EQ Happy Face? Subs?

[jwlussow]

Power trio..bass, guitar & e-drums. The drummers the new guy. He joined us in 1984. That

[abzurd]

Do yourself a favor and get a real external crossover. The quasi crossovers in the Yorkville subs, in a word - suck. I own NX550P's (old version of the 55) as well as ES700P subs so I'm not busting on Yorkville, it's just the built in LPF isn't any good. The slope of the filter is too gentle and the real world results arbitrary to what the "knob" shows.

 

Also, you definitely want the filter engaged on the 55P's when using the sub. If you don't you'll go into limiting with the speaker very early and probably won't get the SPL needed for the gig. You're also just wasting headroom and adding possible phase and cancellation issues from both speakers trying to do the same thing. Lastly, you're degrading your overall sound as the woofer of the 55P has to pump wildly - that doesn't make for very good vocals definition. This is as much of a reason to use subs as any. Giving each speaker less material means it can reproduce the material it gets better.

[Shaster]

My take on the NX55P's.... They are quite smooth right out of the box. They shouldn't need much EQ, especially a smiley face. In a way, they have a bit of a smiley face curve built in IMO.

The NX55P's have a ton of bottom, more than most speakers in that range, and this will suck up available power. At low volumes this might not be an issue or concern, but at higher volumes you'll want to engage the filter. And no, they won't sound as round anymore, but that's what the sub is for. The combined sound of the sub and tops, out where the audience "resides" is what you need to listen for. Not just the sound coming from your top boxes.

For instance, in a three way system the mids by themselves sound pretty strange, but properly combined with the highs and lows, there should be a seamless desirable sound.

You might actually need two of those 720P subs to pair with the NX55P's. Just depends on what you're looking for.

[Rumorsband]

Thanks for all the advice. For those that suggest an external crossover please suggest affordable good brands models I should look into.If I use a crossover, will that make it unnecessary to worry about activating HPF and LPF's? Isn't that what the crossover will do?

[abzurd]

Peavey PV 23XO will work - $99. I choose this over the DOD because of the XLR ins/outs. Don't bother with Nady or Behringer. Just no need when the Peavey is cheap.

 

Although double the cost, but still reasonable, the dbx 223XL is probably the standard in low cost basic crossover. It also has a 40 Hz pass you can set to help keep the really low stuff from getting into the subs. Many powered subs probably have this feature too though.

 

I actually use a Samson crossover. It's fine, is quiet and has lasted several years.

[Dogoth]

The anti-smilely face sentiment is from seeing people apply that kind of EQing without truely listening to the sound to determine what needs filtered. In live sound the primary goal is to faithfully reproduce the original source, although we often have to try to "polish a turd" ;>) Why and what does the smilely curve do? Highly compressed modern recorded music loses the highs a bit and increasing the highs brings more life to the sound. More bass is often desired, especially at lowered sound levels where it is less pronounced compared to the other frequencies or when masked by other sounds like in a car. Often the PA speaker system cannot reproduce the bass people are used to in that enclosed area of a vehicle unless it is a very large system. SO people crank up the bass. To pull the highs and lows up even further comparatively, the mids get scooped out. In live sound, you just cut the middle out of the piano, the primary guitar frequencies, and all the vocals. A VERY bad choice in live sound. Boomerweps

 

 

You did touch on something here. Many years ago a couple of audioligists noticed that the ear looses sensitivity at the far ends of the audible spectrum as the average volume gets lower. They developed a set of response curves called the Fletcher Munson curves that dictate how the human ear reacts. Does anyone remember the "loudness" switch on home stereos? This was basicly an EQ curve to compensate for when the stereo was being played at a lower volume. This is where the "smiley curve" originated. Unfortunatly some folks thought is sounded cool to leave it that way when turned up (sort of realer than real) and it has caused countless cases of hearing damage since.

 

That's my .02

[Rumorsband]

I'm a little concerned now. I ordered my sub and the guy let me takle a rental to play with. I set up both speakers with the 1 sub. 9the second speaker I used onlty for a few minutes when i got it,but i have been practicing with only one. With the filters on, I only had the volumes on the 55's at (9:00 or 1/3) with the sub at 12:00 or 0db. sounded rewally nice and balanced. No real volume. then i noticed the 2nd or hardlty used speaker is not on. I look in back and i see .both the power and limit light illuminated. Shut it down and repowered..same thing. With just power (no speaker chord connected I hear a faint spaceship sound coming out. i called the sales company and will bring it in tomorrow but i am concerned. 15 years JBL EONS ...never a problem ..EVER

[jwlussow]

Equipment problems should not be the real concern. Those will happen with just about any piece of gear. The real test is how the company responds. Yorkville has a great reputation for customer service. I wouldn

[Rumorsband]

Yorkville shipped a new one out today along with the sub... Nice

[Craig Vecchione]

 

I try to run as flat as possible and may tweak on the individual channels a bit here and there. I was amazed that the 12" Yorks actually required less EQ than the 15" JBL's

 

 

If you don't use a crossover, any fullrange speaker used with a sub will have overlap in the frequencies it produces. There will also be phase differences, meaning that the sub will produce sound a little later or before the full range. This adds up to creating the effect of boosting or canceling the common frequencies (the frequencies that both speakers are reproducing). So one combination of sub and fullrange may sound different in the overlap areas, and you may perceive one to be "better" (probably the louder one) than the other. But the reality is that when you run the system correctly with a crossover and set up for flat response, they'll sound pretty damned similar.

 

Where'd you "hear" that JBL was dropping PRX? From someone selling or using another brand, or from an authorized JBL dealer? Either way I'll bet it's 99% bull{censored}, because that's not information a company is likely to divulge until immediately before they actually take that type of action.

[abzurd]

I just picked up an Ashly XR1001 and have a near mint Samson S3 crossover I'm planning on throwing on "ebay soon" - unless someone around these parts wants it. Actually I'm looking to sell off various TC-Helicon harmonizers and some LED par cans and panels too.

[agedhorse]

Unliklely that the would drop one of the best selling models in the industry. They may be introducing some new models however...

[dboomer]

Generally Speaking: "Cut to improve a sound, boost to change a sound." .

 

 

Why?