Advice on Purchasing Amp & Speakers

[MadGutts 0]

QUOTE

i have gemeni xpm 1200 amp ohm rw 5 350w 8 ohms speakers

 

The Gemini XPM-1200 is 360w RMS at 8 Ohm per side so this is spot on for your speakers.

If you were to add a pair of sub bins, you would have a better sound, and as long as the subs are also 8 ohm then this amp would be fine.

 

Hope this helps! http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html/emoticons/thumbup.gif

 

[huracain 0]

thank u very much for your reply good news http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html/emoticons/smile.gif tell me mate i wanting a setup for karaoke .would base binns add to quality for karaoke or mostly for disco again thank u for the reply

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[DJ Marky Marc 0]

 

i wouldnt bother with bass bins at a karaoke

[Gary 0]

QUOTE (DJ Marky Marc @ Jan 21 2005, 11:46 PM)

i wouldnt bother with bass bins at a karaoke

Ditto

 

Much more sensible to use fullrange speakers. Lots of medium sized ones, rather than a couple of huge ones, will give you flexibility if/when you need to get around feedback problems, which can be common when running several mics, and very common if running several cheap mics (if you are).

 

However, its worthwhile considering that you will probably need to run some parts of the evening as a disco - I've not hosted karaoke for years, but when I've attended other peoples karaokes, its normally only 75%/25% karaoke/disco split throughout the night eg: An hour of karaoke, 20 mins of Disco/dancing.

[ToXiC 0]

Behringer makes great value and rugged amps and speakers for the price you pay.

 

The Behringer amps are clones of the QSC RMX series. And having heard them both theres not much difference in the sound quality. http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html//emoticons/smile.gif

Except QSC has the repuation, great reliability, great service and offers replacable modules, but is twice the price than the Behringer.

 

As for powering most speakers always use amps with rms 1.5-2 times the rms of the speakers. Then there is less chance of clipping the amp, as clipping amp = fried speakers.

And very high quality pro drivers like Precision Devices can take 4 times the rms rating of the driver, as they got special heatsinks and very large voicecoils of around 5 inch.

 

Both Behringer and QSC amps feature a clip limiter which reduces clipping, and has saved my speakers from burning out when it went into clip once;but that was only soft clip[clip light blinking on amps]. Dunno if the clip limiter will protect against hard continous clipping[ clip light on continouslly] though.

 

 

Nothing wrong with under powering speakers EXCEPT if you clip the amp[and it doesn't have clip limiter etc] or you not set the external compressor/limiter correctly, then goodbye speakers.

 

So an amp which is 1.5-2 times the rating of your speakers rms gives more headroom [as bass mostly uses up amp power until it clips].

So that using an amp 1.5- 2 times the power of your speakers means you can get more out of the speakers including better bass before it clips.

 

 

 

 

 

[Sean Diamond 0]

Some very good advice in here. I'm looking at investing in a PA system. My DJ setup already consists of over £2K of kit, so whilst i want to maintain quality in my PA, i don't want to be daft in my spending - out of money now!

 

I like many many others in this thread looking at the Peavey Messenger Pro's. 2 15" tops and 2 15" subs with inbuilt high pass filters for £250 each pair is appealing. (One person mentioned they had blackwidow drivers, i was under the impression only the UL series featured these?) Rated at 250 watts continuous each; what amp wattage should i be looking at? I've looked at the Behringer EP 2500 and it looks decent and cheap £189!!! Also Yamaha amps seem high quality and reliable for the price. Crown and QSC are overpriced for me.

 

The mackie SRM450'S tempted me, but for £900, a pair of full range speakers, subs and a powerfull amp seems to offer more versatility and longevity.

 

Bare in mind i am a club/dance music DJ, and most of my events are 18th Birtdays/Student nights where high volume is a must for long periods. Good clarity, volume/bass, along with reliability and affordability are a must - so any advice is much appreciated!

[stevie 0]

http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html//emoticons/042.gif I have been runnin a pair of peavey hisys 2 powerd warrior is1000 they sound pretty dam good and never had the clipin light on altho you could use the amp as a hair dryer at the end of the night (if i had any http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html//emoticons/071.gif )ive got 2 of these amps and they both get pretty hot! (only ever use 1)

So maybe i should use 1 for each channel?

Also ive been offerd a pair of hi sys 4's but got to go 80 miles to get em question is are they good better worse than my hy sys 2's?

I don't no any one thats got any,any ideas chaps?

http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html//emoticons/offtopic.gif I tryed to do my profile so you no more about me n it did'nt work where do I go to do it ? Cheers Stevie

[neil 0]

Hi guys this is my first post!i've been reading all the info it may be an old one but i've had an audiohead ah2400 amp for 18 months and its been great!Im running 4 ev zx5 speakers and i've just up graded to an audiohead ah4000.These amps may be cheap but they are reliable and sound great.

In conjunction with the above i use 2 ev sba 760 powered subs,cheap amp dear speakers but what a great sound!

Any views would be appreciated.Nice to be a member of a good chat room!!

 

[Andy Westcott 0]

I'm new here, so please forgive me for jumping in with a couple of points I noticed needed clarification through this thread:

(Don't wish to appear a know-all!)

 

Speaker impedances:

The impedance figure represents the speaker's restriction, or resistance, to current flow. The higher the number, the higher the resistance.

 

Therefore, two speakers connected in parallel will halve the resistance.

 

2 X 8 ohm speakers connected in parallel have a total load of 4 ohms.

4 X 8 ohm speakers connected in parallel have a total load of 2 ohms.

2 X 4 ohm speakers connected in parallel have a total load of 2 ohms.

1 X 8 & 1 X 4 ohm speaker in parallel have an impedance of 2.66 ohms.

3 X 8 ohm speakers also present 2.66 ohms.

I think that's covered most permutations........ :-)

(Trust me, I know about these things!)

 

Bridging an amp is a slightly more complicated affair, as you double the voltage available to the load. I'll try and explain this concept as simply as I can for the non-techs:

 

The minimum load an amp can handle is dictated by the current it can supply without damaging itself.

Let's assume you have an amp with a minimum load rating of 4 ohms:

If you bridge the amp into an 8 ohm load, the amp is then capable of providing double the single channel 4 ohm power into the 8 ohm load. However, the amp will see this 8 ohm load as a 4 ohm load by virtue of the double current provided in response to the double voltage.

 

To load a bridged amp with a 4 ohm speaker stack would cause the same current to flow as if you had connected a 2 ohm load to each channel - few amps can stand this without emitting some smoke, unless designed specifically for 2 ohm loads!

 

RMS power output confusion:

Thankfully, music rarely consists of steady amplitude sine waves, and is rather more variable than this in real life, which is why a 500W amp can be used with a 300W speaker and it can still survive unless you habitually push the amp way past the distortion point. Not recommended, however.

 

This brings me on to amp ratings:

RMS power rating is OK, but it needs some qualification. Check the distortion present when the amp is delivering this output. Decent amps will have an RMS rating measured at a very low distortion, such as 0.001%. Bear in mind, though, that at high volumes 10% distortion is not particularly noticeable but under these conditions the amp's output can be 50 - 100% higher than at the lower distortion figure.

 

Also beware this trick being used to glorify a weaker amp, by listing an RMS figure, albeit at a high distortion figure, which they might forget to include....

 

That's it for now - thanks for your patience! http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html//emoticons/042.gif

 

Edit:

Did anyone spot the deliberate mistake??! (I've fixed it now.)

Edited October 24, 2005 by Andy Westcott

[NRG 0]

Hi People

 

I was just having a read through all this topic and hope you dont mind me adding a bit of advice, as being in a band the best speakers to use out there i would recommend would be Adlib Audio.

 

They are british made and sound awesome.

 

I used to have Peavey's years ago, I have had the Eurosys, Hysis, DTH Systems and UL series, Main problem with Peavey now people get fooled into the Program Power ratings that they use, which is their own rating not an offical wattage rating.

 

The problem also is that the new version of the Black Widow Speakers just dont stand up to the old design, the new Kevlar these use just doesnt take the power.

 

We went onto Adlibs after years of Peavey problems and that, we decided to see the light and spend the money and decent gear,

 

Have a look www.adlibaudio.co.uk

 

If you dont believe how good they are we used them last year at the DJ north show outside and they were immense, plus you can have a tour round the factory and try them before you by them in a real demo room.

 

Some of you may not of heard of Adlib but honestly its top quality stuff

 

 

[Welsh Audio Man 21 0]

Hi People

 

I was just having a read through all this topic and hope you dont mind me adding a bit of advice, as being in a band the best speakers to use out there i would recommend would be Adlib Audio.

 

They are british made and sound awesome.

 

I used to have Peavey's years ago, I have had the Eurosys, Hysis, DTH Systems and UL series, Main problem with Peavey now people get fooled into the Program Power ratings that they use, which is their own rating not an offical wattage rating.

 

The problem also is that the new version of the Black Widow Speakers just dont stand up to the old design, the new Kevlar these use just doesnt take the power.

 

We went onto Adlibs after years of Peavey problems and that, we decided to see the light and spend the money and decent gear,

 

Have a look www.adlibaudio.co.uk

 

If you dont believe how good they are we used them last year at the DJ north show outside and they were immense, plus you can have a tour round the factory and try them before you by them in a real demo room.

 

Some of you may not of heard of Adlib but honestly its top quality stuff

 

must admit... adlib aint bad at all!

 

[serioussounds 0]

must admit... adlib aint bad at all!

 

Hi all How many people use the Speakers with amps built in, are they any good - apart from the obvious that if amp or speaker blow then you lose both.

 

The reason for me asking is I run a Numark Amp with 4 speakers and am looking to increase the power as some of the halls I play in our massive and the pub I currently do regularly is getting busier and even though current gear can handle it, would like some extra power just in case. And on speaking to my local DJ shop they suggested a larger amp and speakers but also suggetsed 2 300w speakers (with amps built in) - but is it worth it? :thanks:

[Norfolk DJ 0]

 

Plenty of discussion recently on the forum in respect of the advice which you seek.

 

I would carry out a simple search which covers all of the opinions which you require.

 

Rob

[revival disco 0]

Some very good advice in here. I'm looking at investing in a PA system. My DJ setup already consists of over £2K of kit, so whilst i want to maintain quality in my PA, i don't want to be daft in my spending - out of money now!

 

I like many many others in this thread looking at the Peavey Messenger Pro's. 2 15" tops and 2 15" subs with inbuilt high pass filters for £250 each pair is appealing. (One person mentioned they had blackwidow drivers, i was under the impression only the UL series featured these?) Rated at 250 watts continuous each; what amp wattage should i be looking at? I've looked at the Behringer EP 2500 and it looks decent and cheap £189!!! Also Yamaha amps seem high quality and reliable for the price. Crown and QSC are overpriced for me.

 

The mackie SRM450'S tempted me, but for £900, a pair of full range speakers, subs and a powerfull amp seems to offer more versatility and longevity.

 

Bare in mind i am a club/dance music DJ, and most of my events are 18th Birtdays/Student nights where high volume is a must for long periods. Good clarity, volume/bass, along with reliability and affordability are a must - so any advice is much appreciated!

 

Hi, been reading all this stuff on amps, I was wondering if any one can recomend Carlsbro amps, I'm looking to upgrade from my DAP Audio1600 to carlsbro powerline 2000,I like the look of it. also have matrix 1300 and gemini gxa1600. I run 2 discos and need quality amp with loads of power. Chris @ Revival disco services

[Swingcats 0]

Hi

 

I'm running a Soundlab 800 watt amp to two Pevey HiSys 2XT 350 watt speakers at 3/4 power, works fine, I now ask, if I was to add two more base bins, what should I add? :hphone:

 

Are these any good, they seem to sell a lot of them on ebay Shytec cheap and cheerful

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...p;rd=1&rd=1

 

 

Then all I have to worry about is how to get it al in the car! :damn:

[TonyB 0]

Hi

 

I'm running a Soundlab 800 watt amp to two Pevey HiSys 2XT 350 watt speakers at 3/4 power, works fine, I now ask, if I was to add two more base bins, what should I add? :hphone:

 

Are these any good, they seem to sell a lot of them on ebay Shytec cheap and cheerful

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...p;rd=1&rd=1

Then all I have to worry about is how to get it al in the car! :damn:

 

The auction is a bit deceptive because they are not 300w RMS, they are 300w max, 150W RMS. I've got a pair of these although I have taken out the high pass filters and use them with an active crossover and bi amped. Okay for smallish gigs up to 100 people as long as the venue isn't too big.

[Swingcats 0]

The auction is a bit deceptive because they are not 300w RMS, they are 300w max, 150W RMS. I've got a pair of these although I have taken out the high pass filters and use them with an active crossover and bi amped. Okay for smallish gigs up to 100 people as long as the venue isn't too big.

 

 

Cheers for that, I guess you get what you pay for, so any advice on a good set of bins, to add to my set up , anyone? Under £500 budget.

[rosco robinson 0]

Hi fellow Dj,s

i have been in the buisness since i was 13 years old over the years i have used many different types of amps but to date nothing has matched for power and reliability the new C- Mark amps considering the value for money they represent. i know that you might dissagree but i have used everything fron valve amps to citronic, peavey, H & K, but these C-mark Are excellant value for money, i have the c mark 2650 and 2 of the c-mark 3000,s i have them connected to the peavey UL215H,s 2000 watt 4 ohm full range cabinets simular to the jbl jrx 125,s and the sound is unbeleivable, i know that mobile Dj aying is all about ease but if you havent tried these amps i dont think youll be dissapointed.

anyway rosco signing off for now keep the faith best of luck to you all.

[rosco robinson 0]

always remember to ensure that ohms law applies to any sound system that you are building the more speakers you connect to 1 amp the lower the ohms rating,

power amps have much more sofisticated circuitry in them these days so ensure that your speakers can handle the max wattage output.

[David M 0]

I know that separates sound best you cant beat a high end amp, speaker, and sub combination,

but for ease of use and setup you cant beat active speakers i run a mix and match dependent on the size of the venue i have 1 pair 10"150w, 2pairs 12"400w and a pair of 15"450w. combine this with a mixer with main and booth outputs you have an infinite range of control over power and volume allowing you to position speakers at all four corners of the dance floor reducing the need for deafening db levels at the buisness end, therefore less risk of tripping the power with the sound level meters that some venues use.

david

[Stace 0]

Guys,

 

Is there a rule of thumb in terms of How Much RMS = How Many People ?

 

For example what would be considered powerful enough for an event with 100 guests?

 

Thanks

Stace

[Llyr Roberts 0]

Guys,

 

Is there a rule of thumb in terms of How Much RMS = How Many People ?

 

For example what would be considered powerful enough for an event with 100 guests?

 

Thanks

Stace

 

I would like an answer to that question! Everybody has different experiences, and there's the factor of how efficient your speakers are, for example 200W rms speakers that have a Sensitivity of 100dB + are probably louder than 300W rms that have a sensitivity of 95db, i thinks is correct from what I've gathered.

 

My question, I'm thinking of buying 2tops 2subs 300RMS each, from class d,

I've seen this amp http://www.thomann.de/gb/t-amp_ta2400.htm which seems to the best choice so far.

It runs 2x 1200W/4 Ohm!

 

Speakers = 1400RMS

Amp = 2400RMS java script:emoticon(':ouch:', 'smid_56')

:ouch:

 

Giving me 1000RMS watts of head room,

Is it possible for this to work if i be careful?!

 

I was wondering, seems obvious if i turn the 2 knobs on the amp have way down it would only be able to push out a max of 1200W rms (halve the amps power)

 

All at 4ohm

 

Thanks Llyr

Edited June 15, 2008 by Llyr Roberts

[TonyB 0]

 

I was wondering, seems obvious if i turn the 2 knobs on the amp have way down it would only be able to push out a max of 1200W rms (halve the amps power)

 

Thanks Llyr

 

Short answer, no. Even with the level controls on the amp at half way, it is still possible to feed in a signal powerful enough for the amps to output full power.

 

You shouldn't use an amp that exceeds the power handling of the speakers without using a limiter.

 

Class D are not particularly efficient speakers and there is a strong possibility that you will overdrive them in order to produce the required volume level. That amp has the ability to cause damage to the speakers.

[Llyr Roberts 0]

Thanks for your help,

 

a limiter would limit the signal coming from a mixer making it "impossible" for the amp to blow the speakers if set up correctly? Could you recommend a limiter?

 

This would match the system perfectly, 2x 700W

http://www.thomann.de/gb/tamp_ta1400_amplifier.htm

so no need for a limiter, but I could pay £20 more and get a amp with 1000 more watts (and need a limiter) Which would you go for?!

Edited June 15, 2008 by Llyr Roberts

[Liscio 0]

Looking for a pair of Active Speakers in the coming months, My passive Lumps are huge & heavy and the amp is also getting a bit worn.

 

Budget would be around £500-800 I would imagine, can anyone suggest a good place to start?

 

Cheers...