Alto TS312 - anybody tried them yet?
- Thread starter rickryan.com
- Start date
Well... I did, ultimately of course.[emoji4] But NOT because there was anything wrong with my Altos. It came down to the size. I can get three EVOX-8’s in the same space as my two TSSUB15’s, and they weigh less too. And NO speaker bags to carry, as the tops fit inside the EVOX-8 base units. Setup time is reduced a bit, and the EVOX-8’s sound a little better, but NOT as much better as you’d expect, given the difference in price.
The Alto haters will never win this debate though, because they will never give them a try, and nearly everyone who does try them (using them at a real event) likes them... a lot.[emoji4]
You can't expect an 8" driver to sound significantly better than a 15" driver - that would be physically impossible - seriously, it's physics.
I own a pair!
...I actually traded in my Alto TS212 Speakers towards a pair of Alto TS312 Speakers at Guitar Center.
I was surprised with GC. At first, the associate said they could only do about $70 per speaker. I told them last time I did a trade in, I got $90 per speaker on my old TS112s. ...The manager actually gave me $120 per speaker. I made out well because I bought those speakers refurbished.
...Anyway, I purchased the TS312 set of speakers. I just have not made a post about it because I wanted to test run them at multiple gigs before I gave my thoughts.
Here is what I can tell you off the bat.
1, YES, THEY ARE LOUDER than all previous models of Alto Speakers
2. They weigh about 7 lbs more than the previous TS212 speakers. The additional weight is due to the magnets on the back of the woofers being much more beefier to handle the additional output.
3. Same exact cabinets as Alto TS212. Nothing changed except now the Gain dials on the back have a 0 DB mark which is way better than before. You can just set to 0 DB now.
4. ...They have the exact same sound as the TS212 series, Except they are louder. Plain and simple...Louder at lower gain outputs, and overall, probably easily 30% more throw in volume than the previous series.
5. They do not have fans. I really think this series should have fans. The last series ran pretty darn cool considering no fans. This new series with the more powerful amps RUNS HOT in hot environments..
I actually had 1 speaker cut off on me when I was playing an outdoor wedding on September 1st (First gig I used them on) It was like 95 degrees out, and very very humid. I was playing with one speaker, and let the speaker that turned off cool down. It took about 10 minutes for it to cool down so I could turn it back on again. ...I plugged in my Bose S1 Pro so I still had 2 speakers going for a short time.
....So basically in very humid hot outside heat, These speakers could be a BIG IF on if they shut down or not due to the amps getting to the point of over heating and the on board protection simply forcing the speaker to shut down.. They seem to have built in protection to preserve the amps in case of heat, they just turn off.
This new series I am sure is great in room temperature, or inside air conditioned venues, but with the more powerful amps, they run hot when we are talking above 85 degree heat, and you can feel the amp plate become pretty hot!
The downside. ...SO I think they really should have gone back to using fans on these newer real powerful amps. But they did not, so I would recommend being careful if using these new ones outside. ...As for indoors and operating in 78 degrees and below, I think they are fine as any other speaker.
The newer TS3 series definitely get's loud, and I am astonished as how they are able to sell these at the same price as the last 2 series with the new found power.
I have only used them on 2 gigs so far, so I don't want to completely vouch for them just yet, but same quality sound as previous series, just more throw in the volume, and a beefier magnet on the woofer. Also the tweeter is 1.4 inch instead of 1 inch to handle the power. For the price, best bang for buck, but the overheating on the amp is a concern on this new model when playing outdoors in the heat!
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Alto for Life!
You know I actually had a guitar duo request using my Alto TS110A Speakers for an upcoming gig because when they played on my system at a fundraiser gig (I literally just had a cheap Harbinger $35 mixer, and my 2 Altos set up for performances at a bar last year) and they told me it was the best sounding system they have ever played on, and was blown away by the quality of the sound during their performance. ...I was taken back a bit by their comment, LOL. When I told them it was less than $600 in equipment including the 2 wired cheap mics that were provided they could not believe it.
I received a lot of compliments on the sound that night from various performers. 2 Alto TS110A, a Harbinger 6 channel mixer, and 2 wired cheap microphones got the job dine with high remarks. .