Alto TS 415

My use case for this speaker is home music listening and rock singing and karaoke practice at moderate listening levels in a 8x4x4m (height) room. I use Ableton audio chain for EQ and effects needed. I listen to rock, heavy metal, pop, not heavy tecno or DJ music, but music where people actually sing and there are instruments other than synths and bass. I compared this with RCF art 915 and LD Systems Stinger 15A G3. RCF 915 is good and neutral, but ultimately uninvolving for music listening. Clean, neutral, even explosive at times, but no amount of EQ or audio effects turned this speaker to be immersing and satisfying for music listening. Also, no real bass floor here, rated at 45hz, but no deep bass present no matter the eq. Stinger 15A G3 supposedly has deep bass, but not really. It does have a punchy bass 50-60 hz a bit boomy even with the birch cabinet, but not particularly deep. Dj use sure, critical music listening not really good, a disappointement there. Alto TS 415 had the deepest bass floor of all of these speakers, surprisingly so, probably has useful output in the 30s hz or so, although had to turn the DJ mode on and do proper eq and audio effects in Ableton. With tuning (dj mode, ableton eq and audio effects), TS 415 was clearly the more engaging speaker out of these three pairs I tested all at the same time for 2 weeks. It is not the cleanest and mids are recessed a bit (which I do like, a bit like Bowers and Wilkins older hifi speakers), but real and believable bass is present in rock, pop and eq can clean the top a bit. Alto TS 415 was the most musical, toe tapping, head bopping, want to dance now speaker out of the bunch for my use case. Also manages well as a rock singing practice pa system or high-end karaoke. Transients are good, not excellent, but timing is coherent if not as fast or explosive as RCF 915. Sound quality for fun of listening to music and being engaged 5 stars easily. If your use case is DJ or PA for a band, not sure how this fares there.

I've never had a PA speaker and I bought it for rather unconventional use - personal use for listening to music. I debated between something more consumer oriented like the JBL PartBoxes and what not, but decided for a PA speaker for better upgrade options.

I narrowed down my options to Alto TS415/412 and EV ZLX 15/12. I picked Alto as it had bluetooth, was cheaper, from videos I saw online it seemed to be really decent. Picked 15 inch version as the price difference between 12 inch one was very small and I do not have a subwoofer. Also in my opinion EV has same issues w/ knobs previous Alto generation is being criticized for.

Overall I cannot actually tell how good or bad it is in the PA world, as I have nothing to really compare it against. But from what my experience has been, for what I have used it, it is really good. I actually even placed an order for a second one.

For anyone wondering how it sounds compared to a consumer speaker, then I have heard the JBL PartyBox 310 and I think the Alto 415 sounds better.

For people wondering 12 inch or 15 inch, as I was - I think there really is no correct answer and just about every answer you find online has some bias and specific reasons why the person has such an opinion. I picked 15 because it is bigger, supposedly more bass and I don't have a subwoofer.

Perhaps one day I will have tried EV speakers, 12 inch versions and tried different setups with and without subwoofers and I could write a more comparative review. For now though, I rate the speaker 5/5 - it is great build quality, sounds great, looks great, works great.