Speakers Question: EAW old school vs. JBL EON515xt with powered sub

[djboudreaux]

Good suggestion guys, it looks like I'm gonna bass up on the huge EAWs and go with two speakers and a sub, then upgrade/build on later. I'll check out beringer, thumps, and the ev line as well.
~thanks for all the input

[HigherFi]

I own those EONs and they sound very nice. In smallish rooms for background audio, you could certainly forego the sub. Like any setup, having a driverack (or similar) completely changes everything. They are very light and reliable, and look rather nice. I use them for an auxiliary system - ceremonies, 2nd room, et al. Make sure you get covers/cases, as the molded speakers sure get chewed up more than you might expect. I also happen to have have the EV112P. The JBL are somewhat lighter and more durable, even though they are molded. The finish on the 112 is pretty thin. I already re-coated mine and this is only their 2nd season. The 12" in the EV are also marginally better in overall midrange sound quality, but the JBL definitely get lower. Either are FAR happier crossed at 50-60 cycles and EQ'd to the room. To do it again, I'd get the 515XT, just because everything gets so much heavier after midnight. And, I am my own roadie.

Edit: Whatever you do, never spit your subs and use them for stands. People do this for esthetic reasons, and that's usually the worst possible place for subs in a given room. They need to be either less than a 1/4 wavelength apart or greater than 2 wavelengths apart for their passband. That's a little under 3 feet or more than 56 feet for your typical operable range. Split em any different, and you will get ~12dB cancellation "power alley" somewhere along the way. Just physics.

[sobi]

JBL Eons arent exactly high end either ...

Major gaff on my part then if you thought I was suggesting that. Better than mackie and much better than Behringer, but still not as good as a set of EAW's.

[Glen]

qsc?

[djboudreaux]

HigherFi, great info to do, thanks alot, I love physics and found that all very interesting. Alright, so now I'm looking at QSC k12 vs evlx 115 vs JBL 515xt, what is your opinion? Which one will be loudest? I checked the specs and the evs are technically louder, I've listened to the JBL and QSC but didn't get variables down enough for a true comparison. Thoughts, comments?

[sobi]

I'd skip the K series consideration. If you really want to go QSC in the end, I'd say save a few more bucks and go with the KW series. It has wood cabs, which are going to give you a better sound than plastic like the K series. Also, there is more power. Don't even get me started on the KW 181 either. I love mine, and I also keep seeing more and more people praise it for being the best sub in it's class (which is probably a tiny bit higher than the K series) by far.

[sss18734]

Edit: Whatever you do, never spit your subs and use them for stands. People do this for esthetic reasons, and that's usually the worst possible place for subs in a given room. They need to be either less than a 1/4 wavelength apart or greater than 2 wavelengths apart for their passband. That's a little under 3 feet or more than 56 feet for your typical operable range. Split em any different, and you will get ~12dB cancellation "power alley" somewhere along the way. Just physics.

While technically you're right, this is perfectly acceptable for aesthetic reasons and I do so at all my weddings. You do experience a bit of a power alley, but it's almost always right down the dance floor, right where you want the bass to be. After playing with my setups in countless venues, I've found it's not at all worth clustering subs if aesthetics are important.

The key is to bring more than enough bass to not need to worry about any drops in SPL you may experience.