I'm not in a rush to buy speakers but I'm curious what would be a good match for a second hand American Audio V3000 plus amp(440watts x channels at 8 ohms) i bought recently. I know the best thing would be to go and have a listen but I can't do this so i'd like to hear people's opinions.

I'm choosing between

JBL JRX115

woofer 15 inch
Freq response 50Hz - 12.5 kHz
Sensitivy(1w/1m) 98dB
Max SPL 128 dB
RMS 250 Peak 1000
weight 27.4 Kg
price 62,480 yen (606 US dollars)

Cerwin-Vega V-122MkIIx

12 inch
50Hz - 20kHz
96dB
126dB
RMS 250 Peak 400
16 Kg
69,400 yen (673 US dollars)

Although the bass response and loudness seem pretty level to me I'm partial to the cheaper JBLs. On the other hand the Cerwin-Vegas are smaller and lighter which will be much better for my back. Which one would you pick and why?

(edited cos info was wrong - the guy selling it wrote it up as being 100dB but it's actually 96 dB, also the peak is 400 not 500 watts. I think I'm going to go with the JBLs)

Last edited by spiralhelix on Nov-22-2004 at 13:28

Go with JBL, I really don't like the sound output from either of those speakers, but between them, JBL had a better sound.

also checkout Fender ACE15 speakers, much better sound then those two. in the same price range.

ps. those prices, are they per speaker or a pair?


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I would choose neither.

I am a JBL fan, but the JRX is fairly low-end. Consider the JBL MPro 400 series instead.

As far as bass response, neither of these speakers will likely put out alot of bass. these sort of speakers (two-way PA speakers) are meant to be mid-high speakers, and are designed to function best with a subwoofer to handle everything below about 100hz.

12" drivers generally have better midrange definition but less bass response than a 15" driver... where as 15" drivers tend to be a little more punchy in the low end but tend to lack the clean midrange that is typical of a quality 12" dirver.

with this in mind, alot of people opt for a 18" subwoofer under a 12" mid/high cabinet. this usually results in better bass (cuz of the subs) and louder, smoother midrange (less bass on the mid driver and warmer midrage from the more appropriatly sized driver) -- its a nice combo.

It costs more, but going with a biamped "mid-high cabinet over subwoofer" setup is the way to go! you'll never get good bass response (not good enough for dance music, atleast) out of a 2-way PA cab.

Awesome advice. Thanks Tranz and Meridian.

The price is for the pair. I was planning on getting the speakers for now and when I have the money, buy another amp, cross over and sub. I'll have a look into those Fenders Tranz mentioned but I'm not sure I can get them in Japan. Would you say 2 speakers with 12 or 15 inch woofers be enough for a small party - say 100 people or 200 at the max?

I have another question, how important is it to have an equalizer and compression? Can I get away with it for the meanwhile without either?

yea, as long as they are decent speakers (like the MPro or better JBLs) 2 should be fine for a small party.

the real question is the room size. I've seen big warehouses with 200 people in them, but the (humongo) size of the room dictated more speakers.

my guess is, two decent mid/high cabs with a decent amp (300+ w/ch) will likely do more than you expect... especially if you have subs so the main speakers dont have to waste effort on the (very demanding) bass output.

You don't need a compressor or EQ, but both are recommended. you'll be just fine without the EQ, you just wont be able to tweak the system as much. without a compressor, limiter, or other dynamics management, you'll need to be careful how much you crank the amps so the DJ cant start clipping your amps when he gets crazy with the levels.

you'll want to max out the DJ mixer, then set up the amp levels such that its a db or two below clip at max mixer level.. atleast that's how I do it if I dont have a compressor/limiter.

quote:

you'll want to max out the DJ mixer, then set up the amp levels such that its a db or two below clip at max mixer level.. atleast that's how I do it if I dont have a compressor/limiter.

This was a huge, niggly worry for me and i think that's excellent advice. There's a hard minimal DJ i play with who, no matter how many times i tell him not to go into the red, he ends up lighting up the Eq all the way to the top

anyway, thanks again!

typical... alot of DJs just dont understand moderating the levels is the only way to spin.

so at this point, i just set my rig up so redlining is ok, as long as the mixer in question DOES NOT DISTORT in the red. usually end up using my a&h box which is quite clean in the reds... and just tell 'em to blast it.