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Mobile Pro Sound Set Up
Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2025 5:55 pm
by jHands
Greetings all. I have found this lovely place via way of being completely and utterly disappointed with what modern lollipop style column arrays sound like. Total garbage. I demoed a QSC KC12 for a few hours at a guitar center and was not impressed. I began doing some research on DIYin some speakers together. Basically, I'm going to be pulling a mobile DJ rig behind an E bike. It will be about 6 feet long. I am looking for advice on tops and bottoms selection for this rig. For the tops, I have all but settled on the SLA Pro because of its tall and slim profile. For the bottoms, I was initially sold on the T24 until I realized they used 10'' drivers. I have concerns about loudness with subs of that size.
I have some experience building custom enclosures in the car audio sphere, so I am not totally new to this. I will also be working in a wood shop with access to full tools minus a CNC, which I will probably farm out elsewhere to buy a precut pack to save on time.
Looking for insight and advice on these speaker choices, specifically in an outdoor setting, playing to a crowd of 50-100 people.
Re: Mobile Pro Sound Set Up
Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2025 6:09 pm
by Bill Fitzmaurice
You've never heard a horn loaded sub, have you?
Re: Mobile Pro Sound Set Up
Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2025 10:16 pm
by jHands
Bill Fitzmaurice wrote: ↑Mon Nov 17, 2025 6:09 pm
You've never heard a horn loaded sub, have you?
Hey Bill. So happy to see you're still active here. I have been in the underground rave scene for a while. I am sure I've heard one, just not knowingly. Are they known to be big thumpers relative to their size? Because the 12'' QSC sub bottom was a joke - my Yamaha HS8S studio monitor sub hits almost as hard.
Re: Mobile Pro Sound Set Up
Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2025 10:58 pm
by Tom Smit
JHands, welcome to the forum!
If you are considering a pair of T24s, I am wondering if you consider a 12" loaded T48, 24" wide if possible, Lay it down on the cart with the driver end at, or behind the axle. Then, place the top in the appropriate location on top of it to balance out the load.
Don't be afraid of a 10" driver in a horn sub because the horn is an acoustic amplifier.
Re: Mobile Pro Sound Set Up
Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2025 10:59 pm
by Bill Fitzmaurice
I am sure I've heard one, just not knowingly.
You probably haven't, as they're quite rare other than DIY. That's because being very labor intensive to construct they're much more expensive than direct radiators. That matters not to DIY, we don't pay for labor. They're also larger than direct radiators, which is in part why they work so much better. I'm currently doing an 18 inch horn loaded design for a very well known manufacturer. It's somewhat larger than their 2x21" ported cab. It's also 5dB louder.
Re: Mobile Pro Sound Set Up
Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2025 11:19 pm
by Old Mike
You got my attention with that post Bill.
Will the design be available to us DIY people?
Re: Mobile Pro Sound Set Up
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2025 12:08 am
by jHands
Tom Smit wrote: ↑Mon Nov 17, 2025 10:58 pm
JHands, welcome to the forum!
If you are considering a pair of T24s, I am wondering if you consider a 12" loaded T48, 24" wide if possible, Lay it down on the cart with the driver end at, or behind the axle. Then, place the top in the appropriate location on top of it to balance out the load.
Don't be afraid of a 10" driver in a horn sub because the horn is an acoustic amplifier.
Are you talking about a Titan 48 loaded with a 12? What would the final dimensions and weight be? Would I be laying it on its side?
Re: Mobile Pro Sound Set Up
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2025 1:31 am
by jHands
Bill Fitzmaurice wrote: ↑Mon Nov 17, 2025 10:59 pm
I am sure I've heard one, just not knowingly.
You probably haven't, as they're quite rare other than DIY. That's because being very labor intensive to construct they're much more expensive than direct radiators. That matters not to DIY, we don't pay for labor. They're also larger than direct radiators, which is in part why they work so much better. I'm currently doing an 18 inch horn loaded design for a very well known manufacturer. It's somewhat larger than their 2x21" ported cab. It's also 5dB louder.
Well they definitely have my interest for this project. I’m also considering scrapping the SLA in favor of OT because of their better power efficiency. This project is going to be ran off battery power often.
Another question I have regarding your plans. Do they come with any type of file to be loaded onto a CNC machine? I’ll have access to one where I’m working on these projects.
Re: Mobile Pro Sound Set Up
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2025 7:00 am
by Bill Fitzmaurice
Old Mike wrote: ↑Mon Nov 17, 2025 11:19 pm
Will the design be available to us DIY people?
That's up to the manufacturer.
Re: Mobile Pro Sound Set Up
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2025 12:32 pm
by jHands
Bill Fitzmaurice wrote: ↑Tue Nov 18, 2025 7:00 am
Old Mike wrote: ↑Mon Nov 17, 2025 11:19 pm
Will the design be available to us DIY people?
That's up to the manufacturer.
Bill, do your plans come with cad files for CNC cutting?
Re: Mobile Pro Sound Set Up
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2025 12:39 pm
by Bill Fitzmaurice
They do not. Not enough builders have CNC to justify it.
Re: Mobile Pro Sound Set Up
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2025 1:13 pm
by jHands
Bill Fitzmaurice wrote: ↑Tue Nov 18, 2025 12:39 pm
They do not. Not enough builders have CNC to justify it.
Understood thanks. So back on topic, two of these horn loaded 10's...what can I expect for performance with, say, an OT8 above each of them? Is it a worthy endeavor to step up to the Tuba 30's with 12's? They don't seem to be that much bigger, nor heavier. The design being the same, I'd imagine they both have high sensitivity and great power efficiency, which is needed for this project as it will be battery ran.
Re: Mobile Pro Sound Set Up
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2025 3:00 pm
by Radian
Eminence KL3010LF in a standard width T24 is a wicked amount of output for its size.
Re: Mobile Pro Sound Set Up
Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2025 9:13 pm
by jHands
Radian wrote: ↑Tue Nov 18, 2025 3:00 pm
Eminence KL3010LF in a standard width T24 is a wicked amount of output for its size.
Have you done any actual testing with it?
Re: Mobile Pro Sound Set Up
Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2025 12:40 am
by Joman116
jHands wrote: ↑Mon Nov 17, 2025 5:55 pm
Greetings all. I have found this lovely place via way of being completely and utterly disappointed with what modern lollipop style column arrays sound like. Total garbage. I demoed a QSC KC12 for a few hours at a guitar center and was not impressed. I began doing some research on DIYin some speakers together. Basically, I'm going to be pulling a mobile DJ rig behind an E bike. It will be about 6 feet long. I am looking for advice on tops and bottoms selection for this rig. For the tops, I have all but settled on the SLA Pro because of its tall and slim profile. For the bottoms, I was initially sold on the T24 until I realized they used 10'' drivers. I have concerns about loudness with subs of that size.
I have some experience building custom enclosures in the car audio sphere, so I am not totally new to this. I will also be working in a wood shop with access to full tools minus a CNC, which I will probably farm out elsewhere to buy a precut pack to save on time.
Looking for insight and advice on these speaker choices, specifically in an outdoor setting, playing to a crowd of 50-100 people.
Welcome to the forum! Im appalled these "column array style" speakers are widely popular in the dj community. Probably because most of them are not technical savvy and prefer high mobility vs output /performance.