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Peavey Upgrade...SP to QW and CS to GPS?


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Hey there,

 

I was wondering what you guys think about this. I'm just toying with the idea, but here's what we have:

 

4 SP 4's

4 SP218's

2 CS 4080HZ's

2 CS 4000's

Peavey 24FX mixer

Peavey Feedback Ferrett II

BBE Crossover

 

I was paging through a Peavey catalog today and was wondering what if I had:

 

4 QW 4's

4 QW 218's

2 GPS 3500's (bridged for subs)

2 GPS 3500's or 2600's (for the QW 4's)

 

I don't know though, the SP stuff is pretty good, just seems kinda cheap and not as heavy duty as the QW stuff. We (my band) is going to be playing A LOT this summer and a lot is going to be outside in the heat. I heard the GPS amps are the best, but the CS 4080HZ is a beast of an amp. Who knows. The more I think about it, the more I'm leaning toward just getting half of that setup and renting out for the bigger stuff. Sorry this is so long and rambling!

 

All input welcome :thu:

 

Zach

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Hey Boobies, if that is your real name. :D

 

SP cabinets are very high quality speakers and most cabinets in the line feature Black Widow woofers, which are some of Peavey's best. If you really need more performance than they can offer, the QWs might make a slight improvement, but I'm not sure the slight jump in quality will be worth the considerable investment.

 

Same goes for amps. Between the CS and GPS series, there really isn't very much difference other than the GPS amps will be more stable at events where power isn't as good - lower voltage etc...

 

I don't think it would be worth it...

 

What do you not like about your current setup? I'm sure many folks here will have suggestions on improving your system while making sure the upgrade is noticeable. Just my opinion.... Al - Party-Time! DJ Services

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Hey Zach

 

I'd recommend that you first add a VSX 26 to your current rig and another amp (CS1400 or CS2000) to drive the HF drivers. It will add a lot of punch to your existing system. It would make a pretty big improvement for a lot less $$$ than switching speakers or amps.

 

When you're ready to jump up to the next tier in performance then switch from SP to QW speakers. It would add some additional clarity and punch when you start playing the system harder.

 

Switching the amps you give you maybe a little improvement in reliability but no improvement in sound quality.

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Hey Boobies, if that is your real name.
:D

SP cabinets are very high quality speakers and most cabinets in the line feature Black Widow woofers, which are some of Peavey's best. If you really need more performance than they can offer, the QWs might make a slight improvement, but I'm not sure the slight jump in quality will be worth the considerable investment.


Same goes for amps. Between the CS and GPS series, there really isn't very much difference other than the GPS amps will be more stable at events where power isn't as good - lower voltage etc...


I don't think it would be worth it...


What do you not like about your current setup? I'm sure many folks here will have suggestions on improving your system while making sure the upgrade is noticeable. Just my opinion.... Al - Party-Time! DJ Services

 

Not my name....Just my hobby :thu:

 

Seriously though, With my whole setup of 4 SP 4's and SP 218's I'd be able to trade and get the QW stuff without paying anything. We don't really need 4 tops and 4 subs...I was thinking of cutting that system in half and getting the QW's. The only thing I dislike about the SP stuff is that it seems to be built kind of chincy and don't seem like they'll take abuse very well. I figured the QW stuff would last longer plus it would give us more clarity and projection? I suppose I don't have to upgrade the power amps, as they have not given us any problems....well except for a faulty 4080HZ.

 

Thanks for the input good sir,

 

Zach (real name)

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Hey Zach


I'd recommend that you first add a VSX 26 to your current rig and another amp (CS1400 or CS2000) to drive the HF drivers. It will add a lot of punch to your existing system. It would make a pretty big improvement for a lot less $$$ than switching speakers or amps.


When you're ready to jump up to the next tier in performance then switch from SP to QW speakers. It would add some additional clarity and punch when you start playing the system harder.


Switching the amps you give you maybe a little improvement in reliability but no improvement in sound quality.

 

 

 

Hello dboomer,

 

Is the VSX a drastic improvement over analog crossovers like a BBE or DBX? We test drove a VSX 26 once, but we never really took the time to learn it...we just wanted a simple crossover. I will definitely check into a 3rd amp for the highs no matter what we decide to do with the speakers.

 

Oh, also...what amp would you suggest for powering 5 SP monitors?

 

Thanks for the info!!!

 

Zach

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2 GPS 3500's (bridged for subs)

 

 

Zach

 

 

The QW subs are 4 ohms each. You will need 4 gps3500's,one for each sub.

(Or are you going 1top / 1bottom per stack now?)

All in all maybe a db' or so louder with this system if you stay with 2 subs/2 tops a side due to less power compression with the higher rated speakers.

I too would go with a vsx for your current system. Then go from there.

 

Dookietwo

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Hello dboomer,


Is the VSX a drastic improvement over analog crossovers like a BBE or DBX?


Oh, also...what amp would you suggest for powering 5 SP monitors?


 

 

YES ... it's a drastic improvement because it has engineered solutions for our speakers. You can't get this improvement with conventional analog crossovers. Analog crossovers are dead ... it's just that everyone hasn't heard yet.

 

You want to have about 500W - 1000W available for each monitor. How you do it probably depends on the number of mixes you need.

 

In reference to your original question ... it would make sense to trade the SPs and get a smaller number of QW cabs in their place. I would recommend QW2's over QW 218 (or even Versarray) subs in a tri-amped setup with the proper VSX presets in place. It will be smaller and more rugged and sound better. If you want to stay with double 15" cabs then I would go to an aux fed setup (which is easy to do with a VSX26)

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2 GPS 3500's (bridged for subs)



Zach

 

 

 

 

The QW subs are 4 ohms each. You will need 4 gps3500's,one for each sub.

(Or are you going 1top / 1bottom per stack now?)

All in all maybe a db' or so louder with this system if you stay with 2 subs/2 tops a side due to less power compression with the higher rated speakers.

I too would go with a vsx for your current system. Then go from there.


Dookietwo

 

 

I would also agree with Dookie's assesment.

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YES ... it's a drastic improvement because it has engineered solutions for our speakers. You can't get this improvement with conventional analog crossovers. Analog crossovers are dead ... it's just that everyone hasn't heard yet.


You want to have about 500W - 1000W available for each monitor. How you do it probably depends on the number of mixes you need.


In reference to your original question ... it would make sense to trade the SPs and get a smaller number of QW cabs in their place. I would recommend QW2's over QW 218 (or even Versarray) subs in a tri-amped setup with the proper VSX presets in place. It will be smaller and more rugged and sound better. If you want to stay with double 15" cabs then I would go to an aux fed setup (which is easy to do with a VSX26)

 

Hmmm, yeah I guess we'll have to seriously consider picking up the VSX 26 again.

 

For the monitors, we'd like to have 5 mixes. So, with that being said, what would ya recommend?

 

What is this auxilary fed setup you speak of? Sorry for my ignorance on this stuff :confused:

 

Thanks again,

 

Zach

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Well you've already got two CS 4080Hz's. If it were me I'd drive each channel into a QW218 and be done with it. Just use one amp. Next step would be to drive each channel into a single woofer. There's not much point bridging a GPS3500 into a single cabinet. There's only a couple of dB more output from the amp which will translate to even less than that given power compression. Your reliability factor will also go down. Do you have the current available to drive all of this? You'll need a Distro otherwise you're probably not getting even the rated power you have now. Remember .... amps don't make power, they just re-distribute it.

 

Here's the dope on Aux Fed Subs ... http://www.peavey.com/support/technotes/concepts/AUX_SUBs.pdf

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