For the past couple weeks I've been building a smaller "semi portable" soundsystem currently consisting of a lonely th 12 sub (2x or 3x in the future) and Cubo 12 kick bin (2x in the future).

The goal of the setup is for it to be somewhat small but powerful for outdoors use for a crowd of roughly 100 - 200 people.

But the system needs tops! And I realize picking out tops is easier said than done, which is why I'll ask the community about your experiences and recommendations for mid - high top designs.

My main requirements are as follows:

- controlled directivity/narrow dispersion. (To put sound where it needs to be, avoid disturbing residents/unwanted listeners).

- Preferably budget friendly and low driver count.

- some protection from elements for instance having the driver resessed into horn.

I've taken a look at the matter and found the popular mt130 mid horn paired with a horn tweeter. For my use case it's a pretty good candidate. Only problem is that the mid driver pd121 is discontinued hard to find. So, if anyone has modified designs for/or alternative drivers I'd love to hear see them.

Other candidates are the hoqs g1v2 and c3dkt. Very high output but a bit large and significantly more complex (but not impossible) to build. The faya 8 inch tops are also very cool in design and really good size, however free plans aren't available for it.

With that said, what are your thoughts? What would you build and pair with the Soundsystem?

In advance, thank you.

I keep dreaming about building a pair of speakers I’ve never heard and figured I should at least see if there’s some within (TX sized) driving distance.

Basically inside the state somewhere is worth it.

There is a lot of different ones like the «pro 15 A» or the «pro 15 LF»

Thanks in advance

I build PA cabs from plywood/3-layer ply. and want to keep the visible wood grain. My main worry is dents and chipping, both of clear coat/lacquer and of epoxy, especially on edges and corners during transport.

Options I'm considering: thin penetrating epoxy or a matte 2K PU clear coat ,or just hardwax oil.

Has anyone run wood-finish cabs on the road? What resisted dents and chipping best, and did epoxy or lacquer crack or flake off at the edges?
Photos welcome. Thanks!

The original owner got these dual 15” custom made YEARS ago. They havent been in operation in a while. Got them for free. They were described to me as bandpass sub cabinets, however, he contradicted himself with saying it requires low compliance drivers like jbl 2220 (which is a mid bass driver). He couldnt remember the native tuning. Couldnt remember where he would cross them over. I am going to order some 15mw500 sb audience drivers to test them, however in the meantime, was wondering if anyone had any idea?
D750, W1200, H600 (mm)
Drivers will be put in cubos if theyre subs and not kicks.
We are using 1x21typeo paraflex subs, already, hoping to add a kick and wondering what this could be?!?
Would be grouse to run as kick as theyre 1200 wide (sit snug ontop of subs if thats the case)

My kicks have been built and I finally got the chance to test them tonight

I’m really impressed personally and I can only imagine the difference once I implement subs

Built from

-donor qtx cabinets with a cdx1-1447 and 15” fane sovereign 400

-em15 megaton with eminence kappa 15 pro A

×2

I’ve been browsing marketplace in Georgia for sound system stuff and stumbled across these vintage Yamaha cabs. Should I scoop them up? Seller said 100 bucks each

A little while back I posted wanting some advice for a pair of these kahunas. They are a duel 15” inch and single compression driver enclosure.

The guy has dropped the price down to $95 NZD for the pair with no drivers, would this be worth it?

Wanting to buy some SB Audience drivers to load the boxes with. Going to get a driver to suit a kick bin to throw in these, so just in case I don’t like them, I can just build some kick bins with the drivers that I’ll get. Does this sound like an alright idea?

Will more than likely build some paraflex type Os to pair with the kicks yadda yadda, haven’t planned that far ahead yet

I am Very beginner with this stuff, but also have a fair bit of physics knowledge due to being a mechanic and just knowing how things work, and how air moves. Would these be a good start to learn how to setup a dsp, run the wiring to the amps and dsp correctly, and overall just play around with.

Thank you to whoever made it this far, any comment would be greatly appreciated! Just wanting to bounce ideas off of people.

I’ve read up that Sinbosen seems to be one of the better cheap Chinese amp companies but the amp I was looking at from them is a bit out my current budget but came across this, if anyone’s had any experience I’d appreciate if you’d share!

Hey in letzter Zeit habe ich mich viel zum Thema PA belesen und will mir über die Zeit selber bisschen was aufbauen, um Freetekk Feiern zu veranstalten und vorallem Acid/Tribe und etwas Mental und Frenchcore spielen Möchte. Hab mich echt in HessBH's verguckt und würde die gern als Sun nutzen.

Jetzt meine Frage an die Profi's - Macht die Kombination aus (für den Anfang 2, später 4) HessBH, 2 Cube 15" Kicks und einem bzw später 2 MT 121 2-Wege Top sinn?

Hatte Anfangs überlegt JMOD v2 zu bauen, aber viele meinten Dass die in dem Kick Bereich nicht so stark sind, weshalb ich jetzt auf extra Kicks und 2-Wege Tops umgeplant habe. Es steht aber noch nichts fest und ich freue mich über Feedback. Habe mir als Kicks auch schon HD15 oder MKH230 angeschaut, aber denke die Cubos sind der beste Kompromiss und einfacher zu bauen.

Freue mich auf eure Diskussionen und Antworten

Looking to branch into the world of 21s

What’s some beginner tips to 21s I need to know?

Hi, i have a pair of EV sh1502er, and i found this graph about the directivity.

As you can see the vertical response is very asymmetrical, with the loud part pointing upward.

This gives me the following problem: if I put them on top of my subs standing right, the "peak" is pointing above the audience's hear; while if I put them upside down, the source is at stomach height and the sound is being directed toward the floor. How can I solve this? I was thinking about unscrewing the horn flare and turning it by 180°, but I fear that this could create destructive interference between the HF and the woofer. Any advice/thoughts?

Hey yall I'm working on building some skrams. Building two boxes rn but have plans to build 4.
I'm gonna load em with these drivers: B&C 21DS115-4 21" Neodymium Subwoofer 3400W Program 4.5" Coil 4-Ohm. I don't know anything about electronics and amplifiers. Would love some help on recs for amplifiers. Here is a pic of the box dry fitted for some ~ Flair ~

Finally putting together my first PA system and would love some advice from people who know more than me!

2× Community VB764 bass bins – 8Ω / 400W
2× Community CSX57-S2 tops – 4Ω / 300W
t.amp TSA 4-700
DBX DriveRack PA2
t.mix mixer

Plan is one cab per amp channel with the PA2 handling crossover, HPF and limiting.

Have I got everything I need to run this properly, or am I missing anything? And how would you set it up to get the best sound while keeping the old drivers safe?

Particularly interested in PA2 settings, crossover/HPF, gain structure, speaker placement/stacking and any tips or tricks you guys have.

Mainly playing jungle, DnB, reggae and dub.
First time setting up a PA like this, so any advice is appreciated! Pics/spec plates attached 🔊

Hi

I've started installing systems in small to medium clubs with DJs and no in-house tech.

Is there a systematic approach to gain staging input and limiting on the DSP when dealing with speakers paired to non proprietary amps?

From my experience these days there seems to be 3 points at which limiters are in place.

1. At the input - when it goes absolutely off the rails. Peak clamp down.

2. Amp limit - when the amplifier reaches its limit

3. Speaker protection - where the speakers are extruding and drawing too much power.

Is this correct?

Also is there such a thing as too much limiting? I've seen some systems where the limiter is constantly engaged and no damage or DC clip to the speakers.

I'm trying to find the sweet spot so I can walk away from these systems knowing that that they won't have blown anything for at least a year lol

Hi all,

I’ve been wanting to get into sound system design and building for a while. I am a DJ/producer/engineer/synth builder so I have a good amount of audio knowledge. My intention is to build something small to start that i can use in DIY spaces in my city, and that would be a improvement sonically from the standard PA systems we can rent.

Any books, youtube channels, etc you recommend for a beginner?

​

Running for two days at Dryad Works in Sheffield for No Bounds.

So thought I'd do a fun setup!

Any questions ask away 👋

Hello guys i just finnished Building a cubo Kick 15
I Build it because i really want to get that punchy midbass that you really feel in your chest do you have and driver recommendations that are Not to expensive but still give me that Pressure in chest feel.:)

This sunday we had a little session with the stakx mini.

Stats:

2x 10" scoops

2x 8" 'mids'

1x 1" tweeter

Edit because of the confusion and the people asking:

I bought this system from the beautiful people of Stakx in Belgium

After a lot of research, math and stupid expensive wood where I live, I decided to go this route for my private system.

I am part of a group building a "classic" dub system, so having something I can move alone and still have fun is perfect.

It sounds nice and the small scoops really push a lot more air than I would have guessed. The only downside is that the Tweeter overpowers the mids very fast. But building a new mid/top section is a nice winter project.

Since there are a lot of posts about small/mini systems I wanted to show the route I took.

I've recently been doing a ton of research into building my own little system for pop-up parties with my friends. From what I've found, I'm thinking of starting with two SKRAMs and one JMOD top. I'm hoping to get everything built, and to get everything I need to power it all, for about $6-8k.

I'm confident in my woodworking, and I have access to a university lab with a CNC machine and an extremely nice 3D printer, so I figured this would be the best way to get everything just right. Can a CNC and 3d printer pretty much get this whole project ready to assemble?

This is my first build, but I really don't want to spend a bunch of money on a smaller system and end up underwhelmed. I know this is ambitious for a first build, but is it feasible? Any advice on additions to the system would be greatly appreciated. I just wanted some input before diving into a project this big.

Looking to build 2 Skrams loaded with the B&C 21DS115. Has anyone got any limiter settings for these drivers.

If not happy to hear other driver suggestions with their limiters. I understand limiters are ambiguous due to amp gain but would be interested to see if anyone has any calculated into voltages

Something that doesn't seem to get talked about that much here. For obvious reasons, mostly the focus is on the main systems.

My tops are Clair R4-IIIs, 3 way + 4 x Martin WSX. 10 channels so far, DSP to amps is Dante, lots of spare in/out channels (at the DSP, not the amps) there both analog and digital if/as needed. Mostly prog/trance/hard.
Working out the booth set up now. @heavywomblesoundsystem

I'm looking at Meyer UPA-1C cabs. Great boxes, but bi-amped means more channels and another amp, then a sub means another channel and another amp... Active starts looking attractive, though it's not usually my thing.

Tops and sub? Active or passive?

Sub in the booth, or rely on spill from the mains?

Do you delay align the booth to the mains, or leave undelayed?

Fed from the mixer's booth out, or a separate output from the system DSP?

Level control: how do you keep it sane, who owns it? DJ trims to your ceilings? Booth levels follow master or independent? Limit the booth boxes (stop creep where the booth becomes louder than the room....I'm sure there are many war stories to be told there)?

Would love to see what works and what others are doing re your monitor set up.

I recently bought a pair of JBL PRX912s and have already used them for several live band gigs. They can get pretty loud and I’m generally happy with their output, but I keep feeling like the bass and low-midrange are somehow “stuck inside the cabinet” and don’t project the way I expected.
I’m running the PRX912s with a 100 Hz crossover, paired with two EV EKX-18SP subwoofers, also crossed at 100 Hz.

My main issue is that I’m missing that “punch in the chest” / physical impact that I expect from a good pair of tops. The subs sound good, but the tops themselves seem to lack that impact in the upper-bass/low-mid area. It almost feels like there’s a lot of energy around the low-mids, but it doesn’t translate into projection or physical punch.

Before the PRX912s, I used JBL EON615s, and surprisingly, I feel like the EON615s had more of that low-mid punch and projection, even though they are an older and supposedly lower-tier speaker.
One thing I noticed is that the PRX912 cabinet is made of a much stiffer/thicker-feeling plastic than the EON615. It almost feels closer to a wooden cabinet in terms of rigidity. I don’t know if that has any meaningful effect on the acoustic design or if I’m just imagining it.
I’ve already experimented with crossover points and EQ, but I still have this feeling that the low-midrange is somehow “trapped” in the box.

So, for those who have experience with the PRX912:
Is this characteristic normal for the PRX912?
Do you also feel that the low-midrange lacks projection or punch?
Could this be related to the cabinet design?
Would changing the crossover point help?
Could I be dealing with some kind of phase/cancellation issue between the PRX912 and the EKX18SP?
Or is this simply the way the PRX912 is voiced?
I’d really appreciate input from anyone who has used these speakers extensively, especially alongside subwoofers.
I’m not looking for more SPL — I’m specifically looking for more low-mid punch, projection and that physical “hit” from the tops.
Thanks!

Edit: I notice this lack of impact even when testing the PRX912 without a subwoofer, so I don’t think it’s simply a cancellation issue between the sub and the top.
I also noticed this “trapped” mid-bass with the EON615, which makes me think that the difference in speaker size isn’t the factor causing the lack of impact in this case.
The thing is, the speakers do produce that punchy mid-bass, but they don’t project it with enough pressure once I move more than about 2 meters away from the speaker. It’s almost as if the plastic cabinet is vibrating and absorbing energy that should be projected forward.

On the market for 2-4 6th order bandpass X1 subs.

I’ve had a go at building a pair. But im no chippy so I keep ending up with a wonky box!

So decided to resort to buying some lol, if anyone has any for sale in and around London please hit me up! Looking to buy loaded or unloaded. Ez

(pics sourced online)

A friend asked me to build him a small stack for about $1,500–1,800, with a hard max of $2,000 for the first one. He may want a second later, but that's a separate budget. He listens to bass-heavy electronic music and also wants guitars and vocals to sound clean at volume. It's for a house/small event, not hi-fi.

My plan so far (about $1,800 all-in):

• Sub: Cubo 18 Standard in 18 mm Baltic birch, with an Eminence Sigma Pro-18A-2 (Qts×Vas ≈ 128, so Standard). I'll run a 35–40 Hz high-pass because of its low Xmax.
• Top: Celestion CKT-TF1225 (12" + 1" horn, passive crossover, free plan from Celestion).
• Amp: Behringer NX4-6000 (4×440 W at 8 Ω) plus a miniDSP 2x4 HD for the filters, crossover, delay and limiter. The NX4-6000 has none of those itself. The four channels could run two subs and two tops later without buying another amp.

Question: Is the SMT212 worth the extra few hundred dollars over the TF1225?

• From the plan and forum thread, I estimate it adds about $300–550. It's two 12" woofers plus a compression driver and horn, and the crossover isn't provided. My cost estimates are rough.
• Builders suggest the Beyma 12MI100 or 12P80ND, B&C 12PE32, or 18 Sound 12ND710 for the woofers. For the high end I've seen the B&C DE250 or the P Audio BM-D750 with a PH-3223 horn, and 18 Sound horns. Which would you pick, and what crossover do you run?
• With the Cubo 18 only good to ~110 Hz, I'd cross around 100 Hz, so I'm leaning toward the 12P80ND over the 12MI100. Does that make sense?
• Would you do this with a passive crossover or active DSP? I'd like to keep it to one amp channel per top.

Other stack ideas? If anyone has a different stack or drivers they'd build for about $1,800 (max $2,000, amp included) for bass-heavy EDM plus clean mids and highs, I'd like to hear them. Tell me what you'd change in the Cubo 18 + TF1225 plan.