Speaker and sub upgrade advice please

[ThomasPM]

Good Afternoon All :)

When i started my mobile DJ "Journey" i started with a few mistakes (i had not discovered this forum:mad:)

I purchased for my new business a pair of CDJ850KS and 2X Peavey messengers pro 15" tops and 2x 18" Peavey subs to match with a 2000w carlsbro amp to power these massive and heavy speakers and subs,all to fit in the back of my car with an equinox stand:loco:

So im about a year in know and as ive decided to stick with it and im sick of carrying this ridiculously heavy and cumbersome set up sooooooooooooo i reckon if i sell the CDJ850KS speakers and amp i can raise about £1500 i may have to put about £200 in to make that figure.

So as i have already bought a controller to replace the cdjs and mixer set up i want to spend about £1500 on a set up which will equal the power of this Peavey set up and i wondered if the good people of this forum would help me decide what to buy i do not want to go over this £1500 figure and if i can have money left over for something else then great:D

Also i dont like the plastic speakers with the big mouth piece in the top i love the look of the models which have a plain front like the EVS ZLX15P and Yamaha's etc these look much neater IMHO.

Any advice would be much appreciated.:beer1:

[Nakatomi]

If you really don't want plastic tops with those lovely curvy horn bits you might be hard pressed to get a new system within your budget.

EV, Yamaha, LD systems, HK, QSC & Alto Black spring to mind as having covered fronts. Yamaha & EV wooden cabs are going to set you back about a grand a pair for 12" actives. Decent active subs start at about £650 each.

If you go plastic for the tops, about £700 a pair for Yamaha DBR 12 or EV ZLX12P, then 18" subs at around £700 each might be a worthy comparison for what you have now. Might. The Yamaha subs don't seem to go that low for an 18" cabinet (on paper).

What about swapping the amps for something lighter instead? Is anyone making decent class D lightweight amps these days?

[ThomasPM]

Thanks for your reply Juski is the above a tongue in cheek comment or are those "lovely curves" popular?

Am i just Fussy:confused:ha.

I can buy some FBT X pro 12s from my local Disco shop so maybe i could buy these and add one single sub and use as and when required these cost £650 for the pair with bags,i like the look of them but not heard them as yet.

I should add the rooms i play in can differ considerably going from small 100 people max to quite big 300 people or so,i would like to bring subs to the bigger rooms only.

[Nakatomi]

Thanks for your reply Juski is the above a tongue in cheek comment or are those "lovely curves" popular?

Am i just Fussy:confused:ha.

I can buy some FBT X pro 12s from my local Disco shop so maybe i could buy these and add one single sub and use as and when required these cost £650 for the pair with bags,i like the look of them but not heard them as yet.

I wouldn't say you're fussy. I'm no fan of being able to see the horn waveguide on a speaker either but quite a lot of manufacturers seem not to bother with a grille which covers all the front of their cabs. More is the pity.

And who in the world is your local disco shop? That'd be the best price for those speakers I've ever seen. Phase One, my nearest place wants over £800 a pair for those speakers & that's without covers. FWIW I've heard FBT Promaxx 14s with 15" subs & I wasn't moved to the point where I thought "now there's a system I'd happily pay over 3 grand for". Maybe it wasn't setup properly - I know for sure the band using them didn't know how to tune their guitars :lol:

[Benny Smyth]

Worth considering. (http://www.forum.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/showthread.php?42889-For-Sale-RCF-705-AS-subs-x-2-and-RCF-325A-x-2)

[ThomasPM]

I'm going to keep a bit tight lipped about my who my local shop is for now as im seriously considering buying the speakers and dont want them to sell out :zip:

I would much prefer to buy from my local shop as they are great guys helpful and give good advice so i like to use them whenever i can plus they are very competitive however i may have to stretch my budget with a bit of finance and they dont do it.

And although id like to have the same brand subs as tops i dont suppose it matters if the manufacturer is different.

And thanks for the link Benny i did look at those but was put off by the slight wear to the bottom of the units.

https://www.decks.co.uk/package/srm550-srm1801#.ViUb4NJVgg0

The above could be an option as i have a discount voucher for this shop and they look great:)

[Excalibur]

Right, let's see what we can do.

one of these (http://www.gear4music.com/PA-DJ-and-Lighting/LD-Systems-Stinger-Sub-15-A-G2-Active-PA-Subwoofer/1AZZ) and two of these (http://www.gear4music.com/PA-DJ-and-Lighting/LD-Systems-GT12A-Active-PA-Loudspeaker/12A3) £1129. With the higher grade tops (http://www.gear4music.com/PA-DJ-and-Lighting/LD-Systems-LDEB122AUK-Stinger-12-350W-Active-Speaker/EPL) £1497. :)

There is a certain shop near you with the 15" GT LD active subs and 12" GT tops for £1300. They're a grade lower, but good.

Two of these (https://www.bax-shop.co.uk/active-full-range-speakers/hk-audio-premium-pro-12-a-active-speaker?gclid=Cj0KEQjwqZKxBRDBkNmLt9DejNgBEiQAq8XW Pt4W59B_RY5fgD7iBdGARQiArUzUaIKGTP9a3A8MxjAaAjfo8P 8HAQ) and one of these (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/281826922556?adgroupid=13585920426&hlpht=true&hlpv=2&rlsatarget=kwd-75951453426&adtype=pla&ff3=1&lpid=122&poi=&ul_noapp=true&limghlpsr=true&ff19=0&device=c&chn=ps&campaignid=207297426&crdt=0&ff12=67&ff11=ICEP3.0.0-L&ff14=122&viphx=1&ops=true&ff13=80) £1489.
The same certain shop near you might beat the HK prices.

More later.

Edit: Ooh, ooh, nearly forgot the s/h RCF cabs Darren is selling. Long way from Yorkshire, but good deal.

[Benny Smyth]

And thanks for the link Benny i did look at those but was put off by the slight wear to the bottom of the units.

Really? That's a pretty damn good deal and RCF make great quality speakers that will more than make up for some minor cosmetic damage.


Edit: Ooh, ooh, nearly forgot the s/h RCF cabs Darren is selling. Long way from Yorkshire, but good deal.

See? Even Peter agrees.

[Excalibur]

See? Even Peter agrees.

And Peter is slightly embarrassed by the fact that he didn't follow Benny's link, cos he was posting in an almighty rush. :o

If Darren had been selling the tops on their own, they'd have been up here by now. I don't need subs, and can't afford to buy the lot and try to sell the subs after. I know how good RCF cabs are, and I know how Darren treats his gear. ( Very well, in case you hadn't worked it out )

Thomas, personally I wouldn't rush to get the Mackies. Many folk on this forum have had trouble particularly with the subs. Whether the problems have now been cured, I don't know.
I do know that for the same price as them, you could get two 15" Yamaha subs, and a pair of DBR 12s

[ThomasPM]

Cheers guys for all your suggestions :beer1:

I hoped to get all my old gear on E bay last night but as i took delivery of my new controller i was eager to try it out,After some messing about loading serato (its free with this pioneer ddj-sx2) i couldn't get get it working:mad: It would not communicate with my laptop at all after much head scratching and colorful language i realized that id plugged it in too the wrong USB port :daft:

[ckpr2]

When I started DJing for myself in the 1980's I couldn't afford new gear.
So I bought in 4 Fane 50WRMS drivers and put them in a couple of cabinets.
I used a Maplin 225WRMS amplifier kit.

I still almost never buy new gear.
My latest project was a Pyle 21 inch sub in a large cabinet.

If you are good at woodwork then maybe building your own speakers might be a cheaper way to get some gear.

[ThomasPM]

Morning ckpr2 i like to almost always buy new gear as im the type of person that takes the up-most care of everything i get i agonize for days if i get a a small scratch on anything i own and could probably tell you when how and where each small mark happened it drives me mad :daft:

I have been looking online as another DJ acquaintance has mentioned the ALTO BLACK set up and although its above my initial budget i could put what i have down and finance the rest i really like the idea of being able to control and set my sound remotely, also the sound from the set up is supposed to be awesome.

Decisions Decisions Decisions i can see this purchase is going to drive me mad and im always going to doubt my choice whatever i do.:confused:

[Excalibur]

Decisions Decisions Decisions i can see this purchase is going to drive me mad and I'm always going to doubt my choice whatever i do.:confused:

Allan got it right when he said that you find some cabs you can afford at £x, but then for an additional £y you can get some nicer ones, and for only £z more than that you can get the ones you really fancied, and you then end up justifying paying £3x for the all singing, all dancing ones.

We can't comment on your finances, but the one thing I will repeat ad nauseam is " Listen before you buy"!!!!
Sound is very personal. I've stood next to people at speaker demos, and it would seem that we've heard different systems! :daft: Daryll and I have similar taste, Darren and I are unlikely to ever agree.
Can you get to hear any of the contenders at a gig? Do any of your mates have them? I don't think I'm in your area for a while, but should you wish to audition the LD and have a coffee, you're welcome here any time.

[ThomasPM]

Allan got it right when he said that you find some cabs you can afford at £x, but then for an additional £y you can get some nicer ones, and for only £z more than that you can get the ones you really fancied, and you then end up justifying paying £3x for the all singing, all dancing ones.

You are certainly right about that one and it seems to be the case with must things nowadays i once heard a radio show and there was a psychologist on saying that too much choice is actually depressing people!:confused:

I could Audition some at my local shop and also check out some of my mates speakers however im DJing myself most Fridays and Saturdays when they will have their system set up.

All good advice though thanks

[DJ Jules]

I've never regretted spending lots of money on good kit. Only spending almost as much on bad kit.

My best advice is to go out, listen to some cabs, find something you really like the sound of and won't let you down, and then get out the credit card. As long as they put a smile on your face everytime you gig, you'll never regret paying the money :D

Julian

[Excalibur]

I've never regretted spending lots of money on good kit. Only spending almost as much on bad kit.

My best advice is to go out, listen to some cabs, find something you really like the sound of and won't let you down, and then get out the credit card. As long as they put a smile on your face everytime you gig, you'll never regret paying the money :D

Julian

:like:

[ThomasPM]

Morning All

After much deliberation,mind changing and deep thought :confused:

I am now happy to say i have my new sound system :party2: I now have two Alto black 15" subs and two Alto black 15" tops!

First impressions are the sound is awesome couldn't turn it up too loud as the neighbours would have a fit.

The sound at low volume is very clear and crisp and worlds apart from my old Peavey set up.

The subs weigh an absolute ton though so will definitely need a cart!

[Nakatomi]

So much for the budget then eh? ;)

[Excalibur]

I now have two Alto black 15" subs and two Alto black 15" tops!




So much for the budget then eh? ;)
The lad never said they were new, did he? Nor what he's paid. ;)

I'm not psychic, just privy to a tad more information than most.

I'm almost as keen to hear these Alto Blacks as I was to hear the rig that looked like being chosen before these became available.

Thomas, I hope the rig serves you well, and see no reason why it shouldn't. As for the age old problem of unwieldy subs, well you're lucky to find any that are actually easy to deal with. Many aren't. :(

[Benny Smyth]

If you have a friend or relative who works in retail, get them to pinch the wheels they use to cart around crates. T'is what I did! ;)

[Excalibur]

If you have a friend or relative who works in retail, get them to pinch the wheels they use to cart around crates. T'is what I did! ;)

Heaven forfend!! :eek::eek: We can in no way condone such behaviour. :Naughty: Please ensure you purchase the aforementioned items, rather than purloining them. :)

Machine Mart always have a range of trucks/Trolleys to suit most needs and budgets.

[Nakatomi]

The lad never said they were new, did he? Nor what he's paid. ;)

I'm not psychic, just privy to a tad more information than most.

I'm almost as keen to hear these Alto Blacks as I was to hear the rig that looked like being chosen before these became available.

Thomas, I hope the rig serves you well, and see no reason why it shouldn't. As for the age old problem of unwieldy subs, well you're lucky to find any that are actually easy to deal with. Many aren't. :(

Kind of figured there'd be a second hand deal involved somewhere.

Incidentally, when I was at my local disco shop buying some bits & a Chauvet Wash FX the other day I got to hear an LD Systems Dave 15 G3 3 box system. Oh. My. Word. Almost as impressive as the Curv I heard at BPM but then it's a shade under half the price. The shop owner said proudly that it's as good a sound as you're ever going to get for that kind of money and I don't think I'd be wrong to believe him. I'm seriously tempted but nah, I need to hear other stuff before I make up my mind.

[ThomasPM]

Yes juski the budget was stretched somewhat and also my plan to make things lighter however once i started looking and researching etc and looked at the facts rather than what i had hoped to achieve i have ended up a million miles away from my starting point ;)

Most of the gigs i do are easy in and out i have one which is first floor but has a lift so a small fold-able cart should do the trick

If anyone would like to have a listen im never too far from the M1/M62 that's Best Yorkshire end sorry i mean West Yorkshire.;)

[mattydj50]

I'm almost as keen to hear these Alto Blacks as I was to hear the rig that looked like being chosen before these became available.

(


Shall we arrange a mob handed visit to go and have a listen?