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Help choosing PA equipment


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My budget has gone up a little bit, but I'm still trying to save as much money as I can.

 

The two mixers I've narrowed it down to:

Behringer Eurorack UB2442FX-Prom $300 @ MF

Yamaha MG16/4 $280 @ MF

 

Am I on the right track with those, or should I be looking somewhere else?

 

One bit I'm having trouble with is a lot of speakers I look at don't have an resistance rating listed (8 ohms, 4 ohms, whatever). Why is that?

 

Also, having never owned a PA before, I don't know how much power is enough. One amp I've looked at is the Crown 602 ($440 @ MF). It has 370W/channel at 8 ohms. To me, that sounds like a lot, but it gives me no indication of how loud it could be. I'm planning to go with 12 or 15" speakers, but like I said, some aren't listed with a resistance rating.

 

I'm usually a one man show (acoustic guitar & vox and/or experimental electronic music) and I'm not convinced that I need to be that loud at this time.

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

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Originally posted by u6crash

My budget has gone up a little bit, but I'm still trying to save as much money as I can.


The two mixers I've narrowed it down to:

$300 @ MF

$280 @ MF


Am I on the right track with those, or should I be looking somewhere else?


One bit I'm having trouble with is a lot of speakers I look at don't have an resistance rating listed (8 ohms, 4 ohms, whatever). Why is that?


Also, having never owned a PA before, I don't know how much power is enough. One amp I've looked at is the
($440 @ MF). It has 370W/channel at 8 ohms. To me, that sounds like a lot, but it gives me no indication of how loud it could be. I'm planning to go with 12 or 15" speakers, but like I said, some aren't listed with a resistance rating.


I'm usually a one man show (acoustic guitar & vox and/or experimental electronic music) and I'm not convinced that I need to be
that
loud at this time.


Thanks in advance for your help.

I can't imagine what speakers you would be looking at that wouldn't list an impedence rating. What are they? Most single woofer cabs tend to be 8 ohms and the majority of dual woofer models are 4 ohm,but it should be easy enough to find out for sure with just the slightest digging. At worst,it should be listed on the company's website. I assume you tried that? As for power,I would think with fairly efficient speakers,that 250-300 watts/channel should get you by for smaller venues.

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Thank you for the input. I may even go with a lower powered amplifier. I can always upgrade later if I really have to.

 

What are you thoughts on the mixers I'm deciding between?

 

One of the speakers I was looking at was the Nady PS115 cab and even at their website I don't see the resistance listed. There was a PDF spec sheet I downloaded, but I couldn't find it (then again, there was a graph I didn't quite understand too).

 

Thanks again for your help.

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Originally posted by u6crash

One of the speakers I was looking at was the
and even at their website I don't see the resistance listed.

 

 

ACK!!!!!! run away as fast as you can, those are probably the worst speakers that are pawned off as "PA" speakers. you are better off lowering your budget on a poweramp and spending more on better speakers. A used RMX 850 can probably be had for around $250. With decent speakers that will produce more acceptable results than the Nady POS115's and a more expensive power amp.

 

There are some threads concerning decent entry level speakers, take a look around.

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Originally posted by fossil

ACK!!!!!! run away as fast as you can, those are probably the worst speakers that are pawned off as "PA" speakers. you are better off lowering your budget on a poweramp and

 

 

Hehe. Thanks. I'm glad you're telling me these things. That's why I ask because I really don't know much about the stuff.

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AS concerns your mixer choices, Personally, I will never buy another anything that is made by berringer. Period.

 

You can learn a lot by readingat this site.

 

Consider doing some"searches" with the search tool here.

 

For what you are wanting to do, the two most important things will be the microphones that you use, and the speakers that you use.

 

Probably you will end up with a powered mixer of some sort. Maybe looking on Ebay would be a good idea. Get a Mackie or a Yamaha or something like that. Do not get berringer, or nady, or Kustom.

 

Shop around and you can find a good deal on some used equipment, that will workf well for you. But don't just go buy stuff... think about it a little. It is not rocketscience exactly, but you have to be smart about it or you will just waste your money.

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Originally posted by u6crash



Hehe. Thanks. I'm glad you're telling me these things. That's why I ask because I really don't know much about the stuff.

Well,they are 8 ohm,but run like heck from that speaker. On the link you provided,everything you need to know is staring right at you. Piezo tweeter and more importantly,91.5db efficiency. Did you not notice that? Ya gotta spend more than $100 to get a semi-decent new speaker.

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Originally posted by tlbonehead

Well,they are 8 ohm,but run like heck from that speaker. On the link you provided,everything you need to know is staring right at you. Piezo tweeter and more importantly,91.5db efficiency. Did you not notice that? Ya gotta spend more than $100 to get a semi-decent new speaker.

 

91.5db EFFICIENCY?? WTF??

 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

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I've been reading up on more newbie basics and talked to a couple other folks I know, and this is the configuration I'm thinking of now:

 

Yamaha MG 12/4 Mixer

QSC RMX 2450 Power Amp

Yamaha S115IV Club series speakers

 

What do you think? I may even go down a step in both the power amp and speakers because 500 watts is plenty more than I need. The RMX is 280 watts and I could go with 12" speakers instead of 15. Thoughts?

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Now you are talking..

 

Don't go down in power if you can help it... having more power than you need can be very nice.

 

Probably you will get a beefier bottom end with the 15s than with the 12s, but the 12's will be crisper...depends on what you are looking for.

 

Maybe get the 12s and keep an eye on the idea of getting some subs later to provide the beefy bottom end??... but then you have to caryy 4 cabinets around instead of just two... depends on what you are willing to carry around with you.

 

There is no perfect.

 

But I'm no expert, that is for sure.

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Originally posted by u6crash

I've been reading up on more newbie basics and talked to a couple other folks I know, and this is the configuration I'm thinking of now:


Yamaha MG 12/4 Mixer

QSC RMX 2450 Power Amp

Yamaha S115IV Club series speakers


What do you think? I may even go down a step in both the power amp and speakers because 500 watts is plenty more than I need. The RMX is 280 watts and I could go with 12" speakers instead of 15. Thoughts?

 

 

This sounds good. Stick with that amp, but consider using the S112IV or V's which will give you crisper vocals. The amp is more than enough to handle one or two pair of these, or one pair for mains and another for monitors.

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Thank you again so much for your input. Is there much difference between the Yamaha IV and V Club series? I couldn't find too much info, and probably the V series are a little nicer, but the price on the IV's is quite a bit lower.

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Originally posted by u6crash

Thank you again so much for your input. Is there much difference between the Yamaha IV and V Club series? I couldn't find too much info, and probably the V series are a little nicer, but the price on the IV's is quite a bit lower.

 

 

The V's have a thicker grille material, and Speakon jacks. Yamaha says the drivers were improved for greater power handling, but the rating of both Series are identical.

 

Bottom line: Get the IV's at the closeout prices and install your own Speakons if you need them.

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