First post and EV ZX3-60 newbie question

[Art Flood]

Hello all,

 

This is my first post in your excellent forum. I have spent a lot of time soaking up the knowledge and experience from this site. So many thanks for this.

 

I am from Sydney, Australia and have played in bands since I was a kid and usually took care of the PA duties as well.

 

My standard rig is a pair of Mackie SR1530s, 4 EV SX300s for foldback and a Mackie CXF12 mixer (i noticed there's not much love for this mixer but it is an older one and seems to do the job ok). I run the foldbacks off a Yamaha P7000S. Although I mainly run vocals through the PA I am finding the need to run kick and bass through it as well (as I have started doing sound for another band that likes a bit more thump).

 

I recently started looking at purchasing subs but as happens I instead came back with a pair of EV ZX3s (they were on special and sounded superb). The long term plan is to get rid of the Mackies anyway as although they sound good they need to be up on a stage to project well (And unfortunately a lot of venues don't have stages or only a 6 inch high one).

 

I'll start another post for advice on subs. My question this time is in regard to matching the ZX3s to a power amp.

 

Currently I am using a second P7000s to run them. The P7000s puts out 700 watts per channel into an 8 Ohm load. http://www.yamahaproaudio.com/products/power_amps/p7000s/specifications.html The ZX3 has a 600w continuous rating and a 2400w peak power rating.

 

I believe the best match for these speakers is an amp that can do twice the continuous rating 2 x 600w = 1200watts. So I guess the P7000s is a little underpowered. However if I run it in bridge mode it can produce 3200watts into a 4 ohm load (note this is Dynamic Power at 1 KHz so can I assume continuous power will be somewhat less?)

 

What is the best way to run a pair of ZX3s from a P7000s?

 

Thanks, I am glad to be part of this forum.

[WynnD]

On the Mackie mixer, I don't think they dislike the sound much, but dependability is the problem. As long as it's running, I don't see a problem. I've got the same mixer and Aux 1 has died. It still gets used, but it's my last choice. My first choice is a MixWiz 16:2 I've also got an Alesis Multimix16 firewire that I use for recording and occasionally just as a mixer. I've provided sound for about 6 years of a progressive conference that occurs out here. So far it's always been three systems. That's when I drag out the Mackie for one of the smaller rooms. Will probably get called on this for next year's event.

[Art Flood]

 

On the Mackie mixer, I don't think they dislike the sound much, but dependability is the problem. As long as it's running, I don't see a problem. I've got the same mixer and Aux 1 has died. It still gets used, but it's my last choice. My first choice is a MixWiz 16:2 I've also got an Alesis Multimix16 firewire that I use for recording and occasionally just as a mixer. I've provided sound for about 6 years of a progressive conference that occurs out here. So far it's always been three systems. That's when I drag out the Mackie for one of the smaller rooms. Will probably get called on this for next year's event.

 

 

Thanks Wynn - mine seems to be ok some of PFL buttons are getting a bit sticky but the aux sends are all good. The MixWiz or a Presonus digital mixer will probably replace the Mackie soon enough.

 

Cheers

[heath_eld]

I wouldnt agree with bridging that amp into those speakers. Slightly above rms should do the job well.

[TWSSBAND]

I would not bridge and I believe a lot people on here would agree. I think running one per side is a better match for those speakers

[smitty0069]

I have the Zx3-90's and use a 3402 on them. While I'm generally not too concerned with putting an amp that will supply program power on my speakers, I think powering these a little more conservatively yields perfectly good results and I'm more concerned with long term reliability than worrying about a few hundred watts +/- that really makes little to no difference in perceived output. I think your P7000 is a fine choice.

[abzurd]

700W is absolutely fine. It would be silliness to put 1200W into those speakers, IMO. As for that mixer. From my limited experience with it (had to use once) my "no love" tag is due to the lackluster EQ. It takes large changes to make any difference and even then it just didn't sound quite right.

[Art Flood]

Thanks guys.

[agedhorse]

1200 watts would, however, be beneficial to your reconer's pocket book.

[Tomm Williams]

1200 watts would, however, be beneficial to your reconer's pocket book.

 

And in case you didn't know, Aged does reconing. :lol:

[Art Flood]

Thanks guys - I'll run it with the P7000s at 700watts per channel - saves me buying yet another amp.

 

I guess this is quite conservative though - even the QSC website recommends 1200 watts per speaker at 8 ohms. Am I reading their calculator wrong? http://www.qscaudio.com/products/amps/advanced_amp_selector.htm

 

Sorry to be a pain but I really want to get the best out of these speakers (without damaging them of course).

 

Cheers

[agedhorse]

 

Thanks guys - I'll run it with the P7000s at 700watts per channel - saves me buying yet another amp. I guess this is quite conservative though - even the QSC website recommends 1200 watts per speaker at 8 ohms. Am I reading their calculator wrong? http://www.qscaudio.com/products/amps/advanced_amp_selector.htm Sorry to be a pain but I really want to get the best out of these speakers (without damaging them of course). Cheers

 

 

QSC sells amps and there's more profit in big amps (a lot more).

 

IF you happen to look at how they power their own powered speakers and how their internal processing and limiting is set up, they are not following their own rules. Neither does JBL. Neither does Yorkville. The list is very, very long.