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Hello. I need some help on the powered speakers selection. I have most of the pieces gathered and am missing only two items, mixer and speakers. I have pretty much decided on Mackie 1202 or 1402 VLZ Pro. So, it comes down to the powered speakers. I know I can get a power amp and speakers but I think it's more portable with powered speakers.

That being said, I was considering JBL Eon speakers but they are just too expensive. Even used, they are fetching $500 each. What I was looking for was something $500-$700 range for a pair with a good clean sounds. I am not as worried about power rating since I will rarely be outdoors and most of the venues will be small to medium room.

Looking at ebay, there are several speakers that fit my bill, like Yamaha MS300, Gemini GX-450, Peavey PR15P and Mackie SRM450. Two main criterias I have is that the speaker can be mounted on a stand and is portable (not like 150lbs). However, primary I would like to get the best sound possible for the price range. Any suggestions on those or any other speakers? Thanks in advance for your help.

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Do you have effect & an eq (of some sort) processor?  Neither of those mixers have effects built in.  Also if you want to use the cheaper speakers, you will probably require an eq processor of some sort just to bring out any kind of good sound.  The JBL G2 & Mackie wouldn't need it as much as the other brands.



Look at the JBL cheaper EON series - NOT the EON G2 series.  The G2 are much better in the amps - 400 watts in the EON G2 vs 180 watts on the EON.  They usually run around $300-400 each.  Remember speakers are probably one of (if not THE) most important part of your sound chain.  If you skimp, that's all you'll get.  You may not consider power a factor, however, the more power you have, the less you have to turn up resulting in cleaner/fuller sound at the same listening level.  



Personally, I don't care for the active Yamaha, Gemini or the Peavey PR series - all really lack the bass response I prefer.  If you are running subs, then these would all be ok - but then this will also raise your price as well.  
If you CAN find a pair of the Mackie 450's for your price range you are quoting, then do it, this will be the best bet of all you mentioned, but these are usually about the same price as the JBL G2's so either you got the wrong quote or you found a HE!! of a bargain!

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Get new Mackie SRM450's from one of the online dealers that match a competitors best price.  I am amazed at what people pay for used Mackie speakers or new (unauthorized dealer) speakers on Ebay.  You can probably get new SRM450's with fully warranty for about $630.00 or less delivered.  You may think that it is out of your budget, but you will nt regret going with the Mackies (my choice) or the JBL EON G2's.  Speakers are that important.  If everything in your signal chain is of superior quality and your speakers are substandard, you will have substandard sound.

By the way, I also recommend the Mackie CFX12 mixer.  The onboard effects make it an excellent karaoke board.  The DFX12 is an excellent alternative, but it is not designed as  rack-mountable unit.

Cherrs!

Thanks for the quick replies. I do have Alesis Midiverb 4 for the effects. I heard it's pretty good unit for reverbs. As for the Eon speakers. I had bid on the original Eon speakers (pair) on the ebay but it was sold for above $800. I didn't want to pay that, specially for the used pair.

I think I will check in to the Mackie SRM450s. I saw them for about $650 for new on ebay but I will check other sites as well. I think that fits right in within my range. Any negatives on the speakers you can think of? Thanks again.

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You are much better off running passive speakers. The peavey, yamaha, and gemini speakers you listed are garbage. The lower end jbl'ss will not be enough at 180 watts. I can't totally comment on the mackies as I am unfamiliar with the model, but we had 4 mackies at the one club I work at and they sounded like crap took 6 months and the owner agreed, we replaced them with turbosound. Mackie speakers are averge at best they use cheap crossovers from which they have poor bass response and their horns are  known to blow out. You will get more product for your money purchasing passive speakers and an amp. I am a big fan of jbl's, it is what I always have used, most recently i have found everything is just about inferior on a price comparison to turbosound.

On a budget, The least expensive setup I would reccomend to anyone is 2 JBL JRX115's $300 each and pick up a crown xls602a for $430 so for $1030 you can have a kick butt system that will last you the next 5 years. vs your $1260 fo a pair of mackie srm450's, so thank me I just saved you $230. Get the crown from prosound and stage lighting and they extend the warrenty from 3 years to 6. No Fault no matter what happens to the amp in the next 6 years they shipt you a new one, 3 of mine rolled down a set of 30 stairs, 2 wouldn't power up had 2 new ones in 7 days.

Powered speakers just do not last.

Thanks for the alternative thought. I was looking at active speakers for portability reasons but do you really think passives with amp is the way to go? Do you think you really get better sound from the passive/amp then with active speakers? I think I can sacrifice some portability if I can get the sound I need. Thanks again.

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If you get the right combo you will almost always get better sound out of components over active systems.  However the JBL G2 & Mackie 450 are good speakers & I know several people that run both, they sound great & a couple of them have been using them nightly for the last 5 years - without a problem.  If you drive them into distortion (which you more than likely have a better chance of doing with an underpowered speaker), then yes they won't sound good & probably will blow drivers.  Good powered speakers are also already tuned & matched to the box, amps & crossovers for maximum efficiency.
With a passive system, you have more options you can go with as far as being able to bi-amp/tri-amp etc.  However these will more than likely need the addition of an eq.  Also you have to have a good amp driving them with enough power for the headroom so you don't push into distortion.  A good rule of thumb for matching an amp to a speaker is get an amp that will push double the speakers RMS (not peak) rating.  So if your speaker handles 300 watts RMS, you map should be able to push 600 watts to that speaker.
I have tried the JBL JRX series & wasn't impressed at all - very boxy sounding.  The Crown XLS is the low end line for Crown, they will work but don't have a very good pounch to them.  But this is my opinion only.

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Try checking with companies that have 'B Stock' items.  These are usually items that have damaged external packaging or minor scratches on the equipment and it can save you hundreds.  I saw one place that has JBL Eon G5 15's for $599 as B-Stock with the full factory warranty.

Just because something is used doens't mean that it's not any good.  I have a Peavey Twin DeltaFex effects processor that works perfectly for only $51.

If you want to save some money there are lots of ways to do that overall.  You might even want to look into the GigRac line of powered mixers (300, 600, or 1000 watts).  They're not as flexible as a non-powered mixer but they're reliable and you can pair them up with some pretty nice passive speakers to get a decent portable system if you don't want to go with powered speakers.

There are lots of ways to put a system together and there are pro's and con's to all of them.

I was running x-audio 600 watt speakers at a small gig at the VFW.  I replaced one with a Jbl eon15 You could tell the difference in a heart beat. Then replaced the other one with a Jbl eon10 g2. Then replaced the 10 with another Jbl eon15. (over a 2 month period.)  Have long since aquired a pair of g2's.

What I am trying to say is if you are like the rest of us you will never be satisfied with your system and will be upating or adding to it forever. And there are many ways of doin it. Would recommend coming up with a few dollars more and get speakers that you will be satisfied with for awhile tho..

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Thanks all for super advices. I think I have narrowed it down to getting the Eon 15 speakers. I am not sure if I can afford the G2s but I saw a few pairs of G1s on sale on ebay that may be affordable. I am going to get those plus get the Mackie mixer and Alesis processor and I think I am set for a bit. Thanks again everyone.

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http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 62466&rd=1

Less than $550 per before shipping.  

There are no such model as a G1 btw.

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Ok, this is the one I am thinking of bidding on. My apologies on the model mix up. It's not G1 but they list it as 15P-1. What do you think?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... %3AIT&rd=1

How do these compare to the G2 models? Is it worth it for about 2/3 of the price? Thanks.

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2 powered jbl eons with original non powered board with effects heavy duty case and speaker bags for only 800.00. Demo model e-mail me.

How do they compare vs the G2.  Well they only run 180 watts as opposed to the G2 400 watts.  They are essentially the same otherwise.  More power will equate to cleaner sound.  The lower the power, the higher you are going to find yourself pushing the volume to get over crowd noise - small bars are sometimes worse in this respect.

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How do they compare vs the G2.  Well they only run 180 watts as opposed to the G2 400 watts.  They are essentially the same otherwise.  More power will equate to cleaner sound.  The lower the power, the higher you are going to find yourself pushing the volume to get over crowd noise - small bars are sometimes worse in this respect.

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Thanks all who contributed to this thread. I broke down and got the Eon 15 G2 speakers off ebay. I am waiting for them to show up. I decided to go with either Mackie 1402VLZ Pro or 1202VLZ Pro for the mixer. I think that would give me best sound possible withint the budget I have. Thanks again everyone.

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What surprises me the most here (again), is how often I see the Mackie's or the JBL's as a recommended brand, but not the Electro-Voice???

When it comes to sound quality, you have EV & than way under, the others!  JBL overall is smooth but the Mackie's, man, they just drive me crazy, way too much mid, can't figure it's qualities beside the power it has on paper!

If there is one brand on the market that is over rated, it's this one.  Just compared their Mackie HR824 active monitors with the Behringer B2031A Truth active monitors, do you honestly think the Mackies are worth twice as much?  Do a blind test just for fun, you might me surprise with the results, I was!!

Now, this is just my opinion and I sure don't have all the experience some of you have, but I think I can honestly tell if it's sounds good or not!

For powered speakers, I'd go with Yorkville NX series.  We have the 520s which IMHO kill the Mackie 450.  I'm waiting to see and hear the NX 750, 15" 750W speaker.  If the quality is anywheres near the 520s (and I expect them to exceed), they blow all the competition away.

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To me, that would be a better choice than the two brands recommended here, Yorkville makes some excellent powered speakers and offers a great clear sound.

I've also compared the Mackie's 450 & the Yorkville 520s and you're right, not even a close match!

I have heard the Yorkville passive speakers and were quite impressed with the sound.

I personally use the FBT series. I have run the FBT 4A MaxX series for 9 years now and never had a problem with the cabinet. These cabinets are about 350 watts each, but the sound they produce are INCREDIBLE.

They are extremely lightweight too.

I know a lot of DJ's that swear by the Mackies, but I am not too impressed by their subs. The 450's are nice but the 1201's are big.

The FBT also has it's own 3 band EQ on the side along with gain. Even though these speakers are being used for full range DJ playback, I've heard of several bands using these speakers for monitors. (including Alan Parsons)

If you get a chance, you might want to check them out
http://www.fbt.it