RCF312a's 2 speakers against 4

[DJAkash]

Hey everyone, so I right now am at a situation where I am booking events that have in the larger halls.
I have 2 RCF312a's, to do these larger halls would 2 more RCF312a's make a significant increase on volume levels to handle the larger places?

heres the info RCF has

FEATURES
350 Watt bi-amplification
127 dB max spl
90 x 60, Wide dispersion constant directivity horn
12" woofer, high power 2.5" voice coil
1" HF driver, mylar dome, neodymium 1.5" voice coil
ACOUSTICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Frequency Response -3 dB:50 Hz ÷ 20 kHz
Max SPL:127 dB
Horizontal coverage angle:90°
Vertical coverage angle:60°
Compression Driver:1" neo, 1.5" v.c.
Woofer:12", 2.5" v.c.

[Brom]

Since they were so cheap I actually bought four of them last summer for this very reason. I can normally get away with just two but sometimes it's nice to have the extras with you so you don't blast the people right in front. (And who never fail to be the oldest freakin' people at the party!) Depending on the layout of the room I just run an extra XLR or set it up wirelessly.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

What about subs? If you don't have any that's where you should be investing.

[DJAkash]

I am planning on buying a ls801p unless anyone knows a better sub at the lower 1000 dollar price mark

[CQE DJs]

You won't find a louder sub at that price point, that's for sure. It is heavy and a pain to move around especially if you are by yourself. just make sure you have help getting it into your truck/van or up and down steps if needed

[Incognito]

I am planning on buying a ls801p unless anyone knows a better sub at the lower 1000 dollar price mark

Search around for good deal on a JBL PRX618S-XLF.

[windspeed36]

The JBL PRX618S-XLF goes lower however - same
Price range

[Al Poulin]

Both of these subs are excellent. The Yorkville is louder while the JBL sounds better. The JBL is also easier to move around...

Al

[DJAkash]

the yorkville is louder, but by the JBL sounding better, what exactly does that mean. Does it imply the yorkville doesn't sound good

[disbjohn]

the yorkville is louder, but by the JBL sounding better, what exactly does that mean. Does it imply the yorkville doesn't sound good
yorkville is more chest thumping bass and may sound more one notish to some. The JBL is more musical.

[ampnation]

What you'll find once you add the sub is that your tops will be louder. The reason is, a very large part of the power used in a full range cabinet is dedicated to the lowest frequencies. When you use a sub, if you're doing it right, those RCF tops will be reproducing down to 100Hz instead of 50Hz approximately which frees up a lot of energy to dedicate to the rest of the rang

Another point is, you don't want two of those cabs splayed per side. They have 90 degree dispersion so you would end up with 180 degrees meaning your comb filtering in the alley would be awful. The only time I would use 4 of them is if I had them in a cluster overhead for a "in-the-round" situation giving you 360 degrees of coverage.

If you find those tops aren't sufficient for the size crowds you're pulling or the venues you're playing, you simply need to invest in the next step up. There are various ways to go here. One would be the line array. Another would be a high output system like the EV Phoenix line. You're definitely talking 5 figures easily either way you go though. The nice thing about the Phoenix tops are, they have a 30/60 degree rotatable waveguide so you can put them at 30 degrees and get 3 cabs per side with each cluster having the same 90 degree dispersion as your RCF's there. That would be MUCH louder.

Until you're doing a fair number of these larger gigs however, Something like a line array or Phoenix would be overkill and you would be better off finding a system you like that you can rent from a local soundco. They would be able to help you put together the system from their inventory that would meet your needs.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Another point is, you don't want two of those cabs splayed per side. True. This explains why.
http://homepage.mac.com/randyhyde/webster.cs.ucr.edu/AudioStuff/audioStuff.html


If you find those tops aren't sufficient for the size crowds you're pulling or the venues you're playing, you simply need to invest in the next step up. He can use two per side. One way is cross-fired, as shown in the above link. A better method is one above the other, with the top cab upside down. That results in what's known as a W-T-T-W alignment and works very well. But the limit is two per side. And of course adding subs first is the way to go.

[audiopyle]

I haven't tried arraying the ART312As, but I have used my ART325i cabs two per side with good results. I adjust the splay angle between cabinets to minimize audible combing, and find that they do not need to be splayed as widely as the nominal spec for the horizontal pattern would imply.

[Incognito]

Another point is, you don't want two of those cabs splayed per side. They have 90 degree dispersion so you would end up with 180 degrees meaning your comb filtering in the alley would be awful. The only time I would use 4 of them is if I had them in a cluster overhead for a "in-the-round" situation giving you 360 degrees of coverage.


Not a problem if he plans to use the 2nd pair as remote delay mid way down the venue, he could even go wireless so that he wouldn't require running cables all over the place. I used to do this with four QSC HPR 122i tops that I used to own, this made it perfect for filling a venue without having to blast FOH to get good SPL coverage at the rear of the venue.

[ampnation]

True. This explains why.
http://homepage.mac.com/randyhyde/webster.cs.ucr.edu/AudioStuff/audioStuff.html

He can use two per side. One way is cross-fired, as shown in the above link. A better method is one above the other, with the top cab upside down. That results in what's known as a W-T-T-W alignment and works very well. But the limit is two per side. And of course adding subs first is the way to go.

Yes, I always forget about crossfiring Bill. Thanks for reminding me. Just to be clear, in the diagram, one cab is firing directly forward and the 2nd is facing 90 degrees facing away from center, right? I know the SRX712M has a 90 degree dispersion so is the illustration you link to using 90 degrees specifically due to the cab dispersion? or would one always use 90 degree orientation?

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

is the illustration you link to using 90 degrees specifically due to the cab dispersion? or would one always use 90 degree orientation?I've found that 90 degree gives the best results, irrespective of the cab used.

[DJAkash]

Not a problem if he plans to use the 2nd pair as remote delay mid way down the venue, he could even go wireless so that he wouldn't require running cables all over the place. I used to do this with four QSC HPR 122i tops that I used to own, this made it perfect for filling a venue without having to blast FOH to get good SPL coverage at the rear of the venue.

How exactly could I go wireless, what would this require me to buy?

[DJAkash]

I am buying a sub before I plan to buy another pair. I was thinking about that height idea too, having one speaker at a height greater mimicking the dual sub dual horn speaker. what do you think is better, cross firing or the height method?

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

what do you think is better, cross firing or the height method?

You'd only cross-fire if you needed a wider dispersion angle, as in a very short/wide room.

[Incognito]

How exactly could I go wireless, what would this require me to buy?

There are a few over the shelf purpose built systems (such as the Vocopro Airnet 2.4 Ghz, though this is an entry level line of sight system only good for up to 150 feet) but you could also go with a decent wireless lapel system (just be sure it has the vocal frequency range you're looking for & settle for nothing less then UHF) such as those from Shure.