Problems With Amps And Speakers...

[monkeyboy76 0]

HI,

 

Im just after a bit of advice really, I'm relatively new to this game and am having alot of bother with my gear, the main one is my amp and speaker set up, here goes:

 

Ive got a KAM KXR 1000 amp and a Yamaha 1000 watt powered mixer, they both are controlled by a Citronic 4 channel mixer and I have two 350w RMS 15" cabs and either 2 or 4 (depending on the size of the gig) 300w 15" bins. Now I had trouble a few months ago with my new Yammy powered mixer when it gave up the ghost half way through a wedding gig (not good!) and have just got it back from the repair shop. Ive upgraded the horns in my cabs because they were just horrible cheap piezo units that sounded trashy and unrefined to 60w compression drivers with corresonding high pass filters, they dont sound much different but there you go!

 

I use the KAM 1000w amp to drive my bins and my yammy to power my cabs, but the trouble im getting is that although they sound great at the beginning of the night, after a bit of use they start to limit and ive got to keep turning them down to avoid damage, this takes a few hours and its really frustrating because people dont want the volume to go down they want it louder the drunker they get!!!

 

Do amps get tired after sustained use? as the speakers are quite cheap, could this be the cause?

 

Any ideas?

 

Many thanks

 

Steve

[norty303 0]

The only reason why your amps would start to clip/limit is if you actually increase the input signal.

 

So i suspect whats happening is as the night goes on, and your ears get tired, the crowd gets louder and more up for and you get into the swing of the gig you're pushing the level up on your mixer, increasing the channel gains, boosting EQ, etc and its causing the amp to clip/limit.

 

When you say 'they' start to limit, do you mean both the mixer amp and separate amp, or just one of them?

[superstardeejay 0]

after a bit of use they start to limit

 

Can you explain what you mean by this please.

 

[monkeyboy76 0]

Can you explain what you mean by this please.

 

The limit leds start to flash, on both amps

 

Ive heard somewhere that cheap speakers cant take long durations of running, and get hot, thus putting a strain on amps, is this true?

[FrankieJ 0]

Am I right in thinking that you are using two mixers? One for the control of your music (Citronic) and a mixer/amp (Yamaha) to run your tops?

 

If so surely it would be better to buy a seperate amp and an active crossover to run the tops as I did'nt think that mixer/amps are made to run heavy disco music through them as in the past I have used these mainly for speech or background music for conferences etc. Maybe im wrong!!!!

[norty303 0]

Ive heard somewhere that cheap speakers cant take long durations of running, and get hot, thus putting a strain on amps, is this true?

 

In a vented enclosure its unlikely that the speakers will get so hot as to make a significant difference. High power drivers in horns that have sealed and small rear chambers can suffer from overheating but you have to be really abusing them. When a driver heats up its impedance can change but not so significantly that you'd suffer the problems you're experiencing.