PA System: Powered or Passive with amp?

[rdamato]

Time to retire the original Eon 15's for something more efficient. We are a 5 piece classic rock cover band and run everything to the board. We have one powered sub. Should we be looking at new powered speakers, or go the passive speaker/amp route for FOH?? Pros/Cons??

Any advice, including speaker/amp brands would be appreciated.

Regards,
Ron

 

[MaxBoogie]

Was never a fan of the general design of powered speakers, but the QSC K-series has changed my mind! Advantage is fewer components you have to lug around, the QSC's are 1000W of super clean power, are very flexible in their input capabilities, and the sound is nothing short of awesome. Can't find a reason to ever do "separates" again!

 

[soulohio]

been quite a few threads that have veered into this discussion....unless you have a reason (like SUPER inexpensive) to have passive boxes, then active is the way to go. QSC. Yorkeville. From there it gets more expensive.
I would suggest to everybody in the band that they buy a K10 for their band contribution and then either use it FOH or for their own personal monitor.

 

[Crowder]

I had to make this decision recently and went passive. With so many people going active there are lots of deals to be had on nice passive boxes. When more active gear is around on the used market I will probably relent. But I got two OAP tops and two EV 18" sub boxes for $650, or less than the cost of ONE active top. Add a $400 amp and it's a really capable system.

 

[soulohio]

that is a good deal^^

one idear is if one guy buys the speakers everyone else in the band could buy their own power amp. Sorta spreads the investment around...

 

[rdamato]

Bump

 

[Mark Robinson]

I have a preference for passive speakers and monitors, with separate power amps, and greatly prefer power amps not to be built into the mixer. I have played a long time and been through a few problems with things breaking.

If the amp in the speaker breaks, your amp and speaker are down. With a separate power amp, you can re connect stuff and get through. It's an old man's conservative way of going. But stuff happens.

 

[buddaman71]

Just my experience: for a typical med/large club-size PA and fast set up/strike, I love the sound quality and clarity of my digital mixer/active QSC speaker rig. It honestly blows away any comparably-priced passive rig I've owned (4 different complete PAs over the years) in every way, most of all sound quality and ease of use.

I've been using active gear HARD since 1998, and I have never had a single equipment failure through hundreds and hundreds of set-ups/tear-downs and thousands of hours of hard use and highway miles.

 

[LelandCrooks]

I changed to active a while back and love it. Easy quick setup. Helps that the built in amps I use have the most powerful dsp I've seen. Run a whole band rig including the band from 1 15a outlet.

 

[buddaman71]

^ Yes ^
Active is extremely efficient and I've run 2 15" 3ways, 2 118 subs and 4 powered monitors off off one 15A circuit all night long with no issues as well.

 

[Schroedinger]

I'm another convert to all powered. I use QSC K10's both as front monitors and floor monitors.
I like that my band sounds excellent through this rig. I like that it's relatively foolproof and other band members can run sound without destroying anything. I like that we can play super-loud and stay crystal clear. I like that the gear is compact and lightweight.
About the only thing I don't love is the need to run extension cords all over the stage. Not a major issue, but definitely an inconvenience.

 

[billyguitar]

I play mostly small clubs but also some ballrooms and smaller outdoor gigs. My band is a 7 piece swing/jump/jazz band. 12" 2 ways on a stick with no sub. This music doesn't really need subs even though we do mic the kick drum sometimes and DI the upright bass. Depending on the gig I use either a 12 or 8 channel Carvin head that does mains and monitors and drive 2 or 4 of the 12" mains and one pair of 10" monitors. I don't like the idea of powered speakers because I'm the guy pushing the speakers up the poles and don't want any extra weight and I don't like the idea of having to run a power cable to all the speakers. To me it's running twice as many cables.

 

[buddaman71]

As we use 1 powered sub, 1 powered main and 1 powered monitor per side, (singer and drummer are totally wireless and IEM) we bought 2 of these http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/E14325PB/.

Our digital mixer and all wireless gear is in a rolling mixer rack, so we just pop the lids, pull the LR and Aux cables out and fire it up. Our set up is super fast and clean.

 

[The Kid]

I play mostly small clubs but also some ballrooms and smaller outdoor gigs. My band is a 7 piece swing/jump/jazz band. 12" 2 ways on a stick with no sub. This music doesn't really need subs even though we do mic the kick drum sometimes and DI the upright bass. Depending on the gig I use either a 12 or 8 channel Carvin head that does mains and monitors and drive 2 or 4 of the 12" mains and one pair of 10" monitors. I don't like the idea of powered speakers because I'm the guy pushing the speakers up the poles and don't want any extra weight and I don't like the idea of having to run a power cable to all the speakers. To me it's running twice as many cables.

I'd rather carry a couple extra extension cords than go back to separate components again.

With an active setup it's (at most) one extra extension cord per speaker. I get around that by using a power strip to power that whole side of the stage.

As far as the weight issue goes, the QSC K10's and 12's are 30lbs and 40lbs respectively and knock out any other club level powered and non powered boxes that I've heard.

They are a little more expensive than some of the other offerings, but the headroom and flat response are well worth the extra bread IMO.

If a main in my active system ever happens to go down, I can pull a monitor off the floor.

 

[buddaman71]

100% agreed on all points.

 

[mcdonaldkd]

Powered for me. The QSC stuff is great. Pricey but great!

 

[buddaman71]

Considering that you save money by not really needing:

Speaker Cables
Racks
Power Amps
Crossovers, outboard gear and DSP (especially if you have a digital mixer)
Trailer Size
Cartage

I don't feel it's any more expensive to go QSC, considering the quality of sound and ease of use. Just my experience.

 

[mcdonaldkd]

Very good point!

 

[jmoose]

Great powered stuff is great... cheap powered stuff is not so great. I've had SRM450s go into thermal shutdown and I think the Eon stuff sounds pretty terrible, but I'm a sound snob.

One of the most KILLER compact powered rigs I've used is the RCF TT series. Super hi-fi, no-excuses touring level boxes.

There's a compact 750 watt 2-way with an 8" driver and a horn... that with the matching 12" sub is frightening. It'll level walls and still fit into a subcompact car. More then enough for a typical bar gig!!!

http://www.rcf.it/en_US/products/touring-and-theatre/tt08-a

I notice the OP's location is northern NJ... if you're interested drop me a PM and I can put you in touch with the RCF regional rep for a demo system.

There's also killer deals on used passive systems if you hunt around... I have a friend who literally was given a rig with an old Crest amp, Crown macrotech, and some super hi-fi EV boxes that use an active outboard crossover. That was about $30k worth of PA in 1990. Still sounds AWESOME too.

 

[Quantum Cat]

Considering that you save money by not really needing:

Speaker Cables
Racks
Power Amps
Crossovers, outboard gear and DSP (especially if you have a digital mixer)
Trailer Size
Cartage

You're trading speaker cables for xlr cables, power strips and extension chords. I think all the added AC connections make the setup more cumbersome. I do see some of the advantages though.