I am looking at buying 2 Skytec Professional Active DJ PA Speakers – 800 Watts are these speakers any good as i have seen on other topics and there is a mix of good and bad reports. I am a mobile dj (newby) and don't have a lot of money to spend i know most djs will say don't buy budget but that's all i can afford at the moment, all i really want to know will these speakers do the job, most gigs i do are for around 100 - 300 people thank you for you input

You'll be hard pushed to find a 100% agreement across the board on the suitability of any product , there will always be people out there who genuinely prefer one product over another, those who have never used a product but just want to knock it because its what their pals are doing , and those who don't like a certain make unless its got a £2000+ price tag.

On that basis, nearly all reviews you read will be mixed at best!.

A lot of advice given on similar threads here, is that sometimes it is advisable to get the BEST that YOU can AFFORD. Sometimes this means looking at it from another angle, and instead of buying brand new budget equipment, perhaps buying a better make of speaker, but second hand.

Its a sad fact, but a lot of people are selling up at the moment and there is a lot of equipment for sale, both here on the forum and also on Ebay and some of it is very well looked after and is being sold at a fraction of its original (new) price.

Unfortunately, a lot of insecure DJ's out there will tell you that you aren't a proper DJ unless you use <insert brand here> equipment (which is inevitably the same make as they use) My own personal advice, is that whilst it is a good idea to get several suggestions and recommendations, you are not being booked by other DJ's and so bear that in mind whenever you seek their counsel , at the end of the day its your choice, your decision and your money.

On that basis as well, its a good idea to demo the type of speakers and actually listen to them before you buy. Sound is a personal thing, and what sounds good to own person / DJ , might be crap in the opinion of the next. You wouldn't buy a car without taking it for a test drive would you?.

Thanks for your reply i will take on board what you are saying

Nothing wrong with skytec speakers. I used them before buying my Mackies and thought they were fine.

Good value. No point spending £2k in speakers when £400 will do the job and nobody notices.

99% of the public won't care whether it's skytec or Bose

If you mean the cabinets which are "inspired by" or almost identical to JBL EON powered cabinets, I have read good reports on their sound quality. If there are any drawbacks then at least one is the fact that inputs are phono only with no balanced XLR input.

I am aware of one retailer who has nothing but praise for Soundlab actives ( including reliability) and has a stock of them for hire.

Their price may be slightly higher but they have XLR inputs as well as phono.

Heaven help us,of course they will notice dependant on what you are doing with them.

I do however agree with you on your last comment

No offence meant by the way,i'll just get my tin hat and retire to my bunker

No offence taken mate.

Prior to the Mackies i used KAM IMS 15's and tried skytec. Perfectly respectable speakers for mobile use. If you are aiming at the top end, then fair enough the sound will be a better with the Bose.

That's open to debate as well,

just getting me flak jacket!

heading off topic, so that's a debate for another day

Please tell us what model Skytec speakers you're looking at.

Bear in mind that Skytec (Skytronic) won't supply spares if you're unlucky enugh to need any. They only deal with their approved dealers.

I am looking at Skytec 15” PA Active Speaker Monitor RC15 800 Watts. hopefully i wont need spares but if i did where would i get spares, i am thinking of getting them from HiFi tower

The cabinets appear to be a direct copy of RCF. Sensitivity figure is good but the RMS figure is 400 watts, not 800.

These aren't actually too bad.

If you need spares you have to get them from a retailer.

Build, reliability, performance or all three?

Some retailers have been quite complimentary about some of the newest Skytec passives.

havig done a side by side with some 12" powered skytecs (plastic ones) with my warrior PSR12a's, i thought the warriors were superior (not by much though) but the skytecs were cheaper. However the Skytec cab decided to catch fire after about ten minutes in the demo, so it kinda settled it for me :p

They feel and sound ok, I can't comment about the reliability because show a DJ a cheap speaker and sooner or later they'll blow it!

What kinda test were you doing? Was it a side-by-side flame thrower/retardent test? :)

I think this needs a little more of an explanation.
If a piece of equipment can "catch fire after about ten minutes" then either you was doing something wrong or there is a serious problem with the speakers.
What did Sytronic say?

Jim

Probably said 'call the fire brigade..............quick'

That does seem a little concerning, i would love to hear the full story and certainly would have loved to have been there.

I beg to differ on that front. If i turned out with a cheap sound system my clients would notice.
It all depends on the final use if we had a presentation at the Grovesnor for 500 people a Skytec system wouldn't do. We would have to use a concert system.
But at the end of the day speakers are a personal choice and end usage and size have to come into play.

If your Skytec were ok why did you buy Mackie?

:lol:No offence meant by the way.

As I said I spent 20 years working to a tight budget. In 2006 I decided that I wished to move to an active system and wanted to buy a reasonably lightweight but powerful system providing the ultimate in reliability. In effect I treated myself to the Mackies.

But I have used Fal, Gemini, Kam & Skytec and they all sounded good to me. The Mackies have a better sound but for cheaper alternatives perform the job well.

I think personally, that if any clients noticed the shortcomings of ANY soundsystem it would be because of the lack of clarity, quality or the fact that it failed half way through their gig . If a sound system fills the criteria, then I honestly don't think they care what badge is on the cabinet as long as it does the job, and that applies to a village hall gig just as much as it applies to the more larger venues.

I often read threads which appear from time to time along the lines of 'I've only been booked by a client just because I use <insert name of sound system>'. When I read these type of threads I wonder what is going to happen to those poor unfortunates next week, when somebody will only book them if they own a different brand of sound system?. Whatcha going to do then?, buy one especially for the occasion?

Lets face it, if people are really going to book a DJ this week because they only use a BOSE L1 soundsystem, then surely the phone could just as easily ring next week with a client looking for a DJ with a HK Lucas Sound System, and that would be a booking lost wouldn't it?. Anybody here lost a booking because of a brand name?.

Given how many sound systems there are out there for the client to choose from, it won't be long before we are all going bust.