Passive vs powered PA cabs

vinny · #1 06-04-2008, 03:31 PM

I'm looking for your opinions & pros/cons on both setups as it relates to cost, ease of use, efficiency & any other factors to consider. I'm seeking ideas & real-life scenarios to help with the decision making process. We will be building a system completely so the only mixer/amp considerations for now are as they relate to the speaker question.

modulusman · #2 06-04-2008, 05:07 PM

Powered is the way to go IMO. Built in processing, the speakers are properly powered, Takes up less space since you don't have any amp racks.

kalle74 · #3 06-04-2008, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by modulusman

Powered is the way to go IMO. Built in processing, the speakers are properly powered, Takes up less space since you don't have any amp racks.

but...

if your amp dies on tour, you´ll be missing a speaker, too...

modulusman · #4 06-04-2008, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kalle74

but...

if your amp dies on tour, you´ll be missing a speaker, too...

We carry extra Powered speakers so it is not a problem. You could limp through the night with one speaker if you had to. If your power amp goes down and you don't have a spare your screwed.

Deacon_Blues · #5 06-05-2008, 02:40 AM

Powered, definitely - less stuff to stow and carry, and often better sound. Less hassle with cables, ohm and power ratings, no need for separate crossovers, etc etc etc.

If a speaker amp breaks, I'd sacrifice one of the active monitors and use that for the PA. That have never happened though.

**baba** · #6 06-05-2008, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deacon_Blues

Powered, definitely - less stuff to stow and carry, and often better sound. Less hassle with cables, ohm and power ratings, no need for separate crossovers, etc etc etc.

If a speaker amp breaks, I'd sacrifice one of the active monitors and use that for the PA. That have never happened though.

What he said. I have all unpowered, but if I started a new PA from scratch I'd go all powered.

spectorbass83 · #7 06-05-2008, 08:55 AM

I'd have to say powered.

I seen a cover band playing at this downtown bar a few weeks ago, they had 2 powered 18" subs, 2 powered 2x15's and a 16 channel mixer. Bassist and guitarist went direct , no keyboad amps, no monitors, everyone had IEM's. The stage was so neat & tidy, everything sounded really clean and really loud!

I recently went to my friend's house to check out a PA he just purchased. He has 2 old passive 18" subs and a set of 2x15's, 4 monitors, all passive. With this he has 2 power amps, a 31 band graphic EQ, crossovers, vocal effects unit, gates etc....all of this takes up a tremendous amount of room. The rack which holds the mixer + power amps etc is the size of a Toyota Prius.

If I was in the market for a PA, I would go powered. No doubt about it.

fokof · #8 06-05-2008, 08:59 AM

+1 for powered.

They are mostly bi-amped so if one amp dies in one box , you still have your others , not so if you are daisy-chained to an external power amp.

Even my bass amp is a RCF ART series.......

vinny · #9 06-05-2008, 09:04 AM

Looks like powered is the way to go. In real-life, has anyone had an amp go out on a powered cab?

JKT · #10 06-05-2008, 10:00 AM

When I put my small club system together a few year back, powereds were just coming out and many of us were suspicious of them. At the time one of the hot set-ups were the passive Yamaha SV club series and powered Mackie 808.

I A/B'd the Yamahas against a set of passive JBL ML series and the Yamahas blew them away. And they were cheaper.

So I went that way. Nowadays, the sound quality of powereds is way above this system. I would retool in a second if I could afford it. Many powered units weigh less than the passive ones so there is the weight issue. They sound better, easier to EQ, etc. A small mixer would also weigh less and take up less space than my 808.

Powereds. Definitely

JTE · #11 06-05-2008, 11:33 AM

Hmm, so the extra weight of powere cabs isn't a problem when you have to lift them up on the poles? And running all those AC cables in addition to the audio cables doesn't cause problems? And what about having AC cables running parallel to your audio cables- does that cause noise in the systems?

I'm skeptical of the overall advantages of powered cabs, is why I'm asking.

jte

Jazzdogg · #12 06-05-2008, 11:51 AM

Our band uses passive speakers because we've worked so many venues in which running a power cord to each speaker wasn't a viable option - especially when we're playing outdoors where chaining long extension cords would be required; some venues haven't had enough AC outlets to accommodate a full backline, much less active speakers.

That said, powered speakers can be very convenient, and are sounding better every year, and as class D amps and neo drivers become more commonplace, the weight of powered speakers should continue to decline.

vinny · #13 06-05-2008, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jazzdogg

Our band uses passive speakers because we've worked so many venues in which running a power cord to each speaker wasn't a viable option - especially when we're playing outdoors where chaining long extension cords would be required; some venues haven't had enough AC outlets to accommodate a full backline, much less active speakers.

That was one of my main concerns. Thanks for throwing it out there. BTW, for anyone using these...what kind of power draw is typical on these cabs?

F-Clef-Jef · #14 06-05-2008, 12:16 PM

Another vote for powered, ( I use Mackie SRM 450's and SWA1501's for subs), the "power" question I think is a non-problem, (you need the same amount, or more, power for the amps too). We run an extension cable with an 8 outlet power conditioner to right behind each sub, also use those to power our stage gear. One nice thing about powered speakers is that the amps are designed specifically for the frequencies they need to put out, makes for a much cleaner sounding and more efficient amp. No noise from running AC and signal cables near eachother, not for us at least. Our system is usually so quiet you have to look at the speaker to see if the power light is on.
Power draw: SRM450 - ~4 amps per cab
SWA1501 - ~5 amps per cab
Although we recently played a party where we ran the entire PA and stage gear off a single 20 amp circuit, with no problems. Oh, and stage gear is almost nothing, we don't use amps, so it's just a couple of Line6 Pods and keyboards.

JKT · #15 06-05-2008, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JTE

Hmm, so the extra weight of powere cabs isn't a problem when you have to lift them up on the poles? And running all those AC cables in addition to the audio cables doesn't cause problems? And what about having AC cables running parallel to your audio cables- does that cause noise in the systems?

I'm skeptical of the overall advantages of powered cabs, is why I'm asking.

jte

For bigger shows I borrow a pair of JBL EON G2's. Lighter than my passive Yamahas.

As for AC, as been posted, ya gotta plug stuff in anyway and if not those, then an amp rack, powered mixer,etc

Another thing with the powereds is that dollar for dollar you can often get more power per enclosure.

Now you can make mistakes with this gear like any other kind of gear. I was thinking about Behringers version of these and spec wise they don't stand up to some others. Not to mention I have been less than thrilled with the sound of some of their passive cabs.

Mackie, JBL these would be tough to beat. I would be interested in anyone who has experience with the new TAPCO Thump series which share some Mackie design technology.

JKT

Ricky Daion · #16 06-05-2008, 01:41 PM

We use EV powered speakers for our mains and couldn't be happier. We tried out four or five different companies (Mackie, JBL etc.) but the wooden cabs of the EVs easily provided the warmest tone. The plastic boxes just sounded to... well... plastic. The EV's have plenty of power as well, around 450 watts for the tops and 650 watts for the subs. Which ever brand you decide powered cabs are the way to go. For us at least.

**baba** · #17 06-05-2008, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JKT

Mackie, JBL these would be tough to beat.T

Gotta disagree here. Yorkville and EV crush Mackie & JBL offerings IMO.

Ricky Daion · #18 06-05-2008, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by baba

Gotta disagree here. Yorkville and EV crush Mackie & JBL offerings IMO.

I concur

JTE · #19 06-05-2008, 03:48 PM

OK, I see. But I'm still leery of a lot of long AC cables as opposed to even twice as many long speaker cables. So you're running a 50' mic cable and two 50' AC extension cords to each side of stage to drive a powered speaker and a powered sub on either side?

jte

**baba** · #20 06-05-2008, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JTE

OK, I see. But I'm still leery of a lot of long AC cables as opposed to even twice as many long speaker cables. So you're running a 50' mic cable and two 50' AC extension cords to each side of stage to drive a powered speaker and a powered sub on either side?

jte

Stages already have power, that's how amps and things get power, no need to run a 50' extension cord.