Dawn Speaker System?

[J.]

Okay, I know this has been covered in this forum before but I can't find anything through the (worthless) search function and the threads have probably been deleted during a clean up anyway.

 

So, does anyone have any experience with the Dawn speaker system, the one with a single passive subwoofer and two little satellite speakers? I believe the model number was PS510. They're not made anymore (Kustom made them for awhile after the original company stopped) but they still crop up now and then.

 

I remember seeing a duo use them with electric guitar and keys with canned backup music and I wasn't very impressed. It seemed that the vocals distorted and there was a lot of hiss. It was a long time ago though, and my negative impressions could have been caused by user error on their end.

 

Anyway, if I get my old time country band back up and running (vox, acoustic guitar, upright bass, snare drum, occasional 2nd guitar) I'm wondering if this would be viable. I'm thinking small rooms with probably no more than 30 people. I have a Peavey XR600G collecting dust right now, so perhaps that would be adequate. We always played at very low volumes and there's no thundering bass or anything of the sort - heck, there are no kick drums or electric bass guitar to speak of.

 

I've attached a picture of the speakers I'm talking about, although the pic I found is of ones under Kustom manufacture.

[jkm]

does anyone have any experience with the Dawn speaker system, the one with a single passive subwoofer and two little satellite speakers?

 

i have used an origanal rat fur dawn 15 sub for 15 plus years

it is a great little light box able to punch in a small 20 50

people bar i use just one but i dont use the dawn tops

i use 2 peavy 12+1 rat fur bi and pasaive boxs on sticks

a 750 on the tops bi amped and a 1000 on the sub and monitors

the sub did dry rot away at 16 years old!!!!! but never

burnt or ripped

 

listen to the dawn sub but maybe look elswear for your tops

 

Jim

[WGH]

I have that system and I receive compliments about the sound whenever I use it. That said, I only use it in situations where it isn't overmatched. It's perfect for an acoustic guitar and pre-recorded music sounds very nice at moderate volume. For vocals, I need to have the satellites a good 4-5 feet behind me to sound right to my ears. Too loud and it doesn't sound natural...just right and people aren't aware there's a PA (it sounds like you...just louder.)

 

For what you want to do, though, I'd probably just look for one nice speaker and set it on a stand behind the band. EV maybe?

[Phil Hudson]

*******Edited by moderator. This post was too coincidental to not be an ad for the system you're selling.********

[agedhorse]

Background music in a 40' x 100' dining room maybe, but for foreground performance that would be pushing the concept way beyond where it would sound even remotely ok. It's a small, low powered, low efficiency speaker system. Drums and bass at ANY kind of volume is completely unrealistic. Phil... you sure you weren't seeing one system but hearing another?

[jwlussow]

 

Background music in a 40' x 100' dining room maybe, but for foreground performance that would be pushing the concept way beyond where it would sound even remotely ok. It's a small, low powered, low efficiency speaker system. Drums and bass at ANY kind of volume is completely unrealistic. Phil... you sure you weren't seeing one system but hearing another?

 

 

I got the impression Phil has a set for sale. Kind of a hard sales approach for gear that is really wrong for anything but the smallest background music gigs.

[RoadRanger]

I just saw a pair on SF Craigslist that I'm going after right now.

Don't know about yous guys but if I'm working on a purchase from eBay or CL I don't jump on a forum and tell everybody else who might try to buy it out from under me about it until it's a done deal. Maybe it's his for sale on CL? And everybody knows only a Bose L1 can fill a hall that big with rock concert level sound .

[abzurd]

Yes, I know RoadRanger basically said this, but still....

These are simply some of the best sounding portable systems around ........ I just saw a pair on SF Craigslist that I'm going after right now.

 

So you're going to write up an informercial and then tell the world this very item is available on Craigslist, specifically San Francisco's Craigslist in case anyone missed it, and you're "going after after it right now" Good thing I'm not the moderator.

[jwlussow]

What are you saying? Do you think the guy that made all the claims about the great Dawn system knows someone selling a similar system in San Francisco? What a coincidence...

[Coaster]

Don't know about yous guys but if I'm working on a purchase from eBay or CL I don't jump on a forum and tell everybody else who might try to buy it out from under me about it until it's a done deal. Maybe it's his for sale on CL? And everybody knows only a Bose L1 can fill a hall that big with rock concert level sound .

 

only if its hooked up to a behringer Faux DriveRack (FDR)

[Craig Vecchione]

 

What are you saying? Do you think the guy that made all the claims about the great Dawn system knows someone selling a similar system in San Francisco? What a coincidence...

 

 

 

Handled.

[J.]

In the interest of full disclosure, he did send me a private message raving about the Dawn System and actively seeking another one out on craigslist.

[Craig Vecchione]

Still not buying it.

 

 

[J.]

Still not buying it.

My apologies, I should have clarified. I mentioned the PM in support of your decision to edit his post. I found it very odd that someone would sign up for the old legacy HC forums for the first time and post in such a fashion. Since he seems to have fled, here's the text:

 

hi J,

I just posted a reply to your question about the dawns.

I have nothing but great things to say about them.

For the kind of musical application you're considering, they would be perfect. I've even used mine to power outdoor events to great effect.

 

The folks you mention listening to just didn't know what they were doing; I've had pro audio rental guys come to me at trade show setups and ask me where all the 'big speakers' were!.

 

What's really great is that the sound is not 'sourced' to the speakers; it disperses widely through those little space age horns on the sats, so it's much more like listening to a Bose sub/sat system than the standard 'speakers-on-poles" audio panorama.

The sound is sort of 'coming from everywhere" and that's a really nice ambience.

 

I'm actually trying to buy a set that just popped up on craigslist, that's how I came across your thread.

 

See the rest of my post for the other details, but don't think twice about getting this system, you'll love it and you'll all sound great.

 

Best regards

 

Phil

[zippo]

Hi all,

 

I don't hang out here and participate in the forums much, but i was doing a search for dawn speakers because i'm selling mine and was looking for a spec sheet, when i stumbled on this thread.

 

The set that Phil mentioned he was looking at is mine.

I've talked to him a couple of times, and he may possibly buy them.

 

So just to be clear, I'm pretty sure Phil doesn't have any nefarious or commercial interest in mentioning that he found a set for sale locally, he was probably just excited. I'm not here to pimp them either.

 

I'm torn about selling them, but i could use the money and the space.

If they dont sell, i'll just keep them.

 

In my opinion, they are very good at what they do, with the obvious limitation being that they are not going to shake a big room.

 

thanks

[Phil Hudson]

Wow, ancient history! I just found this bunch of old post replies from wayback while I was searching for another Dawn System ( my 3rd).

Belated thanks to Zippo for his kind clarification on my supposedly evil intentions!

Sorry, I had no idea I caused such a big fuss with my newbie post. I thought this was a chat forum. Someone asked about a product that I know well and like a lot. I posted an enthusiastic response. All of a sudden I'm being flamed as a shill for one selling on Craigslist.

(Now I see why I'm the only one on the list using my real name; wish I'd thought of that before I posted .

Reminds me of the old joke about how many guitarists needed to screw in a light bulb. You know, the bit about the ladder.

 

Anyway, just bought my 3rd system, still can't say enough about them. Pair them with the right amp and you get incredible sound from them.

( And no; there are none available on Craigslist or Ebay right now, I just bought them, so I'm not promoting anyone's sales listings, Craig

Sorry some of you mistook my unbridled enthusiasm for an evil marketing ploy.

 

 

 

 

 

*******Edited by moderator. This post was too coincidental to not be an ad for the system you're selling.********

[121]

I was amazed to find this discussion of a Dawn speaker system.

Even though most of this discussion is two years old, I'd like to add my experience with a Dawn speaker system.

 

I've had a Dawn MI 510 system for about 10 years and I think it's a great little speaker system.

At first, we use to use the two small Mid Hi cabinets as vocal monitors when I was in a 4 piece band.

Never really tried the Dawn at a gig as the main vocal system, and not sure how well it would do.

it's only rated at:

250 watts @ 4 ohm mono

125 watts @ 8 ohms stereo

 

Since the band broke up, I've been using the Dawn system, with a Peavy MAQ 300 stereo power amp, as a guitar amp.

Acoustic electric and electric guitar with a Digitech RP7 guitar processor.

Clean stereo chorus is my favorite preset on my RP7, when using the Dawn system.

I use to have an old Fender Ultra Chorus (stereo chorus amp with two 12" speakers),

which I always thought had pretty good stereo chorus, but the sound from the Dawn system feels more comfortable, full and pleasant.

It fills our practice room so evenly, you feel surrounded by sound.

So much different than the old Fender amp, which eventually I sold.

 

Bill

[Blueyes]

J. hi.... because of my recently being forced handicapped, what I've done is put together a small four way system which I think you might find interesting... I've taken the smallest set of the dawn satellite speaker systems and then the middle set of the satellite speaker sets.. which the smallest have a 6" speaker in it that I use for highs, then the 10" set I am using for high and low mids mix, also using two sets of bose 802's on speaker stands as a set of mix - mid/mids and high mids... to bottom it all out is the dawn 12" bass subwoofer for my low end... I am splitting an old peavey cs-800 in half that in turn is split in half again one side running the dawn sub and then the bose 4 bose 802's and then the other half of the cs-800 is split again between the two sets of dawn satellite speakers each half of that running a set apiece.. and so far we've had no distorting issues of vocals, nor of instruments which we all four have separate amps on stage... one for an electronic drum kit going through a peavey kb-300, then my keys and guitars all go through a small mixer into an alesis sumo-300 (at times I've used both the peavey kb-3 or a kb-300 instead of the alesis), the bassist has used a couple of different amps, most of of which have equaled the ampeg stack he uses now.. then the guitarist uses different amps from time to time.. ranging from fender twin to a marshall stack.. we've continued to play out when ever and where ever we can.. largest being that of the old nashville municipal auditorium and smallest past time lounge which holds a grand total of 45 seated.. we used mostly used the ground floor and second level of municipal.. the echo was very minimal, but so were the feedback levels.. this all we supported with only four smaller floor monitors plus two hot spot mic stand monitors on the keys and drums... very large and full rich sound with hardly any hum either... I have three separate power conditioners two on stage and one at mixer stations.. then use one of three mixing consoles at this point to again help keep moving of and weights of equipment down to a minimal... O have recently added a carvin 24/8 desk as my studio mixing console, but have really only toyed with the idea of trying it live.. the power conditioners allow me to use either a sound crafter / studiomaster console or one of two peavey's I own.. one is a mark III 16x4 and the other is a mark III 24x4... since we've changed over to electronic drums how ever we could get by on maybe a 12x4 board or the 16x4... the largest crowd so far has been at a loose count of 2300... outdoor gigs we have to drop back and punt rather then using the dawn systems... lol... my brother and I do own a set of cabinets with 18's and a horn in each.. and then I have a couple of 15" cabinets... so again depending on the size of the crowd dictates what speaker configuration we use.. so far capacity crowd has been well over 4000.... lol I have more speakers then I do amps at this point.. rofalol, almost enough to break the Who's record!!! ;-) (brother's fav band) any way, with this all said, pyramid and pyle and a couple of others make a few sets of the extremely small yet very powerful satellite speakers/cabinets that would allow you to do something similar to what I've described above...

 

Danny - BluEyes

christened such by the Chairman of the Board Himself!!

Second Generation Swamper!

[Randyman]

While I understand that the Dawn sub and satellite system was on the lower end of sound systems, intended for smaller venues, what I don't understand is why there weren't more manufacturers making something similar.

 

Esp. in smaller settings, a speaker system with 270 degree coverage would be sweet for not needing monitors, and for providing a sound that spreads evenly through the room. I don't have personal experience with them, so I don't know the degree to which they've been optimized to minimize feedback, but they do seem pretty ideal for some lower key applications. The Bose L1 system, while not the same technology, seems to achieve much of the same result: no need for monitors, wide sound dispersion.

[agedhorse]

Because it's just not widely practical.

[Randyman]

Randyman wrote:

 

While I understand that the Dawn sub and satellite system was on the lower end of sound systems, intended for smaller venues, what I don't understand is why there weren't more manufacturers making something similar. Esp. in smaller settings, a speaker system with 270 degree coverage would be sweet for not needing monitors, and for providing a sound that spreads evenly through the room. I don't have personal experience with them, so I don't know the degree to which they've been optimized to minimize feedback, but they do seem pretty ideal for some lower key applications. The Bose L1 system, while not the same technology, seems to achieve much of the same result: no need for monitors, wide sound dispersion.

 

 

agedhorse wrote:

 

Because it's just not widely practical.

 

 

Meaning that the problem of feedback would be too great? I can understand for larger band setups, having such a wide dispersion of sound would complicate sound issues at loud volumes and work much better in some rooms than others.

 

But for smaller settings, at lower volumes, like coffee house gigs, the Dawn system could be very effective (I imagine anyway).

 

Here's an excerpt from a longer review in '05: http://www.musicgearreview.com/reviews.php?man=Kustom&cat=PA_Gear&mod=DWN-PS510%20Speaker%20System

 

"I was looking for a compact P.A. system that would sound great in very small venues such as house parties, or for practice; yet be able to handle small clubs. The DWN-PS510 got my attention because, unlike other compact P.A. systems, it was touted as providing wide (270-degree) dispersion -- eliminating hot spots in the listening field and the need for monitor speakers.

 

The DWN-PS510, in short, delivered as promised! . . . In particular, I was looking for a system that would functional well with my Roland V-Drums -- a system that would allow the drum kit to sound more life-like in small venues, as if the sound was emanating from the kit, not so much from the speakers. Since most P.A.'s utilize cabinets with all drivers mounted on the same front panel of a given cabinet, projecting sound in one direction with the sweet spot of the listening field limited to approximately 90 degrees dispersion, the sound sometimes can seem disconnected from the instruments. The system's omni-directional projection from two satellites and a subwoofer, none of which directly project toward the audience, provides listeners with a fairly even listening field from all around and within the ensemble. This is very pleasant when the audience is very close to the performers (I first used the system at a house party in which the audience was as close as six feet from the band), and the system worked well at low to medium-high volumes. Monitors not needed as advertised. . . .

 

Wide dispersion, full-range sound make for one of the most pleasant overall listening experiences available in a P.A. system of any size!

[agedhorse]

wide dispersion only works well in environments where it's suitable. 2 speakers, one on each side of the stage at ~90 degrees (of course that only holds true for >~2kHz anyway) is generally plenty of coverage for a small venue and using 2 of the wide dispersion cabinets is liklely to become a problem more often than it's part of the solution IME.

 

I understand that there are fanboys for this product, just like for the Bose product. What's important is that the application matches the tool. If you play often in very wide rooms, on a thrust stage with seating to the sides then it may be the best solution but if you play in rooms that are more "conventional" then it may not be the best solution regardless of what the marketing or fanboy following might suggest.

[blimfark]

Just when you thought this thread was dead and buried. I'm about to pick up a Dawn speaker system from my local Craigslist. Unknown how complete it will be (bag, stands...etc) but the ask is $200. I sing bass in an a cappella group and have the hardware sickness. I have a full (heavy) PA which I use to do sound reinforcement for stage vocal shows but am looking for an easy to transport speaker system for a cappella gigs which aren't very loud. I think I am getting a 510 model because the guy selling it is a little fuzzy about what he has. My group had been using an active 8" Yamaha monitor with a mixer for amplification. When I joined the group my hardware sickness caused me to question whether an 8" Yammie would have enough punch for bass vocals so I started searching. From what I've read about the transparency of the satellite difusers and the good opinions of the bass response I think I may have picked a winner. I can't find anything on the internet about the Dawn 510 for a cappella vocals but am anxious to be a pioneer. I'll have to pick up a 3 space rack for an Alesis quadraverb and a lightweight Crown that I'll take out of the big rack, but I'm figuring the whole rig will be easily manageable on a sturdy wheeled luggage pull. Wish me luck.

[dboomer]

Funny that you resurrect a thread that is years old ...

 

I find myself in Las Vegas tonight at InfoComm and I see a new series from Dawn Pro Audio that looks very interesting. Some higher powered variation of the diffusion tops with a pair of 8" woofers and a high powered 15" sub. I didn't hear the price yet but this should give the Bose columns a good run for the money.

[Vito Corleone]

I heard that the Dawns really cut through the grease...