Karaoke Forums

what speakers do you recommend for someone on a budget?

What is the budget like? And is it for home use?

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I can neither confirm nor deny ever having or knowing anything about nothing.... mrscott

Take a look at the PR12 from Peavey -
Very affordable
Great Sounding - For small/Medium venues
VERY Light and easy to carry
Can be used as monitors in the future or add a SUB to complete the sound later.

What is your budget?
What do you intend to use the speakers for??

If these are for home use, check out the Yamaha BR12s.
For professional use, check out the Yamaha S115Vs.

Expand on what you intend to use the speakers for and how much you want to spend and I can probably give you some more ideas.

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C Mc
KJ, FL

What kind of budget/use.  Yeah it's already been asked!  lol

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Equipment used by Bigdog comes highly recommended.

Muttie, Walmart is having a special on crate size speakers.  Hurry up before they run out.  This is your big chance to upgrade your speakers.

Elgintow, Carvin is phasing out their Club Series speakers, so I expect big markdowns on their current inventory.  The LS Series speakers are smaller, lighter, and have better drivers, but the Club Series speakers are not bad at all.  I'm lucky that I can drive to a local Carvin store and check out their stuff.  I have seen a couple of PM15As that were floor models selling for $279 each.  These are also great speakers.

professional use

OK, now you answered that, what is your budget?????????

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elingtow

when asking advice - the more INFO you provide the more informative the answers will be .  There are hundreds of speakers out there from $99 up to $1000+
Are you looking for a 15" or will 12" suffice - Is weight a concern?
Assuming on a budget so Powered speakers are out - But then again there are some BUDGET powered speakers out there.  

Please list the rest of your set up(along with budget )  and someone will be able to suggest a good match for you .

You CAN do it ...just try

If you are using these for professional use, I would HIGHLY recommend that you don't skimp now. If you buy a true budget speaker now, you are going to find that you want to upgrade pretty quickly, and then you've wasted the $$ you've spent on the cheapies. I think everyone here would agree that your main speakers have more impact on the quality of your overall sound than any other component you are going to buy, so you want to put some investment into them!!

I think for value to performance, the best you can do on a budget is still the Yamaha S115Vs. They are $326 each at most retailers, so about $650 for two.

The problem with going any cheaper than that is that most speakers under $299 each are either going to be junk or else are going to be too small to use as your mains in a professional show. I don't know how much you get paid, but $650 for some real quality speakers that are going to last you years and years seems like a pretty small investment with big time returns to me.

These speakers are designed to run at high volumes and take some abuse. I think they have the best bass response in ANY 15" speaker under $500. I have been using mine for about 2 years now and driving them VERY hard and they sound as good as they did out of the box.

They are rated to 500 watts/channel at 8 ohms, so make sure you have a matched amp to power them. They are matched perfectly to the Yamaha P5000S, but you can find more inexpensive options as well (and you may already have an amp).

Hope that helps!! If you already have an amp, let us know its ratings and we can recommend matched speakers....

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C Mc
KJ, FL

If you can find them, I have been pleasantly surprised with my Gemini GSM1550 3 way 15" speakers. I got them in a package deal nearly 3 years ago, and (knock on wood) have had no problems. Since I use a Mackie DFX 12 and have a decent ear, they sound better than most hosts and have enough power for 90% of regular applications. I believe for a pair of them it is less than $300.

Let the flaming begin..........

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Let's Kick the Tires and Light the Fires!

Oooohh... You're really asking for it, aren't you?  I won't flame you, but I'm almost certain BD will do so as soon as he gets back online.

I have to think there is a reason that most retailers don't sell this speaker, even those with tons of Gemini stock like Pro Gear Warehouse. However, if you want to check them out, I found them on this site for $99 each:


http://www.etronics.com/planding.asp?dp ... vbname=205

It also bothers me, however, that I found these speakers on 6 different sites and not one listed the specs.


Anyway, if that is how low you want to go, I thought I could at least find you the lowest price!!

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C Mc
KJ, FL

dup post

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They are actually discontinued.  Only thing about Gem speakers is they are designed more toward dj & not so much live.
http://www.geminidj.com/product_manuals/gsm.pdf
Which is why they generally tend to use Piezo drivers instead of real compression drivers for their highs.  Since MOST dj's eq their sound so the bass & highs are up - classic smile - there is no need for the tweeter to have to reproduce good solid midrange frequencies.  Even their website infers this - geminidj.com

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Since I am not technical at all, would the fact that I have the extra mid range horn help them for karaoke?

Many people can't believe the sound I get from such "cheap" speakers. They have the 15" drum, a 10" horn, and (3) 2" tweeters.

Keep in mind, I have been using them now for 3-4 years. They weren't discontinued when I got them. They also advertised them as 5-way speakers because of the 3 tweeters + 1 horn + 1 drum= 5 speakers....

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Let's Kick the Tires and Light the Fires!

TECHNICALLY they do not have a midrange.  They are actually a 2 way speaker.  The middle horn is reproducing the high mids - highs with the 3 Piezo tweeters reinforcing the highs - nothing more.  If they weren't there, you probably wouldn't notice alot of difference if any at all.  5 speakers does not make a 5 way system.  It's how it's crossed over is what determines the 'way' in a 2 way, 3 way, etc...Since Peizo drivers do not even require a crossover to work, the are just tapped in off of the high output of the internal crossover that goes to the horn.

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I agree with Topher I use the Yamaha S15IV's. They are almost 4 years old and they sound as good as the day I bought them. The spray-on bedliner on the cabinets add a little wieght but they are indestructable! I highly recommend them. You couldn't go wrong with a powered line of speakers either and use a ono powered mixer. The Mackie line is incredible!

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Nothing's harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example. - Mark Twain

I like DBK1009's solid recommendation of the Gemini speakers, especially since he knew he would get some negative feedback.  I really wasn't in the market, as a hobbyist for speakers, but if they are that good, so reasonably priced and being discontinued I may be interested in them.  I am thinking when I retire in a few years I might be able to get a show here or there in small venues (restaurants and small bars).  If I do, how prudent would it be to purchase those speakers now?

Also, does anyone have more specifics on the equipment Walmart is offering.