Affordable Powered Stage Monitor?

[Neal Clark]

All,

I'm currently using a QSC K10 speaker and Soundcraft MFXI8 mixer for live performances (acoustic bluegrass) and have been looking into snagging a powered monitor. Any recommendations on something that will suffice but also not break the bank?

I love the QSCs and I'd go with another K10 or even K8 if they weren't so pricey. Was hoping to find something POWERED that was in the $100-$200 range.

For example, I've researched the Behringer Eurolive B210D ($200) a bit. Has anyone used these? What are you using?

Thanks,

Neal

[UsuallyPickin]

Check out Kustom powered monitors . They have a couple of 50 watt units in your price range. R/

[Neal Clark]

Anyone have any experience with the Kustom powered monitors? Seems like the KPC4P would be too small to produce a decent monitoring. I was looking at the KPC10MP but it's a 50w speaker for $170. I also wasn't sure that would be worth it when the Behringer 200w was only $30 more. Are the Kustom preferred over the Behringer? Any first hand reviews or feedback is appreciated.

Thanks.

[Steve Lavelle]

I bought a Behringer B210D and used it regularly for a few months with no problems. This encouraged my bandmate to buy 2, 1 of which had a problem with a buzzing noise on delivery. He sent it back and has not had a problem with either since the replacement was sent. We use his 2 for our outdoor patio gigs as the main PA. I decided that as the mandolin/banjo/harp player that the B210d was too much for those situations and I have now switched to the B207MP3. It's only a 6.5" speaker, but it has plenty of power for hearing myself on stage (150W). I haven't used it for vocal monitoring, because we use a Bose L1 tower behind us for that. You'll pay a bit more for the B207MP3 but I use all of it's input and mixing capabilities, so I thought it was worth the extra $.

[foldedpath]

$200 USD is a tight budget for a powered floor monitor, unless you're willing to buy used (which you might consider as an option).

I haven't heard this particular speaker, but if you can stretch to $300, Peavey has the PVXp 10 with an angle cabinet for floor monitor use. The horn is 100x60 degree coverage, so it would work better for a single musician's monitor than as a shared monitor.

JBL's low end powered lineup has the EON 510, also around $300, which could work as a floor monitor. I've never liked the sound of these much (or the cabinet aesthetics), but it could work in a pinch, and they're very portable. JBL reliability is generally good.

One level up, there is the $500 Electro-Voice ZXA1-90, very lightweight and compact, and it's the monitor I use in our duo along with K10's as mains. The sound is a good match for the K10 mains, so no separate EQ is needed for the AUX sends. We've even used it as a standalone PA when we've had to do two separate PA setups at wedding gigs. It's not quite as beefy and full-range sounding as the K10, but it's pretty close. The horn is 90x50 degrees, user-rotatable either way by removing the grill and transducer/waveguide, then rotating and re-installing it. I ended up choosing the ZXA1 because I wanted something with a smaller/lighter footprint than the K10's, and the K8's are a little tricky to use on the floor, due to the cabinet design.

There are probably other options out there, but I'm not sure you'll find anything that's a good quality match to your K10's for much less than this. For what it's worth, I don't recommend Behringer or Mackie gear for several reasons, but mostly long-term gear reliability. You might find something used in good condition from one of the better companies if you need to fit a tight budget.

[Dave Schimming]

Check out the Alto TS110A on the Musician's Friend website - 600 watts of power at $250. I purchased two of them in January of this year for my solo acoustic gigs and quite please with them so far. Will work as a main or monitor.

[TonyP]

I've got a pair of 208D's that I bought as mains for small gigs for my acoustic bands. They are pretty good but I can't help but think you'll be disappointed if you are used to QSC's. I'm used to my Mackie 450's and clarity wise none of the Berhinger's have that sound. Just got off doing a wedding with my old band and we used their 212D's( 205D's for monitors) and like most of the Behringer's the biggest problem with them besides the clarity is the backwash off the back of the cabs. There's a reason good cab's are not cheap. What's funny is the 205's are a pretty good deal for my style of monitors because we don't play rock loud. I use a pair of Mackie 150's that the 205's are a copy of. I don't set them on stands or the ground, but put them off the main cab stands as side fill.

Unlike my 150's, my buddy doesn't baby those 205's at all. They are tossed around like bricks, smashed in grills, all beat up and just keep on tickin'. But they are actually more expensive than the 210D's! go figgur.

[Dave Reiner]

I'm happy with JBL EON 510s as monitors. Only 17 pounds, reliable, easy to angle up. They can double as mains in a small space. These days you can find them for $299 new.

Dave

[mandroid]

For vocals there are spot monitors that stand up on Mic stands ..
closer means not needing to be so loud
Galaxy , is one, and will run 2 more 16 ohm passives.
daisy chained down to less impedance.

Un powered they will also run off a mixer powered monitor amp , ..
I had the speakers and sold them to my Ex band mates when the went to a Duet
so as to have the fee split work out better..


I got the PM5 Carvin 8 ohm I'm using them on my computer sound output , now.


Mackie also makes small powered spot monitors ..

[Barry Wilson]

I am loving these yorkvilles. I had a nightmare with those little powered mackie mic stand monitors, though others love them.

[John Kelly]

I have a TC Helicon VoiceSolo XT monitor which can be fitted to the mic stand. I use it along with an AER acoustic amp for small gigs where we don't need our bigger PA system. I really like is and it acts as a second amp as well as a monitor.

[Neal Clark]

Thanks for all of the input thus far. I'm starting to lean towards either the JBL EON 510($300) or the Alto TS110A ($250). The JBL is 280W and the Alto is 600W. Any thoughts on the comparative value of these speakers? I don't expect them to sound like the K10s, but I don't feel like I need that kind of clarity for the monitors anyways. That said, if I spend any more than $300 on a monitor I'm just going to have to splurge on another K10

Thanks again,

Neal

[foldedpath]

I haven't heard one, but that Alto TS110A seems to get decent reviews on another forum as a step up from entry-level powered speakers. Might be a better match to the K10's than the EON 510.

If you get the Altos, then leave the "contour" switch flat, and watch out for that single input level control. Keep it at 12 o'clock for line input from your mixer, because anything more kicks in a mic preamp for more gain. That's a dumb design (IMO). It's better to have two different inputs for mic and line like the K series, so there is no confusion in the heat of battle, but you can work around it. You might want to gaffer tape that knob to the 12 o'clock position. I have all the option switches on my K10's gaff-taped so my partner can't accidentally change a setting when we're in a hurry setting up.

[TonyP]

I thought the TC Helicon VoiceSolo FX150 along with all the TC personal monitors went away. But I see on some of the musical equipment sellers that it's back, and for $300 with a discount. Pretty cool to have Tannoy speaker and some interesting stuff built in. I wish they would offer a stripped down version without the added stuff.

[Barry Wilson]

I didn't know tc helicon re released that monitor. Just checked and I like the design now. it was mic mountable like the mackie but now is more like my voice live touch. they are really releasing a ton of products over the last couple years

[foldedpath]

The new VoiceSolo looks like a completely new design, not a re-release of the previous series. In addition to the new FX stuff, it's now in a plastic case instead of the cast aluminum shell they used in the older series. I always thought that was a great feature. You could drop-kick those things across the stage and they'd still work.

We used two of the more basic older ones for a while; the VSM-200XT. We were using them as floor monitors since we play seated, with clip-on instrument mics. They were okay, but we finally ditched them because they sounded too thin as floor monitors. Our acoustic guitar player has a percussive style, and he likes to hear more bass in the monitors. So we switched to the ZXA1's. That experience confirmed my belief that it's easier to deal with a PA system where floor monitors are more closely matched to the sound of the FOH mains, instead of something wildly different.

YMMV though, and I know some folks are having success with these mini monitors. If nothing else, it does allow each band member to EQ their own monitor mix. That's one less thing to deal with, if you're the one running the PA as well as playing in the band. Of course that also means each band member is able to drive their own monitors into feedback, so it's a double-edged sword. Individual monitor mixes are great when everyone is wearing IEM's, but with a speaker that close to a mic, it's something to watch out for.

I wish they would offer a stripped down version without the added stuff.

Yeah, that would be more like the previous series. But I guess they have to leverage the advantage they have over Galaxy, Mackie, Behringer, etc. with their vocal processing stuff. Since the more basic VoiceSolos didn't sell well enough, I'd be surprised if they offered a more basic version now.

[Neal Clark]

Well I ended up going with the Alto TS110a as a stage monitor. They get very good reviews online (I've likely read ALL of them). Guitar Center, not being my first choice, did match a somewhat dubious online store price, so that helps. I'll let folks know how it stacks up as a stage monitor with the K10 as FOH. Three cheers to finally being able to clearly hear ourselves!

Thanks for all of the advice as well. Keep it coming!

[Jon Hall]

I use a Roland CM30. They sell for less than $300. Mine works fine.

[TonyP]

These kinds of discussions while fascinating and useful do make me wish there was some kind of holo deck where you could drop in on each users rig and experience it first hand.

For me the worst thing that can happen is being distracted by the sound. The last gig we did was my buddy's setup for a wedding.

We were in a big tent on the ground to the side of the little stage that was used for vows and announcements. So they decided they would use a configuration they had done before. Using 2 Behringer 212D's splayed side by side off to the left side of us atop a sub woofer, with the two little 205D's in their own stands in front of us for monitors.

It was totally disconcerting to me to have the sound of the mains off to one side. It's like having one ear plugged or something. I had never thought of this before and it never would have occurred to me to not have a main on each side of us. The rest of the guys seemed ok but I never could get used to it. My already meager skills suffered I felt. I guess that's why I don't like playing without monitors too because it's just not natural sounding.

I'm really intrigued by the "new" Voice-Solo and hope somebody on here gets to check one out and lets us all know what they think. Personally I like the high density plastic case over aluminum as it tough and I would think you wouldn't have the resonance probs a metal case would have. I have more probs with the electronics dieing than the cases messing up. And I really like the mount system they came up with. Don't know about all the buttons on the digital mixer though.

[Barry Wilson]

I am tempted to call my store and have them get me a voice solo. I know the vocal fx they have are excellent.

[Neal Clark]

Received the Alto the other day. I think it's going to work really well for a stage monitor matched with the QSC K10s. Obviously the quality of the speaker is nowhere near the QSCs, but it's also less than 1/2 the price. I wouldn't want to use it as a main PA monitor as it doesn't have much headroom and, as pointed out by foldedpath above, it kicks in a mic preamp above the twelve o'clock position. The sound quality really suffers above this position. A very stupid design, indeed, although it's still got plenty of juice for a loud, clean stage monitor without the gain kick in.

All that said, the tonal qualities are balanced and seem to match nicely with the QSC. I'll update after I play some gigs with it, but so far it seems like a good purchase.