Qsc kw or HK actor dx

[patmarcus]

So many other great options to consider too. Ive just done a massive test of powered cabs with the QSC K10s, K12s, JBL PRX612Ms, db 602s and 605s, RCF 412, 422, D line 12HDA, 712 and 722 plus the new Yamaha DXRs and DSRs.

The only one I didnt get to hear was the EV Live X 112P but EVs Dealer support is rubbish here and there's a prblem getting spares. In the end it was a close call between the two new contenders - the Namm 2011 launched Yamah DXR and the RCF D line HD12A. The Yamahas have a brilliant mixer, are beautifully made, deliver "hard hitting" bass and have a very smooth sound even at top volume. The RCFs went louder (even though on paper the Yammy DXRs win), went deeper and sounded cleaner.

I bought the RCFs.

[wooster]

Another spanner in the works, was considering the new yamaha stuff (Use yamaha passive at the moment). Which RCF did you buy and why, we would need subs as well playing rock music.

So many other great options to consider too. Ive just done a massive test of powered cabs with the QSC K10s, K12s, JBL PRX612Ms, db 602s and 605s, RCF 412, 422, D line 12HDA, 712 and 722 plus the new Yamaha DXRs and DSRs.

The only one I didnt get to hear was the EV Live X 112P but EVs Dealer support is rubbish here and there's a prblem getting spares. In the end it was a close call between the two new contenders - the Namm 2011 launched Yamah DXR and the RCF D line HD12A. The Yamahas have a brilliant mixer, are beautifully made, deliver "hard hitting" bass and have a very smooth sound even at top volume. The RCFs went louder (even though on paper the Yammy DXRs win), went deeper and sounded cleaner.

I bought the RCFs.

[techywhizz]

the new yammy DXR boxes are cheaper than the QSC equivalents

[patmarcus]

Sorry. Didnt make it clear. I bought the all-new RCF Dline HD12As. Why - because they went louder than the Yamah DXRs for not much more money ( Ithink it ended up about £95 more after negotiation) , they sounded slightly cleaner and the bass went slightly deeper.

Even though on paper the yammys have a more powerful amp 700 watts versus 600 they clipped when the RCFs didnt....but this was at very very high volume. The Yammy DXRs really were awesome with the best rear panel mixer Ive ever come across and had a sound that was just "right" with no EQing. Theyve also, usefully, got two stand holes - one angled and the other vertical.

Although I bought the RCF Dline Ive got nothing but praise for the Yamaha DXRs and believe that its, IMHO, significantly better than the QSC, which up until that point had been my favourite. In fact, its a bargain at the moment so if Yamaha get their distribution and marketing right, it could clean up.

I didnt do a sub test but Yamaha have also just launched a ne wrange of DXS subs so even though I bought the RCF Id consider them along with the other usual suspects including the awesome (and quite light) RCF 905as.

[Alec]

Ive just done a massive test of powered cabs with the QSC K10s, K12s, JBL PRX612Ms, db 602s and 605s, RCF 412, 422, D line 12HDA, 712 and 722 plus the new Yamaha DXRs and DSRs.

I bought the RCFs.

 

So, as an RCF user myself (2 x 722a, 4 x 710a, 2 x 705A) I'm intrigued as to your opinions between the 12HDA and the 712 & 722s. In theory, the 12HDA is closer to the 712 (with the 1" HF driver). And how did the 412/422 fit in too. The 12HDA is certainly attractively priced (especially compared with the 722).

 

There don't seem to have been many people who've directly compared many cabs like this. I had ART 310, 325, 710, 722, 725 all running side by side. In that test, the 722 won in pretty much every way as an all-round speaker.

 

Here is my quick summary of my RCF shootout:

 

310 - really impressive for the price, and pretty close to the 710 performance. This surprised me, as the 325 and 725 were completely different from each other, but the 310 & 710 were very close.

 

325 - flipping loud, but bass-light. Fine with a sub, but disappointing without, especially as they're 15s, and with the weight, too!

 

710 - astonishing for 10" speakers. Units that size/weight have no right to sound so good! Bottom end better than the 325s in my view!

 

722 - "solid" is the word that sums them up best. Vocals are astonishingly clear through them. Tight, elegant bottom end.

 

725 - disappointed me. Yes, they've got a tad more bottom end than the smaller drivers, but it felt flabby, rather than elegant. But nothing to excite me - and they're quite an increase in size! I far preferred the tighter bottom end of the 722s. The only situation where I'd prefer these would be for a disco without subs (which I don't do)

[wooster]

I think im going to go down the yamaha route, which though im not sure DXR or DSR? any thoughts.

Another spanner in the works, was considering the new yamaha stuff (Use yamaha passive at the moment). Which RCF did you buy and why, we would need subs as well playing rock music.

So many other great options to consider too. Ive just done a massive test of powered cabs with the QSC K10s, K12s, JBL PRX612Ms, db 602s and 605s, RCF 412, 422, D line 12HDA, 712 and 722 plus the new Yamaha DXRs and DSRs.

The only one I didnt get to hear was the EV Live X 112P but EVs Dealer support is rubbish here and there's a prblem getting spares. In the end it was a close call between the two new contenders - the Namm 2011 launched Yamah DXR and the RCF D line HD12A. The Yamahas have a brilliant mixer, are beautifully made, deliver "hard hitting" bass and have a very smooth sound even at top volume. The RCFs went louder (even though on paper the Yammy DXRs win), went deeper and sounded cleaner.

I bought the RCFs.

[patmarcus]

Hi Fulltimer. Yes youre quite right. The closest other speaker in the range to the Dline is indeed the 712. I discovered relatively quickly that I preferred the "sweetness" of a 1" horn over the additional throw you get from a 2". At really high volume I found all the 2" models on test shrill but I know from other users of 722s that they dont find this the case - particularly in a "real" situation with people soaking up some of the high frequency energy. I did the bulk of my testing in a very big music shop with very high ceilings, packed full of hard reflective surfaces. If anything was going to emphasise sibilance, the shop was it. I thought the 422 was amazing value and actually very loud. It didnt clip in the way the more expensive 722 did which surprised me hugely (not that this impacted the 722s sound). But again, it had a 2" horn and I thought the D line edged it for cleanliness of sound.

 

However, I made the decision and stuck with it. I definitely preferred the HD12A over the 712. It seemed cleaner across the frequency range and just as loud. In fact I ended up wondering if RCF will simply ditch the 712 from the range. The 412 doesnt offer as high SPL (im not interested in the quoted wattage) and this seemed to be born out in practice. I felt that the HD12A offered the clarity of the 722 at a more modest price. Yes, its not quite as powerful and some people will need a 2" horn for bigger venues.

 

I dont really like speakers of this type with 15" drivers. IMHO while they may go a little louder, deeper and produce "more" bass, its almost never "better" bass, seeming to slow down the sound and making it it all a bit wallowy. "Flabby" was a good description.

 

Wooster - if you need a 2" horn you must listen to the DSR. Its heavy (for a powered speaker) and has a rubbish mixer on the back (just like RCFs do) but the sound quality is excellent. It has a very deep, powerful , and hard hitting bass and it goes louder than any other 12" powered speaker Ive ever heard. Seriously it seems to deliver almost infinite volume. Others will disagree but you could use it comfortably without a sub unless you were playing a strict diet of dance music.

 

And the DXR ? Well as youve read I think its an amazing value, great sounding speaker with probably the best back-panel mixer on the market. In some ways it sounded better than the Dline - I preferred the bass. There's a certain "rightness" to the sound that makes all your tunes sound lively and dynamic without being in any way tiring. But I didnt buy it because it started to clip (at admittedly high volumes) when the Dline just kept on getting louder and louder.

 

Try em all. I loved the experience and the brilliant shop where I spent the money couldnt have been more helpful. I simply took three tracks I know are really well recorded and Im so familiar with that I know exactly how theyre supposed to sound, stuck them on my iphone at a 320k (lossless would be even better), grabbed a really high quality cable and had a play. Do let us know how you get on.

 

P.

[KeithRyle]

Just had a chance to test DXR12 against K12 that I owned. Wow. It gets freakin loud! It is the best sounding full range powered speaker I have yet to test. High frequencies are very crisp and the low end is really focused. To be honest, I was not impressed with DXR at low volume (fairly comparable to K12...maybe too much low end boost with K12), but as it got close to its limiter point, the difference between DXR and K got pretty obvious. While the limiter hit hard on the low end with K12, DXR kept (or even improved??) its clarity and elegant low-end. The D-CONTOUR dsp processing on DXR seemed to be more advanced than the DEEP think on K... It made the 12" box sound like a 15" box!!! I was not a big fan of Yamaha but really impressed with their new speakershttp://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif

[wooster]

Just had a chance to test DXR12 against K12 that I owned. Wow. It gets freakin loud! It is the best sounding full range powered speaker I have yet to test. High frequencies are very crisp and the low end is really focused. To be honest, I was not impressed with DXR at low volume (fairly comparable to K12...maybe too much low end boost with K12), but as it got close to its limiter point, the difference between DXR and K got pretty obvious. While the limiter hit hard on the low end with K12, DXR kept (or even improved??) its clarity and elegant low-end. The D-CONTOUR dsp processing on DXR seemed to be more advanced than the DEEP think on K... It made the 12" box sound like a 15" box!!! I was not a big fan of Yamaha but really impressed with their new speakershttp://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif

[DurhamEvents]

With everyone talking about a whole host of excellent cabs here I just thought that I would add that in my side by side tests with the RCF 722 vs a dB Technologies Flexsys F315 it was really interesting to notice how much more clarity came out of the dB horn configuration over the RCF. Of course anyone with some common sense would presume that a well specified speaker with a dedicated 6.5" driver & a 1 inch comp driver on a purpose built horn is likely to render high frequencies better, but it's hard to appreciate the difference until you've actually stood them side by side and compared.

 

The 722 top end is amazing considering the limitations of compression driver designs, and they sound rich, full and warm at almost all frequencies right up to their max output, but when you listen to them against the dB you can distinguish the 'harshness' a poster mentioned earlier in this thread. The dB's also throw the sound much more forward as well as sounding 'sweeter' (which I interpret as a 1 inch comp driver is 'naturally' better at doing really high frequencies than a 2 inch hence sounds sweeter) and so if you're looking for a speaker thats got very good intelligibility as well as some more throw than the RCF's then I suggest testing these dB's.

 

Obviously the main drawback is that they weigh in at 31 kilos and are significantly larger than the other smaller options being discussed here, but as a true 3 way in a single box configuration in the sub £2500 price bracket (which seems to be where this thread is at) they deserve a mention..