Amp advice needed!

[Les]

I'm well-versed in lighting, but now I'm turning my attention to sound. I've been doing a lot of wedding gigs lately as a lighting guy, and that often comes with "can you run our sound too?". I say "sure, but I'll need you to provide me with a sound system since I'm not set up for that" and they "sure, we have one!". Well, 9 times out of 10 their "sound system" is a bookshelf all-in-one unit from someone's attic with a broken CD player and a laptop connected to the AUX in. Getting tired of the accompanied stress level of this recurring scenario, and with another gig just a few weeks away, I decided to dust off my Peavey speakers and look at building a cheap-ish, but capable system. The speakers need new horn diaphragms installed, but I found a good source for $40 each. Not the best speakers, but they're a starting point. I was looking at all-in-one systems from musicians friend, but I would really rather put my money in to something other than the questionable Phonic systems that they carry.

I will be purchasing a separate amp and mixer, since I would like better control and more reliability. I'll probably be starting off with a used 12-ch analog board.

Right now my main focus is amps. I don't feel like my power needs will increase, so just an amp that will comfortably drive these speakers will be fine. I also don't see myself adding more speakers. I just need a simple stereo setup to get me out of the boombox hole. I'd like a 2-channel amp and I would like to run the speakers one per channel. Not daisy-chained or bridged. Here is a pic of the speaker spec's:

What size amp should I look for to drive these two speakers? I've been looking at Crown amps. Any others that you would suggest?

This will be basic music playback, and possibly a mic or two for emcee use. Not really looking to "rock the house" with these, but at the same time, I would like to be able to handle moderate sized outdoor gigs. I don't expect to be using these to reinforce the band that they hired.

 

[waynehoskins]

The first things that come to mind are the CTs600, or perhaps CTs1200, and something from the XTI series. Also give a look at QSC's Powerlight and PLX series.

In the Heavy Iron class, the Macro/Micro 600, CE1000, and old CT200/400 feel about right too.

 

[Les]

The first things that come to mind are the CTs600, or perhaps CTs1200, and something from the XTI series. Also give a look at QSC's Powerlight and PLX series.

In the Heavy Iron class, the Macro/Micro 600, CE1000, and old CT200/400 feel about right too.

Thanks Wayne! So, you think this one will do?

eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

It's A LOT cheaper than the others on eBay. What's up with that...

 

[waynehoskins]

Thanks Wayne! So, you think this one will do?

eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

It's A LOT cheaper than the others on eBay. What's up with that...

Should do fine. I picked up a pair of CTS600s there for the church a few months back for about that same price. Seems to be about the going rate for used 600s.

 

[Les]

Should do fine. I picked up a pair of CTS600s there for the church a few months back for about that same price. Seems to be about the going rate for used 600s.

Thank you! Always good to hear from a local guy experienced with exactly what I'm getting! After this, I should just be needing a mixer, mics, speaker stands and cables. (I assume) haha.

The diaphragm kits are on their way from Parts Express. I'm pretty confident that's what they need. I connected a small Realistic 20w PA amp (set with one lead in the 8ohm terminal and the other marked COM) directly to the horn's terminals and didn't get so much as a crackle. Connected the same leads to the woofer and got surprisingly good results. This was for test purposes only.

 

[WooferHound]

Be careful hooking up an amplifier directly to a Horn driver. Any low frequency content at all will blow it even at very low volumes. You must pass the signal through a crossover to remove the lows before going to the horn.

 

[WooferHound]

OK the speakers you have are rated at 300 watts continuous and 600 watts program, 8 ohms
continuous- means a steady tone that does not change in volume
program- means music that is constantly changing in volume

So in the end you are interested in the 600 watts program since you want to play music
if you want to push as much as you can out of those speakers you will need an amp that can push 500-600 watts per channel into 8 ohms. However you can use any amp that has less watts it just won't be as loud.

Don't get too caught up in the watts numbers, half the watts is 3db less, not half the volume. 300 watts into 8 ohms would be very safe for your speakers without blowing them up.

The crown CTS600 suggested above would be a safe match for your speakers but it is made for permanent installation and has screw terminals or odd connectors for the input/outputs. You would need to make some short adapter cables to get in and out of that amp.

Now as far as my personal recommendation for an amp it would be the
Peavey IPR 1600 - 300w/8ohms; 530w/4; 900w/2
http://www.peavey.com/products/browse.cfm/action/detail/cat/490/item/116949/number/03001260/IPR%26trade%3B1600.cfm
it uses switching power supplies instead of a transformer and it only weighs 7 pounds. It is well reviewed and only costs $300.oo

 

[Shillyer]

2 great amps for you to consider (among many options) would be a QSC GX5 and a Crown XTI-2000.

The GX5 runs about $400 and is rated for 500w a channel at 8 ohms.
The Xti is rated for 475w a channel at 8 ohms and is a bit more expensive.

Both amps are very quiet and light which is great in for portable wedding rig. These amps are designed for portable/touring applications compared to the CTS which is designed mainly for install. This means you lose the input and output flexibility of the touring amps unless build adapters from the terminal block which would have to be changed out if you wanted to use 1/4" or NL4 ect. You also lose all faceplate controls except for the power. To adjust the input gain you need to dig into the back of the rack.

While the Xti is a bit more expensive you gain more features, bridged mono, and a very cool built in DSP. It may make more sense in your application to go with the cheaper QSC amp, however, keep in mind if your system does begin to grow you can handle output EQ, Delay, and many other settings right from the Xti amp without the need for external processing.

In short, both are great amps.The QSC being stripped down on features but still providing you with what you need. Where as the Crown has more flexibility and room to grow at a slight price premium. You are the best judge of which makes better business sense for you, but, I have a feeling you would be happy with either model.

My $0.02

 

[Les]

2 great amps for you to consider (among many options) would be a QSC GX5 and a Crown XTI-2000.

The GX5 runs about $400 and is rated for 500w a channel at 8 ohms.
The Xti is rated for 475w a channel at 8 ohms and is a bit more expensive.

Both amps are very quiet and light which is great in for portable wedding rig. These amps are designed for portable/touring applications compared to the CTS which is designed mainly for install. This means you lose the input and output flexibility of the touring amps unless build adapters from the terminal block which would have to be changed out if you wanted to use 1/4" or NL4 ect. You also lose all faceplate controls except for the power. To adjust the input gain you need to dig into the back of the rack.

While the Xti is a bit more expensive you gain more features, bridged mono, and a very cool built in DSP. It may make more sense in your application to go with the cheaper QSC amp, however, keep in mind if your system does begin to grow you can handle output EQ, Delay, and many other settings right from the Xti amp without the need for external processing.

In short, both are great amps.The QSC being stripped down on features but still providing you with what you need. Where as the Crown has more flexibility and room to grow at a slight price premium. You are the best judge of which makes better business sense for you, but, I have a feeling you would be happy with either model.

My $0.02

Thanks for this! I actually picked up the GX3 from Guitar Center today because I was low on cash, and couldn't afford the GX5. It won't exactly run my speakers to their fullest potential, but I cranked it pretty good today and I have a feeling that it will be plenty loud enough for anything I will need it for. I didn't experience any clipping when doing this either, which is great.

Here in a few months I'm probably going to be selling off the Peavey SP2x's in favor of something smaller. I'm going to try to find a speaker that fits this amp, so about 300w RMS. I'll most likely be going with something from Yamaha or JBL. These Peaveys are good, but they're huge and not very attractive. I've been doing some indoor gigs lately, and need something that I can fit in to a corner and be a little easier on the eyes.

 

[chausman]

I have two GX3s for my system and I really liked them. I like the weight and the power from them. As well as the price. I am planning on getting the GX5 for some mains. I would go with them.

 

[Les]

I just ran my first gig with them last night at an outdoor wedding. I used the GX3 to drive my pair of Peavey SP2XT's which can handle 600w each.

Overall, very good results. The amp did great, as well as the Peaveys, but I will be selling them soon. They're way too big and heavy for these types of events, and it takes some major creativity to fit them both in my car. I will most likely be opting for a pair of Peavey PR12's (also considering the Yamaha A12's), which will be a good match for my GX3. I also plan on picking up a pair of PR SUB's and a GX5 to drive them. I'm happy with my system right now, but it is a back killer!

I did manage to clip the amp once very slightly on a bass thud, but I had it way louder than I should have. It was a windy day here in Texas, and since the DJ booth was behind the speakers I had a hard time judging the sound levels. When I walked out in front the speakers nearly knocked me down on my butt.

 

[museav]

Some general comments....

I'm not that familiar with the Peavey PR speakers but apparently the PR Sub has an integrated 140Hz low pass filter, however there is no corresponding high pass output on the sub or a high pass filter on the PR 12. Thus you apparently would want a two-way crossover as well as the second amp to run PR12s over PR Subs. You might also want to look on the Peavey forums as some other products seem to be suggested quite often as alternates to the PR Subs, some of which have integrated crossovers with high pass outputs.

You might also want to put a 30-31 band equalizer or even a basic system DSP unit to handle both the EQ and crossover functions pretty high on your list of potential upgrades.

You mentioned getting into sound for wedding gigs but didn't seem to mention if this was your supplying sound for bands, for DJs or for your DJing. That could significantly affect aspects such as the expectations for the system and especially aspects such as the mixer and miscellaneous items you may need to have available (snake, DI boxes, interfaces, monitors and so on).

If it is your DJing or providing a system for use by someone other than a professional DJ you might want to address performance licensing. If you are providing or playing the music then you may have to address all licensing. If you're just providing the equipment then your contract may want to make clear that you are not responsible for any required licensing and that your Client is responsible for any required licensing.