Decent tops for custom PA build (12 x Othorn's, 6 x ES15-BPH low/mids)?

[fractalcone]

Hey folks

We are trying to decide on tops for our diy PA project, so gathering as many thoughts as possible. Here are the specs....

- 12 x Othorn subs, running 21" B&C drivers
- 6 x ES15-BPH low/mid cabs, running Fane or PD
- Everything driven by Powersoft K20 amps

The system will be primarily used for outdoor festivals, including a mixture of djs and live acts, ranging from crowds of between 1000 - 4000 people.

We are considering the Nexo PS15-R2 speakers, after the glowing reports of their performance, though we may run just short of money (they cost around 4k each where I live).

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Have a great day!

 

[chris661]

Looks like you want some kind of ground-stacked point-source thing.
I refer to it a lot, but take a look at what the Nexo Alpha system does.

The PS15s won't cover 4000 people. A pile of Alpha (and I mean a big pile) will. I'd take some inspiration from the mid-high cabinet.

Chris

 

[fractalcone]

Thanks Chris

Yeah, I figured as much once I dug into them a bit more, was a suggestion from a sound tech friend from a club night he engineered.

I'm at a loss to find anything current in the long-throw, horn-loaded department (some of the new Danley designs look nice though). Did line-arrays simply kill point-source manufacturing?

 

[chris661]

They pretty much did, by the looks of it.

Danley do point sources, as do KV2. Not sure there's many others around. Maybe some old EAW or Community. You're going to need a few of them, though.

Do you want to DIY or buy some?

If you're buying, getting the quantity you need (I'd go for something like 6/side) might be tricky.
For DIYing, there's plenty of options.

Chris

 

[MrAndersson]

MT130 is a long distance top. If diy is an option. I've made 2 slightly different prototypes... SQ could be better.
A setup, some years ago, 8 of 2x18" BR subs to serve the 2x8 Renkus Heinz 102LA... I had to lower the gain by 20dB to match the subs. SQ is even better as ground stacked.
PN/PNX102LA | Renkus-Heinz

ES15-BPH seems interesting, is there any changes to the ES18 plan?

 

[fenis]

2x SH46 per side or the pure groove PG96 would probably get the job done.

KV2 ES1.0 would struggle above 1000 people - you would need to use the VHD 2.0 but this needs to be flown.

Best DIY option would be Peter Morris' dual 12inch horn loaded/coaxial compression driver tops.

 

[fenis]

Actually I've seen pictures of the KV2 VHD placed ontop of a ground stack so that would probably be fine as well.