Matrix Q12a v Yamaha DXR10

firepaulmusic

I’m currently using the Yamaha as monitoring for my AX8. Would the Q12a be a step up? There’s one available but don’t know if I can be bothered to get it if it’s not a massive improvement. Any advice warmly welcomed...

John_A

Realistically, how can it be a huge step up? The dxr10 is neutral, clear, and louderthan you would ever need.

unless you like the look/shape of it better there no reason to ‘upgrade’

firepaulmusic

John_A said:

Realistically, how can it be a huge step up? The dxr10 is neutral, clear, and louderthan you would ever need.

unless you like the look/shape of it better there no reason to ‘upgrade’

Reviews (and G66) indicate that you get a much more guitar amp like feel from this cab than from PA cabs. For some reason I’m drawn to the look of the cab as well...

John_A

firepaulmusic said:

John_A said:

Realistically, how can it be a huge step up? The dxr10 is neutral, clear, and louderthan you would ever need.

unless you like the look/shape of it better there no reason to ‘upgrade’

Reviews (and G66) indicate that you get a much more guitar amp like feel from this cab than from PA cabs. For some reason I’m drawn to the look of the cab as well...

That’s odd, a FRFR shouldn’t sound like a guitar cab, probably psychological, if you like the look of it though, why not

monkey42

In theory FRFR cabs should all sound the same but having had a DXR and then moving to a MBritt xitone cab..the difference is big enough for me in terms of how it feels on stage.

id try out the matrix if you can but would say I would expect it to sound better

ICBM

Do all hi-fi speakers sound the same?

No.

olafgarten

ICBM said:

Do all hi-fi speakers sound the same?

No.

That is true, but FRFR is meant to achieve something different, it's meant to have a flat response and so all good FRFR speakers should sound very similar. 

John_A

FRFR is a term that's misused - they are wide range wide response the same as any PA speaker they will need to be EQ'd appropriately

kennedydream1980

Well the main difference is the Yamaha is a generic 2 way PA speaker (mid/low driver and high frequency driver) designed for general sound reinforcement. Where as the Matrix is specifically designed for guitar use with digital modellers and has a Coaxial speaker. 

I think it would be a step up with the Matrix but not a massive one. The differences would be subtle, more so in the frequency response, the phase alignment and the dispersion but that might be enough to sway you. 

What I found when I owned a pair of them was, presets I dialled in at home on my studio monitors required very little to no tweaking on the Matrix speakers for live use. Although that was a good few years ago when I was using an Eleven Rack.

ICBM

olafgarten said:

ICBM said:

Do all hi-fi speakers sound the same?

No.

That is true, but FRFR is meant to achieve something different, it's meant to have a flat response and so all good FRFR speakers should sound very similar. 

Which is exactly what hi-fi speakers are supposed to do.

And PA speakers.

And studio monitors.

If they all sound the same, why are there so many different ones?

The answer is that they *don't* all sound the same no matter that they are all intended to produce a flat response over the audio bandwidth, so there's no reason to assume different 'FRFR' cabs will either.

TimmyO

Plays like buttah

Feels more like pushing  air

Responds more like a cab in the room

Rare colour

Sought after

^ things people say to justify more expensive things 

ESBlonde

If you want nice sound in a compact package look at turbosound:

The Milan M10 is 300w(600 peak) at around £200 and 13.3Kg. OR the latest iQ10 is a massive 1250/2500peak in a 17.2kg package including Klark Technik processing and power. You can edit the Eq curve and save it onboard. But thats Nearer £500

The brand is world class and British made, these are priced competitively because of the link with the Behringers "Music Group" but have the technology of market leaders.

These make good portable PA systems that show lesser MI brands up as harsh and lacking in detail. It's not Nexo PS10 quality, but it's also not Nexo PS10 price at £1400 a pop.

fretmeister

Barefaced FR800

/thread.

firepaulmusic

ESBlonde said:

If you want nice sound in a compact package look at turbosound:

The Milan M10 is 300w(600 peak) at around £200 and 13.3Kg. OR the latest iQ10 is a massive 1250/2500peak in a 17.2kg package including Klark Technik processing and power. You can edit the Eq curve and save it onboard. But thats Nearer £500

The brand is world class and British made, these are priced competitively because of the link with the Behringers "Music Group" but have the technology of market leaders.

These make good portable PA systems that show lesser MI brands up as harsh and lacking in detail. It's not Nexo PS10 quality, but it's also not Nexo PS10 price at £1400 a pop.

Thanks for the info, I’ll look them up. Maybe I’ll look at uprating my RCF 10,s for FOH

olafgarten

ICBM said:

olafgarten said:

ICBM said:

Do all hi-fi speakers sound the same?

No.

That is true, but FRFR is meant to achieve something different, it's meant to have a flat response and so all good FRFR speakers should sound very similar. 

Which is exactly what hi-fi speakers are supposed to do.

And PA speakers.

And studio monitors.

If they all sound the same, why are there so many different ones?

The answer is that they *don't* all sound the same no matter that they are all intended to produce a flat response over the audio bandwidth, so there's no reason to assume different 'FRFR' cabs will either.

HiFi speakers aren't meant to reproduce super accurately, they are designed to sound pleasing.

The difference between Studio Monitors, PA Speakers and FRFR cabs is that they are meant to be accurate in different environments. Cabs are for an on stage sound, Studio Monitors are for close range listening and PA Speakers are meant to fill the room. That is why they are designed differently.

Obviously there isn't a speaker that perfectly reproduces sound but there are speakers that are very close when used in the situation they were designed for. 

ICBM

olafgarten said:

HiFi speakers aren't meant to reproduce super accurately

Yes they are. That's what High Fidelity stands for...

olafgarten said:

The difference between Studio Monitors, PA Speakers and FRFR cabs is that they are meant to be accurate in different environments.

Yes, and different studio monitors and different PA speakers sound different too, as I said earlier. FRFR is no different. The goal is the same.

olafgarten said:

Obviously there isn't a speaker that perfectly reproduces sound

Correct. So there is absolutely no reason to think that changing one set of FRFR speakers for another won't sound different.

Why is this so hard to understand?

olafgarten

ICBM said:

olafgarten said:

HiFi speakers aren't meant to reproduce super accurately

Yes they are. That's what High Fidelity stands for...

olafgarten said:

The difference between Studio Monitors, PA Speakers and FRFR cabs is that they are meant to be accurate in different environments.

Yes, and different studio monitors and different PA speakers sound different too, as I said earlier. FRFR is no different. The goal is the same.

olafgarten said:

Obviously there isn't a speaker that perfectly reproduces sound

Correct. So there is absolutely no reason to think that changing one set of FRFR speakers for another won't sound different.

Why is this so hard to understand?

Hifi may have originally been designed to sound fully accurate, but that is not the case anymore. 

I understand that different speakers will sound different, but if both speakers are well designed and played at a similar level, they won't sound hugely different.