Members MrJoshua Posted March 26, 2012 Members Share Posted March 26, 2012 My current setup is: Peavey Impulse 1012 mains Peavey SP-218 subs In a 3-way setup using a Peavey VSX26 into: QSC RMX-850 (highs) QSC RMX-2450 (mids) QSC PL236 (lows) Everything run in stereo, one per side, so I'm feeding each speaker pretty close to its RMS rating (with the exception of the horns on the mains) In one particular venue, I'm pushing the rig about as hard as it can take, I think. Especially because I've been running sound for some DJs lately and they really hit the subs hard, and while they're big and look impressive and sound good for rock stuff those SP218 subs do not have a ton of super-lows and can bottom out in a hurry if you try to push them really hard at DJ gigs. But I can also tell that when I'm running for bands in the same venue, during the louder parts of the songs the highs end starts to get ... well I don't know how to describe it in words. Not particularly pleasing. I'm worried that I may be overloading the horns. If I'm not there's a lot of harmonic distortion going on or something that grates on my ears. So, the question is do I just add more to what I have now, or do I revamp the system? These are bar gigs; I generally make around $125-200 per gig depending on the venue. Sometimes as low as $50 for a gig (that's a special I have worked out with the DJ where I get an equal share of the total gig pay instead of charging a flat rate. That comes out low for half the gigs, but the other half of the gigs I might walk away with $4-500 in my pocket so in the end it works out pretty well). This is pretty much weekend-warrior type stuff. It's rare for me to have more than one gig in a week, and usually not more than 3 in a month. So I'm not sure it's worth dumping the money into super nice speakers. But on the other hand, I'm 33 years old, financially stable and plan on doing this for quite a while, so if I can get something that will last me for 20 years that would be pretty nice. I could add another identical pair of mains and run two per side and reduce the volume from each - that would probably help reduce the distortion I'm hearing and make the sound better for rock shows. But it wouldn't help the DJ gigs. On the other hand, nobody's complaining about anything and I have steady work coming in. Maybe I'm just looking to improve for the sake of improvement? I mean I feel like I have a pretty decent bar-band rig, and it works. I'm pushing it hard, but I'm not sending anything into limiting (with the exception of the subs on occasion at the DJ gigs, but I try to keep it just under that point because it can be ugly-sounding when it hits limiting). What do you think? Am I just feeling a buy-something-new urge because I got my tax refund, or is there a legitimate argument to be made for upgrading? Or am I just rambling and making pointless posts because I haven't had any caffeine yet today? If you read through all that, thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoadRanger Posted March 26, 2012 Members Share Posted March 26, 2012 Room and crowd sizes? Crossover settings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MrJoshua Posted March 26, 2012 Author Members Share Posted March 26, 2012 The largest room I've done so far with this rig will hold a crowd of around 300-350 but it's sort of split in half with the bar in the middle so it's more playing to a crowd size of around 150-200, I think. I would be wildly guessing at dimensions so I'll refrain from that. I'll double-check the crossover settings but I basically took the Peavey VSX-26 presets from their website for the SP-218/SP-2 speakers and tweaked them. I left the crossover settings the same but changed the EQ settings on the mids to reduce frequencies around the 160Hz level to the mid drivers, since the Impulse 1012 has 12" drivers instead of the 15" drivers in the SP-2. I believe they have the same high frequency driver, though, so I left the crossover frequencies the same. I do not have those settings with me, though - I will have to look in the VSX to tell you what they are. It's been a while since I looked at them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted March 26, 2012 Members Share Posted March 26, 2012 Look at the settings. I think that if you wanted to take a step up, you might look at one of the newer powered systems like the KW, DSR or PRX which will probably get you another 2-3dB and probably better sound quality. The weight savings including your amps will probably be 50% give or take. The good thing is that you should be able to recover a fair amount of your investment towards newer stuff. Not quite a wash but maybe closer than you think. Maybe one of the smaller rooms might make you an offer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MrJoshua Posted March 26, 2012 Author Members Share Posted March 26, 2012 I think one of the motivators for this is that I'm using four of the K10 powered speakers as monitors, and now I feel like I have better-sounding monitors than mains... Plus using them has me looking seriously at moving to a completely powered setup and getting rid of that heavy power amp rack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dookietwo Posted March 26, 2012 Members Share Posted March 26, 2012 First thing I would do if you have not done it already. Purchase a sound pressure meter. A radioshack one will do. See how loud you are now both a A weighted slow and C weighted slow. Your ears will overload when you get very loud with your pa. I wonder if the harshness you hear is just your ears giving out.I have seen alot of peavey horns with quite a peak at 10k. If you have a filter left in your vsx you could try turning that area down some. Of course if I want to kill a horn I'll cut 6.3k. With an idea as to how loud you are now you can better get a handle on which direction you need to head. ( If at all ) Dookietwo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twostone Posted March 26, 2012 Members Share Posted March 26, 2012 HEY DON"T SPEND YOUR MONEY does that sound convincing enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MrJoshua Posted March 27, 2012 Author Members Share Posted March 27, 2012 HEY DON"T SPEND YOUR MONEY does that sound convincing enough. Excellent. Well done sir. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twostone Posted March 27, 2012 Members Share Posted March 27, 2012 Since you got decent amps and system management just my opinion I would stay passive, because active cabling and power cords can be a PITA some times and have to be careful during out door summer heat to avoid thermalling ! since last year my active cabs thermal during a out door gig and even it was night time, but it was still hot outside and my cabs shut down for awhile until they cooled off and I was embarrassed. IMO a pair of Yorkville LS808 subs with a pair of EV ZX3 would match up with your amps that would have plenty of punch and power to handle your DJ needs. Just my 2 cents worth anyway, good luck on what ever you decide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WynnD Posted March 28, 2012 Members Share Posted March 28, 2012 Let's see. Don't spend any money.Speakers don't last 20 years. (And two of my three speaker configurations involve cabinets and drivers that are at least 30 years old.)Save your money and take a nice trip. (Guess that didn't meet the convince you not to spend any money request. At least you would be spending it in an interesting way.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members drumstix Posted March 28, 2012 Members Share Posted March 28, 2012 My back hurts just looking at your system! LOL Its really a tough call, on one end you all ready started with the 4 K10's. Add a couple of KW181's and a set of K12's or KW122's and you will have a pretty decent system that should sound better than what you now have.Definitely lighter and easier to move and load. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mutha Goose Posted March 28, 2012 Members Share Posted March 28, 2012 You come to the mecca of GAS sufferers and ask us to convince you not to spend money on gear? What's next? Gonna visit a vegan web-site and ask them to convince you to have a steak? :lol: Good luck to ya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MrJoshua Posted March 28, 2012 Author Members Share Posted March 28, 2012 You come to the mecca of GAS sufferers and ask us to convince you not to spend money on gear? What's next? Gonna visit a vegan web-site and ask them to convince you to have a steak? :lol: Good luck to ya Yeah. Not great foresight on my part, was it? Part of this is inspired by the fact that I use the K10s as mains for small gigs where I don't have room for four monitors and don't need subs (where vocals and keys are the only things in the mains, in other words) and man is it ever nice to not lug around that power amp rack. Yeah, it's on wheels, but that thing is still HEAVY... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaBender Posted March 28, 2012 Members Share Posted March 28, 2012 I hate to state something so painfully obvious, but if the amp rack weight is the primary problem, going with something like all IPRs is the simplest solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MrJoshua Posted March 28, 2012 Author Members Share Posted March 28, 2012 I hate to state something so painfully obvious, but if the amp rack weight is the primary problem, going with something like all IPRs is the simplest solution. Well if there was one primary problem it would be easy to fix. It's more of several smaller issues sort of lumped together. I feel like I have monitors that sound better than my mains, which bugs me. The power amp rack is heavy and takes up a fair amount of room. The subs I have right now are very large, very heavy, and while they sound fine for rock stuff they are somewhat marginal when I'm running sound for a DJ playing dubstep. And when I do small gigs and only carry a couple of the K10s with me I really enjoy the ease of setup. Yeah, I have to run two cables to each, but I'd have to run two cables anyway - one to the power amp rack, then one from the power amp rack to the speaker. I'm just replacing one of those with a power cord. I guess what it boils down to is, I upgraded my monitors and now I feel like I ought to upgrade the rest of my system, but I'm not sure it's worth the money it would take to do so since I'm a weekend warrior and what I have now is a fairly serviceable bar rig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoadRanger Posted March 28, 2012 Members Share Posted March 28, 2012 I hate to state something so painfully obvious, but if the amp rack weight is the primary problem, going with something like all IPRs is the simplest solution.My rack of two IPR1600's and one IPR3000 weighs under 40 lbs and cost under a grand . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twostone Posted March 28, 2012 Members Share Posted March 28, 2012 Well if there was one primary problem it would be easy to fix. It's more of several smaller issues sort of lumped together. I feel like I have monitors that sound better than my mains, which bugs me. The power amp rack is heavy and takes up a fair amount of room. The subs I have right now are very large, very heavy, and while they sound fine for rock stuff they are somewhat marginal when I'm running sound for a DJ playing dubstep. And when I do small gigs and only carry a couple of the K10s with me I really enjoy the ease of setup. Yeah, I have to run two cables to each, but I'd have to run two cables anyway - one to the power amp rack, then one from the power amp rack to the speaker. I'm just replacing one of those with a power cord. I guess what it boils down to is, I upgraded my monitors and now I feel like I ought to upgrade the rest of my system, but I'm not sure it's worth the money it would take to do so since I'm a weekend warrior and what I have now is a fairly serviceable bar rig. Well what drumstix suggested would lighten your load and sound better if your wanting to rid the amps and go active. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MrJoshua Posted March 29, 2012 Author Members Share Posted March 29, 2012 Well what drumstix suggested would lighten your load and sound better if your wanting to rid the amps and go active. If I do go with an active system, I just have to decide if I want to go with a KW-181 or PRX-618SXLF. Decisions, decisions... Time to use the search function. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomis17 Posted April 1, 2012 Members Share Posted April 1, 2012 As someone already mentioned, you've got decent amps and a nice processor already. I would upgrade the speakers to something like what TwoStone suggested in post #9. That should be a step up for you without spending too much money. If the amp rack is an issue on top of the limited speaker quality then an entire FOH replacement would be the way to go. You can try to sell your mains, sub, and amps outright first to get the most for your gear and apply the funds onto your new purchase. Otherwise, your could try to trade in your gear. You probably would get much for trade though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted April 1, 2012 Members Share Posted April 1, 2012 I would cheat on the lowend a little when necessary and double up on your top cabs. You are asking a lot for a small 2-way box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Unalaska Posted April 1, 2012 Members Share Posted April 1, 2012 I'd upgrade the tops as well, something like the SRX722, keep it light, passive, something that can be easily added without having to add a whole bunch. Keep the amps/processing you've got now, I dunno look out for whats around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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