Bill Fitzmaurice (BFM) Jack 10 as PA speakers

[jongor]

Anyone build/use these as PA speakers?

Bought the plans but not sure if I want to go with the 1x10 or the 2x10.

I'd eventually use them with subs.

[madbassplaya]

A friend of mine has a 2x10 as a bass cab. I've never heard a 2x10 that sounds that good.

[lelandcrooks]

They make an excellent PA speaker, as long as you accept their bass limitations. They are designed as a stand alone solution cab, which is why they work well as bass guitar cabs. You can run them with subs, but if you run subs always another box would be better.

[jongor]

Would a 2x10 improve the bass performance, or should they typically be run with subs?

They are limited bass-wise, but they make excellent bass guitar cabs?

When you say "another box would be better" do you mean build the subs in a separate enclosure?

thanks

[lelandcrooks]

Originally Posted by jongor

Would a 2x10 improve the bass performance, or should they typically be run with subs?

They are limited bass-wise, but they make excellent bass guitar cabs?

When you say "another box would be better" do you mean build the subs in a separate enclosure?

thanks

If you are going to run separate subs, always, Otop12's from Bill's fleet is the better choice.

A 2x10 will have more bass, it's a bigger box. But 2 1x10's will do the same thing in a more flexible setup.

Limited at how low they go. They roll off in the 50-60hz range. But upper harmonics fall directly in the horn bandpass. They make an excellent bass cab. But not if you want that real deep stuff in true subwoofer territory. Small, loud, low, pick any two.

[The_Jester]

I have a pair of Jack 10's I am using as PA tops along with T39 subs. I am using the Jacks temporally until I build a some DR200s. The Jacks are a good choice if you are not using a sub but I think Otops or DRs are better if you are using subs. Keep in mind these are all horn designs and they need to be EQed to sound good. It's best not to judge these cabs until they are EQed flat or to the curve you want. This is best done with a RTA outside with the eq curve set on a DPS. After they are properly setup they sound great and are very very loud for their size. This setup is replacing a Mackie powered setup for me. So far I think the rig sounds good but I only just started to use it.

I also have a Jack 210 I am using as a bass cab. I think the Jacks are an excellent bass cabs and need very little tweaking to sound great.

[jongor]

RTA?....DPS?...

Do you think 2 Jack 210's would work well as full-range PA fronts?

[The_Jester]

RTA = Real Time Analyzer

DPS = Digital signal processing
There are amps with DPS built in like the Crown XTi4000 or stand-alone units like the dbx drive rack. The DPS of these units have lots of useful speaker management tools including EQ.

Most BFM users adjust their DPS EQs outside with a RTA and a reference mic to a eq curve they like. Once set this EQ is not changed from room to room but a separate EQ is used to adjust the system to the room and for feedback.

Any of the Jack speakers run full range would work well for a group that is mostly running vocals and instruments with out very low bass content through the PA. If you are running drums through the PA you would be better off with subs and tops designed to work with subs like the Otop or DR speakers.

While there are better speakers for PA use in the BFM lineup the nice thing about the Jacks is they are very flexible (hence the name). You can use them as bass, keyboard, or acoustic guitar cabs and as a full range small PA or part of a larger PA with subs.