ceiling and tie them together with rachet straps and laugh at my little speakers till I start to play and that whipes the smile off their faces.

As for the high pass outs; you can switch between link or cross-over and you can choose to cross over at 80 or 120 DB, I cross over at 120 for the 710cabs and 80 if I am using the 322s. You can also switch polarity. I think the rating of 1k RMS per cab is prob pretty truthful.

I can't praise them enough, very easy to carry, I can carry one upstairs with no problem at all, fair enough they do look a bit puney but that's soon sorted out when you turn them up and with the tops on chrome poles it looks smart. The cabs I used before those were the JBL PRX sub18s with the Crown amplifier boards and I think the little RCFs out do them all round.

[paulg]

Certainly the 902/711 combi is a very nice sounding system. Perfect for things like light rock. Demo'd with songs like the very well produced Eagles track called 'How Long', you really get to appreciate the precise nature of the sound.

The poster was looking to downsize to single 12 inch sub though. I'd still advise that a single 12 inch sub won't cut it although it depends what you do, where you do it and what you want your sound to be to determine if that's the right advice. Personally, I reckon 2x902's (nice though they are) will not really out perform the single QSC sub to justify the expense. For me, 1x902 wouldn't be enough for most circumstances.

However, there are many successful DJ's on this forum that don't use subs at all and that makes me wonder whether the very bottom end of the sound spectrum is really important to most customers. Somehow, I don't think it is, perhaps excepting the yoof audience. With that in mind, if you wanted to downsize for convenience I doubt it would make much difference to your customers perception of your service. So why not? save your back!!!!

[Andy Goodtimes]

I'm not sure which QSC you refer to, I'm not aware of a single 12 sub that they make which could fairly be compared to the 902, however, I did use to own a pair of the K double 12 subs which are maybe a fair comparisum.

Leaving the paperwork to one side you need to also accept that sound is subjective and personally I didn't like the bass output from the QSC, I found it to be a bit too wooley and the RCF much more punchy whilst still making walls flex and windows rattle. When you consider this and also the fact the QSC has an extra driver which makes the cab bigger and heavier it was no contest for me.

As for the figures its pretty much swings and roundabouts...in fact the RCF will go down lower...from memory think its 45khz apposed to 48 for the QSC, pretty sure that's right and I think I recall thlat they are both 1k and about the 130db mark. There are other trade offs like the ITC technology in the QSC is good but the power correction in the RCF could be argued to be better and so on.

As for working without subs...that's something that I know a lot of DJs do and do well, however, not something I like to do, once again personal taste and yes I agree clients on the whole don't care. As for adding a single sub to add a bit of depth, well obviously I suggest the 902 but lets be honest, it depends how far you want to go, one of the little DB or HK subs would do the job for much less money.

[sweetie]

I appreciate the input guys.

this (http://www.qscaudio.com/products/speakers/hpr/hpr151i.htm) is the current sub I use.
I do like it with my QSC K12s but it's a big awkward fella.
I might try and put castors on it to help with moving.

[Andy Goodtimes]

Sweetie; forget what I said about the DB or HK subs as they aren't really in the same league as your K12s.

If you want a smaller sub that will compliment your current tops then I would say the double 12 K sub which although it is obviously larger it is something like 11kg lighter than the one you have at the moment. The obvious choice would be the 902 which is smaller and only about half the weight but of course a different brand so not a perfect visual match. I don't think there is much else that is smaller lighter and still able to do justice to your tops. However, some time ago I did see and hear a active Yorkville 10 inch sub which was amazing but lots of money, don't even know if its still a current model and can't remember the model number.