Powered Speaker (PA) for one Vocalist

[Vocalist]

Guys I really need your expertise here.

Im looking for a powered speaker for vocals. Use is ranging from small basement rehearsals to medium sized gigs. If you can let me know what the top end Powered speakers are at the moment, and the reasons why they are the best that would be great. *Also the band is a heavy rock band, guitars, bass and drums play loud, very loud :).

I was looking into Yorkville NX55P and Yamaha MSR400. Not sure if they are any good, or how they stack against eachother. If you guys have any suggestions please let me know.

[icarus]

Welcome to AR forum and hopefully we can help answer all your dire questions. Personally i have not used either of these two speakers, but if you could give us a price range we could you better.
But I have used lots of Mackie's, and they truly are great speakers, might be little much for you.

[Vocalist]

NX55P (I think $800-857 CAD)
http://www.yorkville.com/products.asp?cat=22&type=29&id=339

MSR400 ($700 CAD)
http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/ContentDetail/ModelSeriesDetail/0,,CNTID%25253D36725%252526CTID%25253D,00.html

Really not sure how much better one or the other is. I'm all kinda new to this :(.

But price isnt that much of a problem for me, id rather buy something that will produce quality rather than spend pennies and end up getting ****. What do you guys think i should look into?

[Vocalist]

Welcome to AR forum and hopefully we can help answer all your dire questions. Personally i have not used either of these two speakers, but if you could give us a price range we could you better.
But I have used lots of Mackie's, and they truly are great speakers, might be little much for you.

Thanks for the warm welcome!

What type of mackie models would be good for vocals. And how do they rank against the competition?

[Vocalist]

Thanks for the warm welcome!

What type of mackie models would be good for vocals. And how do they rank against the competition?

Maybe http://www.mackie.com/products/srm450/ ?

But is this any better than the NX55P i listed?

[Vocalist]

Maybe http://www.mackie.com/products/srm450/ ?

But is this any better than the NX55P i listed?

NX55P (I think $800-857 CAD)
http://www.yorkville.com/products.as...type=29&id=339

[icarus]

When I was doing work for presentations and gigs we used a either srm450 for large areas and the smr350 for smaller areas. My personal experience was great with mackies for vocals, but I definately do recomend testing them out. As for prices, well i don't have a clue how much mackies are, since i was not incharge of the purchasing, just the setup.

[royphil345]

The Mackie looks interesting. Could be used as a floor monitor if you outgrow it and your band purchases a larger PA / mixing system.

Although, where do you put something like that for a performance? Who's gonna' stand behind it? You might be better off with one of those PA amps that has some simple built-in preamp and mixing features and two passive speakers that could be placed towards the sides of the stage. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/live/navigation/packaged-pa-systems-live-sound?N=100001+305335 Or a mic preamp / mixer and TWO powered speakers. Add a nice multi-effects processor for vocals http://www.musiciansfriend.com/rec/navigation/multi-fx-reverb-delay?N=100001+304647 Many of these combined mixer / PA amps seem to have some effects built-in.

Maybe that Mackie could be set up monitor style facing the audience towards the center of the stage without being too intrusive... Probably wouldn't work well on a raised stage... You probably already know that you can't put a PA speaker behind the mic without getting horrible feedback. That's why most vocalists use two cabinets at the sides of the stage rather than one front and center (intrusive)... A one-speaker PA is used mostly for solo performers in tight spaces. Can be placed slightly off to one side without getting in anyone's way. There are simpler options there too (mixer / amp / speaker all-in-one, keyboard or acoustic guitar amp with simple mixer and mic input(s) built in).

[Dusty Chalk]

I second the Mackies.

[ski2xblack]

http://www.mkprofessional.com/mps1611p.htm

M&K's 1611P rocks. Best with sub but good to the 50's or so without one, neutral and accurate to the extreme, very crankable. These are retarded expensive ($1200 apiece!) but on occasion will show up as cosmetic b stock for cheap (less than a grand per pair) on the M&K site. (I've purchased b-stock M&K on several occasions and received nothing but apparently flawless speakers, and I am VERY picky, for what it's worth.)

[The Tahitijack]

I'm a big fan of Mackie products. A bit pricy but in PA gear as with life price usually equals quality. If you want comparable JBL would be a good move. If you asked me to choose between the ones you selected I'd go with Yamaha.

Testing 1, 2,

Check 1,2

and the ususal "How's everyone doin' tonight?"

[drawbars]

Hi to all. I, too, have just joined this forum. I'm a 40+ year semi-pro musician and audio enthusiast.

Looking strictly from a technical perspective, the Yorkvilles are more powerful (550W vs. 400W), go a little deeper on the bass. The Yamahas go a little higher on the treble. None of these things are absolute deal-breakers for vocals, but they MIGHT be important in the future if you use the speaker(s) for other needs. For example, I play keyboards, and the extra power of the NX55P might come in handy.

From a purely sound perspective, while I have owned both companies' gear over the years, I have been tremendously impressed by Yorkville PA speakers as of late. My band has been using Yorkville Unity boxes for the main fronts for about two years (I'm a lead vocalist, in addition to a keyboard player), and they are phenomenal. I know of at least two PA companies that swear by the Yorkville TX series, too.

OTOH, a lot of people like the Mackie 450's, which are also a good choice. JBL Eons are also a possibility, although there seems to be a love-em-or-hate-em relationship with these boxes. (Some say they are solid on the bass; others say they are boomy.)

FULL DISCLOSURE: I have just become a Yorkville dealer, based on my past experiences with their products. (I actually joined this forum to get advice on HT subwoofers, but saw your note and decided to add my $0.02.) Therefore, take my recommendation with a grain of salt, if you will. OTOH, I have a very small online music business, and so must choose my lines carefully: I chose Yorkville as one of them.

Regards,

Bruce Wahler
AshbySolutions.com
bruce@ashbysolutions.com

[atom10]

Never resort to cheap yet low quality speaker units.

_____________________
Madisound Catalog by Speaker Components (http://www.who-sells-it.com/cy/speaker-components-inc-1385/madisound-catalog-5277.html) - Get the Madisound Catalog by Speaker Components, Inc

[filecat13]

(snip)

OTOH, a lot of people like the Mackie 450's, which are also a good choice. JBL Eons are also a possibility, although there seems to be a love-em-or-hate-em relationship with these boxes. (Some say they are solid on the bass; others say they are boomy.)


One of the staff members at my nonprofit does programs and assemblies at schools throughout Los Angeles. We ended up with the JBL EONs, and they have worked flawlessly for five years now.

They are hauled all over the city and set up/taken down several times a day, five days a week. They're used for PA duty, solo music, and recorded music, including urban, industrial, and dance tracks. They have separate amps for the tweeters and the woofers, plus several input options.

Generally, one is sufficient for large classrooms or medium auditoriums. For ball rooms and large auditoriums, we use two.