Karaoke Forums

hi guys
I'm new to this forum and karaoke thingy...

I already have an amp and i'm looking for some affordable speakers. I read some topics, suggested yamaha s115V are good. However, I found on CL a pair of yamaha s215v for $600 (this goes for $600 for 1 at Guitar Center). How are these compare to s115v?

What other choices do I have for speakers? budget $500-$600 Thanks

Honestly, I think I would rather have a pair of S115V or C115V than a pair of S215IV. They are all the same efficiency, but the 215IV will go a little lower and will accept twice as much power. However, the smaller Club V series are easy to put on poles, take up less space in your vehicle, and sound a little cleaner (IMO.) The V series have both SpeakOn and 1/4" connectors, while the IV is only 1/4".

If I were you, I'd go buy a pair of Kustom 215H cabinets. Musician's Friend currently has them on sale for about $180 ea. I own a pair and for the price, I think they are great. I have used them for hundreds of hours in the past year for karaoke, DJing, and bands.

If transportation space is limited, the C115V or CM115V (wedge version) is probably a better choice for you.

Welcome to the forum.

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

Since you said that magic word "affordable", Did you consider buying a pair of Yamaha S115s Used? They usually can be found on Craigs list or www.musicgoround.com. at half the cost of a new pair, and they are the true "workhorses" of many PA rigs, and I can attest to the quality of them, for i use 4 of them in my set-up. They will love you forever, and sound great as long as you feed them about 500 watts each which is their program power rating. Also, consider Yorkville and Peavey speakers which are plentiful in the second-hand category.

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Man Must Know His Limitations -Clint Eastwood

OK some odd recommendations in this thread. First, no way would I ever recommend a pair of Kustom speakers over Yamaha. There's a reason they're only $180 for a cabinet with 2 15" drivers, can you say cheap (as in quality). If you can afford the Yamaha, get them. You'll be getting cabinets loaded with Eminence drivers, probably one of the best and most respected speaker manufacturers around (they don't make cheap). Kustom, eh you get whatever speaker manufacturer came in as the lowest bidder for this production run. Definitely not the same thing.

Second, I'd recommend against getting a double 15" speaker cabinet unless you're going to them on poles on top of small sub-woofers. I've seen so many uneducated and apparently deaf DJ's and KJ's put these things standing up on the floor on their own, that's not how they're meant to be used. When you do this, it puts the horn at about chest height for the average adult. This is absolutely incorrect. This results in blowing the faces off the people right in front of the speakers and about 10-15 feet from the PA there's no high end at all. You want the horns on your PA to be just above the tops of the heads of the adults in your audience so that the high-end frequencies and travel and not be absorbed immediately by bodies in front of the PA. A double 15 cabinet is pretty heavy for one person to toss up on a speaker stand (not to mention unwieldy due to it's size). You'd be better off with a single 15 + horn 2-way box like the Yamaha 115's.

Tommie's got the right idea, you're better off buying quality PA used than cheap PA new. At the price range that we deal with here, there is a significant change in quality for just a few hundred dollars. You do get what you pay for when it comes to PA so don't skimp any more than you have to. There are a lot of really good 15" 2-way cabs out there, the Yamaha's are one of them.

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

I'd listen to the Kustoms before assuming they suck. I've heard them side-by-side against S215IVs and I would rather have the Kustoms. I have six of their 15" wedges and I have had no complains about them since I took the Kustom logos off the grilles. People tend to hear with their eyes a bit too much sometimes. For someone on a limited budget, they are good for the price.

With all that said, I would rather have MRX515s on poles if by themselves, or MRX512Ms plus subs. Both these options are significantly above the OP's apparent budget.

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

Well, while I haven't had experience with the 215's directly, I do have experience with other Kustom PA Products and have yet to be impressed or even satisfied with any of it. I also have worked with Yamaha PA products and am familiar with their level of quality. I don't buy anything based on the name, I buy with my ears. I'd never recommend someone spend significantly more money just to get a name. However, I have worked with a lot of PA products and I can assure you there is a significant difference. A cabinet that sells for $180 is skimping big time somewhere. You can't even buy a rock solid pair of 15's for that price let alone a whole cabinet with a horn and crossover network. So they're cutting corners somewhere, you tell me where.

So your Kustoms may sound great and for purposes of Karaoke might be fine for you. I'm sure they are a good deal for the price. I try not to begrudge people of their choices (I'm sure many here would not be happy with the Mackie S215's that I have) but I can't see recommending someone buy a Chevy Aveo when they can afford to at least get a nice used Camry.

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

Well, like I said, I have heard S215IVs side-by-side with the Kustom 215H. I believe the Aveo in your analogy is better than the Camry in this case, as well as less expensive. I don't know all the corners they've cut. The covering is cheap, but can be replaced when it starts to show serious wear. The horns are a little too bright (but so are the ones in the S215IV) and need a little EQ. I've never run them below 80Hz so I have no idea what they sound like full-range, but the Yamahas aren't great that low either.

You've probably heard S215IVs and S115Vs / SM115Vs. Which of those two would you choose for a full-range application? Would your opinion differ with help from a sub?

I think the OP needs a larger budget anyway, but hopefully he will invest in better gear as he makes money gigging.

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

Did anyone ask OP what size AMP they are using

WHAT SIZE AMP ?
WHAT type of venues are you looking to play
LARGE ? SMALL ? INDOOR OUTDOOR BOTH ALL ???

Having used them in the past I attest to the quality reliability and value of the Yamaha sv115 Club series. GREAT SPEAKERS
I've also used BEHRINERG B1520 PRO which I also like ALMOST as much as the Yamahas. My 1st set up speakers were PEAVEY SP5G and they were awesome !!
They are all HEAVY SOB"S thats why last week I switched to PEAVEY PR15N
Liteweight (37lbs) and great sounding. ( not as much punch as the heavy speakers but great sound )

s215 will be a waste of money for the horn reason listed before. They are too heavy for any speaker stand. The only thing they would be good for would be if you sat them on the floor and disconnected the horns and used them as subs. Then buy 2- 15 and horns (115) to put on stands. You'll blow away your competition.

The S215 is a decent speaker, they are just a bit unwieldy because of its physical size and characteristics. If you are under powered they might have an advantage as they are 4 ohm VS the SW115 being 8 ohm. They also handle more power because of the extra 15 they contain. Personally if I were going to be moving them a lot I would go with the SW115V. A very good sounding and well built cabinet for the money. Somewhat of a workhorse that will hold there value well. Kustom speakers are a bit on the cheaper side with questionable quality and will have about the same resale value of toast.

By the way, I drive a Camry

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Quickness of mind will deceive the eye

Thanks guys for the replies...
I just went to Guitar Center to test out the Yamaha S115V and the sale man said it needs at least 500 watt amp to run. Then I realized that my amp is not that power. I checked the rating on my amp:

total output 800Watt, 8 ohms x 4.
So i guessed it handle only 200 watts each channel. ( Don't ask me what amp is it b/c I bought it oversea, made especially for karaoke )

I'm gonna use this for home karaoke in my living room so no need pro set up. I just want some decent quality speakers for great karaoke. What other speakers can I use with this amp ( i don't want to trash it). Thanks again

Whoa!!! This is for a home setup?? Then you definitely do not want any cabinet with dual 15's or any other 15" cabinet for that matter. Look at the Yamaha BR10's or the Mackie C200's, either would be a good full range box and after buying them you'd still have money to buy a small sub. Based on your description of this amp though, I'm not sure what it was really intended to power. 200x4 is a strange configuration. If you can bridge two of the channels that would work nicely for a sub. Any chance you can post pics (front and back) of this amp so maybe we can help you figure it out?

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

Here you go.... pics

Thanks

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/af3 ... C00391.jpg
http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/af3 ... C00392.jpg
http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/af3 ... C00393.jpg

OK so my bad for not asking for more information and only answering the questions you asked, my apologies for that.

What you've got there is a consumer grade, component stereo style mixer/amp. As you've maybe noticed already it's designed to be used as an all in one unit with mics connected to it and home stereo style speakers. I wouldn't recommend connecting anything that's been suggested in this thread to that amplifer.

Honestly, if you're going to use that as the primary component of a home karaoke system, I would look at Crutchfield or Parts Express to find a good set of home stereo speakers that you could connect to it. I'd be nervous about connecting any type of pro-audio speaker to an amplifier like that. Running pro-audio PA with a consumer grade amplifier just doesn't seem like a good idea.

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

Indeed, that amp is not meant to drive 4Ω loads like an S215IV. It wouldn't be unreasonable to put a couple of S115Vs on it, though.

For a home system, I would consider some powered monitors, PC speakers, etc. connected to the RCA line out jacks.

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

Even then I'd be careful. I'm betting those RCA's are going to have a nominal operating level of -10 dbu where as almost all pro-audio gear is expecting +4 dbu. I'd either put some type of pre-amp or mixer between the RCA's and the speakers to adjust the level appropriately or get speakers (if they exist) that are switchable to work with the different operating levels.

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

I think anything with an RCA input will want -10dBu.

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

Agreed, if the speaker has RCA inputs. Not all do, so I guess that was the point I should have made, thanks for making that clear for the OP.

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

thanks guys for the replies...

So the pro-speakers, like yamaha S115V doesn't have RCA connection?
What does "Input Connectors: 2 x 1/4 Phone" look like?

Right now I have that amp connected to a pair of JBL
http://www.jbl.com/home/products/produc ... FS&ser=CNS
And a pair of Klipsch but karaoke didn't sound so good. That was the reason why I was looking for a better pair of speaker (into pro level).

I guess I have to stick with what i have or to buy a better amp.

1/4" Phone jack accepts a quarter inch plug that looks like the large headphone style plug. Look up 1/4" cables on musicians friend if you don't know what I mean and want to see what it looks like.

Most pro PA speakers do not have RCA jacks, especially if they are passive (i.e. the amplifier is built it). Passive speakers (in the pro audio realm) will almost always have 1/4" or Neutrik Speakon connectors. Some powered speakers and many powered monitors (i.e. they have the amplifier built into them and only receive a line level input) will have RCA jacks and that's what was being suggested earlier by Jeff.

Also, please understand that the speakers you were looking at are nothing at all close to the JBL's you posted a link to. They are much MUCH larger and heavier and not the type of speaker you'd have sitting in your living room as part of a home theater system. Remember we're talking about 15" speakers, two of them, plus a horn. They're very large and bulky.

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke