I found out what sounds worse than a pair of 15" tops.

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Handinon

DJ Extraordinaire
Oct 1, 2014
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A single 15" top!

I'm deliberately posting this in the Public Forum in hopes that anyone who reads this knows what not to do. Those who already frequent this Forum probably already know this.

My wife and I invited 3 other couples to our local Latin Dinner/Dance last night - a non DJ'ing night for me, I was looking forward to some dancing.

We were there early, I got to watch the "DJ" set up. Macbook Pro, Pioneer controller, lighted facade, one 15" powered sub, one 15" powered top, in a 50' by 50' room with about 100 people. I said to myself this is not going to be good. I was wrong - it was even worse than I could have imagined. This guy managed to put out the absolute worse sound I have ever heard. In the direction the top was aimed, it was way too bright - anyplace else it sounded like mud. Everyone was complaining to him, so I chose not to get involved, and without another speaker, there is really nothing I could have done. He ruined everyones' night.

Background music, fine. Ceremony music, fine. Please, don't ever do this for your main gig.
 
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I have done a small bar with very little space with a single 10 inch Alto TS110A. Sound was fine. I also use a single Alto TS110A for most ceremonies. I have seen guitar players use a single 15 inch Yamaha Club Series Speaker cranked up. Sound was alright...those speakers could get loud for back in the day. I've never used a sub and a single speaker together though.
 
15" tops are great solutions if you run quality! I always run a 15" top but they are 3 way and coaxial. Here are some examples of quality 15" tops.
I wold be proud to run and confident any of these tops would outperform any 8" to 12 " tops out there for SPL and smoothness. Even with sub(s) sometimes you need the spl only a 15" main speaker can deliver. I know most of the fellows here do weddings I do a variety of outdoor and large gigs that need the authority of 15"s.

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I have a pair of JBL EON 515XT 15" tops, and used them (alone) only once (for a house party). No need for a sub with them as they have tons of bass for smaller events. I could see using just one under the right circumstances, but I seem to prefer having more power than I need... I can always lower the volume.[emoji4]


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There is a major difference between a 3-way and 2-way 15" top .. in the 3-way, you're not asking that big old woofer to reproduce the important lower ends of human voice .. the main reason 15" 2-ways sound so muddy in the low-mids/kigh/bass regions.

I love 3-way 15s (3-ways in general I guess :) ) .. My Yorkville Unity tops were 5 driver 3-ways .. including 3 5" midrange drivers on the big Unity horn.

I disagree on the SPL though .. the proper pairing of 10"/12" top and sub, will easily match the 15s in overall output.
 
There is a major difference between a 3-way and 2-way 15" top .. in the 3-way, you're not asking that big old woofer to reproduce the important lower ends of human voice .. the main reason 15" 2-ways sound so muddy in the low-mids/kigh/bass regions.

I love 3-way 15s (3-ways in general I guess :) ) .. My Yorkville Unity tops were 5 driver 3-ways .. including 3 5" midrange drivers on the big Unity horn.

I disagree on the SPL though .. the proper pairing of 10"/12" top and sub, will easily match the 15s in overall output.

That's not what i am saying Steve I mean 15" 3 way tops over subs will give you more output that the equivalent 10 to 12" with the same subs. With the bigger tops you can cross over to the subs at a a bit lower frequency and use the sub for the true bottom octaves. Just as a 15" is not suited for vocals an 18" is not suited for upper bass. If you subs reach down in the lower 40's or even the 30's (hertz) this is an ideal setup
 
That's not what i am saying Steve I mean 15" 3 way tops over subs will give you more output that the equivalent 10 to 12" with the same subs. With the bigger tops you can cross over to the subs at a a bit lower frequency and use the sub for the true bottom octaves. Just as a 15" is not suited for vocals an 18" is not suited for upper bass. If you subs reach down in the lower 40's or even the 30's (hertz) this is an ideal setup
The proper crossover frequency isn't that different between a 12" and 15" top .. 90 hz vs 100 hz. The 15", even crossed at 90 hz, is still not the right driver for 300-1200hz (usually where HF units take over). The JBL SRX715 and 712 models have the same SPL peak, but I would take the 712 over a sub anytime vs the 715 over a sub (except when limited to a top only .. then I might go with the 715).
 
Macbook Pro, Pioneer controller, lighted facade, one 15" powered sub, one 15" powered top, in a 50' by 50' room with about 100 people. I said to myself this is not going to be good. I was wrong - it was even worse than I could have imagined. This guy managed to put out the absolute worse sound I have ever heard. In the direction the top was aimed, it was way too bright - anyplace else it sounded like mud.
What brand and model were the speakers and sub? I've heard a setup like this that sounded fantastic - all JBL SRX passive speakers properly crossed over.

50' by 50' is a very small room, so I suspect that these were either cheap speakers or user error.
 
Sub was a CV CVA115. I'm not sure what the powered 15" top was, there was no logo on the front grill. Probably your typical two-way with a relatively high cross-over, thus the very directional mids out of the woofer. The room is really more like 50' x 100' with a big bar on one end, and the dining tables and dance floor in an approximate 50' x 50' area at the other end. If you've had luck using a single 15" two-way top in a situation like this, consider yourself lucky! A Funktion-One it was not!!
 
Not sure it was him .. Handinon said both boxes were working.

It helps when you have more than one speaker stand & speaker or xlr cable?!
 
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I think there is obviously a diversity of opinion about the 15's; I have my own opinion there too, so blanket statements probably aren't helpful in that context.

HOWEVER-- I'm with you on the single speaker thing. Lots of DJs are doing that these days due to a false sense of optimism about the new powered speakers, along with a bit of laziness, if you ask me. Really, that what it says to me-- lazy. "I really didn't want to take your gig because it didn't pay enough, but since the wife has been hounding me about painting the living room, I'll take the job to avoid another confrontation, but there's no way I'm going to work hard... One speaker is all you get."

To me, that attitude is BS.

GJ
 
but in a 2.5k sq ft room with 100 guests,

He said it was 50 by 50. Doesn't that equal 250 square feet?
Regardless....if he had the room for another speaker....
(or if he actually HAD another speaker)

Yes, there are times when ONE speaker is acceptable.
Not preferred....but acceptable.
 
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Understood Mike, but coverage-wise, I'd rather have two smaller speakers to point in different directions, than one speaker pointed in one direction, with everybody in the room expected to be right in front of it, or get used to the spillage...

GJ
 
I agree with GJ .. better to have a wider, even coverage, than a beamed coverage from a single spot. This way you can keep volumes down and net the same levels.