"Movin' on up", gimme a hand...

Since I was unable to get to A.C. until three weeks AFTER the Expo, I missed a lot of info I NEED.

I have been trying to do my "due diligence" on such things as speakers. Don't fight, folks, but there are a couple of issues at play, here...

I rarely play a room larger than 50X100. That is usually filled with bar, tables, etc. If I need o go bigger, I HAVE gear for that.

I am what we used to call, in the "olden days", a CRIPPLE. I need it all to be as small and LIGHT as possible, and I would like it to be TWO speakers and a nice, (SMALL), sub. If I have to fly a couple of tiny highs, so be it.

I would like it to be able to sit on my good old Ultimate stands, (or the floor), and not need to buy new, as well.

I will spend money on VALUE, but I won't waste it. I will also try and get it all either from one of you here or someone LOCAL, as I believe in supporting local biz.

Am I asking too much?

Two qsc K8's (or two K10's if you want to be able to do a smaller party with no sub at times, but if your always willing to bring a sub then the K8's would be ideal & only 27 lbs!)
and single QSC Ksub or the kw118 (the KW118 sub is better sounding/louder, but the ksub is slightly lighter & a little easier to maneuver & you can strap both top speakers to it and roll them all in as a single unit.. )

A pair of ZXA1's atop a pair of ZXA1-Subs will do what you ask very nicely.

The zx1 line has it IMHO.

Even though I don't own the actives, I have the passive tops and they are unbelievable for the size.

Last night I did a small wedding reception with just the 2 8" Zx1s on poles. Powered them with my trusty QSC RMX1450. Thanks Greg. I brought up the bass on my EQ at the 100hz point and took the highs way down on my mixer to balance the sound.

It sounded sooooo sweet for the little room I was in. It was like a meeting room size at the Cocoa Beach Hilton. 20 guests.

I'm a sub woofer guy. This was a job I picked up from a multi-op friend of mine and none of his guys ever use subs so most of the time I don't either with his jobs unless it's a young group or a huge wedding.

So when it was time to crank, those little 8" speakers were sending bass all the way down the length of the room, out the door and down the hall. I rocked'em.

And the mids and highs from the ZX1s is so nice. If I had the $$$ I'd get the ZX1 tops and subs. I'd just use the 18s on bigger jobs and schools.

Great! Thanks, guys. I'm going to wait for a little more input, but the "due diligence" I've done so far is promising.

After seeing what Superstorn Sandy did to Atlantic City, I wonder if the DJ Expo will even be held this year or maybe they'll move back to the AC Convention Center. One thing is for sure, those places (including the Taj Mahal) suffered a lot of damage. It's hard to imagine all those ground level casinos submerged in sand and salt water.

I've been using a pair of powered JBL EON 515's for about 2 years now. They weight about 30 lbs. each and have made my life a lot easier. I do have a sub but only use it if it's a large venue or crowd.

I will admit my passive JBLs do sound a little better but the average guest can't tell the difference. No complaints from any clients or guests.

NickyB said:

After seeing what Superstorn Sandy did to Atlantic City, I wonder if the DJ Expo will even be held this year or maybe they'll move back to the AC Convention Center. One thing is for sure, those places (including the Taj Mahal) suffered a lot of damage. It's hard to imagine all those ground level casinos submerged in sand and salt water.

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The Casino's didn't get hit too bad. I'm pretty sure all of them are 100% open right now. Seaside Hights, Mantalooking, Toms River, and Pt Pleasant got hit the worst.

Rev Lou -

I own the ZXA1 system (two tops and two subs) and can tell you first hand, that for a typical gig under 150 people, two tops and one sub would do nicely. The tops are 800w and weigh in at 19 lbs each with a single 700w sub coming in at 46 lbs. I've compared the ZXA1's side-by-side with the QSC K8's and K10's and IMHO, the clarity of the ZXA1's is very evident using an identical input. I have to admit the QSC's have a better bottom end. To get the bottom end punch with the EV system, you will definitely need at least one sub; two would be better. I bought the EV system to use the tops for ceremonies but more recently began using them with subs for smaller events. Like you, I too can go larger and my ear is pretty critical for sound systems .... my primary system is a fully loaded Dynacord D-Lite 2000 (3 subs, 4 D12/3 tops) and you've got to drop few bucks to top it. But at age 67, I definitely prefer the weight of the ZXA1 system.

Thanks, Nicky, and all of you. I am in the process of building my system, so I have time. I REALLY need to find someone to host my "blueprint" so I can share it here...

After that's built, (and that's going to take a while as I have to use hand tools....M.D. won't let me use my power tools...), and the computer, drives and ancillary devices are installed I can test it all out with my current amps / speakers.

The casinos actually get "sealed". It's not perfect, but it limits the damage. I have no doubt that they will be fully operational very soon. After all, we're talking BILLIONS in those outfits, and you KNOW that they were fully insured!

The rest of the Shore, (where it seems like the majority of my family lives now), has all different levels of destruction. Family and friends in Rumson, Matawan and Mantoloking have different issues than Mom & Dad in T.R. and other relations in Deal, Ocean Grove and Manasquan.

You would think it all would have been wiped, but not so.

If you want tops that can be used without a sub, you have to go for the K8's. The K8's are full range tops with plenty of bass. They easily best all my previous stand alone tops, including my 15" JBL EONs and my Yamaha MSR 400's. My KSUB is less compact than the ZXA1 sub, but I almost never use it anyway. I bought the ZXA1's to save a few bucks after reading in reviews that they are comparable to the K8's, but after 2 parties that the K8's would have blown away, the ZXA1's are getting returned. They couldn't even handle a 30 person baby shower I did for my cousin. The ZXA1's sound clean, and loud, so I'm sure they sound fantastic with their sub. But if you are going to use them without a sub, I wouldn't even consider the ZXA1 a full range speaker.

Tim English said:

If you want tops that can be used without a sub, you have to go for the K8's. The K8's are full range tops with plenty of bass. They easily best all my previous stand alone tops, including my 15" JBL EONs and my Yamaha MSR 400's. My KSUB is less compact than the ZXA1 sub, but I almost never use it anyway. I bought the ZXA1's to save a few bucks after reading in reviews that they are comparable to the K8's, but after 2 parties that the K8's would have blown away, the ZXA1's are getting returned. They couldn't even handle a 30 person baby shower I did for my cousin. The ZXA1's sound clean, and loud, so I'm sure they sound fantastic with their sub. But if you are going to use them without a sub, I wouldn't even consider the ZXA1 a full range speaker.

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My ZX1s are non powered and to use them stand alone it takes a lot of EQing to get the right sound.

I really would like to hear the QSCs.