Hi all, First, I dont post much, but have been lurking for quite a while. I appriciate this board and the wealth of information that I have aquired while surfing here. I enjoy reading what everyone has to say. To get to the point, in my search for a very small and lightweight powered sub, I came across a DB Technologies Sub12. I have been trying to find the smallest, most compact and portable powered sub that can still have decent output for very small crowds of 50 or so. This is the smallest sub that I have come across to date. It looks like it has decent specs for its size.
400 watts, 42 lbs. I've looked and read about all the smaller subs that everyone here has talked about. Yorkville, (200p, 700p, 720p) EV (SB2a's), JBL (Eon 518s), etc. I also did some research on the small powered sub that Al Poulin posted. (Wharfdale Titan Series I think). I even considered the Danley TH-mini with an amp, but I dont want to go that route.
Anyway, I'm not in any hurry to pull the trigger. I just want to know if anyone has had any experience with this sub. Maybe there are some that have no direct experience with this particular unit, but have used some of the other similar subs (the 15's and the 18's) that DB Technologies makes. Maybe some of you have favorable reviews of the larger units. Maybe DB technologies is just horrible altogether. Thanks in advance!! I have been using 2 dB Technologies Sub18Ds for a few months now.they go low, but they lack in the upper bass range, 60-80Hz.
With a heavy-duty 15” high-power woofer and the new 1” compression driver of dBTechnologies, the Opera Lyric 415 Modular is ideal for professional full-range. DB Technologies Opera 415. Sunday 06 March 2016 / in / by Tony's DJ / 0 comment $ 200.00. Impedance/Input Sensor: -50 dB/0 dB Balanced: 20 K Unbalanced: 10 K.
I'm always boosting 63Hz to fill out the mix a little.They are compact. For their size the output is good, but they are not the compact super sub the specs suggest. They don't produce results of a $1600 active sub. DB is stretching their 134dB peak spec.while the dual pole mount is nice, the dual handle positioning makes them awkward to pick up solo. I run aux fed subs, 90Hz low pass is nice. Switchable freq low pass is a bonus.the handles are plastic and flex when you pick the sub up.I have run the speakers at clip all night and they have never sputtered.construction is OK, the dB multi-ply stuff is light, but thin feeling.
![Db Technologies Opera 415 Manual Transmission Db Technologies Opera 415 Manual Transmission](/uploads/1/2/4/0/124087799/866712126.jpg)
You don't get a solid sounding knock when you thwack the subs.the paint chips if you look at them wrong. For small rooms with small crowds they work alright with some EQ. Their size makes them very portable, but the price to output/sound quality ratio is hard to swallow once you fire them up. My passive LS608s sound better and rock harder when mixing bands. I'm keeping the Sub18Ds around for the micro gigs and little house parties that come up, but i have moved on to something beefier for the typical 200 person loud rock shows.
I have other subs. Im just looking for the smallest sub I can find. I have a very small Yamaha Stagepas 300 that I use for very small gigs. I bought it because sometimes I get friends or family that want me to bring music (I'm a DJ) to the pool party or BBQ, and I didnt want to haul out all the gear. I've gotten lazy and have done some smaller functions with the stagepas 300 and now want to use it as much as I can for the smaller gigs where I dont need a lot of volume. The stagepas just doesnt have enought bass for my tastes, even at lower volumes. So, I'm looking to pair a sub or two with it.
I've looked very closely at Yorkville for probably a year and almost pulled the triger at one point. Since then, I have found this DB speaker and wanted to know if anyone has used it. I'd love to hear the DB Technologies Arena Pro SW18 (not to be confused with their standard Arena series) subs, definately. They're loaded with 18' RCF drivers and are rated at 1,000watts rms. Plus the specs say they go down very low indeed. Ts just a pitty that no-one in th uk has them on demo. There's only about 1 shop in the whole of the uk that even stock them.
I know this because before I got my JBL SRX728 sub I was heavily thinking about going for 4 Arena Pro SW18 subs. DB Technologies is the sister company of RCF.
Now that we've heard the.cough. Opinions.cough. of the people who think they know what they are talking about, let me give my review and opinion about DB speakers. We currently own 4 opera 12 lyrics, and sell quite a few of them. We have used them as balcony/side fills on many shows (corporate, rock, and others) and as manis or monitors for many others, and we still continue to use them. They were chosen BECAUSE of their neodymium B&C driver over the Mackie Powered speakers. Now, keep in mind, when these go out on a show, they aren't just used with a mixer with onboard eq and then the Opera's.
We use DSP's and analog eq's with them. (Ashly GEQ or Protea, Driverack 480, or currently B.inger's new Ultracurve which is suprisingly easy to use live, and quite friggin good for the price) We dial them in to where we want them exactly, and they have always been reliable. As for power ratings, I have used them up to and over 110db on a few small punk and rock shows, and they work great. For a nice sized powered speaker, they are very reliable, perform just as well as the Mackie series does, and depending on who you get them from, are cheaper.
Hi We have had a piar of the opera 212 for about a year and a half and used them mostly for small gigs and DJ monitors, they have cost us more in repairs than they have earnt. They blow the 12' and the compression drivers regularily, esp when used by DJ's. The amps are LMxxxx amplifier chips, one for the compression driver and a pair bridged for the 12'. I have never liked the sound, quite muddy bass of what there is. We have finally got rid of them and are using 'normal' speakers for those aps and the result is way better.
Rintincop wrote on Mon, 10 May 2004 09:00 I had Mackie SRM 450s and sold them because they over emphasized the highs and lows and got harsh. I had JBL EONs and sold them becuase they lacked mid range clarity.
I had FBT MaxX 4As and 2As and sold them because they got messy at loud volumes and didn't have a very substantial midrange. I now have EV SXa360 and like them so far, though they seem to roll off at the high end. 'You Get What You Pay For.' 'Buy Once, Cry Once.'
Sounds like you've cried three times, with the potential to cry once again. I do mostly dj events and clubs and have used the mackies, first gen eons, and the opera 212s. I can't comment on the G2s, but i recommend the mackies for this application over hte operas. Djs want it fuckign loud and will do everything they can to break the goddam monitors. One opera box at one of my clients has had a driver upgraded, but there is an annoying resonance around the amp.
Its not my gear so I'm not touching anything. The mackies have proved very useful for a loft party with richie hawtin, one of the most technically demanding djs out there. For the big shows I would only bother with something that will hit harder, but for small clubs and parties, jsut a simple eqing on the mackies will suffice. Scavenger Ton wrote on Tue, 11 May 2004 13:18 i do mostly dj events and clubs and have used the mackies, first gen eons, and the opera 212s.
I can't comment on the G2s, but i recommend the mackies for this application over hte operas. Djs want it fuckign loud and will do everything they can to break the goddam monitors. One opera box at one of my clients has had a driver upgraded, but there is an annoying resonance around the amp. Its not my gear so I'm not touching anything. The mackies have proved very useful for a loft party with richie hawtin, one of the most technically demanding djs out there. For the big shows I would only bother with something that will hit harder, but for small clubs and parties, jsut a simple eqing on the mackies will suffice. When you write mackies, is it the 450's or the ART300A's?