We are running a small outdoor festival with a 6x4 m stage. Since the area is surrounded by walls from three sides, a relatively low power PA is sufficient. In the four years, the sound guys had the following:
1. KV2 top + sub (looked like bandpass), all active. One of the subs burned during the show, a single one was actually still sufficient
2. HK Audio Actor system with 1 sub - this was a bit on the edge, but still passable.
The sound guy using these came in a Mitsubishi Pajero with 4 active monitors.
3. A homemade PA system, biamped - bass and tops had a separate amp. This one needed to be on a small trailer - but I liked especially the bass boxes - simple bass reflex with Celestion FTR15-4080FD - a single pair was sufficient even with the non-ideal placement (one on each side more or less). Last year it was with two other subs, but it worked this year really well without them.
This lead me to an idea - today, amp power is relatively cheap and class D amps are not too heavy. What would it take to build a relatively compact, light (neodymium speakers) and not too expensive three way system with great performance? The contitions are the main PA must fit into a larger car or a small trailer and all the boxes must be as light as possible to be easily handled by one man. Any inspiration from your systems would be appreciated
Recently, these boxes were linked in a thread here: Soundgear - Speakers - Amplifiers - DSP - these with a sub would probably work if the dispersion was not as narrow. Also, these would be too complicated to build.
I would think a 15" BR sub, with a 12"(15") + 2" top could be great.
For an even more compact solution, if the sub could play up to ca 400 Hz, the RCF H6000 8" horn + a 1" driver could maybe work as well - a sort of passive RCF 6001 split into two boxes with the low part playing a bit lower.
Or are my ideas completely off the limits?
I 've got some huge bass and midbass horns, but these need a large van to transport - but I would be willing to do a bit of compromise between the efficiency and sound quality and smaller dimensions - for smaller venues like the one described.
1. KV2 top + sub (looked like bandpass), all active. One of the subs burned during the show, a single one was actually still sufficient
2. HK Audio Actor system with 1 sub - this was a bit on the edge, but still passable.
The sound guy using these came in a Mitsubishi Pajero with 4 active monitors.
3. A homemade PA system, biamped - bass and tops had a separate amp. This one needed to be on a small trailer - but I liked especially the bass boxes - simple bass reflex with Celestion FTR15-4080FD - a single pair was sufficient even with the non-ideal placement (one on each side more or less). Last year it was with two other subs, but it worked this year really well without them.
This lead me to an idea - today, amp power is relatively cheap and class D amps are not too heavy. What would it take to build a relatively compact, light (neodymium speakers) and not too expensive three way system with great performance? The contitions are the main PA must fit into a larger car or a small trailer and all the boxes must be as light as possible to be easily handled by one man. Any inspiration from your systems would be appreciated
Recently, these boxes were linked in a thread here: Soundgear - Speakers - Amplifiers - DSP - these with a sub would probably work if the dispersion was not as narrow. Also, these would be too complicated to build.
I would think a 15" BR sub, with a 12"(15") + 2" top could be great.
For an even more compact solution, if the sub could play up to ca 400 Hz, the RCF H6000 8" horn + a 1" driver could maybe work as well - a sort of passive RCF 6001 split into two boxes with the low part playing a bit lower.
Or are my ideas completely off the limits?
I 've got some huge bass and midbass horns, but these need a large van to transport - but I would be willing to do a bit of compromise between the efficiency and sound quality and smaller dimensions - for smaller venues like the one described.