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Author Topic: thoughts on bfm omnitop 12's ?  (Read 14591 times)

George Dougherty

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Re: thoughts on bfm omnitop 12's ?
« Reply #10 on: October 19, 2013, 02:36:34 AM »

i cant decide if i wanna give them a shot or not , ill have plenty of time to decide though as i dont need a large rig till spring time

what i have now is covering 3-8,000sqft the tops struggle on the upper end of that


with just 8 subs i should be damn near 142db , ive only ever used 6 at a time though, and i know i can peg my spl meter at 135db

what i want and need is something to keep up with all 12 subs at a large event( yes i know probably overkill), stuff like home comings, 4th of july celebrations and other events of this nature and size i do for the township + stuff like warehouse raves and partys

any other suggestions then the omni tops?
if not im try out building some of the omnitops as a 2x12 with compression drivers

4 ot12's would run ~135db @ 1m continuous on 200w/cab. Expect to spend some time dialing them in.  You could build 8 for $4000 or less with high quality components.  Speakerhardware.com could do a 1x12 kit for ~$500 with a high output 12" and a faital pro compression driver like the hf10ak.  1x12 precut flat packs are only $150 there as well.  For just under $5000 that would get a lot of output capability with very good drivers.  Not sure what you might get used in that output range but I'm sure others around here might suggest something.
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dave celko

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Re: thoughts on bfm omnitop 12's ?
« Reply #11 on: October 19, 2013, 02:50:44 AM »

4 ot12's would run ~135db @ 1m continuous on 200w/cab. Expect to spend some time dialing them in.  You could build 8 for $4000 or less with high quality components.  Speakerhardware.com could do a 1x12 kit for ~$500 with a high output 12" and a faital pro compression driver like the hf10ak.  1x12 precut flat packs are only $150 there as well.  For just under $5000 that would get a lot of output capability with very good drivers.  Not sure what you might get used in that output range but I'm sure others around here might suggest something.

i saw the precut packs , was thinking id need the 2x12 , but if 1x12 can get me that kind of output i think a bunch of flatpacks would be the way to go

u wouldnt happen to know the difference between the standard otop and the j array would u?
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David Parker

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Re: thoughts on bfm omnitop 12's ?
« Reply #12 on: October 19, 2013, 09:12:50 AM »

i cant decide if i wanna give them a shot or not , ill have plenty of time to decide though as i dont need a large rig till spring time

what i have now is covering 3-8,000sqft the tops struggle on the upper end of that


with just 8 subs i should be damn near 142db , ive only ever used 6 at a time though, and i know i can peg my spl meter at 135db

what i want and need is something to keep up with all 12 subs at a large event( yes i know probably overkill), stuff like home comings, 4th of july celebrations and other events of this nature and size i do for the township + stuff like warehouse raves and partys

any other suggestions then the omni tops?
if not im try out building some of the omnitops as a 2x12 with compression drivers

I did a lot of gigs with the omnitops before I retired them. Most of them were 2 on each side. They could be clearly heard 300' back. Not loud back there, but you could hear them clearly. One nice thing about them, you can keep stacking them and they keep coupling. Other speakers like your typical 2-15+horn cabs don't array well, you increase the horizontal coverage, but don't add as much as far as how far they reach back. Stacking the omnitops is kinda like a line array (although the experts will tell you it isn't a line array) in that they just keep getting louder which means the reach farther back. Never ever put two omnitops side by side, always stacked one on top of the other. If you lived closer I'd let you play with mine.
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George Dougherty

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Re: thoughts on bfm omnitop 12's ?
« Reply #13 on: October 19, 2013, 11:41:37 AM »

i saw the precut packs , was thinking id need the 2x12 , but if 1x12 can get me that kind of output i think a bunch of flatpacks would be the way to go

u wouldnt happen to know the difference between the standard otop and the j array would u?

The Omnitop is a line array cab.  Like all similar cabinets just a handful does not make a true line array.  With 6 cabs you start to get into some amount of low mid near field effect for more than just a few feet. It's a box designed for vertical arraying so you really don't want to stack them side by side, like David said.  Unlike a professional line array cabinet, they're only designed in the plans for ground stacking and there is no handy integrated fly hardware which is probably a good thing for most of the people that build or use them. 

With a vertical array, your horizontal coverage is what it is.  The HF horn is good for about 100 degrees horizontal at best. If you need wider than that, you can do a helix arrangement, but the stacking can get precarious, especially if you keep the HF fronts in line for best alignment.  Plan accordingly.  Mine always get strapped down to the platform they stack on when I twist the stack for wider dispersion.

The normal box is a small rectangular shape. If you want a curved front to hit different seating you have to separate the fronts which is not ideal from an integration POV. The j-array looks like many other line array cabinets with an angle built into the top and bottom to curve the front as you stack them. Wedges or brackets can then straighten out the front if needed. It makes the build that much more difficult with all the angle cuts.

The 2x12 is no different from a pair of 1x12's except for being heavier than a single box and less flexible in deployment. One nice thing though; you can wire a 2x12 as a 16ohm cab if you wanted to hang a pair of them off a high output amp. With the 3012HO in a 2x12, you could easily put 900W continuous into the cabinet and a pair would give an average 8ohm load for a bridged amplifier.  That doesn't get you any power shading ability if you stack the bottom box at ear level and want to turn it down a bit.  I tend to run my 1x12's in pairs for 4ohm loads and better versatility in volume adjustments.

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David Parker

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Re: thoughts on bfm omnitop 12's ?
« Reply #14 on: October 19, 2013, 11:50:41 AM »

The Omnitop is a line array cab.  Like all similar cabinets just a handful does not make a true line array.  With 6 cabs you start to get into some amount of low mid near field effect for more than just a few feet. It's a box designed for vertical arraying so you really don't want to stack them side by side, like David said.  Unlike a professional line array cabinet, they're only designed in the plans for ground stacking and there is no handy integrated fly hardware which is probably a good thing for most of the people that build or use them. 

With a vertical array, your horizontal coverage is what it is.  The HF horn is good for about 100 degrees horizontal at best. If you need wider than that, you can do a helix arrangement, but the stacking can get precarious, especially if you keep the HF fronts in line for best alignment.  Plan accordingly.  Mine always get strapped down to the platform they stack on when I twist the stack for wider dispersion.

The normal box is a small rectangular shape. If you want a curved front to hit different seating you have to separate the fronts which is not ideal from an integration POV. The j-array looks like many other line array cabinets with an angle built into the top and bottom to curve the front as you stack them. Wedges or brackets can then straighten out the front if needed. It makes the build that much more difficult with all the angle cuts.

The 2x12 is no different from a pair of 1x12's except for being heavier than a single box and less flexible in deployment. One nice thing though; you can wire a 2x12 as a 16ohm cab if you wanted to hang a pair of them off a high output amp. With the 3012HO in a 2x12, you could easily put 900W continuous into the cabinet and a pair would give an average 8ohm load for a bridged amplifier.  That doesn't get you any power shading ability if you stack the bottom box at ear level and want to turn it down a bit.  I tend to run my 1x12's in pairs for 4ohm loads and better versatility in volume adjustments.
I had a couple of events where the seating was wide and shallow, with a lot of the seating on either side of the stage. I put two omitops on each side, 90 degrees to each other. It worked very well, but in these events, they didn't want a lot of volume, so one cab in each direction gave plenty.
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George Dougherty

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Re: thoughts on bfm omnitop 12's ?
« Reply #15 on: October 19, 2013, 12:40:13 PM »

I had a couple of events where the seating was wide and shallow, with a lot of the seating on either side of the stage. I put two omitops on each side, 90 degrees to each other. It worked very well, but in these events, they didn't want a lot of volume, so one cab in each direction gave plenty.
Of course you can use them with the same caveats as a traditional trap style box. Minimize your pattern overlap in any situation like that.
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dave celko

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Re: thoughts on bfm omnitop 12's ?
« Reply #16 on: October 20, 2013, 03:02:29 AM »

Of course you can use them with the same caveats as a traditional trap style box. Minimize your pattern overlap in any situation like that.

thanks guys , im going to give them a shot , i have a gig next weekend , and then again on Halloween, so right after that im going to order up 4 of the flat pack kits and put them together and see how it goes
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ProSoundWeb Community

Re: thoughts on bfm omnitop 12's ?
« Reply #16 on: October 20, 2013, 03:02:29 AM »


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