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[Jake Maxwell]

Hello everyone. I want to upgrade my speakers system. I spent a lot of hours doing research, and just want to check in with y’all before I make a purchase.

I’m currently using a pair of EV ZLX-12BT powered speakers and a 12” EV sub. The speakers are used by a me and a few others to play a lot of EDM and hip hop, so bass is important.

I recently got a grant up to $8,000 to spend on 2 tops and a sub.

I At first I was going to go for QSC, but then I read that there are speakers out there that are better than QSC. These are some options below:


2x QSC K12.2 and a QSC KS118
2x JBL SRX812P and a JBL SRX818SP
2x Yamaha DZR12 and a DXS18XLF


Portability is also important so I don’t want some 3-way speakers because of their weight.

Some of my questions I have are:
1) Which subwoofer has the best sounding bass?
2) Which sound system as a whole sound best overall?
3) How do they all compare to each other? Are one siginificantly  noticeable better than the others?
4) Did I miss any other brand or models than the one I listed?
5) How reliable are they?
6) Which PA speakers has the best sounding bass, if hypothetically, a subwoofer is not used?
7) Lastly, all the tops I listed are 12”. I read that 12” generally  have better mids and vocal clarity than 15”. Just wondering if that is true in all cases, even with high end products, or are there certain exceptions? And if so, should I go with 15”?

Feel free to of course add any other comments about the experience. I just want to make sure I have the most up to date information since new products are being released all the time. Much appreciated!

[Caleb Dueck]

Hello everyone. I want to upgrade my speakers system. I spent a lot of hours doing research, and just want to check in with y’all before I make a purchase.

I’m currently using a pair of EV ZLX-12BT powered speakers and a 12” EV sub. The speakers are used by a me and a few others to play a lot of EDM and hip hop, so bass is important.

I recently got a grant up to $8,000 to spend on 2 tops and a sub.

I At first I was going to go for QSC, but then I read that there are speakers out there that are better than QSC. These are some options below:


2x QSC K12.2 and a QSC KS118
2x JBL SRX812P and a JBL SRX818SP
2x Yamaha DZR12 and a DXS18XLF


Portability is also important so I don’t want some 3-way speakers because of their weight.

Some of my questions I have are:
1) Which subwoofer has the best sounding bass?
2) Which sound system as a whole sound best overall?
3) How do they all compare to each other? Are one siginificantly  noticeable better than the others?
4) Did I miss any other brand or models than the one I listed?
5) How reliable are they?
6) Lastly, which PA speakers has the best sounding bass, if hypothetically, a subwoofer is not used?

Feel free to of course add any other comments about the experience. I just want to make sure I have the most up to date information since new products are being released all the time. Much appreciated!

Don't forget to add RCF to the list, and maybe other higher end brands as well, especially if used. 

For subwoofers - also add JTR and Bassboss to your list.  The list above seems to only include basic MI grade options. 

[Chris Grimshaw]

I'd say you need more subwoofer for those main speakers. 3 or 4x 18" per side wouldn't be out of the question, for EDM and other bass-heavy genres.

Chris

[Chris Hindle]

I’m currently using a pair of EV ZLX-12BT powered speakers and a 12” EV sub. The speakers are used by a me and a few others to play a lot of EDM and hip hop, so bass is important.

I recently got a grant up to $8,000 to spend on 2 tops and a sub.

What is your crowd size? How large a hall do you play in?
If it were me, I'd keep the tops, and get a couple of double 18's
Chris.

[Rick Powell]

If the goal is to stay within your $8k funding, you’d be OK with any of the 3 systems you listed, but as others said, look at beefing up the subs to get more low end capability…IOW, 2 subs and one top per side. My personal preference would be the Yamaha DZR/DXS followed by JBL SRX and QSC K/KS. If you shop around, I think you may be able to get 4 subs and 2 tops of either system within your budget or just a hair above.

[Brian Jojade]

I'll concur with the previous posts.  You have an 8K budget, which is reasonable for an upgrade.  The single 18 inch sub could prove to be a little weak, especially for EDM.

With all of the kits you mentioned, all could easily fall within budget if you include a second sub in the kit.  I'd definitely also purchase covers for the speakers if you're moving them around and want to keep them looking nice, but that's just me.

As far as which one is 'best', well, that's going to depend on who you talk to.  Everyone is going to have their favorites and will be able to come up with a list of reasons why their decision is the right one.  When you compare speakers within similar price ranges, reality is, they are going to be quite similar, and you won't go wrong with any of them.  An $8K budget should put you in position to get a decent quality rig from any of the big name brands mentioned.

My recommendation is to keep everything you get within the same family vs mixing and matching between brands.  Not only does the rig end up looking better, generally their designs mean the speakers work better together without much additional thought.

A 12" Speaker on a pole over a sub is a nice clean looking setup.  I personally prefer that to speakers on tripods myself.  While having subs separated does have its drawbacks vs a center cluster, generally speaking it works just fine for most situations.  And, there's no rule that says you have to have both subs turned on if it's causing problems.

[Dave Guilford]

Get whichever is available.  Not everything is in stock these days.  Good luck with Yamaha or JBL.  Qsc seems to be hit or miss. 

That said- I’d guess that the srx818 is the best sub you listed

[Jake Maxwell]

Thanks everyone for your input. I’m currently on a short lunch break, so I have to be brief.

I want to clarify that the free $8,000 grant explicitly states it’s only for exactly 2 PA speakers and exactly 1 subwoofer. So we can’t get more than 1 sub unfortunately, and we can’t use the funds for anything else or put the difference in our pocket.  It’s a “use it or lose” it kind of thing. We just want to the best two PA speakers and a sub for under $8K. Rick replied and mentioned his personal preference is the Yamaha DZR, then JBL SRX, then the QSC K. Is that common consensus in the industry?

I will reply more throughly tonight when I get home to individual posts. I’m curious if anyone have personal experiences with these speakers and can give an analysis of the differences in audio quality and other stuff asked in the original post. Thanks

[Mike Santarelli]

I’d take a look at the rcf nx32 or nx45 and a pair of 8004 subs. 

If you find the right deal you may be able to squeak in at $8k. Look at the 8003 to shave a few dollars. 

[Jake Maxwell]

Get whichever is available.  Not everything is in stock these days.  Good luck with Yamaha or JBL.  Qsc seems to be hit or miss. 

That said- I’d guess that the srx818 is the best sub you listed

QSC and Yamaha DZR seems to be in stock at GC currently. And what do you mean by “QSC seems to be a hit or miss”? 🤔

[ProSoundWeb Community]