New to this forum.. need help with speaker purchase

To many ads? Support ODJT and see no ads!
A

aaronz28

New DJ
Oct 12, 2008
8
0
47
Good Evening,
My name is Aaron and I am new to this forum.

I was doing some rehesearch earlier today (online) to find a pair of speakers to replace my Mackie 450s.

First of all, let me thank you for taking the time to read this.
I spent about 3 hours reading posts on this forum and am amazed at how many brilliant people are willing to help others out in this great profession.


On to my setup...

I primarily DJ weddings and corporate parties so the new speakers will be for that purpose.

for years, I've used a pair of Mackie 450s for just about anything under 350 people and if the attendance was larger or if I was in a fur-lined kleenex box, i'll run a quad of 450s and the sub.

I run a MacBookPro into an Apogee Duet as my primary media, with a pair of ipods as backups, and I have my complete library on Minidisks.
My workstation (cube) consisits of a 10space unit which houses my Furman conditioner, a cortex 1 space mixer, 1 space lighting/fog/strobe controller, 1 space wireless mic, 1 space Sony Minidisk, and a 2 space DBX eq.

I recently bought a Crown 802 which is a great amp, but when I put that into my cube, the bitch is just too heavy for me. I thought about removing the DBX eq, which i hardly use, but i'm sure that the first gig i do without it, i'm going to be chasing down a frequency that my mixer won't let me dial in.

Anyway, when I bought the crown amp, i thought about going to a passive system and borrowed a pair of the Guitar Center Harbinger 2way with a 15 and a horn... while I wasn't terribly impressed with the cabinets ability to throw long distance, I realized that I really liked a wood box.

What i'm trying to learn is as follows...

what are the pros and cons of a passive vs active speaker system, aside from the convenience?

if I continue to use the crown amp, and go with a new set of passive speakers, what would you recommend? my budget in this case would be about 1000-1200 for a pair of speakers.

If I go with an active speaker, I'd really like something with a wood enclosure, but I don't want to be hoisting 100 pounders up on speakerstands.
If I go with the actives, i'll sell my crown and probably could spend between 1500-2000, trying to stay close to that $1500.00

I looked at the new Mackie 450V2s, but wasn't that impressed, not to mention the fact that i'e burned up about 5 mackie mixers in the last 5 years. Have had good luck with the old 450s, but i want to go up a notch.


Many thanks. I hope this isn't to vague.

Sincerely,

Aaron
[email protected]
 
Greets, Aaron and welcome.

Hang around here long enough and you'll find that Wolfster is biased in favor of headroom-heavy passive FOH systems, preferrably bi- or tri-amped. I wouldn't load active cabs to a show if they were given to me, lol.

My reasoning? We can always turn it down. ;)

And don't even talk to me about plastic cabinets. Plastic is for toys, not professional SR tone. :rolleyes:

Passive systems can be managed from the console and rack stack. I have yet to see an active cabinet that offers amp headroom. Plus, there's the additional hassle of running AC power cords for the actives. No thankee.

Is our amp rack heavy? Not unreasonably so. I can heft it. As long as I can load this FOH rig I'll continue to do so.

My suggestion would be to contact Ben at NLFX and get his ideas.

Thoughts?
 
Wolfie pretty much summed up my feelings on speakers also.

I run a tri-amped P.A.S.system (P.A.S. stands for Professional Audio Systems)

Powered by QSC PLX2 series, and RMX series amplifiers.

It is very similar to this:

http://www.pas-toc.com/products/packages/pb1.html

Except i have double the boxes. (4)Tops and (4) Double 18 subs
It is processed by a P.A.S. S2, which is a X-over designed to work specifically for my cabinets, and compression and limiting built in.

Very simple plug and play, i have a DBX dual 31 band EQ for room tweaks.
I get compliments on the sound all the time.
Yes, it's a heavy bunch of gear, (all built of 13 ply baltic birch) But i can get it absolutly loud in the bars, and yet people DON'T ask me to turn it down...

Only a headroom heavy rig with great tone will get you results like that..
 
Hi Aaron,

First, I would like to welcome you to the board. I am glad you were able to get some good years out of your Mackie’s. I like powered speakers but I love passive rigs just the same. I like having the choice of matching an amp of my choice to a speaker of my choice. Setting up a passive rig is just about the same as a powered rig. Some may say it eliminates lugging around heavy amps. Well guess what! With powered speakers you are now lugging around 2 heavy amps.

If you are looking for a nice passive box I have to recommend looking into some of the EV lines like the Eliminator or the ZX4. These boxes are decent based on the price range you listed. If you are looking for a great stand alone powered speaker, I have to say that the Yorkville NX750 is my favorite in the 1500.00 (pair) range. I use them for events that require no subs and they still have great low end. They are easy for one person to throw up on the poles.

We have a great sponsor on the board that carries a nice line up of speakers. Ben at NLFX.

Good luck with your search.
 
DJ JohnThe1 said:
If you are looking for a great stand alone powered speaker, I have to say that the Yorkville NX750 is my favorite in the 1500.00 (pair) range. I use them for events that require no subs and they still have great low end. They are easy for one person to throw up on the poles.
.
Click to expand...

John and I are usually right on track with each other but this time we are a little farther apart. I agree that the NX750s are a great speaker but I feel that if you get in a room on the larger side you definatly need a sub with them. Even in the smaller venues I don't find quite enough thump to them but it's all opinion. Try them out and see what sounds good to your ear.

As John said the EV lines are great and worth a look as are alot of JBL lines
 
Jeff Romard said:
John and I are usually right on track with each other but this time we are a little farther apart. I agree that the NX750s are a great speaker but I feel that if you get in a room on the larger side you definatly need a sub with them. Even in the smaller venues I don't find quite enough thump to them but it's all opinion. Try them out and see what sounds good to your ear.

As John said the EV lines are great and worth a look as are alot of JBL lines
Click to expand...

Does this mean I won't have a job with you when I get to Canada Jeff?:sqfrown:


I agree Jeff. I should have been a little more specific. For rooms that are bigger or for crowds of a 100 or more I always bring a sub. For the smaller parties the Yorkville’s are great by themselves. I played at a few venues where the load in was quite tough. 3 story walk ups for a group of about 50 guest, or rooms located in the basements of some of the catering halls in Brooklyn. 2 speakers are all that were needed and they still rocked the room.

Now keep in mind I am a bass lover myself and I really try to bring subs to most of my events, but the Yorkville’s are the only speakers I would use stand alone. I will post pictures of a party I did Friday with just the 2 speakers later. Other cabs like my RCF’s need assistance with a sub to get the full tone that I like. I would never use those cabinets without a sub.
 
aaron - Like John (great minds think alike)....I run a RCF set up...2 310A's and an RCF 705AS sub - all active...

The tops are 28lbs each...the sub 90lbs (it's on a cart for easy transport)...This set up will run about 2k....It is though a great sounding system. Don't let the 10 inch boxes fool you....Coupled with a sub; they sing......I've debated a second sub for larger events; that may come yet.....
 
First, Welcome aboard and you will learn lots here. My speakers and sub are all Peaveys and I love them they have never let me down and I run them of a Crown amp.
 
Hi guys, thanks for all the responses...
i spoke with Ben at length over 3 days and am going to get a pair of Dynacord D12-3s and an EVCP300s...

much more expensive than I was hoping to spend.. but after hearing the pros and cons of everything and I was able to hear a pair of D12s i'm sold...

i also liked the QSC but I really want to have a passive system..

when I can afford the Powersub, i'll get that, and my CP3000 will either power some monitors (yes I know it will be overkil) or it will be used to power sidefills.

many thanks

Aaron
 
Umm Surely you Joke Mr Rob Wild as he posted he already has purchased the best. I thank you Aaron for listening to logic and all the Pros and Cons of speaker purchase. In case of the Dynacords spending more is a no brainer. Hearing them priceless.
 
When spending just remember that you don't have to buy everything at once..... Buy the tops now, subs later, buy an amp now, another later..

I think too many people get depressed when they look at the cost of a whole new sound system and think that they can't spend $5,000 or whatever dollars so they buy something cheaper to "get by",,,, don't look at it like that.... Break it down and have a plan and you'll be happier in the long run.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back