My initial experiences with the Seismic SAX-12M-PW 12" powered coaxial monitor

if it sounds even anywhere near as good as the RCF NX12 I had did, I will be happy enough to keep it.
I don't really use FRFR at all anymore my preference is power amp->cab, but for such short money and a return policy and a positive review by another forum user
I figure 'what the hell do I have to lose" I may as well be a guinea pig and check it out,hell if it even equals my rokit K8s but with more volume and dispersion
I may be sold
if the Carvin TRX12N was powered I'd give those a shot too, why not :)
 
@BBN - yeah, I've unfortunately been burned by unfounded excessive exuberance when making some blind purchases, so I'm just naturally inclined to wait until enough people have put it through the ringer and exposed the warts before I think about jumping in. Not only that, but since I've been using the CLRs, and now understand how they work best within my performance scheme, I've got too many cabinets sitting around collecting dust. I'll have to try to off more gear before diving in for more cabinets. However, the Seismic speakers are interesting, and I can see myself taking a closer look based on more positive reviews. I'm always interested in having a variety of compact speakers for my different gigs. For me, a good A/B comparison would be the Seismic coaxial vs. the Alto powered 12", at about the same price point.

For the time being, I'm pretty well set with the CLRs.
 
For the time being, I'm pretty well set with the CLRs.

The thing I struggle with is my front wedge.
Last night was a great example.
My guitar player his JBL SR-X 4702 in front of him (and a Mesa 1x12 behind him), and middle of the second set.....here comes a hefty dose of Bud Light because people just can't seem to get that beer from the bottle to their f'n faces without most of it ending up on our monitors and pedal boards. So although I'd love it, putting another RCF, CLR, XiTone or Matrix wedge in front of me is not something that I would be able to stomach every night.
But something that only cost $300.....I could probably live with.

At the moment, for rooms that I know I'm going to watch my monitor get a Jager bath, I bring a crappy JBL JRX12 wedge. I can tolerate it for vocals, but hearing my Axe through it sounds like it's being re-amp'd by a POD....
 
I just took a look at their other stuff...and I see a powered 12 and 15 at a really nice price. The 12 is attractive because of its weight.
 
well it did not arrive here yet, Fed Ex 'expected delivery" changed to "NA" from 12-21 at the end of the day yesterday. I know it did leave Connecticut on Friday so I'm hopeful it will arrive tomorrow.
oh and Jay I totally get what you're saying a good friend of mine gigs on LandsDowne Street and he is constantly telling me horror stories of drunkards spilling shit and knocking shit over
after every gig. It's the "Main" reason he will not take an Axe FX -> MFC101->CLR (or whatever FRFR system) out to gig.
I guess the stage in this club (I'll have to find out which one it is from him) is on floor level so all of his gear is exposed. His USA Jackson soloists has been retired to home/studio use because of this. Now he uses SL3 jap versions when he plays out.
 
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One of the reasons I never use powered monitors.

Last time I had a powered wedge at a gig it shorted out after a chic breaking it down to "Brick House" spilled her entire drink on it.

Had many spilled drinks on my non-powered wedges over the years and never had a problem other than the lingering stink of booze.


The thing I struggle with is my front wedge.
Last night was a great example.
My guitar player his JBL SR-X 4702 in front of him (and a Mesa 1x12 behind him), and middle of the second set.....here comes a hefty dose of Bud Light because people just can't seem to get that beer from the bottle to their f'n faces without most of it ending up on our monitors and pedal boards. So although I'd love it, putting another RCF, CLR, XiTone or Matrix wedge in front of me is not something that I would be able to stomach every night.
But something that only cost $300.....I could probably live with.

At the moment, for rooms that I know I'm going to watch my monitor get a Jager bath, I bring a crappy JBL JRX12 wedge. I can tolerate it for vocals, but hearing my Axe through it sounds like it's being re-amp'd by a POD....
 
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@Nick - it's gotta be the Landsdown Pub. No stage, and it's a zoo! I played there once after a Sox/Yankees game and I was severely thankful that the monitors we were using were not mine. (for those not familiar, Fenway Park is on Landsdown St....so after a Sox game, the clubs in that area are just ridiculous). Thankfully the Sox won that night so people were in a good mood (yet insanely wasted).

@LVC - I hear you on that. I've had good luck with my passives working after drinking a full beer. I tip them over on their face and let them dry when that happens.
I haven't had any amp issues (yet) when using a powered wedge. Well....once I got to a gig and a Mackie SRM450 didn't power up....but I think that was from a bumpy 200 mile ride in a trailer.
I've actually had a full cup of honey mustard sauce dumped right into the tweeter on a powered wedge....my guitar player took it apart and cleaned it....worked fine until the say I sold it.
My bigger issue is just 'gear getting damaged by morons'....whether it breaks or not, it just puts me in a bad mood.

It's always a personal debate I have with myself - take the nice gear and have it potentially get damaged.....or take out my sub-par gear and not be as happy playing.
Everyone always thinks I'm the Grinch when I ask 4 drunk dancing girls to get off the stage.....but on the other hand, my buddy had a girl on stage that dumped an entire captain & coke on his 24 channel Midas Venice console. Mixer died...and gig was over. Not a cheap thing to fix.
 
well this just arrived , unfortunately it got a little banged up by FedEx but it seems to be functioning properly.
initial thoughts.
you need to turn the 2 Eq's up to about 1:00 then "bang" this thing came alive.
so far what I would say is that it sounds somewhere between the Xitone I had here and the RCF.
It's not metallic sounding at all seems like the low/high end responses are a little "muted" compared to a high quality FRFR wedge, which
IMO is actually good, makes it feel and sound more "guitar cab" like (I wouldn't use these to mix with ....uh uh).
It can get pretty loud too I focus more on "home playing levels with something of this price point , I'll crank it up later.
quite a few of my FRFR patches sounded good right out of the box, others sound a bit dull as I have hi/low pass PEQs in a lot of my patches that I think will have to be turned off with this wedge.
So Far for $299.99 shipped?.............................big thumbs up
2 of these in my house will probably sound killer (but then again 2 CLRS/RCFs etc would too :) )
 
well this just arrived , unfortunately it got a little banged up by FedEx but it seems to be functioning properly.
initial thoughts.
you need to turn the 2 Eq's up to about 1:00 then "bang" this thing came alive.
so far what I would say is that it sounds somewhere between the Xitone I had here and the RCF.
It's not metallic sounding at all seems like the low/high end responses are a little "muted" compared to a high quality FRFR wedge, which
IMO is actually good, makes it feel and sound more "guitar cab" like (I wouldn't use these to mix with ....uh uh).
It can get pretty loud too I focus more on "home playing levels with something of this price point , I'll crank it up later.
quite a few of my FRFR patches sounded good right out of the box, others sound a bit dull as I have hi/low pass PEQs in a lot of my patches that I think will have to be turned off with this wedge.
So Far for $299.99 shipped?.............................big thumbs up

sounds like it is likely to move up the charts!

I think I am going to wait a few weeks until all the holiday shipping madness before ordering anything.

How does it sound with music from your computer etc?
 
sounds like it is likely to move up the charts!

I think I am going to wait a few weeks until all the holiday shipping madness before ordering anything.

How does it sound with music from your computer etc?

haven't done that yet , I have a Polk audio stereo system that kicks total ass so not important to me.
I will though just to test it for a reference point
 
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haven't done that yet , I have a Polk audio stereo system that kicks total ass so not important to me.
I will though just to test it for a reference point

Thanks

I am in the market for new speakers -- was going to pull the triggers on some Adams -- but I would not mind saving a few bucks if these can pull double duty. Basically I can buy two for the price of one Adam :eek:
 
I had the same experience as kmanick, glad you're enjoying them and relieved that I'm not crazy to like such a cheap speaker... Lol

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did you do anything with the boost/cut/flat switch?
I have min on it's side right now (like backline) with eq to flat
 
I use it up in a pole and also have it on flat... Has worked well for me like that.

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I had the same experience as kmanick, glad you're enjoying them and relieved that I'm not crazy to like such a cheap speaker... Lol

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for something to be good -- it does not need to cost a small fortune!

Funny thing when it comes to music gear - most folks feel that if it does not cost a lot of money it must suck.
 
for something to be good -- it does not need to cost a small fortune!

Funny thing when it comes to music gear - most folks feel that if it does not cost a lot of money it must suck.

True. Some people do feel that way. My experience is that the more pricey the gear, the better it will spec, perform and BE SUPPORTED by the manufacturer if there are problems with the gear. I have some budget gear that I like and use regularly, but for every one of those units, there are probably 100 that aren't even worth a first or second look due to audio quality, feature-set or durability. As the price goes up, I would think that the percentage of "dogs" should go down. Otherwise, a company that repeatedly puts out under-performing gear is not long for this world...at ANY price point.

Generally speaking, inexpensive but "good" gear is usually relegated to tasks that do not suffer terribly for the gear's limitations. Not always, but a lot of the time. This is very subjective, obviously. JMHO.
 
You know what these things could be really good for?

Completing that dream W/D/W for all you FRFR guys with one of the better FRFR speakers in the middle... or even better, a W/D/D/W rig for you guys with two already good FRFR speakers who want to just go completely over the top.

I'm on the list for two CLRs right now and I'm already thinking about two CLRs in the middle with a seismic on either side, each speaker getting its own independent output from the Axe. Picture your favorite stereo amp patch, each amp hard panned dry or with just a bit of room verb to the CLRs, then all the long reverb tails and delays happening on the Seismics.

Definitely not the worst way to spend money I've ever heard.
 
I used the Xitone a while back... almost a year. What I can comment on the xitone is that it is very close to the CLR soundwise at lower volumes although the CLR edged it out on clarity and sound quality. The xitone compared to the CLR sounded a little bit boxier (maybe correctable with EQ, but apples to apples the CLR sounded better), it required more power to sound as loud as the CLR (although this might be more the GT800FX's fault) and I liked the powered speaker setup compared to an extra slot taken up in my rack case for the Matrix.

A more accurate comparison would be Seismic vs. CLR. In my opinion, the Seismic does about 75-80% of what the CLR can do soundwise (up until now without considering reliability) but at a fraction of the price. The CLR has a lot better dispersion if that it what you are looking for (this actually worked against me in my situation), the highs are smoother and it is overall clearer. The Seismic however is a good bang for the buck. At least for the type of music I play it has made me not want to look back, especially at this price.

Would I consider another CLR in the future? Sure... if I had money to burn I'd go for the NEO cab version which addresses my two complaints, weight and the speaker covering (I believe the cab uses tolex).

:lol too be honest when my CLR Neos arrived and I first opened the box my first reaction was "what have I done" i.e., to my back :lol

As I braced myself - and lifted the first on out of the box - my second reaction was "OMG!!! I can lift these with one hand!!!"

Then I hooked them up to my my AXE FX II and - without having to tweak a single factory or personal preset - my third reaction was "OMG! OMG! OMG! - these are just amazing - worth every penny!!!"

Disclaimer: I paid full price. I had no connection with Tom King or Atomic whatsoever (other than being on the waitlist :lol) and bought these largely on the endorsement of Scott Peterson - IMO he undersold the CLR Neos! :)
 
Sounds like these would be great for my front vocal wedge......BUT, they're sold out.
 
Here ya go man... great cover of that song awesome job on the solo :encouragement:. To embed just copy and past the address to the video icon (film tape pic) in the posting window.

 
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