Active Speakers for Helix/Kemper/Axefx ETC .........WHICH ????

Dominic

Is there a definitive BEST or at least a couple that are considered best
have read mixed reviews
Am I wrong thinking an Alto TS115a is pretty much as good as anything else and that the difference comes down to minute detail / subjective opinion OR am I completely missing the point ?
Bass does sound very heavy and Boomy but is the fix simply to eq it out ?

Sporky

Dominic said:

Am I wrong thinking an Alto TS115a is pretty much as good as anything else

From the spec sheet I think you may be wrong.

You should ideally try some options.

Dominic

Yes but which/
Atomic obviously but what about tech 21 or Matrix /
what others are there ?

John_P

I tried a few before I bought the Friedman asm12.   Very close is the atomic clr.  
Imo they are in a different league to the plastic pa speaker type of active cabs.  

John_A

It seems to be common to go for a 10" rather than a 12 or 15, I have a yamaha DXR10, and had an Alto TS110. The Alto is good, but the Yamaha is definitely better and a good bit louder

RandallFlagg

No, they all sound like you are playing guitar through a hi fi.

John_A

RandallFlagg said:

No, they all sound like you are playing guitar through a hi fi.

They certainly don't with the right speaker emulation anf EQ

Jalapeno

Big thread here on the topic --> http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/98988/tested-out-some-frfr-active-speakers-with-a-helix-today/p1

Dominic

Jalapeno said:

Big thread here on the topic --> http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/98988/tested-out-some-frfr-active-speakers-with-a-helix-today/p1

Yes,thanks-I have just read through it .............a lot to digest and lots of different people describing their rig but it doesn't come to any conclusions about what is the best or consensus of opinion over which options are outstanding.
 Is there an accepted opinion that guitar style cabs produce a better sound than plastic shell PA type speakers ? or is that more of an aesthetic /retro romantic idea?

mr-mac

Guitar type cabs are not built to produce a clean accurate sound, they are built to produce (alter) the sound in a pleasing way for designer or player....  So you gotta say unless they have altered design, materials etc to be less coloured all guitar style cab full range speakers will not be an uncoloured representation of modeller but a more pleasing rendition.  But if you plan to go from modeller to PA without a mic then I suggest you'd surely be more interested in an accurate representation of the sound so you know fairly closely what is being produced front of house.  If you only use cab or mic cab then by all means something that produces a more pleasing sound would of course be better.  However, the crux here is PA speakers are likely designed to be speakers that project sound a longer distance than you may be wanting on stage.  And guitar cabs as I say were designed to produce a type of sound (a thing your modeller should already be doing).  

if you mic up or only use cab I'd just buy cab and power amp you like so not only do you get the cab influence but the tube saturation most modellers don't do.  If your going direct to pa and want to hear well why not buy a good quality stage monitor (maybe one that is a good match for the main PA make/model/range).  Yes it won't give you 100% the most pleasing sound... Yes it will get you really close to what is being heard front of house and allow you to tweak modeller and presets with it in mind the tweaks.

if you want to hear what modeller is producing go demo all the frfr, v few PA v old cab/head with modelling for cab turned off and see what difference is.  If you want to find most accurate compare to good headphones for tone, overall sound, attack of notes and texture of distortion etc .  Whichever is closest to headphones is most accurate.

with info in hand and how you plan to use you can make informed choice for yourself

Jalapeno

Dominic said:

Jalapeno said:

Big thread here on the topic --> http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/98988/tested-out-some-frfr-active-speakers-with-a-helix-today/p1

Yes,thanks-I have just read through it .............a lot to digest and lots of different people describing their rig but it doesn't come to any conclusions about what is the best or consensus of opinion over which options are outstanding.
 Is there an accepted opinion that guitar style cabs produce a better sound than plastic shell PA type speakers ? or is that more of an aesthetic /retro romantic idea?

No, and there's this on Kemper & speakers --> http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/99230/from-kemper-back-to-valves

Fiftyshadesofjay

RandallFlagg said:

No, they all sound like you are playing guitar through a hi fi.

Which is what they're supposed to sound like as in the main they aim to give you the tone of a mic'd up amp such as you'd listen to through a PA or on a recording. I think you may have vastly missed the point.

TimmyO

Dominic said:

Jalapeno said:

Big thread here on the topic --> http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/98988/tested-out-some-frfr-active-speakers-with-a-helix-today/p1

Yes,thanks-I have just read through it .............a lot to digest and lots of different people describing their rig but it doesn't come to any conclusions about what is the best or consensus of opinion over which options are outstanding.
 Is there an accepted opinion that guitar style cabs produce a better sound than plastic shell PA type speakers ? or is that more of an aesthetic /retro romantic idea?

Trying a few out was a very interesting experience - I'd recommend making the time to go to a shop that has some of the options on display and try them.

Roland

Dominic said:

Is there a definitive BEST or at least a couple that are considered best

There is never a definitive best. It all depends on what you are trying to achieve, for example: home playing, recording, live gigs where it's the main source of sound, or live gigs with a PA. 

Dominic said:

 Is there an accepted opinion that guitar style cabs produce a better sound than plastic shell PA type speakers ? or is that more of an aesthetic /retro romantic idea?

Guitar speakers and cabinets have frequency response curves which alter the sound. In particular they cut off a lot of the higher frequencies. Modelling allows you to simulate different speaker/cabinet/microphone combinations. There's a range of FRFR speakers which can then reproduce these sounds reasonably effectively. If you are listening up close in your own room then the difference is noticeable, but your preference will depend on the type of sound you use.

If you're recording then you'll probably DI, and speaker is irrelevant. 

For most gigs the audience is going going to hear the guitar through the PA. When I changed from valve to modelling I used a Mackie SRM450 because that's what I had. It had a metallic top end, needed a bit of EQing, and wasn't perfect. We still use them for our PA, so it's what the audience hears. There are better PA speakers, but the signal will need EQing for them too. Nowadays I use  Matrix Q12 for monitoring. The sound is good, but I don't know (or care) exactly how it compares to the competition. I use it because it's smaller and lighter than most PA speakers, it's physically very robust, and I got it cheap. That's my definition of "best" for my needs.

Wazmeister

I think it is all actually really confusing; Im in the same situation as Dom, I guess, and I just want a really good amp-like (yes yes I know) speaker to run my Kemper (and possibly iMac) through.

Popped in briefly to PMT Brum today and saw (but did not try) the DXR10, L6 L3T and the Friedman. 

The L3T was too big and heavy. I was suprised at how big the Friedman looked, and I liked the looks. The DXR10 seemed a lovely size...

Im still not sure.

MtB

The weight of the Friedman put me off - 52lb / 23kg (by comparison a Mackie SRM450v2 is 17kg and a DXR10 14.6kg)

Wazmeister

I must admit, I did try a one handed pick up of the Friedman... it was pretty solid !

Dominic

Kind of defeats the whole beauty of Kemper or Helix .....the joy of Helix is that it can do full stereo -a pair of the Friedmans is a liability in this day and age........Kemper will probably work out some kind of stereo upgrade in due course too

imalrightjack

Watching...

And also keen on the new passives coming soon:

http://uk.matrixamplification.com/speakers.html

Presuming I'm correct that active isn't needed with a PowerHead?

Jonathanthomas83

I've had a stereo pair of FR12's and the Friedman, now I have a pair of Yamaha DXR10's. I like the Yamaha's the most for what I need. The Friedman isn't as flat response as the others, but it's a lovely looking thing...not really ideal for gigging though.

I'm desperate to try QSR/QSC (that right?) and the CLR's, but I'll have to wait for stock. Right now, I've made the right choice, sound amazing in stereo. In my opinion, every guitarist should experience playing in true stereo, at least once.

Wazmeister

The Yamaha DXR10s are fantastic sounding, and although its early days for me, I cant recommend them highly enough.