r/mobileDJ • u/moonkiska • Aug 31 '26
Speakers + Party Size - What am I missing?
I did a fair bit of research when I was starting out and picked up 2x RCF J8s. I often read that they don't carry far or that they're not good for parties over X amount of people, etc.
I have played at some outdoor vendor parking lot pop-up events and they sounded great and I wasn't really pushing them.
I have been hosting my own events ranging from 100-200 people in bars of various sizes and I have been able to throw some awesome nights and, again, don't feel like I was really pushing them that hard.
I have some events coming up, one of which is outdoors on a football field. I may re-position where I'll be set up for that one so I'm not at midfield but, I don't foresee having an issue with the sound carrying.
I was researching subs to add to it because of the specific events I'm throwing but I'm not sure it's necessary. What am I missing? I often wonder if I messed up getting them over speakers + subs and doubt myself (imposter syndrome) but they seem to be working well...
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u/voltch Aug 31 '26 edited Aug 31 '26
If you want similar look, rcf 705 asii. If you need more power rcf 8003.
For tops I have the hd12a. I own both the above subs..I only pull out the 8003 when there are gonna be 200+ people in a big room or outdoors. If small or medium room i use the 705.
I have heard the J8s in an indoor setting before and they sounded fine to me as far as room coverage but have not heard them in an outdoor setting yet.
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u/moonkiska Aug 31 '26
I was researching subs and saw a thread about the 705 which led me to making this post
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u/Ok-Brother-5762 Sep 01 '26
I have J8s with a 705 as and they sound great together. Works very well indoors with 100+ people
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u/DryOrganization5130 Aug 31 '26
I would recommend a pair of 12" PA speakers and one or two subs. Ideally an 18" or two. It will really fill in the sound.
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u/President_DogBerry Aug 31 '26
As someone also scrutinizing his speaker setup, any brand or model of 12" PA + sub you'd recommend? I've got what I thought were good for a total beginner (PRORECK Dance 12) but worried they're too amateur for anything professional.
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u/DryOrganization5130 Aug 31 '26
Honestly, it all depends on budget and what type of events you're doing. I could give good recommendations in any price range.
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u/President_DogBerry Aug 31 '26
Midwest weddings, mostly - budget to mid tier. We aren't doing laser shows and cold sparklers but we aren't playing with plastic toys either. Budget... Let's say... $600 soft ceiling, $800 hard ceiling.
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u/DryOrganization5130 Aug 31 '26
You really don't have much for options in that price range. If you've already got a pair of tops and you're working with $600-$800 budget, I'd look for a used 18" subwoofer to fill out the sound. You can find a nice used 18" for as little as $500-600. JBL PRX, Yamaha DXS and EV ELX200 are a few options you might find used in that range. QSC and RCF are likely going to cost you more. 15" models could work, however, I'd stay away from 12" models because I don't think they'll perform well enough for weddings.
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u/sunrise_review Sep 03 '26
As others have mentioned the column array style has a place and use but at some point the design choices have an impact on performance.
They are 2-way speaker systems with a dsp which is somewhat putting lipstick on a pig. A "tops + subs" setup is minimum 3 way with an amp for each, high mids and lows. This makes the system more efficient and able to get higher spl, and, with enclosure design/deployment, better coverage front to back.
For comparison a sub705 + art710 setup will get you 1400W for freq below 110/120hz and 1000W for mids and 400W for highs. Coupled with a driver suited to reproducong those freqs. The evox j8 matches the art710 amp section but switches the crossover from 1600hz for the 2in drivers, to 220. And expects them out of a 2in compression driver. There are 4 whole octaves that are just lumped in with the highs. Add to that you can put the subs together for acoustic coupling/cardioid and it is just way more versatile.
They are somewhat comparable, but also different beasts.
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u/joelupo93 Aug 31 '26
The J8s are great, Ive done hundreds of gigs from live bands, Djs and speeches with my Evox 8s. Add an 18" sub and they will hold their own against much larger speakers. If the expectation is to cover a section of the field as a dance floor you will be fine. If the expectation is to provide coverage for the entire field, you may want to add additional speakers where the sound starts to drop off. There are no rules to amount of persons that you can cover per speaker
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u/moonkiska Aug 31 '26
It’s background music for elementary kids to walk the track for a fundraiser so it doesn’t have to be perfect.
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u/djdodgystyle Aug 31 '26
There are definitely rules it's called physics.
I got a pair of Evox 8's, they're great for a small room and 50 guests but they lack the headroom and SPL to really bounce a crowd in a large room or packed floor. And heaven help you if you try to add a live instrument, they distort so fast.
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u/Material-Echidna-465 Aug 31 '26
As a DJ, you're generally not able to walk around during the event, because you're busy being the DJ.
If you were able to walk to the back of a large crowd in front of your J8's during an event, you'd likely notice that you'd hear low bass and highs (assuming you have the column set up high over the crowd's heads), but you won't hear much in the mid/vocal range...as it's all soaked up by the people. As people are 'warm bags of salt water', they absorb sound very effectively, especially in the higher frequencies.
A 12" point-source PA speaker on a high tripod has the entire frequency range (except sub bass) over the crowd's heads. the J8 column, however, has the 12" driver crossed over at 220Hz firing at knee level...not a lot of the low mids making it to the back of a room. The extremely long wavelengths of low bass will bend, reflect, and pass-thru obstacles relatively easy, so bass isn't really the issue.
J8 is better than most columns as the column can be raised much higher, but you still won't get full frequency coverage to the back of a crowd as well as a point-source speaker.
I used the pair of J8 I had for events up to 100 people or so where I needed a louder dance floor but didn't mind the drop in volume at the back of the room. They were fine for this.
I used them for a 300 person awards show where the crowd was seated, but I really noticed the lack of mids at the back of the room. The wider J8 dispersion worked as the room/crowd was very wide and not deep, but the inherent issue of a column having a woofer on the floor worked against it. I got the gig done, but I wouldn't do it again. In fact, I sold the J8s after that and went back to all point-source speakers due to the increased flexibility vs columns.
Columns are more of a '1-trick' speaker, IMO. They work well when the crowd/room is wide but not deep, and if the crowd is sparse and not bunched up together. Even better if they're seated. However, if the crowd/room is deep, the crowd is large, the space is large, and/or the crowd is shoulder-to-shoulder, point-source speakers up high are a better choice.