Sound System on a tight budget - Help needed

[Casual77]

Wow - There is certainly more science to all this Watt and SPL ratings which I clearly have little understanding of!

I can see the definite advantage of going down the active speaker route and the second-hand Tapco thump looks like it would be a good purchase for the starting bid price and is local enough for me to pick up.

This all comes back to my trade off dilemma though.... I've got a limited budget to spend on sound system, lighting, haze machine, DMX controller, DJ stand etc and whilst I need something that will be fairly reliable I have to accept that this will probably only get used a few times a year (unless of course I love it that much that I decide to jack the accountancy day job in to become Barnsley's newest professional mobile DJ).

It seems to be established that whilst the speakers I've already got may be lacking a bit of oomph in the bass department, that they might at a push be fit for purpose, if only as a short-term stop-gap option. This leads me to think that a dependable 2nd hand power amp like Matt's Numark Dimension 3 might be the cost-effective solution (depending upon how big a wad of cash we are talking). I'll end up buying my entire set-up from Matt at this rate! Would this amp be suitable for the speakers I've got or would it be too high-powered?

[Shaun]

My advice, ALWAYS put the emphasis on getting your sound system right first, lighting second. Put every available pound towards your sound then worry about lighting later. It's the one mistake I wish I'd learned earlier on as I concentrated too much on lighting purchases and ended up having to replace/repair my sound system several times in the earlier years as it wasn't up to the task.

Good luck.

[DazzyD]

As someone who has always used power/mixer amps due to my background in karaoke (they are ideal for karaoke!), it sounds to me like a thermal cut-out is kicking in so I'd guess the unit is overheating. My first one was the often-slated Soundlab G-742 and I made the mistake of trying to power 4 speakers in chain with it. It got really hot to the point it was smoking!! It took around 50 seconds to get this stage so your 3 minutes is pretty good!! I had mine repaired by an electrical repair engineer who also put a couple of small fans inside for better cooling and I've never had a problem with it since. Paired with my speakers it sounds really good, too. It's not immensely powerful but I don't do huge gigs so it's more than enough sound for me.

But I'm (finally!) heading for actives this year so I think that that is probably your best advice right now.

[Casual77]

I suspect you are right Dazzy but I have no idea why it is over-heating unless it's faulty. I had the gain set to half way, the master volume only up to about a third of the way round and the master output on my IDJ Pro at halfway. The level meter was only going up to 0db so I'm pretty sure I wasn't pushing it beyond what you would expect its capabilities to be. There were no obvious signs of overheating either, at least not from the outside of the unit.

I think I will give it another go tonight at a lower volume and see if it works for any longer.

[Pe7e]

I can see the definite advantage of going down the active speaker route and the second-hand Tapco thump looks like it would be a good purchase for the starting bid price and is local enough for me to pick up.

Despite being a fan of Mackie speakers, I would not recommend the Mackie Thumps, I've known a lot of people who have bought them, but nobody who still have them, there's a good reason for that. they're Actives are the way to go, but go for something decent, the cheap stuff is almost always rubbish. As Shaun as already pointed out you sound system is more important than your lights. My recommendation for a budget buy would be to look out for a S/H pair of well cared for Mackie SRM450v2s, especially the earlier 'blue cased' ones, they had better drivers fitted, from personal experience, I've found them to be bullet proof even when pushed hard. I would avoid the V1s, they're much heavier and prone to overheating, the V2s have digital amps and run much cooler

[Excalibur]

I think I will give it another go tonight at a lower volume and see if it works for any longer.

And what will that gain you? It may run all night, as long as it's no louder than headphones. Not terribly useful in that scenario. It would be more useful to borrow another amp and speakers, and swap over. If the fault moves with the speakers, they've got an internal fault. If the fault stays with the amp, the fault's in there. That way, you'll know what works and what doesn't.

[Nakatomi]

Despite being a fan of Mackie speakers, I would not recommend the Mackie Thumps, I've known a lot of people who have bought them, but nobody who still have them, there's a good reason for that. they're Actives are the way to go, but go for something decent, the cheap stuff is almost always rubbish. As Shaun as already pointed out you sound system is more important than your lights. My recommendation for a budget buy would be to look out for a S/H pair of well cared for Mackie SRM450v2s, especially the earlier 'blue cased' ones, they had better drivers fitted, from personal experience, I've found them to be bullet proof even when pushed hard. I would avoid the V1s, they're much heavier and prone to overheating, the V2s have digital amps and run much cooler

The V1s certainly are heavy, I can attest to that. The V2 model are some 5 kilos lighter than the V1, but there are reports aplenty in internet land about the class D amp shaking to bits (cracked component leads etc).. nothing a competent electronics person couldn't fix themselves though. Then again, if you spend any time searching for brand X model Y problem you'll uncover untold horrors before you know it.

I've never encountered the boss' ones overheating, and I've played out on 450 V1s almost every week since I started DJing again. But then, I've not been summertime in non-airconditioned venues with them yet Not that I work them very hard anyway. I ran my own pair pretty hard but not to the hilt last Saturday & the heatsinks were slightly warm to the touch at the end of the night. One thing to check with anything that has a heatsink is that the thermal grease hasn't dried out. It happens & only worsens any heat issues you're likely to run into.

Before Christmas my sister asked for advice on a vocal rig speakers.. Knowing her budget was £400 I advised her to go for 2nd hand pro gear but no, she bought a pair of useless Skytec junk. They lack power, they lack clarity... the only thing going for them is that they're light. When the time comes for her to upgrade, she can rest assured she won't get anything like the money she paid for them.

If you can't afford to buy good gear brand new, buy it 2nd hand instead. Don't resort to buying cheap. It's a generally a complete false economy.

I'm not a brand snob.. it's certainly possible Skytec might one day bring out a pair of really good speakers but not for less than £500 a pair

[Casual77]

And what will that gain you? It may run all night, as long as it's no louder than headphones. Not terribly useful in that scenario. It would be more useful to borrow another amp and speakers, and swap over. If the fault moves with the speakers, they've got an internal fault. If the fault stays with the amp, the fault's in there. That way, you'll know what works and what doesn't.

I've already given up on the idea of the amp being any good for me. I was thinking I would see if it cut out at lower volumes just to support the idea that the problem was an over-heating issue. If it still works ok at lower volumes my dad might as well keep it for whatever he wants to use it for where high volume isn't needed.

I'm pretty much looking at getting a suitable second-hand power amp (Matty's Numark amp is sounding like a good possibility) for now and looking to pick up a pair of second hand active speakers when something turns up in my price range.

[mattydj50]

Wont go wrong with them.
I got two of those when I started running sound systems in club nights and illegal raves.
I had no clue at the time and found them easy to use.

I used them to power pairs of Peavey HiSys2 speakers. Bomb proof they were but bloody heavy which is why they had to go.

[fullcontact68]

I used them to power pairs of Peavey HiSys2 speakers. Bomb proof they were but bloody heavy which is why they had to go.

I happen to have a pair of Hisys 2xt, you welcome to come and look/listen to them too.