power speaker recommendation

A

andy pitt

New Member
I was going to purchase the FX8 but now I'm strongly considering the AX8. I wonder if there are any recommendations for a powered speaker to go along with it. I currently have a Yamaha DXR10- Would a 12" be better for guitar? (Sorry if this has been discussed- I'm new here)--Andy
 
best thing to do is look at the amps, cabs section of the forum. Any frfr cab suggestions for the axe ii go perfect for the ax8. For what it is worth. Many guys have used 10's for the set ups but 12's remain the most popular.
 
For FRFR speakers intended for use with modellers many are going with the QSC K12's, Mackie Thump or other similar kind of speakers. Those things are pretty damn pricey at around $700 a pop but they are awesome and push about 1000 watts each. Powered, so all you have to do is plug em in and rawk. Personally I have been using Alto TS110s and have been very happy with them so far. Grant it, I have not used them with a fractal unit, just PODs but that really shouldn't mater as it's all about the speaker quality.

According to a sound man friend of mine, 10" FRFR speakers that are going to be used solely for guitar are better than 12". His reasoning was because of the bounce back time (or recovery) of the speaker. It's faster with a 10" vs a 12". So if you are playing something with some really heavy quick palm mutes, you'll get cleaner definition than with a 12". This guy has been doing sound for years so I do trust his advice but it is still his opinion. I haven't looked at speaker benchmarks side by side to really compare... I'm just not that obsessed ;)
 
andy pitt said:
I was going to purchase the FX8 but now I'm strongly considering the AX8. I wonder if there are any recommendations for a powered speaker to go along with it. I currently have a Yamaha DXR10- Would a 12" be better for guitar? (Sorry if this has been discussed- I'm new here)--Andy
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The Yamaha DXR10 you have is a very well regarded speaker for the $$$.

I'd hold off and see how your AX8 sounds with the DXR10 before making any moves.
 
You can't generally say using an 8", 10" or 12" woofer is going to give better or worse performance. It is more about the overall design and how successful they met their goals.

I have found that 2-way speaker designs that use a 15" woofer + compression driver / horn are problematic. Hard to get an even frequency response from these. 3-way or 4-way designs with 15" woofers are better IMO.

I switched to Atomic Amplifier's CLR powered wedges when they first were released. I still really like these over anything else I have tried. I feel like these hit a great sweet spot of performance / form factor for the $$.
 
barhrecords said:
You can't generally say using an 8", 10" or 12" woofer is going to give better or worse performance. It is more about the overall design and how successful they met their goals.

I have found that 2-way speaker designs that use a 15" woofer + compression driver / horn are problematic. Hard to get an even frequency response from these. 3-way or 4-way designs with 15" woofers are better IMO.

I switched to Atomic Amplifier's CLR powered wedges when they first were released. I still really like these over anything else I have tried. I feel like these hit a great sweet spot of performance / form factor for the $$.
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Yeah, I have been reading a lot of folks saying the same thing about those. I wish there was a music store around me that had some for me to demo. Although, it looks like my FRFR cabs are going to get an upgrade soon as they might just start doubling as my bands' main PA cabs too. Didn't see that one coming... damn singers.
 
Spawn2031 said:
Yeah, I have been reading a lot of folks saying the same thing about those. I wish there was a music store around me that had some for me to demo. Although, it looks like my FRFR cabs are going to get an upgrade soon as they might just start doubling as my bands' main PA cabs too. Didn't see that one coming... damn singers.
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I use my CLR's for small PA use too. Incredible for vocals and keys as well as guitar.
 
I'm wondering how my Quilter Aviator combo amp would work. It's not FRFR. It's a regular guitar amp. But with very clean solid state power.

So I wouldn't run the Ax8 cab block through it because it already has a traditional guitar speaker doing the low-fi voice. But I'm thinking I could run the amp block into the Quilter's Aux input (bypassing the Quilter's preamp shaping) and use the AX8's amp block as the preamp.

Then I could find a cab block that resembles the Quilter's speaker and send that to FOH.

It means I'd sacrifice some diversity because I couldn't hear different cab sounds from one speaker. On the other hand, it might feel more like playing a real amp/speaker instead of feeling like I'm monitoring myself from a studio control room.
 
RCF NX12SMA here, very happy with it. Would love to play a night through a CLR neo after reading Scott Peterson's review, but haven't had the chance as of this post. Those would be the two I could recommend to anyone, either from personal experience or confidence in the ear and recommendation of other respected players.
 
I am using (2) xitone 1X12 active wedges (stereo) that are awesome. I have not played through CLRs, but the reviews I have read in the past usually mention Xitones and CLRs as being well received. Recently, I have read some postings mentioning the Friedman ASM 12s as being excellent as well.
 
Mind you, I never tried a powered cab myself, but researched quite a bit for a very small capable cab. A lot hints to the Matrix Q12a, Matrix being a UK company. G66 which distribute Fractal in Europe recommend and sell Matrix monitors as a very suitable solution. They used to sell CLRs if my memory serves me right but don't anymore. Anyways, Matrix has passive wedges and an active cab. The amp in this cab seems to have a tubelike sound coloration and the reviews I found were very promising. Count in the very small size that is why I ordered this cab with the AX8. This comes at a high price, 1 k € for the Matrix. Admitted, I am new to this modeler business, but I trust G66 for their outstanding service and they recommend these speakers a lot. Shure, as they sell it... No, I am not related to Matrix. Good luck in finding the best monitor for you.
 
Richard Lainegard said:
I'd like to try the Friedman's personally, if nothing else because they look frigging awesome!
X-Mann has two I believe?
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Thx Rich!

Yea, I'm now running in true stereo w/ 2-Friedman ASM-12 FRFR 500 watt (Class G) powered speakers.

They sound as good as the look & this design is licensed to Friedman Amps & B52 as well. Friedman changes the driver, speaker & builds a custom cabinet in their design too.

All of the names mentioned here seem like great choices as well.

There's lots of headroom, no feedback issues or weird highs to deal with at all. I've run it w/ the Eleven Rack & the Axe-Fx II XL+ & I'm just hooked on this product!



Good luck in your search for quality gear that gets the job done!

X

PS - The only downside to the Friedman is the 52 lb weight. I had to buy a small Rock cart to fix this on my end. :eek:

PSS - I've played around 5-gigs w/ a single ASM-12 w/ no issues & the stereo pair are heading out this Friday & I'll report back.
 
I would add that personally I feel a Coaxial design has the edge over a standard two way design in the fact that they respond more like a guitar speaker.

I agree with barhrcords, speaker design is very important and saying that a 10" speaker will work better than a 12" for guitar applications makes no sense, if that were the case based on what your friend is saying we would have seen 10 drivers in every guitar cab for decades past.
 
Sixstring said:
I would add that personally I feel a Coaxial design has the edge over a standard two way design in the fact that they respond more like a guitar speaker.

I agree with barhrcords, speaker design is very important and saying that a 10" speaker will work better than a 12" for guitar applications makes no sense, if that were the case based on what your friend is saying we would have seen 10 drivers in every guitar cab for decades past.
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Yup, that was my first thought too when that sound guy friend of mine was telling me that. what about all the 4x12 cabs out there for guitars? I always though 10s were reserved for bass cabs. Supposedly the difference comes with FRFR speakers as they behave differently than standard guitar cab speakers. Still remember that I am not saying that this is the word of God, just the information that was passed to me when I was trying to find out as much as I could about these kind of cabs. Take it for what you will.
 
Spawn2031 said:
Yup, that was my first thought too when that sound guy friend of mine was telling me that. what about all the 4x12 cabs out there for guitars? I always though 10s were reserved for bass cabs. Supposedly the difference comes with FRFR speakers as they behave differently than standard guitar cab speakers. Still remember that I am not saying that this is the word of God, just the information that was passed to me when I was trying to find out as much as I could about these kind of cabs. Take it for what you will.
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I would not say 10's are reserved for bass players. There have been cabs and combos that use 10'a for guitar. It is just not as popular as the 12's
 
Sixstring said:
I would add that personally I feel a Coaxial design has the edge over a standard two way design in the fact that they respond more like a guitar speaker.

I agree with barhrcords, speaker design is very important and saying that a 10" speaker will work better than a 12" for guitar applications makes no sense, if that were the case based on what your friend is saying we would have seen 10 drivers in every guitar cab for decades past.
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I agree on your first part about coaxial designs having the edge for a FRFR speaker.

The earlier comment on 10" FRFR having an advantage over a 12"/15" FRFR is still valid though. The comment was about 10" FRFR cabinets, not 10" GUITAR cabinets. Apples vs oranges.

The rationale is that a 10" 2-way FRFR design is better at producing the critical midrange component guitarists need, whereas in many many 12"/15" 2-way designs that critical midrange can sometimes get lost in the crossover design. Also, many of these speakers tend to be designed not for accuracy but for club or live situations where an exaggerated low-end is favored. That said, you could also make the case that a well designed 12" won't exhibit this problem, but that's the theory.

:)
 
I've got a QSC K12 and it's pretty good, but I've also got a couple EV ELX112P's, and to be honest, they sound nearly as good to me, for less than half the cost. I jammed with a drummer and bass player the other day with one and it sounded great, and hung in there volume-wise as well.
 
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