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Silver Member Username: VarneyBirminghamEngland, UK Post Number: 228 Registered: Sep-04 | I could do with some help, if anyone is willing to offer a few words, it would be well appreciated. I need to set up a disco system for Goth Rock, mainly, before the end of next month. The project has kind of been humped onto me from above, so here is my chance to tailor the sound to my own liking a little. I know I cannot use normal home stereo amps and speakers to do this and was wondering what I could do with £200 for speakers and amplification. CDP, no problem, since I have some spares lying around to make the duel-deck arrangment for the DJ. It's just amp and speakers I need. What kind of speakers should I be viewing in order to fill a space, very loudly, which is roughly 15ft X 30ft? What kind of amp would drive these? I know virtually nothing about the disco / DJ system market, only home audio. Is there really a great deal of difference between home-amps and commercial PA systems? I was wondering if one of the larger domestic amps might be suitable from the second hand market - Technics, Sony, Sherwood, etc. Any help would be appreciated. Even from you car-audio guys! Thanks, V |
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J. Vigne Unregistered guest | The basics of sound reinforcement gear follow the same rules of physics as the home stuff must. The largest difference is often the cosmetics; since the commercial gear is expected to be dropped by a slack jawed roadie at least once a day. The more expensive commercial gear also figures to be run over by the slack jaw's smokin' buddy. You get felt coverings over the plywood cabinets on the commercial gear instead of real or even fake wood. The corners often have metal protectors on them to keep the cabinet and drivers from taking too much abuse. A horn loaded speaker system will push the upper frequencies out into the room in a disco situation. Home speakers are often more concerned with wide dispersion from the tweeter. Club speakers aren't at all concerned with dispersion; they assume if you want to hear the sound any better (instead of just louder), you should have got there earlier. Look for at least a horn loaded high end driver. As with home audio, a two way speaker will probably offer more sound for the money at this price range. 12" woofers in vented cabinets are a good choice for this space. If you can find a pair of old Klipsch Heresey speakers in the plywood case, they would do well and were sold either as a home or sound reinforcement speaker. If you're only running one pair of speakers, a 4 Ohm speaker will work OK. Obviously the higher the efficiency, the better you will be in terms of volume which in turn means less stress on the amps. The commercial amplifiers are similar to home audio without the bells and whistles. They are all Class AB or Class B amps which will produce a fair amount of power for the dollar. For loud rock a Class B amp will do. You don't need meters, but, a LED clipping indicator is a good idea. You can run a home amp but you will give up power and pay for looks. Most home amps can't take the long term heat and abuse a commercal amp can withstand. I have no idea what brands you have available to you, so I really can't recommend anything specific. |
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Silver Member Username: VarneyBirminghamEngland, UK Post Number: 230 Registered: Sep-04 | Fantastic, J. Thankyou! I do not know anything about horns. I will have to look them up on the web to see what the differences are in home audio in order to learn what to expect from their sound. I have a place called 'Cash Converters' here in my local high street. Any Brit audio-head, worth his salt, will tell you "stay away from them" I have had words with the manager myself over a faulty goods issue already. Thing is though, the instrument & commercial amp section is run by guys who know their stuff and take their gear seriously. The home audio is run by idiots and school leavers, who will happily audtion your chosen amp into clipping to show you how loud it goes with totally imapropriate speakers. It's a scary thought. I even had one guy test a stylus with his fingernail to ascertain there was a signal present! Okay, so it would be perhaps Carlsboro, Laney, to name just two. I can match things by trawling the other threads on power/impedance, etc, so no problems there. I want the sound to be detailed and erm... Unidirectional, if that makes sense. Goth, particularly the 'Trad' guitar style from the 80's has a very bassy spirit and needs 'air' in it, due to the usual atmospheric nature of the prefered sound. I have a few test tracks which I use to evaluate anything I buy, but of course, I'm not going to know what it sounds like until it's installed in the venue and the legion of bodies are present. PVC trousers should reflect the bass nicely, where lots of backcombed hair might absorb it.... Hehe! Anyway, I'll go and have a look and let yer know how I get on. Cheers, V |
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J. Vigne Unregistered guest | If there are any other bands or clubs that you are familir with, ask what they favor for speakers. Club speakers with horns are not very interested in detail. Volume and coverage of the area are their strong suit. Wear your PVC knickers and ask nicely. |
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Lester Unregistered guest | My first thought wouuld be, unless you're planning on getting into DJing or doing live sound for local bands, look into renting a small PA system. A rental should get a power amp or powered mixer, two or four speakers, speaker stands and all cables. Probably a mic also. I could be wrong, but I don't think your budget will get you very far. And to bring up the old saying... you get what you pay for. Just glanced at ebays pro audio section. Here's a link. http://instruments.listings.ebay.com/Pro-Audio_W0QQfromZR4QQsacatZ15197QQsocmdZL istingItemList Good luck and don't forget the disco ball L. |
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Silver Member Username: VarneyBirminghamEngland, UK Post Number: 233 Registered: Sep-04 | Aye, Lester. It probably is going to be out of my price bracket for a while. There are other second hand sources to look at yet though. Hiring may be a good option to get running. I'm not the DJ, nor am I the Landlord, so it's really a case of me liasing with the owner, advising on the best way to spend the money. Instead of a disco ball, we'll be using a severed head with flashing eyes. Ah yes, J, there are a couple of bands I could talk to about their preferences.... Also, I think tweeters & woofers would be the best thing. It's not a particularly large area to fill. I certainly don't remember seeing horns in the previous setup, before we took over. Thanks for the advice, V |
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Bronze Member Username: CoryCanada Post Number: 64 Registered: Jan-05 | is there a place in england callled addison electronic? if there is you can buy disco speakers for what ever price you want to pay put your going to have to make the speaker boxes hope this is a tip |
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Silver Member Username: VarneyBirminghamEngland, UK Post Number: 238 Registered: Sep-04 | Erm.... The name MIGHT ring a bell. I don't know. I could look them up, of course. I think DIY speakerage may be a little more effort than I'd want for this particular project. Thanks. I'll look 'em up anyway. V |