Advice on new set up

J

Jorge leon jr

Freshman
Dec 30, 2012
9
0
0
Corpus christi, Tx
Hello
Im growing in the mobile dj business here in south texas , yes im mexican haha, anyways i am in need of a new set of my own speakers right now i rent my buddies pa system its 2 peavey's 215 and 2 peavey 12" moniters on a 2500 watt amp, i can get away with 100 ppl or less venues but the last place i was at had roughly 250ish ppl and i can say i had to push the speakers and amp all the way up before they started distorting.... Ok well now that i have saved som money up i have a 4k budget to get my very own system up and running for at least 300 ppl parties. What do yall recommend i was thinking of getting 2x kw181 2x k12 or 2x ELX115p 2x ELX118p..... Or should i look ito getting passive speakers instead of powered?
thanks any help is much appreciated

PS i play all mexican/hip hop music occasional karaoke within a gig
 
Re: Advice on new set up

Hi Jorge,
Welcome to the forum. I am going to let the other guys make some recommendations because I have not used most of the newer stuff in that power range. I do vote for powered for that application for many reasons, most importantly the processing and speaker protection are done for you at the factory. 4K should get you a good start. Be sure to get enough sub. For what you are doing, extra sub will go a long way in perceived loudness. Also pole mounted tops help to get the sound over everyone's head for better high frequency clarity.
Good luck with it!
Eric
 
Re: Advice on new set up

Jorge, I just loaded up for a NYE show. Its indoors in a hotel ballroom. The mains consist of 4 JBL double 15" tops and 4 EAW subs. Powered by a rack of QSC amps. This rig has performed well for metal shows, loud country, even an outdoor "dead" festival...yet I would want to at least double the number of subs for hip hop/ EDM (electronic dance music).

Consider putting your 4K into subs and amps, and work out an exchange deal with your buddy: you use the tops when you need them he uses the subs when he needs them.
 
Jorge,

Since your genre requires significantly less subwoofer output than the modern EDM DJs we're all used to, I think you might be all right with one good top and sub a side. Powered is definitely the way to go IMHO. Your biggest problem may be finding an inexpensive powered top with enough HF output to satisfy you.
 
Re: Advice on new set up

Bennett Prescott said:
Jorge,

Since your genre requires significantly less subwoofer output than the modern EDM DJs we're all used to, I think you might be all right with one good top and sub a side. Powered is definitely the way to go IMHO. Your biggest problem may be finding an inexpensive powered top with enough HF output to satisfy you.
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umm my genre(hardcore mexican here) requires alot of bass actually haha but im leaning now towards getting myself 2x k12's and 2x kw181, demo'ed them at the local guitar center and dayum they are loud!!! And they let me connect my iphone (i know not the best) and i used songs i usually play and this subs and tops blows the peaveys out of the water its a whole new better league im in love i might add 2 more k12 by the summer but yea im fixing on pulling the trigger later this month i appreciate the help/comments.... Another question should i get myself a multiple channel/mixer/eq (dont know the exact term) or would it be safe to use them straight from my ns6 digital turntable deck mixer?
 
Re: Advice on new set up

Hi Jorge, I could not find any specs on the NS6 XLR output. It looks like you should be plug and play as far as that goes but that will depend on what the actual output of the mixer is. The other issue is plugging a mic into your mixer. There is no XLR input so it will limit the kind of microphone you can use. This also leads me to believe it could be a consumer -10 level output on the XLR's as opposed to +4 which would give you full output on your powered speakers. Try it out and see how loud it goes. At worst case most any small mixing board with XLR in and out will get your output up to level and also allow you to add a couple of professional mics to your set up.
 
Re: Advice on new set up

Jorge leon jr said:
umm my genre(hardcore mexican here) requires alot of bass actually haha but im leaning now towards getting myself 2x k12's and 2x kw181, demo'ed them at the local guitar center and dayum they are loud!!! And they let me connect my iphone (i know not the best) and i used songs i usually play and this subs and tops blows the peaveys out of the water its a whole new better league im in love i might add 2 more k12 by the summer but yea im fixing on pulling the trigger later this month i appreciate the help/comments.... Another question should i get myself a multiple channel/mixer/eq (dont know the exact term) or would it be safe to use them straight from my ns6 digital turntable deck mixer?
Click to expand...

Your idea of a lot of bass is almost certainly not the same as mine, Jorge.

I have used my iPhone as a music source on PAs from two boxes to 200. Ain't nothing wrong with what it can do.

A good DJ mixer should be all you need, I would think... get one with XLR outputs.
 
Re: Advice on new set up

Bennett Prescott said:
Your idea of a lot of bass is almost certainly not the same as mine, Jorge.

I have used my iPhone as a music source on PAs from two boxes to 200. Ain't nothing wrong with what it can do.

A good DJ mixer should be all you need, I would think... get one with XLR outputs.
Click to expand...

Well again im a mobile dj so i dont need a huge bass setup but i do need something to fill up a ball room filled with 300ish people by the summer, my ns6 does have XLR outputs so i guess im good, by the summer im just gonna wanna have 4 tops and 2 or 3 subs.... on which ones i will purchase im still uncertain wich is why my original post. I have heard people say playing straight from your iphone with a rca converter will ruin your speakers.. But then again idk
 
Re: Advice on new set up

Jorge leon jr said:
I have heard people say playing straight from your iphone with a rca converter will ruin your speakers.. But then again idk
Click to expand...

This seems extremely unlikely, Jorge. If you were to connect your iPhone directly to a passive speaker you might hurt the iPhone, but not the speaker, and it wouldn't get very loud. Powered speakers are designed to be able to accept a wide range of line level (and mic level for some) signals, which the iPhone can capably provide. The common complaint with using iPhone/iPod/iPads for playback is that the music on them is often lossily compressed e.g. in MP3 format. However, in my experience most nowadays is compressed well enough that you won't be able to hear it through a PA, and the compression is of the kind of character that if you can't tell its errors apart from errors in your PA then you shouldn't be working in audio.
 
Re: Advice on new set up

Jorge leon jr said:
Ñ
Would these work together (as in plug and play) or would i need an external crossover for the subs? how dependable are these compared to qsc speakers?
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Yes, pretty much plug & play. The DSR115 tops have a switchable 100Hz highpass filter and the LS801P has a variable lowpass filter, so that is all the crossover you would need. They are very dependable, with decent warranties.

The QSC system would be very nice, but the LS801P/DSR115 combination would deliver substantially more output.
 
Re: Advice on new set up

Mike Pyle said:
Yes, pretty much plug & play. The DSR115 tops have a switchable 100Hz highpass filter and the LS801P has a variable lowpass filter, so that is all the crossover you would need. They are very dependable, with decent warranties.

The QSC system would be very nice, but the LS801P/DSR115 combination would deliver substantially more output.
Click to expand...

In my humble opinion one can never have too much output. Headroom is a beautiful thing.
 
Re: Advice on new set up

Mike Pyle said:
Yes, pretty much plug & play. The DSR115 tops have a switchable 100Hz highpass filter and the LS801P has a variable lowpass filter, so that is all the crossover you would need. They are very dependable, with decent warranties.

The QSC system would be very nice, but the LS801P/DSR115 combination would deliver substantially more output.
Click to expand...

Ok after some more googleing reading forums and ebay and guitar center and musicians friend website reading all the reviews i saw nothinh but thnumbs up with a dsr115 tops and LS801p honestly thinking of getting these now.. I have never heard them which gives me a queesy feeling but im convinced now soo would 2x dsr115 and 1x LS801p be sufficient or another sub for small time gigs, 200 or less people parties..... And depending if i start getting booked for gigs for weddings and or quinceañeras or graduation parties for the summer (400ppl or fancy big hall gigs) would i get 4x tops and 3x sub as a total, i really really appreciated that post cuz im really really leaning towards getting this setup now :)
 
Re: Advice on new set up

My 2 cents. JBL PRX 612M over PRX618S-XLF. If you sometimes do small stuff and don't want to mess with subs then maybe opt the 615M. The PRX subs are probably the best thing going in terms of bang for the buck. They go lower than most, get loud, are well built and yet weigh only around 80 lbs. The Yorkville 801P mentioned earlier is a great option too and has big output. It's also bigger, much heavier (though does have wheels), doesn't go as low, but the biggest pain in the rear end is that it doesn't have a built in crossover. I've never understood Yorkville on this. They'd sell more subs with that one feature. They already have a control to set the subwoofer cutoff point, they just need to finish the job and add a HPF output.
 
Re: Advice on new set up

Sean Zurbrick said:
My 2 cents. JBL PRX 612M over PRX618S-XLF. If you sometimes do small stuff and don't want to mess with subs then maybe opt the 615M. The PRX subs are probably the best thing going in terms of bang for the buck. They go lower than most, get loud, are well built and yet weigh only around 80 lbs. The Yorkville 801P mentioned earlier is a great option too and has big output. It's also bigger, much heavier (though does have wheels), doesn't go as low, but the biggest pain in the rear end is that it doesn't have a built in crossover. I've never understood Yorkville on this. They'd sell more subs with that one feature. They already have a control to set the subwoofer cutoff point, they just need to finish the job and add a HPF output.
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I thought they did have a built in crossover, im not a expert on these Speakers cuz i never seen them or have them(yet) but weight honestly isnt an issue for me i have a box trailer with a ramp, and tops im getting the yamaha dsr 115s for sure
 
Re: Advice on new set up

Jorge leon jr said:
I thought they did have a built in crossover, im not a expert on these Speakers cuz i never seen them or have them(yet) but weight honestly isnt an issue for me i have a box trailer with a ramp, and tops im getting the yamaha dsr 115s for sure
Click to expand...

The Yorkville 801P does have a built in low pass filter which is the bottom half of a crossover. The DSR115 tops have a switchable 100Hz highpass filter which is the top half of a crossover. The low pass filter on the 801P is sweepable from 90-150hz which will let you fine tune it to the response of the tops. My guess is that the 90hz setting will most likely work best but you will just have to play around with it and that is another topic for discussion. What you will be most concerned with is the response of the system around the crossover point where the frequency response of the top and bottom boxes combine. It actually is sort of rocket science to achieve perfect response with all the factors involved (which does not necessarily sound the best) but in the real world just tune it until it sounds best to you for what you are doing in the particular room you are in at the time. The subs are going to add the rumble and fullness to the sound below 90hz. The 100hz highpass takes the strain off of the tops and lets them cruise and use less power.

It is really not that big of a deal. Run some music through the tops with the 100hz highpass filter engaged at the volume you are going to use. Turn the filter full left (90hz) on the subs then turn the volume up on them until the sound is balanced like you want it. You can then sweep the sub filter up and see what it adds to the sound and decide where you want it to be. You might have to rebalance the sub volume if you decide to move the filter up much above 90hz. Just remember "If it sounds right it is right."
 
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Re: Advice on new set up

Eric Cagle said:
The Yorkville 801P does have a built in low pass filter which is the bottom half of a crossover. The DSR115 tops have a switchable 100Hz highpass filter which is the top half of a crossover. The low pass filter on the 801P is sweepable from 90-150hz which will let you fine tune it to the response of the tops. My guess is that the 90hz setting will most likely work best but you will just have to play around with it and that is another topic for discussion. What you will be most concerned with is the response of the system around the crossover point where the frequency response of the top and bottom boxes combine. It accually is sort of rocket science to achieve perfect response with all the factors involved (which does not necessarily sound the best) but in the real world just tune it until it sounds best to you for what you are doing in the particular room you are in at the time. The subs are going to add the rumble and fullness to the sound below 90hz. The 100hz highpass takes the strain off of the tops and lets them cruise and use less power.
Click to expand...

So technically i dont need an external crossover i just have to fine tune it to my liking to the room size i will be in? Lets say i do need an external crossover cause i could never tune it (whch i doubt) how would that work connecting wise?
 
Re: Advice on new set up

Jorge leon jr said:
So technically i dont need an external crossover i just have to fine tune it to my liking to the room size i will be in? Lets say i do need an external crossover cause i could never tune it (whch i doubt) how would that work connecting wise?
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I am pretty sure you will be able to tune it to you liking pretty quickly. It really is not that hard once you do it once. I added some more to my last post to help you. Refresh the page if you don't see it. Think of the tuning like turning up the bass knob on your stereo. It is really a matter of taste, specifically what you like. It is as simple as that. You will be fine.
 
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