Hi all,
After a number of years as a solo dj with no roadie lugging heavy speakers and Subs up and down stairs to gigs and lifting active and passive 15 inch speakers on to stands my shoulder finally gave out and i cant lift with it, and am due for surgery at the end of this month and will be unable to lift anything for about 3 to 6 months, bang goes all that xmas and new year work .I now need to reduce the weight that i lift on to the stands.
my wife comes with me to most of my gigs and suggested that i use smaller speakers after explaining that it was all about the ammount of air you shifted with your speakers that gave you the power and volume i laughed at her suggestion of using 8 or 10 inch speakers.
but said that i would look in to the possibilites of smaller set up or a young roadie in to weight lifting and good music to help out.
She then showed me a set of 10 inch active speakers from RCF called Art 710a rated at 750watts each on the web, I found a local dealer called RSD music who had some in stock and went to see them in action.
he was doing a demo with some warrior 15 inch actives for someone when i arrived that sounded really quite good. he then put up a pair of 710a's for me to listen to,
well OMG my jaw dropped they made the warrior 15's pale into insignificance and the biggest grin my wife has seen in a long time appear on my face. Ok they are not cheap but my wife is now my new roadie as at just over 11kgs she could put them up on stands for me. I used them in a Large Marquee wedding for 200 seated with a LD15 sub yesterday and never took them over half volume all evening with tons to spare, as i turned off the sub and hardly noticed the difference.
If you are looking for light weight and powerfull take a look at the Art 7 range they will blow your socks off!!
but you will need to reduce the high end a bit as they toppy.

I tested the RCF 710, 712 and 722

The 710 is a great speaker. I too suffer from shoulder problems I went for the 722a.

Yes the RCF's are a lot of money. Is it also worth having a listen to the RCF 410 or the old 310. The 410 is the same as the 710 but with a 400 watt amp and is cheaper.

As for subs the active RCF 902as sub would be fantastic with the 710, and it's only about 28kg

What's the main differences between the 712 and 722? Both same wattage. and both same 12inch, i guess the 722 just has a better bass driver in it?


Cheers,

David

The 722 has a 2" HF long throw horn, where the 712 only has a one inch. It seems like a lot of money to pay though for that extra feature, they are almost 250 pounds per speaker extra!

Yes the difference is the 2inch long throw horn which also features on the 725A.

Sitting them side by side there is a clear noticable difference on the top end. Bass also seemed a little better on the 722 because of the slightly different configuration. However, the 712 is fine and a very good speaker.

Have any of you (with the 7 series) had any issues with the amps overheating, or subsequent distortion?
I'm hearing that the digital amps in the 7 and 4 series could fry eggs after about half an hour when cranked up, and it's noticeable in the sound quality as well.
I ask because I'm looking at a pair of 412-A's as an upgrade to my SRM450v1s, and they're a good 4kg lighter than the 312-A's.

Hi
no overheating problems as of yet and my last marquee gig was so hot the tie and jacket only lasted for the first hour or so

Nop, no issues, they run cooler than the Mackies V1

Thank you, gents. Good to know they won't heat up like the Mackies.
On that, I got my Art 412-A's through last week - selling the Mackies next month to a mate so going to get the use out of them until then; hence keeping the 412s boxed up in the meantime.

They won't come close to the 7 series, but I look forward to giving them a good run in comparison the favoured 312s.

Make sure you give them a test pretty soonish though before you sell your mackies to make sure you're 100% happy with them (and they work!) :)

Cheers,

David

Good shout; well I bought them from a local RCF dealer, who got a new pair ordered in, opened them to let me hear them before I bought them, then sold them to me for a reasonable price - so I know they work fine. IMO they sounded clearer and smoother than the SRM450v2's... couldn't hear much difference between the 412's and 312's though - similar drivers, different amps and hence difference in weight really. I know it's difficult to judge when listening in a shop, but I'm fairly confident they'll do a great job... or at least a better job than my 450v1's.

The store have the usual 30-day satisfaction policy anyway, so I'll be sure to give them a go in that time =)

I'm not so sure. I suspect that apart from the output there is little difference apart from the price

Really they're more similar than meets the eye? (Possibly the same driver(s)) ? Interesting...... !

I think he meant the sound quality will be very almost identical, but the 4 series won't be as loud as the 7's.

Yes, diferent drivers to handle the 750watts in the 7 series, but are they worth the extra?

Aren't the form-factors (the cabinets) pretty much the same size/style/etc? Just different bass driver in them?

Tbh, Even at 400w, apart from about 1.8x the wattage, won't you only go about an extra 3dB sound-wise anyway - and does anyone run their 7xx series flat out (or ever need to!).

I'd like like a pair of the 412/422's :)

Cheers,

David

I haven't heard the 7 series, but I got the impression that the 4 series was meant to be more like 3 series in terms of sound (and maybe the same transducers as the 3 series...?); just with less powerful '7 series' digital amps.

I was reading elsewhere on the forum that the 7 series supposedly lacks a little in bass response?
Elsewhere, I'm told that the 3 series - particularly the 312's - can produce some really clean, punchy bass (without a sub). Got me wondering if the 4 series is closer to the 3 or 7 series in that sense - assuming there is a difference there!

I can't really imagine a scenario when you would need to run a 7 series speaker flat out. They have a lot of power and at big venues you would still a sub.

I have a set of 715a's and a pair of 905AS subs. When I just use the 715a's (As I will this weekend) at smaller venues I have to say that the bass is still fantastic. I have never once thought ' I wish I had brought a sub with me'

........at larger venues with the 2 905AS and the 715a's they just blow you away with the sound quailty.

I was sceptical about spending the money but I am so pleased I did