RCF ART 312-a/ speaker question
has anyone had any experience with this speaker? i haven't found a whole lot in the way of user reviews on-line, however everything i have found has been positive. i was wondering if anyone here had ever used one.
i'm getting ready to buy a good quality pair of powered speakers, which seems to be the way to go for amplifying digital piano sounds, i gather. i want something clean enough to do solo piano stuff in relatively quiet places, and powerful enough to play with a band in a medium sized place.
part of the problem i've been having is just finding a store near where i live that has a decent selection. most places i've checked out have either the mackie srm 450's or the jbl eon's, but not much else in that class. guitar center had the mackies, but were out of the jbl's. i got to play through the mackies there, they sounded good, but i'd like to have something to compare it to. both of those speakers i find a lot of mixed reviews of on-line. there are a number of other speakers i'm interested in, but i'm not going to buy a pair of speakers without having actually heard them first. i can't find the ev-sxa 360's anywhere, besides i think they are a little out of my price range. i found a store today that has the rcf art 312-a's, as well as the mackies and the jbl's, i plan on taking my sound module down there and trying all three out in the next couple days.
there are a couple other speakers in the same class made by rcf, which i was able to find out a little more about, they seem pretty similar to each other. the difference between the rcf art 312-a's and the rcf art 322-a's is that the 312's have 50 watts less power, and have a 1 inch hf driver vs a 2 inch hf on the 322. the actual difference in spl's is only 1 db less on the 312's. they don't have the 322-a's at this store i'll be going to.
i seem to read a lot of conflicting reviews of the jbl's and the mackies, although maybe i shouldn't let that sway me. i have a feeling i'm probably going to go with the rcf's, although any other thoughts or opinions would be much appreciated. i know jazz+ is out there, and probably has some thoughts on this...
i'm getting ready to buy a good quality pair of powered speakers, which seems to be the way to go for amplifying digital piano sounds, i gather. i want something clean enough to do solo piano stuff in relatively quiet places, and powerful enough to play with a band in a medium sized place.
part of the problem i've been having is just finding a store near where i live that has a decent selection. most places i've checked out have either the mackie srm 450's or the jbl eon's, but not much else in that class. guitar center had the mackies, but were out of the jbl's. i got to play through the mackies there, they sounded good, but i'd like to have something to compare it to. both of those speakers i find a lot of mixed reviews of on-line. there are a number of other speakers i'm interested in, but i'm not going to buy a pair of speakers without having actually heard them first. i can't find the ev-sxa 360's anywhere, besides i think they are a little out of my price range. i found a store today that has the rcf art 312-a's, as well as the mackies and the jbl's, i plan on taking my sound module down there and trying all three out in the next couple days.
there are a couple other speakers in the same class made by rcf, which i was able to find out a little more about, they seem pretty similar to each other. the difference between the rcf art 312-a's and the rcf art 322-a's is that the 312's have 50 watts less power, and have a 1 inch hf driver vs a 2 inch hf on the 322. the actual difference in spl's is only 1 db less on the 312's. they don't have the 322-a's at this store i'll be going to.
i seem to read a lot of conflicting reviews of the jbl's and the mackies, although maybe i shouldn't let that sway me. i have a feeling i'm probably going to go with the rcf's, although any other thoughts or opinions would be much appreciated. i know jazz+ is out there, and probably has some thoughts on this...
There are 9 comments, leave a comment.
i never knew a whole lot about the technical specs on this stuff other than knowing i need a lot of head room (watts) and frequency response to handle keyboards.
what i do know is that whether it's keyboards, mics, amps, speakers, whatever, you really need to gig with the stuff to find out if it will work for you.
the only thing i ever liked playing through was a full blown pa system - very expensive and a pain to schlepp around though
what i do know is that whether it's keyboards, mics, amps, speakers, whatever, you really need to gig with the stuff to find out if it will work for you.
the only thing i ever liked playing through was a full blown pa system - very expensive and a pain to schlepp around though
i have tried all the powered speakers except rcf which i have been told sound very similar to the italian made fbt maxx 4a powered speakers i had, whcih sounded nice. but i more prefer the sound, and i like the weight, of the ev sxa360 powered speakers for digital piano playing. they cost more ($939), but they are 500 watts each, weigh 36 pounds each, and are not bulky. i also like the smooth jbl eon15 g2 and the clear eaw speakers, but i found them too bulky for me too move. meyer sound are the best of course, but they are very expensive and can be heavy to carry.
edited by jazz+ ( )
_________________________
live: roland fp4 digital piano and ev sxa-360 (36 lb) 500 watt powered speakers
home: kawai es4 digital piano, mason & hamlin piano
sold:
yamaha p250, p120, p90.
roland rd-300sx, kurzweil pc2x, yamaha motif r, bose pas speakers. mackie srm450 & 350 powered speakers, jbl eon10 speakers. fbt maxx 4a and 2a speakers
edited by jazz+ ( )
_________________________
live: roland fp4 digital piano and ev sxa-360 (36 lb) 500 watt powered speakers
home: kawai es4 digital piano, mason & hamlin piano
sold:
yamaha p250, p120, p90.
roland rd-300sx, kurzweil pc2x, yamaha motif r, bose pas speakers. mackie srm450 & 350 powered speakers, jbl eon10 speakers. fbt maxx 4a and 2a speakers
specs tell me nothing about how good a speaker sounds.
here are the various powered speakers i have checked out:
https://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&number=1728681&page=0#post1728681
here are the various powered speakers i have checked out:
https://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&number=1728681&page=0#post1728681
sorry, i don't know much about this kind of thing. with the powered speaker do you still need a mixer or just hook up you digital piano directly to the speakers?
why not just use a keyboard amp?
why not just use a keyboard amp?
you can go direct to powered speakers without a mixer. most powered speakers sound much better than any keyboard amp. all of the various keyboard amps sound pretty bad when trying to reproduce digital piano sounds because there components and designs are not very good.
jazz+, so do you bring two speakers with you for all your gigs?
i have a roland rs 9 synth which i run through a mackie 808m (mono) mixer and some yamaha speakers. it's alot of stuff to carry around for gigs and the results are not good at all, especially on the acoustic piano sounds.
i'm just wondering if i should get a new keyboard or speakers. maybe i need both... i just want a good, natural acoustic piano sound. any ideas?
i have a roland rs 9 synth which i run through a mackie 808m (mono) mixer and some yamaha speakers. it's alot of stuff to carry around for gigs and the results are not good at all, especially on the acoustic piano sounds.
i'm just wondering if i should get a new keyboard or speakers. maybe i need both... i just want a good, natural acoustic piano sound. any ideas?
yes i usually take two speakers, my digital pianos always sound weird and hollow in mono.
it's easy with one of these tri-karts :
https://kart-a-bag.com/images/tk750-open.gif
it's easy with one of these tri-karts :
https://kart-a-bag.com/images/tk750-open.gif
just thought i'd post an update. i went to the store and was able to compare the jbl eon15 g2s, the mackies and the rcf speakers. the jbl's seemed too bright sounding and i didn't spend much time with them. i spent about an hour or so comparing the rcf's with the mackies, playing through one and then the other. the rcf's sounded better in the bass, but there was something about the attack on the notes in the higher register that sounded harsh. part of that is a flaw with my sound module, the piano sounds tend to sound a little harsh on the attack, especially when played with much velocity, but the rcf's seemed to really highlight that flaw and had that undesirable "tinkly" sound. the mackies had a mellower, warmer sound to them.
the salesman very much wanted to sell me the rcf's, and said that he felt the components in the mackie speakers were over-all of lesser quality, apparently rcf used to make the speakers for mackie but now their speakers are made in china. but i couldn't see spending that kind of money on a speaker if i wasn't 100 percent happy with the sound. so i bought a pair of the mackie srm-450s.
got the speakers home, took em out of the box. i realized i didn't have the right cables to plug into the xlr inputs, took me a couple days to get the right cables. after i got everything plugged in and set up right, i turn the speakers on, and one of them i notice right away has an annoying buzz to it. even with nothing plugged into it it buzzes. after playing around on it for a bit i quickly realize the same speaker is distorting high notes at very modest levels. the things blown, i clearly have a defective speaker here.
so i'm thinking again about what the salesman said about the components, and having a bit of buyer's remorse. i'll be taking the speaker back tomorrow, i'm sure it will be no problem exchanging it. but i'm wondering if i should exchange both of them. the speaker that does work sounds fantastic. the speaker that is blown i think might have been a floor model that got demo-ed by everyone who came through the store, it's missing the sticker on the front of the grill that the other one has (or maybe it was returned by someone else already).
so not exactly sure what to do. sound quality-wise i like the mackies very much. i came across one review on i think sweetwater of some guy who managed to blow 4 of em, it's the only negative review among 50 other highly positive ones. the speakers come with a two year warranty, but i'd like to think i'm buying speakers i'll still be able to use 10 years from now.
the salesman very much wanted to sell me the rcf's, and said that he felt the components in the mackie speakers were over-all of lesser quality, apparently rcf used to make the speakers for mackie but now their speakers are made in china. but i couldn't see spending that kind of money on a speaker if i wasn't 100 percent happy with the sound. so i bought a pair of the mackie srm-450s.
got the speakers home, took em out of the box. i realized i didn't have the right cables to plug into the xlr inputs, took me a couple days to get the right cables. after i got everything plugged in and set up right, i turn the speakers on, and one of them i notice right away has an annoying buzz to it. even with nothing plugged into it it buzzes. after playing around on it for a bit i quickly realize the same speaker is distorting high notes at very modest levels. the things blown, i clearly have a defective speaker here.
so i'm thinking again about what the salesman said about the components, and having a bit of buyer's remorse. i'll be taking the speaker back tomorrow, i'm sure it will be no problem exchanging it. but i'm wondering if i should exchange both of them. the speaker that does work sounds fantastic. the speaker that is blown i think might have been a floor model that got demo-ed by everyone who came through the store, it's missing the sticker on the front of the grill that the other one has (or maybe it was returned by someone else already).
so not exactly sure what to do. sound quality-wise i like the mackies very much. i came across one review on i think sweetwater of some guy who managed to blow 4 of em, it's the only negative review among 50 other highly positive ones. the speakers come with a two year warranty, but i'd like to think i'm buying speakers i'll still be able to use 10 years from now.
hmmm...mackie has had the reputation of making nice sounding cheap stuff (breaks a lot) if it were me , i would stick with a company that has been making quality speakers for years - like ev or jbl. as for being too bright, - you can always roll off highs easier than you can add em...
just my 2 cents :)
just my 2 cents :)
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