Newbie Equipment Woes:

[Laughing_gnome]

Hi All, Dave Here.

Just starting again after 10 year break, contacted a dealer, bought lots of equipment, mostly by his reccomendation, but i did a little research as well.
I am over the moon with the Lights/Effects, couldn't be happier (Moving heads, scanners etc - Much better than the equipment available when i gave up 10 years ago).

It's the sound system i am concerned about. It's all Kam. Now before you say anything, i remember the old days and was well aware of their reputation, however i researched the brand and was pleasantly suprised with the good write up's they were getting so i bought

KPCD3000 Cd Mixing Kit
Z Series MK II 15" Subs (350W RMS / 700W Peak)
Z1804 MK II Full range speakers (350W RMS / 700W Peak)
KXR 1000 (500W RMS @ 4 Ohms | 340W RMS @ 8 Ohms)

Plenty powerful enough for the functions i am / am expecting to do. And the sound is actually quite good, better than that, in fact I was very happy with it. Now the crunch! I have done 6 shows so far with this equipment and so far i have changed the cd drawer twice and it has gone wrong again. I'm sure it is not a major problem, its just that the drawer gets jammed and error messages appear. What worries me is that the cd drawer is probably the simplest component in this kit and if they are so dodgy, what about the rest of the gear?

Anyway, i thought i would ask you guys: Kam - Have they really improved as much as the DJ Press have reported? (I have 3 articles on my desk, all positive). Or should i start again with the sound system?

Oh by the way - Now that i am back in the business, i wish i had never given up - This life if the Dogs!

[Shaun]

Welcome to the forum. :)

I've not had any experience with Kam products, i'm sure someone will eb along to answer your queries though.

Nice to have you here.

[Have a disco]

Get denon mate even the most basic double system should not let you down sound wise they aint to bad but cd player wise I would personally avoid they are basically gemini stuff in different shell or if you cant afford this try citronic and then work upwards til you can afford to get what you need

[ian8limelight]

Get denon


Firstly Dave, welcome to the Forum. We look forward to your posts and how you get along with your query.

I, personally, would agree with Badger. I have never owned a Kam system but I have used some occasionally and I am not impressed.

I would go for Denon or Pioneer every time. It's certainly worth the extra money.

[Corabar Entertainment]

Hi Dave, and welcome. I'll leave it to the others to offer advice, but (as usual) there will probably be as many opinions as there are people on the forum! :omg: However, I am surprised at something Badger just said..... it is fairly widely accepted that Denon do the best CD players, and having seen both the Gemini and Denon players, they are VERY different IMO.

[alexperrins]

Hello, welcome :) will be great to have your input!

Unfortunately I only have experience with the amp you mentioned, which is a very good work-horse of a machine! However, I have heard good things on their speakers too, apparently the Z range are very popular and sell well.

I have no clue on the CD-Player, hope somebody can help you out!

EDIT: I use a Numark CDN-88, will compete with the Denons any day of the week at half the cost and just as great reliablity! (Sorry Denon users, they are still fab though!)

[A1DL]

if money's no object, the choice is simple -
if you want a twin 19" rack CD system - DENON
if you want single tabletop players - PIONEER

if on a budget, you can do a lot worse than the Numark or Citronic 19" units, these manufacturers make good semi-pro models which are very popular on the mobile scene.

avoid the likes of Prosound, Skytronic, KAM and Gemini, they really aren't up to much, eg: instant start not being instant, and anti-shock being pretty non-existant


* edited following Angela's valid comment below :teeth:

[Corabar Entertainment]

A1 - it's not as simple as that. Not everyone has the budget to go for the best.

[Jiggles]

if money's no object, the choice is simple -
if you want a twin 19" rack CD system - DENON
if you want single tabletop players - PIONEER

if on a budget, you can do a lot worse than the Numark or Citronic 19" units, these manufacturers make good semi-pro models which are very popular on the mobile scene.

avoid the likes of Prosound, Skytronic, KAM and Gemini, they really aren't up to much, eg: instant start not being instant, and anti-shock being pretty non-existant


* edited following Angela's valid comment below :teeth:

Can i just make my mark:teeth:

Citronic, Skytec, Skytronic ect are ALL the same


theres my 10p worth:embarasse

[CRAZY K]

Hi Dave, welcome.

I worked on another DJs equipment recently ( as I do frequently ) and he was using KAM Tops and Bins--they sounded fine to me --not sure about the amp and mixer.

This is a guy who owns a Disco shop --so presume he wouldnt use rubbish!

Im surprised that new decks are playing up--not exactly new technology is it? In fact on its way out---

Why not look at the latest range of Hard Drive readers flooding on to the market which providing they are reliable should cut out the need for CD players---wait for the objections :teeth:

Numark Dee Squared--Cortex HDC1000 etc. around £450 to £500 theres also the more expensive Denon model costs about £1,000 I think with an onboard 80gb hard drive and decks.

Or laptops of course.

CRAZY K

[Candybeatdiscos]

Well...i have had Kam since August last year, and can say that i have not experianced any problems (touch wood) with any of the products. I also use stageline gear as well and again had no probs.

Perhaps one day i might get denon (PRO gear) but at the moment as a new business I don't see the point in buying expensive equipment when the cheaper stuff if just about as good qulaity and serving me well, at the end of the day i cannot afford to make any expensive purchases, so just need to wait till the time is right.

but just because something perhaps had a bad rep, doesn't mean that it always will i mean skoda once had a laughable rep, but now i see so many skoda octavia's running about even as taxi's....

[Laughing_gnome]

Thanks for your replies guys.

I had always intended to go digital in the future, but wanted to make sure i was doing the right thing, starting up again.

As i said before, the sound on this system is more than acceptable, but if the hardware isn't going to go the distance i think i may look at a Denon or similar to use for a few months. I have a young eager stepson who is really keen to get in on the business, so whatever i buy now, will probably end up with him when i do go digital.

Having spent a small fortune on this new setup and advertising etc, and considering the diary is filling rapidly, i think whatever money i spend will be worth it in the long run. And if i can get the teething probs sorted with the cam cd players, this set will make a perfect back up system.

Thanks again all

Be Lucky!

Dave

[spin mobile disco]

I use CDN-88's by numark but as a set of backup decks I bought a set of KAM 960's to use incase of problems with main decks (never happened touch wood but thats why i call them backups).
The Decks work ok but I prefer the Numark no end. The Kam is not as well built in feel and look. But saying that the sound quality good. In retrospect though i wish i had paid the extra and bought some cdn 22's or something to keep things matched. I've used some denons in the past and to be honest in quality and ease to use the Numark CDN-88's are just as good.

Everyone has their own opinion mine is that Numark suit me better than denon or Kam. Kam are ok but not great.

[funkymike]

I use CDN-88's by numark but as a set of backup decks I bought a set of KAM 960's to use incase of problems with main decks (never happened touch wood but thats why i call them backups).
The Decks work ok but I prefer the Numark no end. The Kam is not as well built in feel and look. But saying that the sound quality good. In retrospect though i wish i had paid the extra and bought some cdn 22's or something to keep things matched. I've used some denons in the past and to be honest in quality and ease to use the Numark CDN-88's are just as good.

Everyone has their own opinion mine is that Numark suit me better than denon or Kam. Kam are ok but not great.


I agree

[BeerFunk]

I'm sure it was the Kam 960s I had when I started out, red things, and when they worked they were OK. Then they started skipping and not reading CDs, so I invested in a set of Denons and never looked back!

I would have confidence in any Numark product aswell though :)

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

I had a set of Kam KCD850s for years and never had a problem with them.

I also have a pair of KAMINS PRO 10s and they are great little cabs for quizes, small PA hire.

I think you get good and bad with nearly every manufacturer.

[symo]

Get 2 CDJ200 has all the fnctions you need plus many you will never use :D

[CRAZY K]

Dave said

And if i can get the teething probs sorted with the cam cd players, this set will make a perfect back up system.

Expensive heavy back up Dave--

Just bought a back up CD player until I sort out my digital stuff hopefully next month--

Tescos £7-98 :)

plug it straight into the mixer :teeth: :teeth: :teeth:

CRAZY K

[Laughing_gnome]

Good point Crazy K. Didn't look at it like that, was thinking more along the lines of a spare deck, as these things come with mixer etc all built in to flight case.

I have been looking closer at laptops myself since starting this thread. I think thats the way i'll go.

Meantime, i just received a new cd drawer to install, from Kam dealer. At least they are fast in response to problems!

[DJay]

I work in I.T and would say that you should think carefully before trusting a pc! I would trust a Denon any day of the week over a laptop! I own a Denon DND 6000 and it is by far one of the best cd players I have ever used...

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

I would trust a Denon any day of the week over a laptop!

Why?

What is the difference?

CD players can go wrong too.

[CRAZY K]

[QUOTE=Laughing_gnome]
I have been looking closer at laptops myself since starting this thread. I think thats the way i'll go.

And then there is the Cortex Hard Drive Reader on release this week ( so I have just been told)

CRAZY K

[Have a disco]

right will say the main comments here is KAM for cd decks they do not have that good a name but I have an alternative name for you to look at and price wise they aint bad American Audio DCD-PRO1000 dual CD Player or any others in there range they are very reliable as back up players they are almost on a par with denon

Single cd players ie desktop I still would decide to head for denon or Technics as have heard some blinding reports