Karaoke Forums

As I posted in another thread, my speaker of choice has always been the Yamaha S115V. However, since my back is not what it once was, I've been looking for an alternative. My goal was to find something that offered the musical quality of the Yamaha without the weight. Enter the Behringer.

First of all we're talking a weight difference of 27 pounds, but can they sound as good as the Yamaha's?

Well, since there is no store in my area that stocks them, I couldn't really audition them in person. I had to rely on reviews posted on guitar center (click link) as well as reviews from the other sites such as musician's friend, music 123, Zzounds, etc.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Behringer-B ... ad-reviews

Well, all 11 reviews from guitar center were favorable. Five out of five stars. It seems that most people were blown away by this speaker saying that it is crisp, clean, powerful, and unbelievably priced. Well, I figured what the hell, lets order them.

First impressions:

They are light! You can carry both of them into your venue at once. One in each hand. OK but how do they sound... I only got to test them for an hour but here's what I think so far:

Impressive! They are crisp, meaning the highs are very smooth and clean. And they really are powerful. I'm driving them with a QSC 500Watt amp and they sound great. In fact they sound so close to the Yamaha's except for one thing. I think that the Yamaha's have the edge on bass. Not a tremendous difference but overll just slightly more then the Behringer, which can be eq'd I'm sure.

Overall, I'm blown away by the quality and the sound of the Behringers for the price. It seems that all the reviews I've read are correct. They're light, and they pack a great punch. I'm very pleased.

If I was working steady at a venue, I would use the Yamaha's so I could leave them there and not have to shlep them back and forth. But for mobile applications, where weight and your back are concerned, the Behringer is a great alternative. They are so close to the Yamaha's it's not even funny. Then again, the Yamaha's cost twice as much.

Well, I'm off to do a Luau party. I'll be using the Behringer's for the first time. I'll let you know how it goes.

Alan

Well they are no where as good sounding as the Yamaha's, I can tell you that.
Look into other options. For lightweight, look into the JBL EON305 - 33 lbs. It's the same power rating as the Yamahas.

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I'm thinking about downgrading (weight), too. Right now I use the EV Sx500+. It's a phenomenal speaker, no doubt. But I slowly feel the 70 pounds more and more. I'm not getting younger...

Anyway, since I am trying to stay on par with the sound quality I was looking into either the Dynacord D-Lite D15-3 speaker or the D-Lite 12-3. I know they're at the pricier end, but so where the EV's. The 15-3 weighs 52 pounds with 500 Watts RMS while the 12-3 only weighs 42 with 350 RMS.

Right now I use a QSC PLX2-3602 Amp with 775 Watts per channel on 8 Ohms. Which one would you say is the better fit?

I've used the Behringer as a floor monitor, and it pooped out on me. Replaced it with a Peavey PR15, and it's good. Just as light, only a little more expensive, but it works. Never did figure out what went wrong with the Behringer. It probably would have been more money to fix than just buying the Peavey (I'm not any kind of expert on speaker repair, to say the least). I've tried just about every kind of product Behringer makes - I'm a masochist that way - and the ONLY things I'll recommend are the power amps.

Sure, now you tell me. I know that they are not as good as the Yamaha's and I know that Behringer gets a bad rap but let me tell you, I used them at my gig last night and couldn't believe the sound. I recieved many compliments about them.

First of all, the highs are crystal clear. You can hear every musical detail. And since I had the speakers about a foot and a half away from the rear walls and about 18 feet apart, the bass was sounding good. As you know alot of factors affect the bass. Room boundaries, ceiling height, tile vs carpeted floors, and the list goes on and on as to how room acoustics can affect the sound of a speaker. Bass frequencies are reinforced when placed near the rear/side walls.

I think this speaker did a remarkable job and for the price I paid (350 for the pair) it was a no brainer. I know that everybody is always going to have their own favorite equipment and recommend what they own or think is best. Whether it's an amp, mixer, speakers, microphones or whatever, it's all very subjective.

For example, the AKG WMS40 wireless mikes seem to get alot of recommendations because people own them, therefore they are the best. In my opinion, I think the Digital Reference by Audio Technica blows them away. So as you can see, it's all very subjective.

So, back to the Behringer speakers. Are they the best? Hell no! But they did the job for me which was a lightweight speaker with good sound. And for me, they lived up to that expectation. This is not an endorsement nor am I trying to recommend them, just sharing my experience. Thanks.

WOW! $350 for the pair? That's dirt cheap. If they sound decent and they're light weight you could buy 2 pair if necessary and play them at a lower volume level to cover a large room.

I haven't heard them and I'm sure they probably don't compare to my EV speakers in output or sound quality, but for the price they may be good enough. I bet they sound better than Peavey PRs.

Your mixer, amp and mics all come into play too along with the acoustics of the room as far as your overall sound. Time will tell. If you're still happy with them after a year then you made a great deal and saved hundreds of dollars.

The speakers are usually $400 for the pair but I got a coupon in my email from GC for $50 off any purchase of $350 or more. At that price, I figured it was a steel. I think the reg price is really good too. Maybe I should get two more like you said.

There is always a trade off to everything. Do you want super fantastic sound in a speaker that will break your back and cost you a pretty penny? OR Do you want a great sounding speaker that is light weight, will save your back, and is very reasonably priced?

I look at it like this: I'm not buying equipment to be used in a concert hall so it doesn't have to be the best. These are bars that we use this stuff in and for the most part, our customers are drunks. Like it or not, that's the business were in...people drink, people get drunk, people abuse equipment.

Yes, good sound is important to me. And I do like getting the compliments. So like I said, everything is a trade off and what's important to you.

Oh yeah, I went to a karakoe show on thursday night and the KJ was using a pair of the Peavey PR's. I thought they sounded OK. Not very impressive. I think the Behringer's sounded much better and is a more listenable and musical speaker IMO

A pair of speakers like that should be plenty for most places. You would only need another pair if you were in a REALLY BIG bar, restaurant or hall. If you get one or two years out of that pair they will have more than paid for themselves. If you're getting compliments on your sound then you're good to go. You can easily spend a lot more, but are you going to be further ahead?

Make a profit, that's one of the main reasons to do this business. It is after all work. If you can make a profit, have fun, enjoy yourself and make people happy it's a win-win situation. If the speakers sound good to you and to your customers then you're all set.

I would keep in mind that a good KJ who has time to pay attention to the sound (is not busy talking to 5 customers turning in songs etc.) will often get better results from $100 speakers, than a bad KJ (or a really busy one) with $1000 speakers. That is the nature of our business; some guys are really good, some aren't, and even those of us who are good at it often have too much multi-tasking going on.

The house PA at the bar where I do karaoke is total garbage. Damaged HF driver in one speaker, crappy subs, crappy monitors, mixer that has serious problems, broken sliders on the equalizers, etc. They don't have the money to repair things right now, let alone pay me to bring in gear anymore. I still get better results out of this stuff than a friend at a neighboring bar, who has pretty nice ~$1000ea mains and equally crappy subs, and a much smaller room to work with.

Why? I sit out front where I can hear the PA all night. I don't have to wait until there are no customers talking to me to get up and walk around, and I don't have to then walk back to the mixer, make adjustments, walk back out again, etc.

IMO mixing from "Front of House" is hands-down the best thing you can do to improve your karaoke sound quality. No matter what your speakers or other equipment is, sitting in the right spot pays off through better sound and less walking.

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

I totally agree. I will constantly walk out on the floor while people are singing to make sure everything is sounding just right from the audience perspective. It is not a "set it and forget it" thing. That's what makes a good KJ. Once I'm satisfied with the sound the audience is hearing, I can spend more time at the mixer fine tuning and making sure that each singer is going to sound good. But, I'm not one to basically stay behind the mixer all night. I'm constantly on the floor working the crowd.

And yes, most any speaker can be made to sound great with a little knowledge and the right EQ. Knowing how to properly EQ a speaker whether you use an equilizer, BBE Sonic Maximizer (which are awesome) or whatever, can make that $100 speaker sound like a $1000 speaker. But most people don't take the time to optimize their system. So, when someone says, Mackie is the best or JBL is the best or EV is the best, yada yada yada....guess what? If you know what you're doing and have the right tools, you can make your little $200 speaker sound just like a Mackie, JBL, EV, etc...

I do! But my mixer is out front. I'm actually about 50 feet from the lip of the stage. You may have noticed that most live sound guys do this, and the reason is simple: they want to hear what the audience is hearing.

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

I prefer to be out front, however many places that have karaoke do not either have the space or will allow the gear to be set up there. I've only worked a couple clubs for karaoke that I was able to set up out front.

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I've long said even a bottom of the barrel speaker like the PR's in the hands of a pro will still sound better than a top-end EV with a hack at the controls. That said, most pro's are also going to know exactly what's missing (or way too present as the case may be ) as a result of using sub-par gear and won't typically settle for that if they have any choice in the matter.

Another thing I've often said is that we all have trade-offs to make. We do have to balance our finances with the quality of the equipment we buy. Each of us has to decide for ourselves where the point of diminishing returns is where spending more money simply doesn't get us enough bang to make it worth it. We each have our own opinions and will draw that line in different places.

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

With Bosch enginering both speakers have great head room. Don't forget recommeded amplifer is continious not rms. So the D12-3 is 700 watts and D15-3 is 1000 watts. I have used the D-12 with a Powersub15. It sounds great.

Amen. Which is why cheaping out on speakers and mics makes so little sense to me. If you invest $6,000 in music, board and amp, why would you try to save $100.00 on speakers or mics? It makes no sense at all, but I hear people here advocating it all the time.

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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.

For me, like I said in my opening post, it wasn't about trying to save a buck, it was more about trying to save my back.

I've used the Yamaha's in the past and they are a great overall speaker for Mobile applications.. YES YES YES --there are better out there.

I also went to a light weight alternative - I have in my basement for home use (2) Behringer B212's. They are a good speaker for VERY small venues where bass response is not important. Were you dont want to much BOOM.

I like my PEAVEY PR15 LIGHT WEIGHTS much better for Karaoke/DJ again in small venues where BASS is not that important. They offer a decent bottom end but no comparison to the Yamahas. Ideally I would us the Peavey's with a powered sub if I could

Alan ..don't try to explain

In the perfect sounding world KJ's would pull into a venue with a trailor load of equipment and have roadies set up a system that costs $30,000. But some times for HEALTH or BUDGET or other reasons a kj might choose to sacrafice some bottom end to save their backs....

To hell with that Jam, in a perfect world, we'd be pulling into gigs with provided PA where all we needed to bring was our laptop/player and our karaoke library. Our contract riders would specify the nature of the equipment we require. .

Now back to reality, part of what we get paid for is providing our own PA (in most cases) so we gotta deal wtih lugging equipment and lifting cabs onto stands, etc. Since we usually work by ourselves or maybe with one other person, the demands are even harder on us than say a band or production company.

Unfortunately, there are very very few quality audio solutions that come in a lightweight package. I don't have experience with the Behringers so I can't say what they're like. I have worked with the PR's and EON and absolutely hate both. I was aksed to use the PR's that one of my clubs bought (so they could provide PA for bands) and I declined and instead chose to carry my 80lb Mackies down a flight of stairs. But that's me, I'm fairly young and in-shape so I can toss them around with no major issues. However I can see why others would want a lightweight solution.

Lightweight means composite (plastic) cabinets. The best I've heard are the EV's although the Mackie SRM series also do really nice. I'd be curious to hear where the Behringers fit in that spectrum.

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

When you compare a plastic cabinet against the wooden ones --of course there usually is no comparison. But some KJ's have no choice but to use LIGHT WEIGHT alternatives. And for many venues they are PERFECT. The OP mentions he realized the bass was missing and thats just the way it goes. But normally the light weights sound great in small inside venues.

I'll use my PR's when I know
#1) Small Venue
#2) Older Crowd - small dj gigs etc.
#3) Inimate settings when I know the crowd etc.