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[David Winners]

As a lounger level guy who is slowly crawling my way towards being a professional, I can recommend a couple things:

1) find someone local that is successfully doing the type of work that you would like to be doing and talk to them. See how they got where they are and what equipment they are using. Building relationships is important in any business and is particularly so in the audio world. I get more gigs from bands I work with and other audio companies than anywhere else.

2) educate yourself. It takes time and effort, but the more you learn, the more capable you will be of making good decisions. Audio is a complicated animal. A basic understanding of acoustics and electronics is necessary (IMO) to provide professional services to our customers.

3) don't cheap out. It takes money to make money. To get set up to run sound for local bands in 100-200 seat venues will take somewhere around $15,000 worth of equipment. If you buy GOOD used equipment, you can reduce that amount some, but many of the things you will need are difficult to find in the used market. I have over $1000 in cabling, over $1000 in mics, over $1000 in cases, covers and trunks. If you don't have experience running sound for bands, I strongly recommend you offering to schlep gear and wrap cords with a local sound company so you get an idea about what it takes to provide sound for a band. Look around stage and start adding up gear. It's expensive.

If all you want is a speaker recommendation for a small club level system, the most recommended small system around here is a pair of DSR112 over a pair of PRX618S-XLF. Call Mike Pyle for pricing.

[Scott Holtzman]

As a lounger level guy who is slowly crawling my way towards being a professional, I can recommend a couple things:

1) find someone local that is successfully doing the type of work that you would like to be doing and talk to them. See how they got where they are and what equipment they are using. Building relationships is important in any business and is particularly so in the audio world. I get more gigs from bands I work with and other audio companies than anywhere else.

2) educate yourself. It takes time and effort, but the more you learn, the more capable you will be of making good decisions. Audio is a complicated animal. A basic understanding of acoustics and electronics is necessary (IMO) to provide professional services to our customers.

3) don't cheap out. It takes money to make money. To get set up to run sound for local bands in 100-200 seat venues will take somewhere around $15,000 worth of equipment. If you buy GOOD used equipment, you can reduce that amount some, but many of the things you will need are difficult to find in the used market. I have over $1000 in cabling, over $1000 in mics, over $1000 in cases, covers and trunks. If you don't have experience running sound for bands, I strongly recommend you offering to schlep gear and wrap cords with a local sound company so you get an idea about what it takes to provide sound for a band. Look around stage and start adding up gear. It's expensive.

If all you want is a speaker recommendation for a small club level system, the most recommended small system around here is a pair of DSR112 over a pair of PRX618S-XLF. Call Mike Pyle for pricing.

+10 on getting on with another company and seeing what it takes.   You said bands and DJ's so assuming you are hiring out you need capabale gear.  Tell us more about your biz plan.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

[Steve Loewenthal]

basically want to dj 50 person bars, and eventually do classic rock bands... with electronic drums run through pa...

DJ: what kind of music? IMO You need a bigger subwoofer for EDM than classic rock. Even if running electronic drums through the PA.

what is up with the 15/1 "....12/2".... etc...

Some manufacturers state the size of the woofer, and the number of speakers / frequency bands in the box.
The HPR 122 is a 12 inch woofer 2 way box. 152 is 15 inch 2 way. 153 is 15 inch 3 way.
With the DSR mains the 112 is 1 12 inch woofer. (It is still a 2 way box with a horn for the higher frequencies.)

For subs, the extra number often represents the number of speakers.

what is best if im getting a subwoofer later... shouldnt i get something with 2" highs and mids

How much later, and what will you try to do with just the mains.
If it is going to be a while, then a 15 inch main will be better short term to get a little bit better bass. Once you have a sub, a 12 inch main is what most people prefer. Depending on the venue and music, some even go to a 10 inch main, but most people don't want to keep both the 10 and 12 in the inventory so just use the 12 for both.

It would help us give you a better plan if you tell us your real budget and business plan.
Are you really planning this as a business, hobby business, or is it really something else.

[Dennis Wiggins]

Wow... after the initial crass responses (actually, well deserved) about the idea of the "best cheap dj/band speakers" I applaud (pun intended ) and agree with the rest of the responses. 

My advice (FWIW) is:  Spend about $700-$1000 for ONE powered 12" top and about double that for ONE , I repeat ONE, powered sub.  There ain't no way around it.  Run mono (near a corner, or near the center of a wall - it doesn't matter because it will fit either), with your *Insert Music Source Here* next to it. 

Learn what it does, then decide if you actually need (and can cost-justify) a "mirror" set (or maybe, stereo).  Then, buy another matching 12" top.  Your audience WILL listen with their eyes, unfortunately, or/and you may need wider coverage. 

The last thing to purchase, if you need it, would be a 2nd matching sub. 

-Dennis

[Dave Garoutte]

Wow... after the initial crass responses (actually, well deserved) about the idea of the "best cheap dj/band speakers" I applaud (pun intended ) and agree with the rest of the responses. 

My advice (FWIW) is:  Spend about $700-$1000 for ONE powered 12" top and about double that for ONE , I repeat ONE, powered sub.  There ain't no way around it.  Run mono (near a corner, or near the center of a wall - it doesn't matter because it will fit either), with your *Insert Music Source Here* next to it. 

Learn what it does, then decide if you actually need (and can cost-justify) a "mirror" set (or maybe, stereo).  Then, buy another matching 12" top.  Your audience WILL listen with their eyes, unfortunately, or/and you may need wider coverage. 

The last thing to purchase, if you need it, would be a 2nd matching sub. 

-Dennis

+1

[Stelios Mac]

Hmm...in the past few weeks I have heard QSC K and KW series used outside and do the QSC 'choking' midrange thing...and get worse as time went on. They are my least favorite.

Were you actually mixing yourself or just heard them? There's a difference.
I've had fantastic results using K12s and KSubs indoors at levels with good headroom. I've heard another guy push KW152s as far as they would go (limiter lights on all the time) outdoors - not so great, but still very, very passable.
I've had to run SRM450s hard into the limiters once, absolutely horrible experience. Not even remotely close to the KWs. Heck, even Meyer cabs start to suffer when they start limiting. Maybe DSR or PRX cabs are slightly better in some regards, but I haven't used them - And I wouldn't want to get anywhere near their limiters, just like with any other box.

[Chris Grimshaw]

what is up with the 15/1 "....12/2".... etc... what is best if im getting a subwoofer later... shouldnt i get something with 2" highs and mids

I guess that's my fault.

The first number describes the size of the midbass driver, the second number describes the exit diameter of the compression driver. Bigger compression drivers can go lower/louder/cleaner, so IMO they're best used where you've got a 15" midbass driver which won't go up into the midrange too well.
A 12" driver can work with a 1" compression driver just fine.
A 15" with a 2" works, too.
A 15" with a 1" is, IMO, asking a 15" to go too high, and/or a 1" to go too low. The midrange will suffer (whether in power response, distortion, or both).


Jumping from DJing for 50 people (you still haven't said if it'll be background music or a rave) to mixing classic rock is going to be a very different set of equipment. The main PA might be roughly similar, but DJing is usually a laptop and a controller, maybe running through a notepad mixer out to the PA. Classic rock would need mics, stands, stage monitors,, a proper desk, and all the associated cabling.
A DJ in small venues might run a pair of 12" subs and 8" tops. For live rock, that's a drum monitor.

Turning the amps up loud enough to "cover the audience" is a bad idea IME. They'll melt the faces off the front couple of rows, and the people at the back won't hear a thing. Humans are very good at absorbing sound. The whole reason we aim to get the main speakers above the heads of the audience is so that everyone can hear what's coming out of the PA system.

I'm assuming, of course, it'll be a packed venue. If the guitar amps are set to "stun", it won't stay packed for long, but the dispersed crowds will have a fairly low absorption coefficient so at least they'll be heard at the back by the end of the night.

Another thing - dispersion. PA speakers are designed to spread sound evenly across their coverage angle. If you've got a guitar amp to hand, play a chord and then move your head across the front of the speaker. Note how bright the sound is when you're directly in front of the cabinet, and yet how mellow it is everywhere else.
You're actively aiming some of that laserbeam of bright piercing sound at the audience, and then you're planning to make it louder! Some of the audience will go deaf, or leave with ringing in their ears. Other parts of the audience might not hear the guitar much at all.
In conclusion, turning guitar amps up loud is a bad idea, for a variety of reasons.


Chris

[Lance Hallmark]

My response I posted in the DJ Forum for the same question:

This is a field where "You get what you pay for" most certainly applies. Loud, reliable, cheap - pick any two, there are no "Unicorn speakers" that can do everything all the time for next to nothing cost.
 Cheap means a lot of different things to a lot of people. My recommendation for loud & reliable would be the QSC lines, sound better & reliable, the EV ZLX & ETX lines and the Yamaha DBR & DXR series. Subs - the QSC 18 (not K-Sub) and Yorkville LS lines are practically bulletproof.
Whatever you end up getting, learn how to properly use them withing their limitations, otherwise you will be blowing up drivers.
---
With a little more detail (and hopefully a little more of a reality check for the O.P.) I would recommend:
1 pair of Yamaha DSR 112s. Very clear, very loud, great warranty. You would not need to upgrade these for a long time, if ever.
Subs - Yorkville LS800p or LS801p. More boom for the buck than any other subwoofer under $1500. One would suffice in most of the places you will play. Sounds good with the yamahas (I have this same setup). Downside, the sub is big and bulky & a bit boomy but it never fails to impress, especially for DJ/EDM/Hip Hop playback.
A possible option for you is to grab the Yamahas from somewhere like ZZounds that has a payment plan - you can get a pair of DSR112s for under $150/month. You should be able to find a Yorkie sub for under $800 used. More than you want to spend but that system will sound good, get very loud, be reliable, and cover everything you stated you want to do.

[Scott Bolt]

My response I posted in the DJ Forum for the same question:

This is a field where "You get what you pay for" most certainly applies. Loud, reliable, cheap - pick any two, there are no "Unicorn speakers" that can do everything all the time for next to nothing cost.
 Cheap means a lot of different things to a lot of people. My recommendation for loud & reliable would be the QSC lines, sound better & reliable, the EV ZLX & ETX lines and the Yamaha DBR & DXR series. Subs - the QSC 18 (not K-Sub) and Yorkville LS lines are practically bulletproof.
Whatever you end up getting, learn how to properly use them withing their limitations, otherwise you will be blowing up drivers.
---
With a little more detail (and hopefully a little more of a reality check for the O.P.) I would recommend:
1 pair of Yamaha DSR 112s. Very clear, very loud, great warranty. You would not need to upgrade these for a long time, if ever.
Subs - Yorkville LS800p or LS801p. More boom for the buck than any other subwoofer under $1500. One would suffice in most of the places you will play. Sounds good with the yamahas (I have this same setup). Downside, the sub is big and bulky & a bit boomy but it never fails to impress, especially for DJ/EDM/Hip Hop playback.
A possible option for you is to grab the Yamahas from somewhere like ZZounds that has a payment plan - you can get a pair of DSR112s for under $150/month. You should be able to find a Yorkie sub for under $800 used. More than you want to spend but that system will sound good, get very loud, be reliable, and cover everything you stated you want to do.

I think that you would have to pay 2-4 times the money to beat that system for EDM.

That being said, a pair of DSR's and a pair of LS801p's aren't really "cheep".

If size and weight are not a factor, and the budget is ~2K, then a single one of each would be impressive indeed for EDM.

[Michael Grimaila]

If you were my friend, I would tell you that "Friends don't let friends buy junk."

The truth is hard to hear sometime when you are on a budget.

The responses you are receiving may sound abrasive, but are all based upon years of experience.

Please take them in the spirit intended.

[ProSoundWeb Community]