I finally get the bi amping thing

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The Wizard Of OZ

Well-Known DJ
Dec 13, 2007
3,130
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Tampa Bay Area
Wow, it's very cool. What a difference in control over the sound. I hooked up one of my EV SX100 mains on one channel of my powered mixer which was set to mono- Mains+Monitors. I hooked up one of my EV SB122 subs to the other channel.

Then I piped in two separate signals from my Behringer Ucontrol external USB sound card to two different channels on my mixer. I set the EQ on the monitor side going to the sub with the 125 mhz up 1/2 way between flat and full, 250mhz just slightly over flat and the rest set to off. I set the EQ on the mains so that 125mhz was off and 250 mhz was slightly over flat.

There were some adjustments to the 3 band EQ knobs on each channel like to eliminate the mid and highs from the sub channel etc. Tried setting the speakers both ways and it sounds good with the sub hooked up to the main in parallel, but a bit better with them EQed separate.


Of course now I need to get an EQ/crossover and I'll probably end up getting a non powered mixer and an amp or two. This all a big adventure for me, fun, fun, fun . . .
 
Been there, done that, but when weighed (literally) against the realities of hotel ballrooms, load-in, access, and even power draw (see an active thread about load-ins going on now), I'm all about KISS now.
 
Steve Sharp said:
Been there, done that, but when weighed (literally) against the realities of hotel ballrooms, load-in, access, and even power draw (see an active thread about load-ins going on now), I'm all about KISS now.
Click to expand...

Ahhh, coming from the guy who started the "Who's a REAL DJ?" thread, then ran like Hell :sqlaugh: :sqwink: :sqbiggrin:
 
When I play a small venue I biamp my main speakers. They are a bit unusual they are a four way speakers that I made. It has a 15" coaxal selenium a 12" cerwinvega midrange and a selenium supertweeter. I can use these for many weddings since most dont need gut poundiing bass but they do go down to about 45 htz. I made the crossover for the cab myself. I may rebuild the cabs using birch plywood later in the season.
 
This is exciting stuff for a newbie.

After the simulated bi amp experience I put my main on a pole over the sub and played them together from one channel and it still sounds good, not as good as the bi amped setup and not the control you can have over the sound, but still decent and that's what amazes me about this powered mixer. I can have a 2 way main speaker and a sub on one channel and it can push enough power and not sound distorted. I think it says a lot about the EV speakers' efficiency too.

One main and one sub cranks out a lot of sound, enough for a small venue IMO. I don't care anything about stereo, mono is just fine for me.
 
Wiz,

Congratulations. I've been promoting bi- and tri-amping for some time now. Once you get an EQ and active crossover in the chain, you'll never go back to full range sound. :)

Drzinc brings up a good point. Bi-amping doesn't have to involve a wall of sound. Main cabs can be bi-amped ~ the horns for the highs and the bass driver for the lows or mid lows.
 
Fred Stewart said:
Wiz,

Congratulations. I've been promoting bi- and tri-amping for some time now. Once you get an EQ and active crossover in the chain, you'll never go back to full range sound. :)

Drzinc brings up a good point. Bi-amping doesn't have to involve a wall of sound. Main cabs can be bi-amped ~ the horns for the highs and the bass driver for the lows or mid lows.
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But having one should be fun :D:D:D:D:D:D The sound is so much cleaner.
Better run before Val trumps me with the real walls of sound :D:D:D
 
So, Fred or Drzinc, can you recommend a EQ and crossover in one unit that's reasonable? Or should I get the EQ and a separate crossover? What about just a crossover and use the EQ on your mixer? can that be done? what I'd like to do is get this stuff gently used off ebay if possible.
 
Peavey Kosmos! handles everything you need in a straight bi-amp sub setup.
 
I Hate Mono

I do not like Mono except in a live Band situation. Give me true stereo anytime!
 
Fred Stewart said:
Wiz,

Congratulations. I've been promoting bi- and tri-amping for some time now. Once you get an EQ and active crossover in the chain, you'll never go back to full range sound. :)
.
Click to expand...

I say AMEN to that! 3 or 4 way electronic stereo crossover all the way with a separate eq.
 
ahoustondj said:
I do not like Mono except in a live Band situation. Give me true stereo anytime!
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While I would rather run mono you certainly don't have too, although some setups and situations call for it.

But the Kosmos is a stereo unit! I simply hit the mono switch on my board and go.

For what Wiz is running I really don't think he needs to get into 4 or 5 way crossovers. For the most part a simple two way is going to be all he really needs.
 
Thunder said:
While I would rather run mono you certainly don't have too, although some setups and situations call for it.

But the Kosmos is a stereo unit! I simply hit the mono switch on my board and go.

For what Wiz is running I really don't think he needs to get into 4 or 5 way crossovers. For the most part a simple two way is going to be all he really needs.
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It is just my preference. if the place is that small then I use a smaller system not with 3 way crossover electronic network.
 
The Wizard Of OZ said:
So, Fred or Drzinc, can you recommend a EQ and crossover in one unit that's reasonable? Or should I get the EQ and a separate crossover? What about just a crossover and use the EQ on your mixer? can that be done? what I'd like to do is get this stuff gently used off ebay if possible.
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Wiz - this is what you need. EQ, crossover, delay, compressor, limiter, etc. all in one rack space.

Comes pre-loaded with EV factory presets designed specifically for your speakers.

Very easy to use and has better signal to noise ratio to similar DSP units on the market.

http://www.electrovoice.com/products/530.html
 
I use a Behringer DCX2496 speaker management unit. its a 3 way crossover, eq delay, limiter all in one unit. And to all the behringer bashers this is one of the finest units they make i had a driverack pa and this sounds better and more flexable. There use to be an issue with them when they first came out but the later runs have been error free. With the ULTRACURVE PRO DEQ2496 this makes a great combo for biamp or triamp systems.
When playing a large gig i run a triamp system two Carvers (PM-1.5 PM-2.0) running mids and tops and QSC (PLX 3402) bringing up the bottoms.
 
Yup, I'd agree with the Kosmos. Or a DBX Driverack. Whatever suits your fancy. :)

You'll appreciate the ease of managing your sound with one unit rather than having to tweak two or three units. Takes up less rack space, too.
 
Thank you for all the responses, I appreciate the help. Since I'm new to this, I just want to clarify and make sure I'm understanding. In the simplest terms, I just want to send the low frequency signals, lets say 100hz and under to my subs, and everything else above that send to my mains, right? If I want to eliminate anything under 35hz-40hz from going to the subs and robbing them of power, I need a filter as part of the crossover or digital signal processor right?

So on the EQ with lets say 31 sliders on each side, are these like separate little gain controls or are they controlling a range of frequencies on each slider? I know these questions may sound dumb and you might be shaking your head, but this stuff is a few months old to me. I've learned a lot and once I get it , I get it.

Putting the subs on their own channel so I could EQ them separately from the mains made the light bulb go off and I can hear the difference and the ability to adjust the sound on the fly is better and I can adjust the bass separately from the mains and that's great too. I just want to make sure I get device that's simple to use. I'm not dumb, but I'm not a sound engineer either. Again, thanks.
 
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