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Mix and Match Active Subs and Active Tops?


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How many people only run active subs and tops from the same range by the same manufacturer and how many people are happy to have, say, a pair of active subs by one manufacturer and tops by another?

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The big advantage of the same brand and model line is that the DSP crossovers are designed and optimized for the matching cabinets, as well as the grouning scheme internal to the electrronics wilch will be less likely to be noisy.

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Is this a question on how often it's done? Well... the last three DJ's I've seen had mismatched sets, so I'd say it's quite common.

 

Is this a question on whether or not it's the right way to go? Well... one of them was using Eon 515s for tops and a pair of QSC KW181's for subs. If you look at it from the top down, I think he made the right choice by not matching his Eon tops with Eon subs. But if you look at it from the bottom up, he would probably have a better system had he matched his KW181 subs with KW122 tops.

 

So it all depends.

 

I'm passive myself, so I probably shouldn't even be commenting.

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I prefer to use the same brand subs/tops and did/do just that. My old active setup was Yorkville Elite LS800P subs with Yorkville Elite EF500P tops. My current setup is RCF ART705AS subs with RCF ART522A tops.

 

I do need more bottom end from time to time and am toying w/ the idea of another set of 705 subs, but they've been discontinued. There are some new ones still out there but I'm on the fence. I could fit all 4 subs and tops in my truck if I'm doing a rare DJ gig. The other way I'm toying with is either Yorkville Elite LS2100P or Yorkville Elite LS2104 subs, but I would absolutely need to bring my trailer. If I did either of these, I would use an external crossover.

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I run mismatch tops and subs and also use to run passive tops with active subs I still run mix match EV SAX 360's over EV ELX118P neither box has has x-over features on them not sure if that could or bad? but I use Rane x-over and it works just fine.

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The big advantage of the same brand and model line is that the DSP crossovers are designed and optimized for the matching cabinets, as well as the grouning scheme internal to the electrronics wilch will be less likely to be noisy.

 

 

I've been wondering about this seeing how I'm now in the market for some subs (powered, probably). I bought some QSC HPR 153s aftter talking them down with the store owner who just wanted to get rid of tehm (800 after rebate - new).

 

Should I go for a sub that is intended to be crossedover closer to how QSC intended? Or would I be fine with say the PRX 618 (XLF) with how low they need to be crossedover? Am I just rolling the dice if I go with the PRX?

 

I almost just want to sell the 153s and get 612s...

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I have matched set (RCF) but may eventually ditch the RCF 705AS subs and get the PRX 618SXLF as it seems like they are the best bang for your buck, moderate size, light powered sub going. Even though I generally have enough sub for the job, as it stands now my tops can crush my subs.

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I run Yamaha DSR112's over Cerwin Vega CVA18's. I pass the entire signal through the subs into the tops and use the 100Hz cross-over in the tops. The bottoms have a variable LPF which I set to 100Hz (approximately since it has 65Hz on one end of the knob and 130Hz on the other). This should be a pretty good setting to prevent any holes in the frequency range around the cross-over point.

 

This sounds really good, is easy to move and setup, but the tops can go farther than the subs. If I were to pick a pair of subs to go with the DSR's (the subs belong to my drummer), I would go with the JBL PRX618 XLF's..... and would still be mis-matched ;)

 

And to Agedhorse, I have to agree that I like the sound of the boxed active subs better than I like the sound of my old folded horns. It is tighter sounding and less ..... well ..... woofey ;)

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Would there be any advantage to using a crossover like the DBX223 between mismatched boxs? I have QSC HPR122i's and a set of Proel FLash15's. While the tops easily outrun the subs I was wondering. I have a brand new 223 sitting here (somewhere). Haven't had the time to try it.

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Would there be any advantage to using a crossover like the DBX223 between mismatched boxs? I have QSC HPR122i's and a set of Proel FLash15's. While the tops easily outrun the subs I was wondering. I have a brand new 223 sitting here (somewhere). Haven't had the time to try it.

 

 

nope.

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