Karaoke Forums

agreed, powered speakers would be a good way, however one thing is still bothering me. you said the music is at a good volume, it is just the mic that is low. what mic are you using. i will admit i forgot about the different levels. powered speakers will sound better, or another amp made for pro sound to power the bmb speakers would work as well. the tape out of the board is -10dB, it is pre-master, but for home use that should not be an issue. just a third option.
hope i haven't confused you

The mic that works the best is the Shure SM-58 XLR. The other cheaper mics I have (phone jack types) you cannot hear. One can be used as an XLR so I may try that and just get a new cable if it boosts the volume enough like the Shure SM-58.

Guess I'll have to price out a set of powered speakers and an amp, and see which is most cost effective. Any recommendations on both?

Chris

It probably will be easier to go the powered speakers route. No need to worry about matching wattage of amp and speakers. You can get a great deal on ebay for a pair of Podium Pro speakers. Before I get flamed by the techs here, I have a pair of passive speakers and my sound is a hundred percent better than the pyle pro speakers I was using that got stolen from out of my car. They sound as if they were 15" and they are only 8"s. great bass.

http://www.onlyfactorydirect.net/p/15%2 ... 502A2/311/

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The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Thank you for that input. I'll check out the link.

If I use powered speakers, do I still keep my current amp set up as it is now (using Aux input from the Stereo Out on the Yamaha board)?

Thanks to all for your patience and advice.

Chris

if you get powered speakers, you would not use the amp at all. there is an appropriate amp built in each speaker. you just need 2 1/4-xlr cables (one for each side) of whatever length will suit your needs. 1/4" out from the board to xlr in on the speakers.

hey, pair of 15" for under 500.00 that go 25hz - 20khz......thats better than EAW
sorry danny, couldn't resist.

exagerated specs and all. they should be plenty for home use, i just have never heard of them.

i do have experience with these, the power is lower, but i know from experience they can pound! and durable. about 50 bucks more. either way is more than enough for home use

Thanks for the clarification! I did not see a link in your post to the speakers you said you would recommend.

Chris

sorry, i guess i was sipping from the bowl of stupid for a while there
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Harbinger-A ... 1430143.gc

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Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

I still haven't figured out why everyone is hot and heavy on the Harbingers...

They're only 200 watts - which is fine for home use, but for less than $50 more (as little as $10 more in some cases) you can jump to the Behringer 212D which is 550watts.

If you jump up a little more, you could go with the Thump TH-15A which is actually made by Mackie and is 400 watts.

All in all, there are better alternatives for the same money, and for slightly more.

Behringer 212D which is 550watts. ---------<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< This is peak wattage correct? Are we comparing apples to apples?

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KingBing Entertainment C'mon Up! I have a song for you!!! [font=MS Sans Serif][/font]

harbingers are only 180 watts continuous, the behringers are 280 continuous, 450 peak.
but wattage does not equal volume.
behringer max spl = 125dB
harbingfer max spl = 121dB
difference = 4dB maximum
real world meaning.........if you push your speakers to the maximum to get the extra power, they are too small. remember 120dB is the volume of a normal rock concert. i doubt you will need to hit that level whichever speaker you choose.

behringer frequence response = 65Hz - 20kHz without a dB rating (never a good sign)
harbinger frequence response = 45Hz - 18kHz @-3dB, 40Hz - 20kHz @-6dB
difference = conservative...20Hz lower, at best, 25Hz lower

real world meaning.....deeper bass, deeper thump, rolloff of frequencies starts later so fuller sound overall. harbinger states the complete specs so you know exactly what you are getting, behringer keeps them ambiguous.

behringers are also 12's, harbingers are 15's

behringer total harmonic distortion = 1% over some ambiguous frequency range
harbinger total harmonic distortion = <0.5% 20Hz - 20kHz
real world meaning......cleaner sound

the running joke for many years has also been "Behringer.....german for broken"

harbingers will work...period.
behringers, you are taking a big chance. their quality control is the worst i have come across in many years of doing sound.

as for thump?
frequency response 50Hz - 18.5kHz @ -3dB 40Hz - 20kHz @ -10dB
right in the middle between the other 2
max spl = 116dB lower than either of the others.
400watts------it states 182 watts peak for lows and 60watts peak for highs. where are the other 158 watts?

this is why i have suggested the harbingers, dont listen to me or anybody else to make your decisions, check out the numbers for yourself.

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Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

I question this number (though I know that is what is published). I own a pair of Yorkvilles specified at 125, and they
don't have much more power or volume than the TH15A (which I also used at one point).


I saw 300w peak on low end, 100 on high. Those are the RMS numbers, I think.

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

The Thump's specs:

http://www.mackie.com/products/th-15a/

•400W of ultra-efficient Fast Recovery™ amplification
•LF 300W peak power (Class-D)
•HF 100W peak power (Class A/B)

Behringer's specs:

To keep it apples to apples, I opted instead to compare the 'newer' 315D - which is a 15":
Low-frequency range
RMS Power - 280W@8Ω
Peak Power - 450W@8Ω
High-frequency range
RMS Power - 65 W @ 8 Ω
Peak Power - 100W@8Ω

Frequency Response: 50Hz to 18KHz
Crossover Frequency: 1.8 KHz
Sound Pressure Level: max 126dB SPL @ 1m

THD numbers weren't listed for this model though.


But on the subject of THD, raw numbers aren't the only thing to pay attention to. Keep in mind there are limits to human hearing. This is from an article on WikiPedia, and while not a 'definitive' source, it's a rather well documented article.

here is the spec sheet for the TH-15A. this goes deeper than the selling add specs.
http://cachepe.zzounds.com/media/TH15A_ ... 8d0fd4.pdf

this is where i got my numbers from.

thump vs yorkville, one of them may be skewing the numbers a bit, perhaps even tapco is running a bit conservative, qsc, crown & jbl are notorious for going conservative on their numbers, or under-rating their gear. mackie seem to have a tighter low mid and a slightly boosted high mid (my opinion here, not a documented fact) which gives the impression of greater volume. yorkville seems more balanced to me which may not SOUND as loud but still BE as loud. mackies are not my preferred speakers, but i would never call them bad sounding, and their customer service has always been fairly strong.

the 315D does make it apples to apples, but we have gone from 250 per speaker to 380 per speaker.
they have more power, weaker frequency response (and again no dB spec for the frequency response so assuming @-6dB as that is usually where most companies giv their largest frequency spread)
the harbingers are still 45Hz - 18kHz @ -3dB and 40Hz - 20kHz @-6dB
for home use and office parites like the op is using them for, i still think the harbingers are a better wattage rating for the purpose and will reproduce more of the frequencies at a usable level.

i hope this is being taken as a friendly debate over gear and not as a personal attack on anyone. i love to talk gear and i mean no offense to anyone.

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Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

We can talk gear all day...

I'm a HUGE fan of Yorkville, and own the Behringer 212a's. I also have a Fender PD-250 and a pair of Bose L1's w/ 4 Bass bins, and a pair of Community 18" subs. I have KRK 6Se monitors and a 10" krk sub for home.

I've been studying gear, specs, and listening to a wide variety of equipment for years.

I tend to buy bang for the buck....

The Behringer's actually sound quite good as long as you don't overdrive them or push them to the limits. In most spec sheets THD comes on as you increase wattage with it increasing significantly as the amp gets closer to the limit and heats up.

I've used them at loud volumes without issue many times and for the price - they've been a great investment. Better gear tends to stand up to running at the ragged edge better than cheaper gear. The specs tend to bear that out.