So often, building your own saves no money. It gives you the pride in a project well done, and an enjoyable effort, but if you just want to have a working PA system, I'd be looking at commercial product. I suppose it also matters how you value your time, building speakers from scratch would take me quite a few hours.
Got a powered mixer to go with? An old Peavey XR series box mixer would be sturdy and flexible, the XR600 series has 8 input channels. That's is enough for a basic PA setup.
I like Peavey gear, usually well built and sturdy, and reasonably priced, and very well supported by the factory. But there are other brands. I always felt the Yorkville stuff was basic, but you got a pretty good value for the price. It usually doesn't command high prices used. Or new for that matter.
I myself would prefer 15s rather than 12s for PA speakers, but it also matters what you plan to amplify. FOlk singers or bluegrass has different needs from rock or metal. Or you may be doing auctions or spoken word performances.
Got a powered mixer to go with? An old Peavey XR series box mixer would be sturdy and flexible, the XR600 series has 8 input channels. That's is enough for a basic PA setup.
I like Peavey gear, usually well built and sturdy, and reasonably priced, and very well supported by the factory. But there are other brands. I always felt the Yorkville stuff was basic, but you got a pretty good value for the price. It usually doesn't command high prices used. Or new for that matter.
I myself would prefer 15s rather than 12s for PA speakers, but it also matters what you plan to amplify. FOlk singers or bluegrass has different needs from rock or metal. Or you may be doing auctions or spoken word performances.
PA is a big part of Peavey's business and the PR series are the loss leaders they use to get you hooked for life on the brand name. Better speakers? Sure, if you throw enough time and money into the project. Cheaper speakers that sound as good and are as dependable? Even their well-funded competitors can't do that.
Disclaimer: I've used and sold Peavey gear since the early '70s. I'm strongly biased in favor of Peavey because it's always made my customers happy. But yes, I am biased. (And I think Hartley is cute! (And really, really smart. Just an amazing guy to talk to.))
Disclaimer: I've used and sold Peavey gear since the early '70s. I'm strongly biased in favor of Peavey because it's always made my customers happy. But yes, I am biased. (And I think Hartley is cute! (And really, really smart. Just an amazing guy to talk to.))
Thanks guys for the great feedback. The pr15's sound awesome, but I would like to be able to transport them in a sedan, and i am also considering making a portable tapped horn sub. The pr15's alone would be about as big as I would want to deal with, and it seems like better bass from a system of a sub with smaller mains.
I actually started out looking for a 10" option, so the pr10. But the size and price difference to the pr12 seemed marginal, for a gain in sensitivity. Any comments about the sensitivity of the various sizes of PR series vs. other budget pa speakers? Do they perform as rated?
Any thoughts about the Impulse 100 or 1012, which seem to be only a bit more expensive used, but harder to find. Are they actually any more efficient than the PR's?
The idea for this project started out as a ~60lb battery powered boombox. Then I figures, well lets make it modular for ease of transport. Now it's a PA system that can be run for several hours outdoors off a deep cycle battery, mainly for playing music. Thinking of a digital car amp with 100w @ 4ohms for the mains, and ~300w @ 4 ohms for the sub. Minidsp to eq and crossover, and a small mixer. 20A power supply and cap to run on AC. Purely amateur use.
I actually started out looking for a 10" option, so the pr10. But the size and price difference to the pr12 seemed marginal, for a gain in sensitivity. Any comments about the sensitivity of the various sizes of PR series vs. other budget pa speakers? Do they perform as rated?
Any thoughts about the Impulse 100 or 1012, which seem to be only a bit more expensive used, but harder to find. Are they actually any more efficient than the PR's?
The idea for this project started out as a ~60lb battery powered boombox. Then I figures, well lets make it modular for ease of transport. Now it's a PA system that can be run for several hours outdoors off a deep cycle battery, mainly for playing music. Thinking of a digital car amp with 100w @ 4ohms for the mains, and ~300w @ 4 ohms for the sub. Minidsp to eq and crossover, and a small mixer. 20A power supply and cap to run on AC. Purely amateur use.
I think the Peavey specs are pretty accurate. They can't inflate things too much without undercutting their more expensive speakers, and they're serious about those (25% of the NFL stadiums, the Sydney Opera House, and the KGB headquarters, among other customers). And those customers can and do measure their systems.
Thing about sensitivity is, complications of measurement and perception aside, more surface area fills the room better, every time. Look at the huge piles of speakers they used at Woodstock; it was still loud a half mile away. So yeh, I've always felt the PR12s were a no-brainer over the PR10s.
I feel the Impulses are definitely better speakers than the PRs. If you can snag a pair for a few bucks more, do it.
Thing about sensitivity is, complications of measurement and perception aside, more surface area fills the room better, every time. Look at the huge piles of speakers they used at Woodstock; it was still loud a half mile away. So yeh, I've always felt the PR12s were a no-brainer over the PR10s.
I feel the Impulses are definitely better speakers than the PRs. If you can snag a pair for a few bucks more, do it.
PR12s are a good compromise ...
Physics dictate that 1" horns don't do well below 2KHz and 12" drivers beam above 800Hz
The woofer covers the 80-800Hz range well and the horn covers 2KHz and up, and that's
about all you can do with a 2-way. Most people (myself included) ignore the beaming woofer
(800-2KHz). If you add in a subwoofer (50-100Hz) they think it sounds great. Sure, it's not
HiFi, but it'll take a lot of money to sound much better.
If you want 20-20KHz HiFi, you'll need a very expensive 3-way top + subwoofer.
Think Danley's "Jericho Horn"
Physics dictate that 1" horns don't do well below 2KHz and 12" drivers beam above 800Hz
The woofer covers the 80-800Hz range well and the horn covers 2KHz and up, and that's
about all you can do with a 2-way. Most people (myself included) ignore the beaming woofer
(800-2KHz). If you add in a subwoofer (50-100Hz) they think it sounds great. Sure, it's not
HiFi, but it'll take a lot of money to sound much better.
If you want 20-20KHz HiFi, you'll need a very expensive 3-way top + subwoofer.
Think Danley's "Jericho Horn"
Last edited:
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.