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[Paul Beer]

Hi. I'm new to the forum so please let me know if I've posted in the wrong place or anything.

I run a small sound and lighting hire service in the UK and I have plenty of experience with budget sound (and lighting) gear, and I've been wanting to join a forum for some time now to discuss equipment. My equipment is always used for recorded music playback in party type environments - like family parties at local venues, by people who usually don't know anything about sound equipment, and I leave them to it so I need tough gear in case they abuse it.

I thought that before asking questions it would be better to add a bit of value first by giving you my reviews of a few bits of kit that I have used for some time.

Anyway, back to the subject of the post - my review of the Behringer offerings.

Behringer B215D
For around a year now I've had some Behringer B215D 15" active speakers. Overall I'm happy enough with them but there are a few issues. My main disappointment is that the bass response is not great. Compared to most other 15" speakers I've heard they roll off quite sharply - by ear I'd guess around 75 Hz but I've not actually tested that. The point is it's a very sharp roll off and anything below that just doesn't come out. I also find myself adding a bit of low EQ on the rear to get them to sound flat, and without it they do seem to be overly high-passed.

Another issue is that the design of them is incredibly rounded, so unless they are packed in to your vehicle by other gear when transporting them they roll around like crazy... unless they're in a case, which seems a bit excessive for a speaker of this value.

So far they have been pretty reliable but I have had one fail. In fairness I think it was totally abused although I wasn't there at the time - I think the person using it had a line level source running at full level on the back of the speaker, so completely into the mic range. This is the risk I take when hiring them out. I made the mistake of opening the speaker up to test the woofer which invalidated the warranty so I couldn't send it back. There was no sound coming from the woofer so I tested the driver and it was working so the problem was inside the amp unit, and that's beyond my skill level to repair.

I have abused them myself on one occasion, partly as a form of research to see how much they can actually take. They will happily run with the clip light flashing on every beat without any problems, but I didn't actually test one to destruction.

Behringer B115D
I've just bought a pair of these because the specs make them look much more impressive than the B215Ds, which I am fairly happy with anyway. They were about £20 cheaper per speaker too and the specs said they have better bass response and are rated at 1000w instead of the 550w that the B215Ds are rated at - both ratings obviously wildly exaggerated!

The positives are that they are much lighter, the bass response is what you'd expect from a 15" full range speaker and I'm more than happy with that, and they have a 2 channel mixer on the rear, which gives you more set-up options. They are a more sensible shape so don't roll around when in a vehicle but they don't stack on top of eachother so they're not as easy to store when not in use.

I was very happy with them up until the point when I tested one after it had been out on hire. The sound coming from the woofer was much quieter than it should be, but it was still there. I turned the bass up full and it was almost the same as the working one with the EQs in the middle (flat). I have sent it back to the place where I bought it and I'm waiting for them to let me know whether I'll get a replacement. After this problem I did a bit of research on the internet and found a couple of reviews on Amazon from people who have had them fail in situations that should have been OK.

Other active speaker suggestions?
So, if anyone can recommend any good 15" active speakers in a similar price range I'd be very interested in your thoughts. I'm interested in the Alto TS115A but I'm not familiar with the brand so I don't know what the reliability, or service if it does break, will be like. Any thoughts are welcomed!

Thanks, Paul.

[Jon C Thomas]

The Alto's are getting good reviews but they are a (light duty) box that is more of a lateral move than an upgrade. I would hold off until the new EV ZLX get a solid review or  you can save for a more powerful unit from Yamaha/QSC/JBL etc.

[Steve Garris]

Sounds to me you should be looking for a powered sub. You could start with one, and the speaker you have would simply pole mount above the sub. I've used Mackie SRM 1801's with decent results. The JBL PRX 618 XLF would be my first choice, but they're not cheap.

[Chris Whelan]

A powered sub will be your best friend. One with a crossover built in would be best. Those "b"s sound not too bad high passed at 100 with a sub.

[Paul Beer]

Guys, thanks for the comments.

I've been hiring these B215Ds out for nearly a year now and had no bad feedback from customers. It is fair to say though that these have the least bass response from a 15" speaker that I've used, but I think I'm going to get more of them instead of switching to the Altos because they have proved to be very reliable and that's the main thing for me. I know they get quite a bit of punishment when I'm not there.

I have thought about a sub, and funnily enough the Alto TSSUB15 stands out to me. It's cheap, lightweight and gets good reviews. Also being a sub, the rear panel doesn't allow quite as much idiocy as the speakers (playing an iPod at +50dB on the input), so it should last a while, unless it is made of total crap. Behringer (which I'm learning is a very dirty word here!) also make a 15" sub but it weighs 42kg/92lb and I work alone so that's a bit heavier than I'd like. The Alto is only 27kg/60lb which my back would thank me for.

The Mackie that you mentioned, Steve, and definitely the JBL are not in my price range. Also those EVs do look nice but again they're too expensive for this purpose. Cost is a big factor for me because the stuff is only for hiring out for parties - and almost all of them aren't too concerned with sound quality. They just want something to play loud music through. It's not necessarily a question of saving up - more about achieving a good purchase cost to hire income ratio. This is my full time job so I can't spend all of my profit on better gear. The only reason I have to upgrade is if something proves to be too unreliable.

But anyway, at some point I will get a subwoofer and it'll be nice to see how the B215Ds sound with it. I'm sure they'll be good. I A/B tested the B115D that's still working against a B215D last night and whist the 115 has more bass the 215 is definitely clearer and just sounds like it can cope with whatever you throw at it.

[Paul G. OBrien]

I'm in the same type of business renting small systems to private parties and have had much the same experience with budget level powered speakers.. not the greatest sound but virtually no customer complaints unless something dies mid event. Now most of my systems include a sub(Mackie SRM1801) which have been nearly perfect since buying them 2 years ago.. I had one that developed a lose connection in the amp module, but otherwise they take a beating and keep coming back for more and they're not too difficult to handle either. The powered tops are another story.. I have had speaker failures from both Behringer and Mackie but the upside is replacement drivers are downright cheap and failing that standard Eminence drivers are good substitutes. I would like to invest in "higher quality" speakers like a JBL PRX or EV LiveX but I don't know that these are real upgrades given that there are reported amp/driver failures for these brands as well, are you really gaining any reliability?
Your comments about the new Behringer 1xx series are interesting, I have some older models(B512DSP) that don't sound that great IMO and are way heavier than they need to be so I have been planning to give these a listen and maybe "upgrade", it's hard to believe they would sound worse than an older product but if so maybe I'll have to start looking at other options. 

[Brad Weber]

Paul, keep in mind that if you add a subwoofer you either need a subwoofer with an integrated crossover or you need an external crossover.  If you use a powered sub with an integrated crossover then while that may work fine with any main speaker it is likely optimized for the matching mains.


A similar issue may apply to putting the main on a pole over the sub, you may like the idea of a lighter weight sub but it may not be ideal in terms of pole mounting just any mains over it.

[Scott Wagner]

I would like to invest in "higher quality" speakers like a JBL PRX or EV LiveX but I don't know that these are real upgrades given that there are reported amp/driver failures for these brands as well, are you really gaining any reliability?

I wouldn't lump the PRX and LiveX in the same class - the PRX is superior.  My experience is that the PRX lineup is vastly more robust than the Behringer offerings (and sounds a LOT better, too).  Once you move into the PRX/Yamaha DSR/etc range, you'll wonder how you tolerated anything less.

[Spenser Hamilton]

I've got PRX512s and have nothing but good things to say, at the same time out B212Ds have made us several times their cost in profit.

[Scott Bolt]

The best solution IMHO for your FOH speakers would be a pair of DXR15's.  These go for around $800.00 ea.  If you can swing it, these would make a world of difference.

The ZLX mentioned above is also likely going to be a good option.  The 15" go for only $500.00 each.

Here is more detail:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKUeqpeor_g

[ProSoundWeb Community]