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Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2005 10:49 am
by JesseMiner
KattenPejst wrote:Nima: Maybe I missed something but I couldn't find a mixer (for live bands) in your list . Thoughts about a mixer?
Nima wrote:Numark CM200USB 5-Channel Rack Mount USB DJ Mixer
Check out the info about it here. Of course this is definitely more geared towards a DJ, not mixing a live band.

Jesse

Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2005 8:02 am
by Nima
KattenPejst wrote:Nima: Maybe I missed something but I couldn't find a mixer (for live bands) in your list . Thoughts about a mixer?

I investigating if our club should get a mixer. If we get one I think it most likely will be a powered mixer (less stuff to carry since we don't have our own place yet). I'm very tempted to buy a PMH5000 which has nearly everything we ever will need and has 2x400 W.

http://www.behringer.com/PMH5000/index.cfm?lang=ENG
Are you in need of a powered mixer? If not, I would say to stay away from that one. My personal point of view is always to invest more in your amp and speakers.

This set-up is suposed to be mostly for mobile DJ'ing as we don't have a venue where we can permanently set-up our audio. And the Bands that need to use our PA system can work just fine through the 5 channels that is on the other mixer.

Regardless, If you are not in need of a powered mixer, I would say you can get more for your money by investing in a Behringer Eurodesk SL3242FX-PRO Mixer

Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2005 2:48 am
by northbayclay
Nima-

Our favorite amps are Carvin DCM4000's:

http://www.carvin.com/products/dcm.php? ... 00&CID=PWA

They are not for the faint of heart, but you can't beat them for large venues. In essence, it's 4 seperate 1000 watt amps (@ 2 ohms), or up to 425 X 4 continuous at 8 ohms. It runs about a thousand bucks, but has 2 seperate plugs and is bridge-able. We like the redundancy. Not lightweight, but we have them rack-mounted into custom boxes. And if you don't need all that power, just run two channels not bridged.

Sometimes we'll use one of them to run 2 EV Eliminators, 2 EV Eliminator 15" Sub enclosures, and up to four other fairly large speakers, and it doesn't even flinch. If you can't tell, the Eliminators are our favorite speakers, too. The sound is amazing, but they are big- we cart them around by trailer and handtruck them in.

These sound really good:

http://www.music123.com/EV-Eliminator-I-i86783.music

but add one or two of these, and the sound is incredible.

http://www.musiciansbuy.com/EV_ELIMINAT ... MISUB.html

For portable applications, we stack the mains on top of the subs with poles, and daisy chain them together. They have built in Crossovers, and parallel ins/outs.

Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2005 1:18 am
by jmatthew
This is what we ended up with:

2 Peavey TLS-5x speakers
http://www.zzounds.com/item--PEVTLS5X

1 Peavey LV 900 300x2w Amp
http://www.zzounds.com/item--PEVPV900

1 Mackie 1202VLZ Mixing Board
http://www.zzounds.com/item--MAC1202VLZPRO

1 Shure Performance headset mic
http://music1online.com/thd.html

We got it from a local outfit, so some of our choices might have b een a little different had we been ordering off-line with a giant selection, but we decided the convenience of being able to get repairs or service nearby and the lack of shipping costs made up for the huge selection and slightly lower prices of the internet. We have dances at both our venues in the next week and a half, so I'll let you all know how it works out. :)

Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 12:02 pm
by Carlsky
I am helping to purchase a complete DJ system for a university swing club. Our busiest nights will have about 150 people. The system must be portable and will be moved around by students who don't have a car. And we have about $1000 to $1400 CND, to build the complete system.

The equipment I have been looking at are:
Fender Passport P-150
http://www.musiciansbuy.com/PASSPORT_P150_.html

and

Numark CD Mix-2
http://www.discostudio.co.uk/djshop/pro ... duct_id=21

What are your thoughts?

Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 12:22 pm
by Nima
I never had very good experiences with the Fender System. THe knobs are made very cheaply and it looks too much like a toy. For the same price I would recommend thePeavey Escort System. It comes with a nice 5 channel mixing board, speakers, stands, microphone and all the cords. Everything packs up nicely into a wheeled case.

Something else you might want to consider is to invest in a pair of Powered Speakers ( I would recommend JBL's).

Although the Numark CD-Players are not my favorite, given your budget, they will do the job for what you need.

Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 12:49 pm
by Carlsky
Thanks Nima

I was talking a salesman here is in town and he recommended a Phonic Powerpak 408 system.

http://www.musiciansbuy.com/phonic_powe ... 08kit.html

The club wants to buy it from an intown distributor so we have a Warrenty.

Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 1:19 pm
by Nima
Well, most music centers/distributor's should carry the Peavey escort system. I have never heard of the Phony System before, much less tired it out. However, just from the specs, it has a capacity of 100W, whereas the Fender/Peavey system carry 150 W (75W per channel).

Another thing you need to consider is the venue that you are going to be using it in. ANother feature I like about the Peavy system is that it comes with a 5 band built in equalizer which allows you to control the quality of your soundbetter. Either way, 150W for a room filled with 150 bodies will be pushing your limits. Hence why I would recommend some more powerful powered speakers such as:

I am a sucker for good quality so I won't recommend you any offbrand sepakers, because I judt don't think you will get what you need long term:

- JBL Eon 15 Powered Speaker (but they willbe too expensive for your budget)
- Peavey PR 10P Powered PA Speaker (same as above)
- PR 12P Powered PA Speaker (300 W) each speaker will run you about US$300
- Behringer B300 Ultrawave 2-Way Active Loudspeaker (300W) each speaker will run you about US$300


If you decide to go the powered speaker way you willalso need to get a good mixer to support your inputs from the CD Players. A very cheap alternative would be:

Behringer Eurorack ub502 (~$40 US)

Of course you need to add cables and microphones to all of the above.

Nima

Posted: Fri Apr 15, 2005 5:16 am
by Carlsky
Thanks, I will keep that in mind when I go looking today.

Cheers,
Dan

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2005 11:50 am
by Carlsky
So I have looked at the Peavy Escort system and there are two available, new and used. The used system has been in rotation for 6 months and looks pretty beat up.

I have my own opinion about New and Used equipment but I am interested in what other people think.
The NEW Peavy System will cost $850 and comes with a 1 year warranty
The USED Peavy System will cost $500 and comes with a 90 day warranty. The clasps on the used system fail quite easily but that could be rectified by using two adjustable straps to hold the speakers to the case.
Which would you purchase?

Cheers,
Dan

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2005 12:12 pm
by Nima
Carlsky wrote:The clasps on the used system fail quite easily but that could be rectified by using two adjustable straps to hold the speakers to the case.
Do you mean the clasps that hold the speakers to case? or the clasps on the speaker stands?

The speaker stands are a little flemsy. With the system I have used the past I never had problems with the clasps on the system itself, but then I have done my best not to force them.

THe most important thing overall is how does it sound? Are the speakers in good condition? How clean does the amp sound compared to the new one?

Whether to go with a new one or a used one. It really depends. If the quipment has been prperly treated a used system might be a a decent choice, but that's always gamble. Most equipment stores (at least the ones I shop at) always test their used equipment before re-selling. Make your own judgement and see if the $350 difference i sworth your peace of mind.

Nima

Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2005 1:56 pm
by Carlsky
I was refering to the clasps that hold the speakers to the case. It is their rental system so I imagine that it has not been treated with care.

The used system sounded really good but the exec decided to go with the new system. The exec wanted the peace of mind of having a new system with complete warranty. For budgetting we decided not to get CD Player and mixer. Most of the clubs DJs DJ from laptop.

I am going to try and get an extended warranty and used aluminum speaker stands.

Cheers,
Dan

Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2005 1:07 pm
by Carlsky
Our club decided to purchase the Peavy Escort system. For $1100 CDN we got the system, two full size speaker stands and proper speak cables (the system includes stands and cables but they are really flimsy). The system works well, the only complaint is the latches that hold the speakers to the base when travelling. 2 of the 4 latches have a habilt of letting go when they are not supposed to. I am currently talking to the distributor about getting new latches. Otherwise I am happy with the system.

Cheers,
Dan

Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 11:00 am
by morte100
Carlsky wrote:Numark CD Mix-2
http://www.discostudio.co.uk/djshop/pro ... duct_id=21

What are your thoughts?
Sorry I'm chiming in so late. I read the forum like once a year just for lack of time (not lack of interest). I had the Numark CD Mix-2 - or rather I had 3 or 4 of them. I lost track. They're pretty much crap in my experience. It's a great idea, but Numark puts lousy CD players in them that will start to skip after a couple months. Make sure and get a Performance Agreement or whatever extended warantees are called at your dealer. It will pay for itself very quickly.

I now have two of these: Denon DN-S1000 CD Turntable. Probably out of your budget, but seriously dope. Seriously.

Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 3:21 pm
by The Peanut Vendor
I ended up getting one powered speaker for my classes. Peavey SP10, a bi-amped 270W powered speaker. $410 CAD before taxes. Used it yesterday, and it's sweet for lessons! Just hook it straight up to my diskman, and it's a system. Much better sound quality and power than a boom-box... even if it costs 2x as much as a 24W boombox (or 1x as much as the JVC 60W boombox) it is expandable, simple, and has 10x the power. I'm quite pleased with it... let's see if it holds up for extended use.