Speakers...

[Shaun]

What's everyone's speaker of choice at the moment? I've used RCF for years, I love them. I'm looking to see what else is around though. Something in same output range, and actives.

What you all using?

[rth_discos]

A pair of RCF Evox 8 for me. No intention of replacing them - perfect for the usual wedding functions up to 150 people.

[Shaun]

A pair of RCF Evox 8 for me. No intention of replacing them - perfect for the usual wedding functions up to 150 people.

Nice speakers.

I'm looking for a pair of 15" cabs for a side project. Whilst I like the RCF I'm looking for something cost effect for occasional use. Just seen some altos's that seem to give a high output for a relatively cheap price (which always worries me). Anyone heard the alto range?

[rth_discos]

I'm looking for a pair of 15" cabs for a side project. Whilst I like the RCF I'm looking for something cost effect for occasional use.

What's the rough use case?

[Excalibur]

Nice speakers.

I'm looking for a pair of 15" cabs for a side project. Whilst I like the RCF I'm looking for something cost effect for occasional use. Just seen some altos's that seem to give a high output for a relatively cheap price (which always worries me). Anyone heard the alto range?

Oh yuss. The best ones were the early one series, before they altered ( downgraded ) them, I strongly suspect it involved changing manufacturers. Later one series, nowhere near as good. Two series were poor, and the latest three series has clawed back some ground. Like most budget cabs, they're fine when used within their limits.

Almost this exact question has just come up on Facebook, and my value suggestion was RCF 3 series. My high grade suggestion was 7 series RCF, and my totally left field suggestion was HK Polar. Were it not for the fact that I'm wary of couriers, I'd sell you my Proel V15A cabs, which are undoubtedly the best budget cabs I've ever used.

Now if you were driving down to BPM.............................................

[Nakatomi]

Altos of whatever generation generally sound pretty good at lowish volumes. I ran a pair of TS115A for ages & was very happy with them. Paired with a single 15" bin they were incredible. But - after a while at a decent volume (not at the limit point) they start to sound pretty harsh. I've had to look at a few later models to repair & I wasn't mightily impressed with what I saw inside. Common faults on 1st generation TS series were blown woofers - run them at the limit point for too long & they smoke voice coils in the LF driver. Later models have had problems with horn drivers being underpowered & blowing - and build problems with the built-in active crossover.

If you're used to RCF, nothing but Alto's old black range could even be considered a side step IMHO let alone an upgrade.

I rock a pair of HD12A mk4 now & rarely need to crank them anywhere near their maximum. The nearest I've come to flashing the limit LED on the cab is at a gig with about 150 people in a huge hall, pushing a band through them. Much as I love the sound out front though, standing behind them is almost excruciating at times. It sounds like there's more bass coming out of the back than through the front

Lots of my friends run compact systems now & I've mixed feelings about all of the different ones. I'd love a set of EV Evolve 50 but I just can't see me paying 3 grand for a pair of speakers I won't get to hear in their full glory very often (being stuck behind the PA most of the night). I just HATE using tripods now & since lockdown lasted so long my upper arm strength isn't what it was, so come the end of the night lifting a cab from a tripod hurts.

Re the number of speakers to people ratio - shouldn't it really be about pairing the PA to venue size more than number of heads at the gig?

[DeckstarDeluxe]

Another vote for RCF Evox 8s. Most of my venues are small to medium so there's only like maybe 5% of my gigs that requires a larger PA system.

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

I'm just about to pull the trigger on a set of Evox J8s.

I've never dug FBT and I mount some lights onto the array poles so the Evolve is out of the question. The fact it gets great reviews and is considerably cheaper (and lighter) than these models because of the composite casing is a bonus.

[Benny Smyth]

FBT CS1000.

These are my bread and butter speakers that cover about 90% of the events that I do. I've still got the RCF 712/905 combo should I need it, but they now only get pulled out a handful of times a year. Plus they sound better than the Evox 8.

But you're not asking about Line Arrays...

The Alto Trusonic 3 series is not bad, to be fair. If it is for an occasional use on a side project, they'll do you just fine. But, the RCF 315 is about £75-100 a side more. If the choice of speaker leans more towards 'meh', go with the Altos. If you want better than that, go with the RCF.

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

D'oh just realised you were after 15inch tops. In that case I'd probably go dB Opera all day long, even the 12s can get stupid loud.