Jump to content

dbx driverack PA - Likes/dislikes


Recommended Posts

  • Members

I like them alot and find them to be a tremendous value. An imediate upgrade to my system.

 

As with everything, all can not be wonderful so here are my dislikes:

1) If you turn it off while your FOH is up it makes an extremely loud pop that can blow your speakers.

2) The menus are a pain to navigate.

3) You can't update the software/firmware on the DRPA.

4) It has speaker tunings for a few speakers and again, they can't be downloaded and updated.

 

I bought my at www.fullcompass.com. Get a quote from Erik Anderson...very competative.

 

Frank

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I'm completly agree with flanc !!

 

My DRPA realy improved my sound system.:D I especally love the crossover feature. Very functional.

 

One more annoying thing is that no

mute switched on each output. Uncovinent.

 

If you have enough $, go to DR260. 260 is not so expensive as 240 & 480. And works way better than DRPA.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Just a brief comment relating to all these multi-processing speaker management devices...

 

There are enough options in both signal routing and filter topologies that you can accidently program in things that you wouldn't intentionally want to do. This is especially common with "on the fly" changes, or recalling the incorrect preset configuration.

 

I have seen several rather spectacular system failures this way, og they were darned costly mistakes too!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Hmm...quite interesting! Thanks for the helpful insight.

 

I've noticed a few things here that I think I'll have to rethink. First, the no mutes. I use these all the time to ensure everything's doing what it's supposed to do. Second, the power down issue. I've never shut anything off before the amps, but I suppose anything's possible. I surely don't wish to recone any more speakers!

 

I think my motivation for doing this is not because I necessarily have anything wrong with my current set up. I'd only do this to consolidate and save 4 precious rack spaces. I'm trying to get it all into two racks...

 

Thanks guys.

 

Rick

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

1. To avoid accidentaly shut down spikes:

 

About 3 weeks ago, someone accidentaly shut down the power of my main rack. My amps (powered speakers) were still runing (on the defferent power line), and that HUGE spike noise... My speakers survived, anyway (I was lucky...).

 

To avoid this problem, I bought a UPS unit (had to spend extra $ ).

 

 

2. To mute each outputs:

 

I can mute each output at crossover menu. To do this, I have to reduce the gain @ each output channels. This is annoying especially after I set up the gain balance between each output.

 

3. Suggestion

 

I don't know how much the price between DRPA and DR260 differs in USA. But I think it's not too much. I suggest save some money and buy DR260. You don't need to worry about the spikes and mute switch!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Two things (according to the spec sheet) that finalized my decision not to buy it:

-- The time delay isn't long enough to delay the entire FOH to match the backline on a large stage. It's designed only to compensate for time differences between drivers and cabinets.

-- The RTA functions only within the unit istelf and does not provide a means to use it to generate curves on outboard systems (ringing out monitors, for example).

 

If only the Behringer DSP8024 was a bit more robust and reliable ... (Of course, it doesn't have an X/O.)

 

Then again, I'm an analog kinda guy. For live sound work, I like knobs & switches instead of LCD's and soft buttons. And my wristwatch has hands!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Originally posted by RickJ

Two things (according to the spec sheet) that finalized my decision
not
to buy it:

-- The time delay isn't long enough to delay the entire FOH to match the backline on a large stage. It's designed only to compensate for time differences between drivers and cabinets.

-- The RTA functions only within the unit istelf and does not provide a means to use it to generate curves on outboard systems (ringing out monitors, for example).


If only the Behringer DSP8024 was a bit more robust and reliable ... (Of course, it doesn't have an X/O.)


Then again, I'm an analog kinda guy. For live sound work, I like knobs & switches instead of LCD's and soft buttons. And my wristwatch has hands!

 

 

My opinion here...

 

Delaying mains to back line is highly overrated, I have experimented with this (both large and small stages) an have found little or no difference.

 

The amount of delay needed depends highly on where you are taking your measurement from. Say you measure from 100 feet in front of the stage's centerline and the mains are placed 60 feet wide (typical of a mid-large config). The amount of delay will be minimal due to the distances between the front line and the speakers creating an almost equidistant arc with the center at 100 feet.

 

Now move in front of the left stack. The distance between the left stack and the back line will be different of course... you would need to delay the left stack by about 30ms to bring it into "alignment"... but look at the right stack from the same position and you will find out that you may need to delay the BACK LINE by a few mS. This becomes more of an issue the farther off axis you become.

 

The jist of this is that there is NO correct time alignment between front line and stack(s). It sounds good in theory but holds little water in practice.

 

I agree about the RTA. I use a Behringer as just an RTA, but don't underestimate the performance of the DSP-8024... it's a very well engineered piece, and does not have the power supply problem that the DSP-8000 had. I modified our DSP-8000's to make them tour worthy (when they first came out) and found them to be pretty darned good performers. The programmable parametrics are very handy, and they are very quiet.

 

The DRPA is a good piece as long as you know the limitations and are willing/able to work around them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

When I listed the negatives of the products, I hope the first sentence wasn't lost. To reiterate, the DRPA is a great value piece of gear that has improved the sound of my system and the control that I have. Now, I'm a knobs (not menus) kinda guy too, that's why I keep a 31band graphic in-line to tweak the sound from room to room. I wish the DRPA had knobs to control the seperate xover bandpass volumes. I'd gladly have it grow from 1 rack space to 2 for just that!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Originally posted by agedhorse


Delaying mains to back line is highly overrated, I have experimented with this (both large and small stages) and have found little or no difference.

 

Outdoors or with a system that completely masks the stage sound I completely agree.

 

It makes a major difference in one club, however, where the backline is always within a foot or two of the same distance (front to back) from stage front. This is dictated by a permanent drum riser. The room is only about 60 feet deep, and the FOH stacks are nearly 40 feet apart. The majority of people standing in the "sweet spot" hear stage sound. Without delay, they hear a distinct "doubling," especially of the drum kit. All I do is add 12 - 15 ms delay until I hear the drums "lock in" to the plane of the FOH. (Actually, it's vice versa..)

 

The people who stand right up next to the stage are hearing the FOH a bit later, but they are hearing so much stage sound that the FOH is almost completely masked anyway ...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

The wider the mains are stacked, the less the need for delaying.

 

About the only application where there can be a noticeable improvement throughout the majority of a venue is with a large center cluster, or large front/nearfills. For these apps, the difference in delay error is more consistent.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Of the touring band engineers that come through the club, about half agree with the delay and the other half want it bypassed. One noticed it immediately as he walked through the club during sound check and had me kill it. Another suggested (correctly) that the system needs centerfills in order for the delay to be more effective.

 

I inherited it -- it was already in place when I took the gig. I listened with open ears and decided that it helped the majority of the audience place the band more firmly in the sound field.

 

In any case, that's why I didn't spec a DRPA into the system -- it's limited to 10ms of delay.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Originally posted by mshifflett

Go with the DriveRack 260. It has driver alignment and some other great features that you will not get with the DriveRack PA.

 

Driver alignment is included in the DRPA.

 

Differences are in routing flexibility, power on/off mutes and control options including password protection primarily.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

My 2 cents;

I love my DRPA. It has made a tremendous difference in the sound, mainly because I run sound from onstage and can't do the proper tweaking to run a decent setup. I also like the fact that I can eq the room and save the settings under the venue name, then recall the basic eq the next time we play there without needing to re-eq the room. But yes, it is necessary to be careful about turning off the amps before powering down the driverack.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...