My new compact DJ setup - featuring my Yamaha DXR8s :-)

[Al Poulin]

Hey guys,

 

Although my setups are not really all that fancy, I just thought I'd let you have a quick look at what a typical DJ setup for me looks like. (I don't have a facade or do uplighting etc.. but try to have a nice/clean profesional looking setup nonetheless). My new DXR8s sounded great with the 720P sub and I had a really great night. These little speakers get loud and sound good doing it. Dispersion was excellent although I found the throw left a little to be desired, but I think this is common with wide dispersion horns as opposed to those with a tighter pattern. The sound was wonderful up close with the tilt pole mount feature letting those up close really hear those sweet highs. Didn't see the limit lights once on the DXRs - even with high level AC/DC and dance music. I ran them full range for the first 2 hours of music - often without the sub but engaged their 100hz filter and turned on the sub once the party really started! This entire setup fits easily in my Ford focus wagon and I could have had a passenger or two with me as welll.

 

Great night overall, but noticed the weaknesses of my Shure PG48 cordless more than usual. Handling noise was noticeable as well as distortion when certain people spoke loudly. (I adjusted the gain a few times but the distortion still seemed present). Anyway, I am very happy with my trading in of the YX15Ps for these excellent, LOUD and tiny powered cabs.

 

 

 

Al

[oldschooler]

Off topic question, I notice you don't use a mixer with a crossfader. How are you transitioning between songs? Does your mini disc players have pitch controls? If not it's pretty hard to beat match isn't it?

[Al Poulin]

 

Off topic question, I notice you don't use a mixer with a crossfader. How are you transitioning between songs? Does your mini disc players have pitch controls? If not it's pretty hard to beat match isn't it?

 

 

I've never used a crossfader. I generally blend one song into the other by having both slider mixer channels up and starting the new song when the one that is playing starts fading out so as to have no dead air. I don't beat match per say, but will start a set with a slower tempo song and work the tempo up, often choosing songs with similar BPM to keep the groove from one song to the other flowing. After 5-6 fast songs depending on type of event), I will usually put on a slow/waltz and then start again with (for example) a mid paced country song and work the tempo up to top 40 dance. I mostly do anniversary/wedding type gigs where beat matching is generally not required.

 

Al

[Shaster]

Nice clean set-up..... do you feel like tackling my garage sometime?

 

Had a thought about your mic, I have noticed that with 8" or 10" speakers there can be more apparent clarity in the mids over a 15"..... well I guess that shouldn't be a shock. Maybe that's part of what was going on with your PG.

 

As to throw, I've found that the NX55P doesn't "throw" as far as I would like, and only kept miine for a month or two for that, and other reasons. Would you say that the DXR8's are similar in that regard? Also. based on your gig experience, how would you compare two YX15P's (or two NX55P's) with your new DXR8's AND a sub?

[Al Poulin]

 

Nice clean set-up..... do you feel like tackling my garage sometime? Had a thought about your mic, I have noticed that with 8" or 10" speakers there can be more apparent clarity in the mids over a 15"..... well I guess that shouldn't be a shock. Maybe that's part of what was going on with your PG. As to throw, I've found that the NX55P doesn't "throw" as far as I would like, and only kept miine for a month or two for that, and other reasons. Would you say that the DXR8's are similar in that regard? Also. based on your gig experience, how would you compare two YX15P's (or two NX55P's) with your new DXR8's AND a sub?

 

 

Yesterday's gig was a bit odd in terms of placement/sound for me - and I was experimenting most of the night. I was on an enclosed stage in a corner of the hall (as the video shows) and while things sounded very loud on the stage (almost too loud) and in front of the stage, output seemed to drop substantially once a few feet away from the stage and on the side of the hall (where all the chairs are) as well. This may have had to do with the stage itself and/or the room but it was a little odd. My tops were spread quite a bit more than usual to cover the entire room for speeches (I later turned the top pointing to the chair area towards the dance area) and I had the tops angled slightly down thanks to the tilt angle stand mount. This might also have had to do with the fact that it sounded so good and loud up close but seemed to drop quickly once you headed to the back.

 

Since it was a 60th anniversary with quite a few older folks present, I didn't let the rig loose until 11PM. At that point, I played around with the levels on the 720P and DXRs so that the sub would not limit too quickly. Placement of the sub was also not easy since I was wall loading the sub while on a stage. At lower levels (with the DXR's D-Contour activated) , I turned the sub on and off and could barely tell any difference in low frequency response so played only the DXR8s for a while stand alone. I had trouble believing the amount low frequencies I was getting with these little 8s and had to make sure the sub was off - but you could feel the 8s were on the edge of what they could provide low frequency wise (air from the ports)... Once the party really started, I switched on the sub again and set the DXRs filter to 100hz. Turning the 720P's boost knob all the way to 45hz I now noticed a substantial difference in the deeper frequencies, but this meant the 720P worked hard on the modern dance tunes and I had to dial down the LF occasionally on the mixer channel on certain tracks to get the sub out of limiting. Obviously, a pair of 720Ps would have been better to keep up with the tops...

 

Anyway, when "You shook me all night long" came on near the end of the night, I brought up my Yamaha MG a little past the 0DB point and was simply blown away at the volume coming out of these little 8'' boxes. The clarity was surprising and the 720P provided just enough low end to give a nice full sound to the rig. I never saw the limit lights blink on the 8s with the 100hz filter activated and was very happy at the end of the night being able to grab one in each hand and fit them so easily (with seat belts on) on my Focus seats. In terms of performance/sound quality and output, I would put them on par with my RCF 310As (when used with a sub/subs). In terms of value - considering the substantial mixer section, superb processing (a la Nexo) and professional look, I would say they are amongst the best out there at this time. I listened to my DXR8s most of the day today and simply really enjoyed listening to the music - which must mean that they sound really good. I found myself surprised more than once by a detail in a certain song or the stereo seperation of certain instruments which I usually only notice on headphones...

 

Al

[oldschooler]

Did you ever give the EX ZXA-1 a listen? It has very good reviews for a 8in woofer. I remember EV doing a test when they put one in a 12in monitor enclosure with the full grill over it. When they took off the grill, most people did not believe how small the ZXA-1 was. In the end as along as it delivers the performance you expect, that is all that matters.

[Al Poulin]

As for the question about DXR8s + 720P vs NX55P or YX15P stand alone, I think neither the NX55Ps or YX15Ps would have sounded quite as good as the DXR8 and 720P combo at the levels I was reaching after 11PM. The NX55P would have likely sounded close to as good up until the dance portion of the night where I can personally garantee I would have been dialing back the lows on many tracks in order to get enough volume out of them before their damn limit lights start blinking. The YX15Ps would have sounded good overall and would have been loud enough most of the night (certainly borderline limiting on a few), but do not quite offer the sweeter sound/resolution typical of the higher quality NX/DXR speakers. Given their 850$ a pair price however, they are still surprising overall IMO. I've always liked the YX15Ps and don't really have any complaints about them, but while I think they sound better than my Titan 12As (for example), I never really enjoyed listening to them in the same way as I do my NX55Ps, RCF or Yamahas. For some reason, they do seem to throw very well - something I've noticed on a few occasions but never really understood why. Maybe a bit more presence at certain mid frequencies where the more hi-fi sounding cabs are weaker? Anyway, suffice it to say I feel the quality of the HF driver in a given speaker usually makes a world of difference.

 

Al

[Al Poulin]

 

Did you ever give the EX ZXA-1 a listen? It has very good reviews for a 8in woofer. I remember EV doing a test when they put one in a 12in monitor enclosure with the full grill over it. When they took off the grill, most people did not believe how small the ZXA-1 was. In the end as along as it delivers the performance you expect, that is all that matters.

 

 

Unfortunately, there are no EV dealers in my area. I have read that the ZXA1 sounds very good, but also that it is somewhat limited SPL wise. Someone owning the EV and an RCF 310A had mentionned the 310A got noticeably louder than the EV even though the EV had more applied power. As for the full sound of the ZXA1, this is certainly limited to lower volumes and probably done through processing. Same with my DXR8s, with the D-Contour activated, they offer surpising low frequency response BUT only up to a certain level - then the processing must step in to protect the little woofer. In the end, we are talking about 8'' speakers which can only move so much air and are all meant to be used with subs except at low to moderate levels.

 

Al

[Shaster]

Al, much thanks for your detailed evaluations.

 

I guess a speaker can't be all things to all people in all situations. I like the idea of the DXR8, but "throw" is a pretty major factor in some of the gigs I do, particularly for speeches. It's nice to just bring one set of speakers both for convenience and cost, and I wouldn't want to have to have four speakers to cover a situation.... kind of defeats the whole purpose. But I'll see if I can check out the DXR8's just to see what's up, they sound interesting.

[Al Poulin]

Al, much thanks for your detailed evaluations. I guess a speaker can't be all things to all people in all situations. I like the idea of the DXR8, but "throw" is a pretty major factor in some of the gigs I do, particularly for speeches. It's nice to just bring one set of speakers both for convenience and cost, and I wouldn't want to have to have four speakers to cover a situation.... kind of defeats the whole purpose. But I'll see if I can check out the DXR8's just to see what's up, they sound interesting.

 

This was my first time in this hall, so I am not convinced any of my other speakers would have done any better in this regard. It was odd to be set up on a stage in a corner of the room. There was also the fact that I could only get my speaker stands so close to the edge of the stage but the speakers were still inside this stage which may have created the really loud sound I was hearing - which made me keep my levels lower so as not to offend the older guests. I will certainly post my impressions for my next few gigs with the DXR8s. So far, I just absolutely love them. I've always had a thing for tiny speakers that could knock you out by their output. (why I bought 4 of the 310As) The available headroom is great on all my compact speakers, especially with the 100hz filter engaged in the case of the Yamahas and I never felt like I didn't have enough power. Speeches came through very well, but as mentionned I noticed the shortcomings of my Shure PG58

 

Al

[StratGuy22]

How much would you charge for a gig like this. (out of curiosity)

 

 

[Al Poulin]

My average price for an anniversary is 400$ if the event is in my area. In this case, I added an extra 150$ for traveling since the gig was about 2 hours away... Weddings vary between 500-900$ depending on number of hours and amount of people (size of venue). I feel these prices are fair seeing as I don't play games with the crowd (as more interactive DJs will do) or do fancy uplighting or offer MC services. I basically provide great music for all ages using professional equipment and also include special effect lighting. In this case (60th anniversary) I only brought a single bigger LED light, but will bring 3-4 effects for weddings where there are more younger people. Those who charge less amongst my competition will usually be younger unlicensed guys with a laptop full of illegaly downloaded music...

 

Al

[StratGuy22]

Yeah, I'm tempted to do DJ'ing as well, it pays much better than running sound for bands.

 

[Zeromus-X]

 

Those who charge less amongst my competition will usually be younger unlicensed guys with a laptop full of illegaly downloaded music... Al

 

 

I always make mention of that to my clients, as well. When you see people posting about their 100,000 song catalog... do you really think they spent $100,000 on music? If not, who's to say what else they've decided to "save money" on?

 

We actually go about it a slightly different way... we've got 3G/4G access basically anywhere nowadays and we just download the things they want via an online music account such as Amazon or iTunes on the spot. At our first event we only had a few hundred tracks, mostly cobbled together from the Mobile Beat list as things that we knew we'd be asked to play. Every time someone came up with a request we didn't have, we'd just download it on a second laptop we had set up, listen to it to make sure there's no audio dropouts or weird noises, copy it with a flash drive to the main system, and get it in the playlist. It means spending $10-$30 on music every gig, but that's a lot cheaper than buying a ton of tracks that nobody will ever request or care about in advance.

[nchangin]

Yeah downloading works when you have access, unlike some of us in the sticks it's just not an option, my workaround is big hard drive and be prepared, I only wish I had that access. I did see one in a magazine, like 50.00 a month and you can stream unlimited. That would be a good solution for a DJ that does 10 shows a month.