Speakers to Invest In?

[souldancer]

As i said before best to google some audio forums. Sometimes it's good to go for one brand. But you can mix or match. Depends on how much output and bass you want. Start with one sub For some boom minimal 15 inch, but with one better 18 inch. Can't really give you prices but look on graiglist or ebay when you are in the US.
I live in the Caribbean so that's a different story.

[souldancer]

For some cost effective options you could look as well into the b 52 matrix system. Saw some decent reviews about them. Only thing if the sub fails the top speakers fail to and the sub weighs a ton. For europe H&K lucas system is a bit the same. I have choosen to more and more lightweight, You can carry and set it up on your own and don't need help. More money in your pocket.

[haze324]

I got a pair of RCF 15 ART Series on eBay brand new from TCW I thinkf or 750.00, you could probably get the 12's for 650-675 if they still have them on sale. I had a pair of Thumps before and the sound quality and volume is drastically different. While these speakers are great they do lack on the low end. I don't do many mobile gigs, but figure two quality tops would be enough for small parties. They are, but with very little boom. If I was going to mobile more often I would def. and a sub and probably would've gotten the 12's.

The only tops I've heard that really pack and punch and have terrific sound quality are QSC, but they are VERY expensive.

I think also keep in mind what kind of gigs you are going to be doing and how much space you need to cover. There are plenty of small spots that you can "get away" with just two tops until you can add a sub.

[souldancer]

I got a pair of RCF 15 ART Series on eBay brand new from TCW I thinkf or 750.00, you could probably get the 12's for 650-675 if they still have them on sale. I had a pair of Thumps before and the sound quality and volume is drastically different. While these speakers are great they do lack on the low end. I don't do many mobile gigs, but figure two quality tops would be enough for small parties. They are, but with very little boom. If I was going to mobile more often I would def. and a sub and probably would've gotten the 12's.

The only tops I've heard that really pack and punch and have terrific sound quality are QSC, but they are VERY expensive.

I think also keep in mind what kind of gigs you are going to be doing and how much space you need to cover. There are plenty of small spots that you can "get away" with just two tops until you can add a sub.

Yes, true as well. And the rcf's tops have already a lot of bass.

[sss18734]

At a budget of $1000, the best you can do is buy used mains and amplifiers, and build your own subs.

I ran a pair of Peavey PV215's and my own subs for a year when I started. Between my three Behringer EP2500's, the PV's, mixer, crossover, and the subs construction costs, I spent only $750 and got a half decent system for parties of up to 200.

You will have to dedicate some time to searching for good deals, though.

I will warn you though, that the Peavey PV series sounds hideous on its own at anything higher than casual listening volume. They HAVE to be matched with a good sub to get half-listenable sound out of them when pushed.

[funke]

I got a set of 12" powered Altos for $250 a piece, as well as a set of Harbinger unpowered 18"s for $300 a piece from Guitar Center using their card. It's a $2,000 limit, one year zero intrest credit card. The Altos are very loud, sound great, and are very durable. The Harbingers pound with authority and they rattle the whole house from my basement. They have no built in passive crossovers to draw power like most of the unpowered subs i've seen.

I'm running the subs at 8ohms off of two amplifiers, but plan on getting a 1k watt qsc or crown amp and powering both subs at 4ohms to save weight.

I'm using a minidsp processor as an active crossover to split the signal between the tops and the subs. It's about the size of a pack of cigarettes and you can power it from your computers usb port. You have live control over many crossover curves and eq settings that you can fine tune using a microphone and third party measuring software. Costs about $150 with shipping from Hong Kong. I'm very happy with it. They've got a great forum and super nice dev team that is always open to suggestions for new software features. They've even got dsp amplifier combos that are really nice.

All in all, this system cost under $2000 and is a very bad ass little setup.

[rotebass]

They have no built in passive crossovers to draw power like most of the unpowered subs i've seen.

What subs have you been looking at?

[funke]

I forget which models/brands I was looking at, but most seemed to be meant to be set up passively with the tops.

[Nizobe]

Again everybody, this feedback ins overwhelming and MUCH appreciated -such an awesome community.

It's looking more and more like I'll start small and build up from there. Probably just a pair of 12s or 15s on stands until I get booked more/bigger gigs requiring bigger/better gear.

However, skipping ahead just a bit here, I did have a question a bout this particular system though and if anybody was familiar with it http://www.guitarcenter.com/Harbinge...22-i2397226.gc (and remember, I'm not locked on GC for prices or supply, they just have a familiar web page). Is this something that's meant to be used solo? Certainly seems like it's got enough ponies behind it to cover any small party. And I'm sure in a pair these would easily knock out decent sized gigs. Am I again, barking up the wrong tree though?

[funke]

I would get the alto's, do a few small gigs, then get a 18", do a few gigs, then get a second sub. You wouldn't need to upgrade after that.