FRFR best choice?

gibsonash said:
Tried a bunch of speakers, Friedman , rcf nx 10/12 etc ..
Yamaha is the best for the bucks . DSR112 first and DXR12/10 second choice .
Can t go wrong ...
All my presets are create on very good studio monitors in studio room .
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A couple of days ago I found an opened box Yamaha DXR12 in a local music store. the store was no longer a Yamaha dealer and they only had one and wanted to get rid of it. I tried it for about an hour in the store and also compared every other system in that price range. I thought the Yamaha DXR12 was easily the best sounding frfr monitor within the bunch. It really gives me everything I need as far as sound quality and the onboard 3 channel integrated mixer allows to have a mic and my AX8 connected and also run BG tracks all with separate volume controls without having to bring any other extra gear , especially if I am doing a solo gig. I also could run a line level input from the foh board minus guitar and have my own guitar control and house mix at my fingertips. I got an incredible deal that I couldn't turn down, they gave it to me for $459 for a Yamaha DXR12........now I am thinking of getting one DXR10 and doing a mix 10/12 combo for my AX8 stereo sound. I hear a mix combo of DXR12 with a DXR10 is the best of both world when combined. The DXR12 gives you the fullness and openness of a 12" with a slightly extended bottom ,while the DXR10 fills in a touch of the mid range focus and growl the that some people says is lacking. I am a studio musician and to my ears this DXR12 sounds absolutely beautiful with plenty of power and I can purchase a stereo pair for less money than 1 of the Premium guitar frfr cabs/amps and have a mini onboard mixer and a 7 year warranty.
 
I using Laney IRT-X, as I understood it is not easy to find them in US as they are UK based. Very happy - full array of inputs, including input from speaker out of real tube amp, and aux input for backing track, 200 Watt of D amp power. Light weight, sturdy, universal. Especially killer if used as Wet part of wet-dry rig. I'm not related to Laney anyhow - just very happy with solution.
Product page http://www.laney.co.uk/products/irt-x/
Sound on Sound review http://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/laney-irt-x
I always thought it is a frill until tried on my band rehearsal to drop loop out of AX8 before cab sim to real cab (via power amp class D) and stereo main out to mixing console for full mix. My bandmate second guitar player did the same (I poisoned him with Fractal - we both now has AX8) and we was just killed with sound we've got. Clear, transparent separation, all parts heard perfectly, drummer (we have very loud guy) do not interfere with us anymore. Just wall of sound.
 
Paulinfl said:
Do yourself a favor everyone, definitely check out the New Xitone Open back FRFR cab with built-in Matrix Power Amp.

I have CLR's, and also a Power Station w/ Mesa Cab which I was alternating use of depending on the application/band. (I love the real cab feel)

Xitone just shipped me a Open back FRFR cab ( the one Michael Britt helped tune) and I can't unplug it! It kicks some serious butt. That open back cab fills the room so well, and feels just like it should, yet has so much clarity when needed, you can run a acoustic through it. It really does the job VERY well. I can't imagine not using it, for me. The Line-X coating on the cab is PERFECT. I love that. All cabs should be like that. Plus, Mic at XItone is a great guy and gives great customer service. I highly recommend.

I hope to do a more in depth review with pics/video soon. I normally don't do reviews, but I like it that much...

Good luck!
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Just ordered one of these yesterday. Can't wait to try it out!
 
I live in the Vancouver BC Canada area. I just got my Fractal Ax8 and am looking to rent some sort of FRFR so I can set up my cab sims for sending to FOH. I want them to be as close as they can be to my on stage cab sound. (I would buy one, but I know when I fly to shows, I will never get one on the rider so I am sticking with using an amp through a cab via the FX return for onstage monitoring)
I called Long and McQuade and they don't seem to carry any of the 3 listed in the first reply.
Does anyone in Canada know of a rental option at one of the larger chain stores?
 
Got a Tech 21 4x10 that I LUV (cab sims on).
Just got an EON-12 and it sounds frickin great too.
Cranked it up the other day and the plastic cab had no rattle and was dead quiet except for my Strats bridge P/U which is expected.
I like it a lot. Is it one of the XITone, Matrix or Friedman things I've never even seen and never expect to see.............probably not but I would expect that any semi full range and I say semi because "they all sound different". If they were all true FRFR they would share the same spec sheets and cost much, much more.
 
Dan S said:
Hello All,
I am considering buying a pair of FRFR active speakers to compliment my AX8. seems simple but I want to buy once and I'm stuck on the following? any help? i
- Matrix FR12 or FR 10
- XiTone
- Atomic Neo CLR , latest wedge
Or.....
I'd lik to order early this week so any recommendations I'd be grateful to hear!
Rock on!
Dan
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I have the Friedman ASM-12 and it (to my ears) totally rocks. Heavy as all get out but it feels like I’m playing through a guitar cab.
 
My new Xitone powered wedge is partially responsible for the skin sloffing off my finger tips , from too much , can't stop , non-stop - playing.
( Should have picked one up before I did )
 
There is a thread I put up about some info I have received on YORKVILLE NX25P .. Made In Canada. TONS of great reviews on it.
 
Just got Mission Gemini II to check it out and used it at an outdoor bandshell gig this past Sunday. It sounded great and worked very well as a stage monitor. The Gemini II has a knob that allows you to go full FRFR, full cab or mix between full FRFR and cab. Set at about about 2 o'clock it worked very well and had enough mids to cut through on-stage. We're a 5 piece classic rock band with a LOUD drummer so this was a real test. The rig sounded fine and it was nice to be hearing the same full stereo effects signal behind me that was coming through the mains. I used to use a Matrix Amp powering a Matrix 2x12 cab (non-FRFR). It sounded ok but I had to schlep a rack case and speaker. Now, the rig is only AX8 and speaker - simple. The only con is the Gemini II is a heavy sucker (about 63 lbs). I bought a portable hand truck at Home Depot which is totally worth it and makes the schlep much easier.
 
I bought the Atomic Neo CLR about a year ago and have been very happy with it. I was using QSC 12 ‘s which always sounded a bit harsh too me. The Neo totally rocks IMO. The sound is natural and organic.
 
I have had and tried a lot of FRFR's Atomic CLR, ev zlx12, ev ELX12P, ev etx 10/12, and yamaha dxr 10.
Then I tried L-Acoustics 108P, and it's the best FRFR I have ever heard...
compared to dxr 10 it was like a blanket was removed from the speaker grill, it got much more and tighter bass, no muddy mids, and crystal clear highs. You can play louder for a long time without getting tired in your ears, because it sound so clear. The only downside is the price.... My dxr 10 are now out for sale...
 
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I have been playing my AX8 through an Alto 112 for over a year. I certainly don't mean to bash the Alto, because it served me well for the price I paid. I received my CLR Neo MKII about a week ago and I was astonished. To say the least, the Alto adds a lot of bass compared to the CLR. I think manufacturers are pretty liberal with defining their speaker systems as FRFR.

My first reaction was that the CLR sounded thin because I was so used to the Alto's and I setup my presets to them. After playing several factory and purchased presets through the CLR, I started to realize how different the character of similar types of amps sound because of the clarity of the CLR. The differences were not as pronounced through the Altos. I have not been able to use the CLR with the band yet. Looking forward to it.
 
CipherHost said:
I have been playing my AX8 through an Alto 112 for over a year. I certainly don't mean to bash the Alto, because it served me well for the price I paid. I received my CLR Neo MKII about a week ago and I was astonished. To say the least, the Alto adds a lot of bass compared to the CLR. I think manufacturers are pretty liberal with defining their speaker systems as FRFR.

My first reaction was that the CLR sounded thin because I was so used to the Alto's and I setup my presets to them. After playing several factory and purchased presets through the CLR, I started to realize how different the character of similar types of amps sound because of the clarity of the CLR. The differences were not as pronounced through the Altos. I have not been able to use the CLR with the band yet. Looking forward to it.
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I just got my Yamaha DXR10 in today after returning the Alto TS 110. The factory presets sounded muddy and had a high end fizzle that required a GEQ to cut both ends. Even then the tone was very uninspiring. I just ran through several factory presets and a bunch of the Naked Amp presets using my new Yamaha and the guitar feel that I was looking for was there in most all of them. I think it's season to taste now.

The Altos can be tweaked to be serviceable but I had a hard time fighting the boxiness after boosting the mids and cutting the high's and low's.

I'm looking forward to using the new speaker in at next 'band camp'. I'm bringing a combo tube amp to run into the fx return just in case FRFR doesn't vibe well.
 
I'm surprised there is no love for the JBL srx812..I find them sensational and very flexible. I think Cliff previously used the older srx712 as the axefx demo speaker.

I also have Yamaha dsr112's, but have not used them for just the ax8 enough yet. First gig was a little too much top end for my liking, but easy enough to tweak.
 
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