Looking For A Nice Set Up...

[Pwdrin 0]

I've been looking all day I wanted something with a laptop but then ditched this idea and want a mp3 style. I have really looked mostly into the "Cortex HDC1000". From what I've read and seen via youtube.com its a nice little piece of kit. Also doesn't cost a bomb tbh. Only £200 from most shops (Haven't really been looking that long)

 

I will also need lights but they should be easy to find tbh, but wont mind if somebody know's of a good deal to post it here.

 

The only problem exept undecided on what player is the speakers. I got told don't buy of Maplins on this other site after telling them of a 1600 Watt one for sale + amp. So I need to find other ones not from there if they aren't that good. So will you also help me with these.

 

Thanks pwdrin

[McCardle 1]

Maybe you should start by planning on what type of functions you are going to be doing, and the type of venues where you are going to be working. I was always advised that if you are working on a strict budget, you should spend more on a decent sound system, and then slowly build up the lighting as the bookings (and money) rolls in. Certainly clients will notice a bad sound system, whilst a few less lights probably won't go amiss!. I recommend the class D speakers

 

http://www.class-d.com/

 

Class D have quite a good reputation here in the past, and I use a pair of second hand JAC-15 myself, in fact they are a damn good speaker for the money!. I have also read several reviews here about the Thomann The Box series of speakers, they currently have a bundle deal with a pair of these, amplifier and leads for £414.18

 

http://www.thomann.de/gb/prod_cbundle_28.h...7&art=45427

 

don't be put off by using Thomann, they are a German company, but deliver to the UK for as little as £8.00 and you won't have any problems with customs - delivery also only takes about 4 or 5 days. There is also a 3 year guarantee on their products.

 

so, my advice is to spend a little bit more on speakers and amplifier in the beginning because sound is far more important than lighting in order to make a good impression, after all nobody likes listening to distorted sound all night, let alone dance to it!.

 

[Pwdrin 0]

How much watts does it normally take to fill a disco?

 

 

http://www.thomann.de/gb/prod_cbundle_28.h...7&art=45427

 

don't be put off by using Thomann, they are a German company, but deliver to the UK for as little as £8.00 and you won't have any problems with customs - delivery also only takes about 4 or 5 days. There is also a 3 year guarantee on their products.

 

 

Actually they are free for orders over £156

:p

 

 

[TonyB 0]

How much watts does it normally take to fill a disco?

 

Depends on various factors, the efficiency of the the speakers, type of function, size of room and number of people. I can only go what I use.

 

If you are targeting family parties/weddings which rarely go above about 120 people you can get away with around 600 watts rms (300w per channel). Thats what my old set up is and was seemed to cope okay with everything I done.

 

Large venues and functions where you might need a bit more volume (like some teenage parties) without thrashing your system too much, you could need double that, my new system is 1.2kw RMS and is probably overkill for most of what I do but happily ticks over at an acceptable volume level.

 

Speaker efficiency is measured in db. Each 3db increase in efficiency is equal to using double the power. So a 600w speaker with an efficiency of 95db should give the same volume as 300w speaker with an efficiency of 98db.

[dh140770 0]

I'd concur with the above advice. At mixed parties they appreciate it if you don't play too loud, so they can have a chat too. I do mostly mixed parties and I am using 2 x 400w Active speakers.

 

If you are playing bass heavy music, rap, RnB, D&B, Dance, I would recommend getting a bigger setup as these parties want you to play louder and it puts more stress on your system system. At my last gig one of my speakers overheated just before the end, so consenqently i'm investing in a Subwoofer so it doesn't hopefully happend again.

[McCardle 1]

I find exactly the same as the two comments above, and I rarely need anything over about 1kw (1000w) of sound for most family functions and Weddings. The sound system should be loud and clear enough for speeches and other announcements to be heard throughout the room, but during the course of many discos mixed audiences tend to perfer the volume to be at background level towards the back of the room, but still loud enough to create a good atmosphere on the dancefloor. There is little point in blasting your audience with loud music because there may be some guests who are not interested (and even dispise) a disco and who are just there to chat with other guests and meet up with family and friends, and by making their evening less enjoyable and more painful by trying to force them to get up and dance with loud music often means that they leave early or move into another room, often with an even less positive opinion of deejays than they arrived with!. Remember that every person in that room is potentially a new customer, and one who may want to book your services in the future - the last thing you want for them to do is have to complain about the sound level as you may potentially have lost a future booking.

 

Younger teen functions, such as 18th's and prom nights are entirely different, and will probably need a larger sound system if you choose to cover them on a regular basis - although smaller birthdays etc in village halls can usually be covered with a 1 - 1.2kw sound system and 4 efficient speakers!. Best to buy the largest sound system that you can realistically afford, without spending thousands!, its actually a good idea to have a slightly more powerful sound system than you need, so that at average levels, you are not running your amp and speakers close to their maxiumum outputs and there is plenty of output power left in reserve.

 

Venue sizes can also make a big difference to how your sound system operates, large venues or those with high ceilings can require more power to fill than small venues with a similar number of guests. Using speaker stands can help with venues which have no stage, but make sure that they are good quality stands, and that they are positioned where nobody can trip over, or fall into them.

Edited April 28, 2008 by McCardle

[desperatedan 0]

Depend on how much you have got to spend I know somewhere when you could get complete kit for £1500 hint hint !!!

 

Including dmx lights, 2 lots of speakers one set passive one set active. laptop (including OTS DJ Software) external hard drive, star cloth etc.. dual cd-g players (disco & Karaoke), mixer, stands etc... pm me for full list and pictures of kit avaliable.

 

Cheap Plug I know but missus wants rid of gear now I have decided to hang up the headphones.

Edited April 28, 2008 by desperatedan

[Pwdrin 0]

So you are saying like 1000W. On average I guess :S. So I will need atleast 3 speakers tbh. I seen these nice ones. They are from SKYTEC. pritty good looking aswell :p. I have been ebaying and found them btw. Theres one 800W for under £70 so I dont think it will be quality. But has anyone heared of this and any good reviews will be helpful.

[TonyB 0]

Be careful when you look at the power rating. Sometimes the seller will show the peak power. You need to look for the RMS power.

 

Peak power is the maximum power a speaker can got to in short bursts. RMS power is the power that a speaker can constantly run at.

 

Skytec don't usually produce speakers that are 800w RMS. It is more likely the peak power. The RMS power is more likely to be around 200w.

[Pwdrin 0]

From what it shows on the page is:

Highlights:

 

* Carrying handle

* 3-way bass reflex system

* Powerful 800 W outptut

* Hard wearing felt covering, and sturdy corner protection

* Fittings for stands

 

Hasn't mentioned Rms etc... Unless I'm been blind and can't see it :S

 

Ebay page

[TonyB 0]

Its a bit naughty of them isn't it. They are only showing the peak power. Peak power is usually four times the RMS power.

 

Even the Skytronic website only shows peak or max. power http://export.skytronic.com/product/product.php?s=178.500

[McCardle 1]

not criticising your taste, but to be honest they are a little bit tacky for my liking, LED's in speakers??!! not sure what the value is in relation to that, but speakers don't need to be highlighted or illuminated to work!. The spl figures are also a bit low at only 95db, ideally and as previously mentioned you need to be looking at close to, if not over 100db to make the most from every watt that your amplifier delivers.

 

How about something like this:- http://www.electromarket.co.uk/products.asp?partno=6912

 

or their larger 15" driven brother:- http://www.electromarket.co.uk/products.asp?partno=6915

Edited April 28, 2008 by McCardle

[TonyB 0]

I hate recommending speakers because sound is such a personal thing. If I was starting off on a budget I would probably go for a pair of the Box Speakers from Thomann

 

http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_box_pa_15.htm - 15" £74.50 each

 

and an amp to power them:

 

T-Amp http://www.thomann.de/gb/tamp_ta1050ii_endstufe.htm £145.08

 

and don't forget to add Speakon speaker cables.

[Steve_Mitchell 0]

Luke,

 

Your better letting us know how much money you have to spend to obtain a better idea of what everyone can recommend to you...

 

Disco gear is big business and can cost as little or as much as you want. :Thumbup:

[Gary 0]

Hi Pwdrin

 

Welcome to the forum. Although your head will probably be buzzing from the good advice that you've got so far, I've got a couple of bits to add.

 

In terms of wattages etc...also watch out for another little "ooops" that some speaker/amp adverts don't always cover "fully". Impedence - refered to as Ohms.

 

There's a little bit of maths involved but basically...an amp that is advertised as say, "300 watts per side" or "2 x 300 watts" could be being quoted as its 4 OHM output. Whys this risky? What's it "hiding"? Well, an amp that delivers "2 x 300watts into 4 Ohms" is only able to deliver "2 x 150 watts into 8 Ohms". Obviously, if you're looking at a pair of 8 ohm speakers, this starts becoming important as you dont want to have to turn your poor amp up to maximum and have every mixer control at max to get the speakers to rock. (Search for various topics about car top speed analogys to read all about speakers and amp matching)

 

For example:

 

"Buy this now... MEGA-AMP ... 1000watts x 2 into 8 Ohms" (this would be quite a powerful amp)

 

"Buy this now... Monster-AMP ... 1000watts x 2 (4 ohms)" (more or less half as powerful as the amp above)

 

So...when looking at adverts for amps or speakers, always keep an eye on the ohms / impedence.

 

 

The other thing is, I see you're looking at the Cortex 1000. It's had a few problems in the past BUT as soon as you get it out the box, download the latest free software update from the Cortex/Gemini website. It loads into the Cortex as a file transfer (no soldering or screwdrivers required ) - it'll give you a smoother experience as most boxed Cortex's still around at the moment will have the older firmware loaded.

Edited April 29, 2008 by Gary

[x4cs 0]

Its a bit naughty of them isn't it. They are only showing the peak power. Peak power is usually four times the RMS power.

 

Even the Skytronic website only shows peak or max. power http://export.skytronic.com/product/product.php?s=178.500

 

 

no its not. unless specifield the skytec speakers are peak power. Thier cat shows spec for each speaker and next to power you will see either 'power' or 'power rms' followed by a value expressed in Watts.

 

skytronic dont produce their own speaker capable of 800w RMS, however they do a McGregor range which have some bite to them. They do two options of a 3 way cab, 171.578 is a 700w RMS and 171.581 is a 900w RMS version.

 

the speakers in debate here, (178.506) i am inclined to think that it is a product not available from skytronic in the UK. on the internet you will find a lot of cheap skytec gear because its origin is holland and the first time it breaks down and you phone skytronic (who are in manchester) you will be asked for the product code, if it is not available directly from the UK you will have to speak to their head office in holland - then the parts are unlikely to be available.

 

but thats what you get for trying to pinch a cheap deal on the net. id be careful with the skytect gear off the net pwdrin because you have no idea where it has come from. if you want skytec, its is reasonably priced in the UK and if you source the skytronic website you will be able to locate your nearest dealer - who wont be flogging you a product from holland that is unservicable and is not bult to handle the extremeties of UK voltage. (without going into too much detail, some of the skytec gear that ISNT made for the UK will only run at 220v AC, in the UK depending where you're plugged in, you can be getting 275v AC at source - and for example, the skytec amps from holland cannot handle that kind of voltage and components inside start blowing up - before you know it, your amps buggered)

 

tread carefully! you could end up chasing your gear, and a £70 product in 3 years time could have cost you almost £200....!

 

food for thought. my advice, do your research

[Pwdrin 0]

Thanks all I emailed them asking about alot of things.

 

I am willing to spend around £300-£400 on speakers + amp. But I'm trying to find high watts what I know will be a prob.

[Llyr Roberts 0]

not criticising your taste, but to be honest they are a little bit tacky for my liking, LED's in speakers??!! not sure what the value is in relation to that, but speakers don't need to be highlighted or illuminated to work!. The spl figures are also a bit low at only 95db, ideally and as previously mentioned you need to be looking at close to, if not over 100db to make the most from every watt that your amplifier delivers.

 

How about something like this:- http://www.electromarket.co.uk/products.asp?partno=6912

 

or their larger 15" driven brother:- http://www.electromarket.co.uk/products.asp?partno=6915

 

 

out of stock!

 

How about these? Any good? 450W rms each!

 

1 X 15" LF Driver

1 X 1.75" HF Ti-membrane driver

Frequency Response: 40HZ-20KHZ

Impedance : 8 Ohm

Long-Term Power(RMS) : 450W

Sensitivity : 97dB(1W/1M)

 

plus amp plus cables plus stands for £500

 

speakers have wheels on bottom!

 

"Pwdrin" means lazy-ass in welsh!

 

 

 

[EdBray 0]

Personally I think anyone starting out could do a hell of a lot worse that the 3 speaker 2 amp outfit I am selling for £450. Quality kit with a good reputation, Well known names, Mackie, QSC, Behringer. Offers a degree of backup by a configuration change and includes all leads. Sound brilliant, looks great and is 1100W RMS.

 

From my recent for sale post. Check the prices on google and get a shock!

 

2 Amp, 3 Speaker & X-Over system. Pair of Mackie C200s (with cases) powered by a PEC A900 amp (300W RMS per channel) and a single AC Euro AC115B powered by a QSC850 Amp (In bridged mode) Behringer Super X Pro X-Over CX3400 is included to seperate the signals. I will include all leads (mains, signal (xlr) and amps to speakers (speakon). The amplifiers and x-over are fitted in a 6U ABS Flightcase for protection. I will accept £450 on collection or will meet halfway for fuel costs (car does 30mpg). Very good outfit, sounds great and looks good too with a degree of backup. Ideal for someone starting out who does not want to spend too much money, yet wants to use decent quality equipment. I have used for up to 150 people with no problems whatsoever..

 

[big mac 0]

Hi pwdrin

Starting out. good luck friend :fright:

Theres some good sense on here hope you can move past the techie blah-blah and remember the nuggets of knowledge. Rms is the truth, everything else is gossip and hype

 

The crucial bit of info is that "peak / maximum power output" means NOTHING at all !

As one of the sages says >>> its the amount of power it can handle in very short bursts <<<

Yep it is, but then what ? a deafening silence heard for miles ! its not useful unless you actualy want to blow your speakers, and burn out the vioice coil that drives the whole thing.

 

If your on a very tight budget > skytec do hi-efficiency/ sensitivity 103dB; 15" active speakers; 400 watts rms for about £250 an pair. these are possibly what you saw saying 800w ( not each, thats for the pair )

Mine are much much louder than my beefy heavy soundlab g592d @ 95dB and far clearer too with good input choices. these are great for a pub room sized disco and obviously no heavy amp is needed. If I started all overagain i wouldn't buy an amp! too late now.

 

Unless you want to push past 1000 watt rms its cheaper and lighter to buy active speakers. :djuhi:

 

Some people on here really rate D-class :amen: and Gary there is a usefull guy to talk to, he knows his onions well and will proudly offer good package deal if want a bundle. I got a four of their CD215 units @ 500 rms each with a 2000watt amp and all cables for £599 ! Crazy Bargain . There have amazing punchy bass. He only really sells passive stuff, not touring class but roadworthy !

s

Hire is an cheap option for seldon BIG jos for you, its cheap now and save ramming the garage full of stuff that used twice ayear.

Also Buddying with a dJ to share / double up power is a great way of meeting extra power demand. We do it loads at christmas and it worked out well for us both. we know each other kit well so can cover each other gigs in crisis / holidays.

hope some of this helps, bigmac tongue out icon

 

[Llyr Roberts 0]

If your on a very tight budget > skytec do hi-efficiency/ sensitivity 103dB; 15" active speakers; 400 watts rms for about £250 an pair.

 

 

Are these these? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SKYTEC-ACTIVE-MOULDE...86.c0.m14.l1308

 

Thanks,

[bigMCben 0]

Would this option be any use???

 

Thomann Bundle #28

[DiscoJack 0]

As you know there are many different places you can get full ready-to-go disco set ups from, i personally wouldnt recommend this as it normally works out cheaper to buy the equipment sepratly but anyway below is a link to a varity of set ups some with lights and some without.

 

http://www.terralec.co.uk/audio_systems/141_0c.html

 

you may also want to try www.getinthemix.co.uk

[Pwdrin 0]

Sorry for such a longggg wait... I have finally decided I might aswell give this ago as Im away in uni next year and will need as much cash as I can get. I aim to be ready for the xmas rush, so in kinda a huge hurry. I wanna do this well cheap so that i get as much profit...

 

Anyway I have a laptop and music, so I intend on using this to dj.

 

I have seen this powered mixer, I think this should be ideal for less space and just plugging my laptop into and mics etc.

Looking quickly I found one that looks half decent, here, its a behringer pmh3000. I can prob find it cheaper. Any pro's and cons for using powered mixers?

 

Thats the amp covered...

 

Im thinking 600 Watts plus??? The biggest place I would dj in would be the Scarlets stadium... Quite big upstairs tiny downstairs. Any idea if this would be enough, I would say its a large if not very large room.

I can also steal some speakers off the brother if needed...

 

Thinking something like the Peavey Pro 15 Speakers Pair and could prob pick up for less than 300...

 

So basically £700 with cables and cases etc... Not bad if I might be able to get £300 a weekend over xmas =D

 

Any pros or cons on what I've said here will be welcomed. I have seen all this and I will prob end up buying second hand stuff to cut costs etc. Just wanna know if Peavey is a half decent make, and if a powered mixer is any good first.

[McCardle 1]

Any pro's and cons for using powered mixers?

 

Only the usual 'cons' as with all powered stuff. If a fault should develop with the mixer then you technically also lose your power amplifier whilst the unit is away for repair / servicing. The same would apply if the amp module failed, you lose the mixer aspect. So it would be wise to have even a cheap / 2nd hand seperate mixer & amp as well (or have access to borrow / hire one) as a back up.

 

Im thinking 600 Watts plus??? The biggest place I would dj in would be the Scarlets stadium... Quite big upstairs tiny downstairs. Any idea if this would be enough,

 

Sorry, I don't know the venue and my cystal ball is on the blink again . What capacity is the venue?, high ceiling?, reflective sound surfaces?, any alcoves leading off the main hall area?, what sort of music and functions will you be covering?.

 

How many speakers will you be plugging into the mixer?. According to the spec of the PMH3000 the 400W output is into 4 ohms, which means running a total of 4x 8 ohm speakers (2x 8ohm speakers plugged into each channel). If you only use 1 pair of speakers then the output from the mixer is only 200W RMS per channel, which is probably just adequate for a small pub or childrens party. I doubt it would be suitable for functions in a large room, at least not comfortably and you'd be pushing it to the limit all of the time, and probably getting distortion by doing so.

 

Personally, if you want to go down the powered route, I'd suggest getting a similar unpowered mixer with the same features, but no built in amplifier. Then buy a pair of powered speakers with built in amplifiers and drive them from the line / balanced output of the mixer.

 

Depending on the make, these tend to be 300W - 450W per cabinet, which is far more workable for an average function than the 200W which you have in your example, plus you don't have to worry about ohms and matching speakers to amplifiers because that is all built in

 

These sound good:- http://www.whybuynew.co.uk/Behringer-B215A...e-Speakers.html

Edited September 13, 2009 by McCardle