Members mparsons Posted July 31, 2006 Members Share Posted July 31, 2006 I was playing music through my new PA rig today, not more than two or three hours ago. Sounded great. Now when I go to play it, it sounds like ass. I think it has something to do with the speaker wiring ( only difference between how its hooked up now and how it was hooked up then ). Tell me if I screwed anything up: Left ST XLR out of Yamaha mixer toQ1311 31 band EQ, intoleft side of a dbx 223xl. This is how I set the crossover:Stereo mode ( I don't want to deal with lows/mids/highs, just lows/everything else ). I am only using the left side of it. I have the crossover frequency at around 200Hz. The highs/mids go into channel 1 of my QSC RMX1850HD power amp, and the lows go into channel 2. I plug the speakers into the power amp with banana plugs to 1/4" on the speaker. Channel 1 to the two 15s, and channel 2 to the two 18s. Earlier today, it sounded great, but now it sounds terrible. The volume comes and goes, it sounds raspy, and sometimes it cuts off. I only have this problem with channel 1. Channel 2 works fine. My dad thinks its a polarity issue. I've tried both speakers both ways. Any idea whats wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twostone Posted July 31, 2006 Members Share Posted July 31, 2006 Bad cable maybe? :eek:Also your x-over should be set around 120 or maybe 100 Be sure all your cables are in good working condition usually that's the main culprit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted July 31, 2006 Members Share Posted July 31, 2006 Does the clip light flash on channel 1? That would indicate a short circuit or partial short on the wiring or speakers connected to channel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mparsons Posted August 1, 2006 Author Members Share Posted August 1, 2006 Clip light doesn't flash. I'll try setting the crossover lower. I am beginning to think its a bad cable... I am going to buy some Speakon-1/4" cables as soon as I get a budget up for it. The banana plug cables I have aren't so good. I have a question about the polarity also- Is the tip or the sleeve of the 1/4" the hot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members B. Adams Posted August 1, 2006 Members Share Posted August 1, 2006 Originally posted by mparsons Is the tip or the sleeve of the 1/4" the hot? Tip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mparsons Posted August 1, 2006 Author Members Share Posted August 1, 2006 It was the cable. Swapped it with the one that was connected to channel two- worked fine. Is it ok to use a banana plug cable and a speakon cable on the same amp? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted August 1, 2006 Members Share Posted August 1, 2006 Originally posted by mparsons Is it ok to use a banana plug cable and a speakon cable on the same amp? You need to be sure of how the Speak-On is wired. Some amps pick up a second channel on the same Speak-On for bi-amp purposes over a single connector so the details ARE important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ear Abuser Posted August 1, 2006 Members Share Posted August 1, 2006 No problem just make sure that the polarity is the same for both- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twostone Posted August 1, 2006 Members Share Posted August 1, 2006 Um bad cable:mad: I use banana to speakon with no problems I made them myself ,just give Mark a holler for all your cable needs he's got the best deals and very helpful to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassred Posted August 2, 2006 Members Share Posted August 2, 2006 Now would be a good time to bring up the different tyes of speakon....NL2, NL4, NL8.... all with different numbers of poles... here's what Wikipedia says on the subject: Speakon connectors are available in two-, four- and eight-pole configurations. The two-pole line connector will mate with the four-pole panel connector, connecting to +1 and -1; but the reverse combination will not work. The eight-pole connector is physically larger to accommodate the extra poles. The four-pole connector is the most common at least from the availability of ready-made leads, as it allows for things like Bi-amping (two of the four connections for the higher-frequency signal, with the other two for the lower-frequency signal) without two separate cables." We run an NL2 from our powered subs to the non-powered subs and NL4 from the mid and HI amp rack to the top(s) (biamped), for a triamped system.... NL8 is a big daddy, which can send four speaker signals in one cable. THat is what I understand, (makes sense, if NL2 is one speaker signal, NL4 is two speaker levels....) using mostly NL4's or Nl2's, someone else may be better equiped to explain that one.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twostone Posted August 2, 2006 Members Share Posted August 2, 2006 Just give a shout out to Mark over at Audiopile he's the cable expert I'm sure he can go into greater details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassred Posted August 2, 2006 Members Share Posted August 2, 2006 Coolness! He has a great site, I know where to get my cable needs from now on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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