HK audio elements P.A. - Thoughts

niallgmccarthy

Hi Folks,

I'm looking into upgrading my PA system for an acoustic 3 piece act. I was looking at the HK Audio elements system from a point of view of sound quality and ease of transport and setup. I'm getting tired of lugging heavy gear in and out of pubs! Just wondering if anyone out there has any experience of these systems, or any alternatives? The reviews and the concept are generally very good, but the price is pretty hefty.

Any feedback (preferably not actually!), would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers, Niall.:)

Strings.ie

Not familiar with that system but their sound caddy is a great idea. Bit costly though :rolleyes:

http://hkaudio.com/us/products.php5?section=ps&id=235

niallgmccarthy

Thanks Strings. I looked at the sound caddy, and the Bose L1, but it's a 3 piece with multiple instruments, and 3 vocals, and we really need a stereo image. The elements is configurable from 150w mono to 3.2k stereo, depending on what's required. I was looking at a 1.2k setup, with 2 active 300w bins driving 2 150w tops per side. The in built mixer with the sound caddy is a great idea, but a bit restrictive for what I need. Here's the low-down on the elements system:

http://hkaudio.com/us/elements.php5

Thanks again for the feedback.

waxysdargle

Hi, I came across this thread while looking for suppliers of HK gear here in Ireland.
I too was looking for more portable gear for a one man outfit as the gear I had was from my 2 and 3 piece days and was just too much for one person, I was knackered by the time I had set up.
I just received my HK elements setup today, 2 powered bins, 4 tops and poles and covers from a music store in Germany, and I can honestly say it's the best purchase I ever made gearwise.
Because I had read so many reviews online before buying, I literally just took it out of the box and set it up within ten minutes. I believe the next time it will take me just five.
I was amazed by the clarity of the sound. First I plugged a SM58 through a Allen & Heath ZED10fx, a tiny little mixer, and just did the old "testing one two" and I was blown away with the quality. Then I plugged in a keyboard and played the demo tunes to get a feel for how it handled a fairly typical band sound and once again I was very impressed with the clarity and bass. Then I set up as I would for any gig and I've never sounded better.
I have a gig in a bar where I used to have to lug my old gear through the kitchens at the rear, then through narrow hallways to the stage and I used to dread it every time. I took about seven runs backwards a forwards to get in. I reckon I will be able to carry the tops and the poles in their bag on my back and a bin in each hand in one go. For once I'm looking forward to playing there.
I have no hesitation recommending this gear to any one who plays to about 2-300 people and I like the idea that you can add to this as your needs change.
I purchased mine from http://www.mgd-musik.de/
I paid for it last saturday by paypal and it arrived by courier today.
They gave me a great deal and beat thomann's price by a mile.
They are definitely worth a look if you are seriously considering buying this gear.
I hope this was helpful. Cheers.

niallgmccarthy

waxysdargle wrote: »

Hi, I came across this thread while looking for suppliers of HK gear here in Ireland.
I too was looking for more portable gear for a one man outfit as the gear I had was from my 2 and 3 piece days and was just too much for one person, I was knackered by the time I had set up.
I just received my HK elements setup today, 2 powered bins, 4 tops and poles and covers from a music store in Germany, and I can honestly say it's the best purchase I ever made gearwise.
Because I had read so many reviews online before buying, I literally just took it out of the box and set it up within ten minutes. I believe the next time it will take me just five.
I was amazed by the clarity of the sound. First I plugged a SM58 through a Allen & Heath ZED10fx, a tiny little mixer, and just did the old "testing one two" and I was blown away with the quality. Then I plugged in a keyboard and played the demo tunes to get a feel for how it handled a fairly typical band sound and once again I was very impressed with the clarity and bass. Then I set up as I would for any gig and I've never sounded better.
I have a gig in a bar where I used to have to lug my old gear through the kitchens at the rear, then through narrow hallways to the stage and I used to dread it every time. I took about seven runs backwards a forwards to get in. I reckon I will be able to carry the tops and the poles in their bag on my back and a bin in each hand in one go. For once I'm looking forward to playing there.
I have no hesitation recommending this gear to any one who plays to about 2-300 people and I like the idea that you can add to this as your needs change.
I purchased mine from http://www.mgd-musik.de/
I paid for it last saturday by paypal and it arrived by courier today.
They gave me a great deal and beat thomann's price by a mile.
They are definitely worth a look if you are seriously considering buying this gear.
I hope this was helpful. Cheers.

Cheers for the reply. Is there an English version of that site? I had a look but couldn't find my way around at all.

waxysdargle

I use google chrome as my browser which translates the page to english for me.
I found them through ebay as they had a b-stock system for sale so I contacted them for a best price and I ended up buying a brand new set-up direct from them.
There's not a lot of inventory on the site so You're best bet is to email them in english. They replied to me very quickly and kept me up to date throughout the sale with. Cheers.

ArthurGuinness

How many of tops/bins could you run of a dynacord powermate 1000? Whats the story with the amps you can buy with them? I am thinking 6 tops and 4 bins

waxysdargle

I wouldnt recommend using these with a powermate unless you were taking your signal from the main outs and not the speaker outs. These are designed for use with an unpowered desk. The tops have built in conectors that attach to the amp module directly or through a special pole , no cables required. The amp module is 600w and can run 4 x tops or 2 x unpowered subs or 2 x tops and 1 sub. The powered sub can run itself and two tops or another unpowered sub. The configurator on the HK website is handy for checking which setup suits you best. http://hkaudio.com/us/elements_config.php5.
I've had mine 2 months nearly now and i've never looked back.

hawthorn

Hi

I like the look of the Soundcaddy 1, but just wondering has anyone out there got one or tried one!? It says 600w Class D power? What does that mean?

Also I am using at the moment, 1 KME 600w bin and 2 200w 8" tops, with a Yamaha EMX 512 which it says has 2 x 500w amps. But I somehow dont think Im getting 1000w power! I think it says output 500 w . Any suggestions as to a different amp/mixer or a different system?

HAS to be small light and portable! Thats one of the nice things about Soundcaddy 1, but appx €2000.....

Any thoughts?

thanks
h

ahernjohn

Hi there
I just came across your comment on the HK audio elements.
I am in the very same position as you and mostly play as one man band these days. I don't know what you used before the hk but I have two Dynacord 800a corus subs and two Dynacord D12-3A tops all powered. I love the sound I get from these and its quite versatile as I can have a lot of different configurations and when needed for say a three piece I have all the power I need.
The only thing is the subs are 45kg which are pretty heavy to lift on your own up stairs etc. the tops are not so bad at 23kg.
I am seriously interested in the HK elements and as you have it now for a while would love to how you are getting on with it and if you think it would suit me.
Thanks

waxysdargle wrote: »

Hi, I came across this thread while looking for suppliers of HK gear here in Ireland.
I too was looking for more portable gear for a one man outfit as the gear I had was from my 2 and 3 piece days and was just too much for one person, I was knackered by the time I had set up.
I just received my HK elements setup today, 2 powered bins, 4 tops and poles and covers from a music store in Germany, and I can honestly say it's the best purchase I ever made gearwise.
Because I had read so many reviews online before buying, I literally just took it out of the box and set it up within ten minutes. I believe the next time it will take me just five.
I was amazed by the clarity of the sound. First I plugged a SM58 through a Allen & Heath ZED10fx, a tiny little mixer, and just did the old "testing one two" and I was blown away with the quality. Then I plugged in a keyboard and played the demo tunes to get a feel for how it handled a fairly typical band sound and once again I was very impressed with the clarity and bass. Then I set up as I would for any gig and I've never sounded better.
I have a gig in a bar where I used to have to lug my old gear through the kitchens at the rear, then through narrow hallways to the stage and I used to dread it every time. I took about seven runs backwards a forwards to get in. I reckon I will be able to carry the tops and the poles in their bag on my back and a bin in each hand in one go. For once I'm looking forward to playing there.
I have no hesitation recommending this gear to any one who plays to about 2-300 people and I like the idea that you can add to this as your needs change.
I purchased mine from http://www.mgd-musik.de/
I paid for it last saturday by paypal and it arrived by courier today.
They gave me a great deal and beat thomann's price by a mile.
They are definitely worth a look if you are seriously considering buying this gear.
I hope this was helpful. Cheers.

waxysdargle

ahernjohn wrote: »

Hi there
I just came across your comment on the HK audio elements.
I am in the very same position as you and mostly play as one man band these days. I don't know what you used before the hk but I have two Dynacord 800a corus subs and two Dynacord D12-3A tops all powered. I love the sound I get from these and its quite versatile as I can have a lot of different configurations and when needed for say a three piece I have all the power I need.
The only thing is the subs are 45kg which are pretty heavy to lift on your own up stairs etc. the tops are not so bad at 23kg.
I am seriously interested in the HK elements and as you have it now for a while would love to how you are getting on with it and if you think it would suit me.
Thanks

Hi,
I haven't checked this site in months so i don't know if my reply is relevant any more, but for what it's worth, I've been using this gear for 18 months now without a single problem and I still stand by my claim that it's the best purchase I've ever made.
It looks as new as the day I bought it thanks to the protective covers, which I would strongly recommend you purchase.
As for different configurations, that was one of HK's selling points, all the different configurations you could have. The system I have is 1200 watts but they have added new products to the range and can go to 4800 watts.
I was using KME cluster series speakers before these and still had them for a while and so was able to do a comparison, and I preferred the HK's. Also on gigs, people commented on the clarity without the excessive volume. I thought I was even louder than before but form the audience's perspective, I wasn't.
The biggest clincher for me was the portability. My back thanks me. Also my stress levels have gone way down. I used to arrive at a new venue and see two flights of stairs and think to myself, "F**k This!. I'm going home", but not any more.:D
I hope you find this useful, and if I'm too late It'll probably be useful to someone else following this thread,
Cheers