# DJ Speakers



## xcoldricex (Apr 28, 2007)

Anyone have experience with any self-powered DJ speakers? I'm going to start gigging again in places that don't have their own setups... so I'm probably going to invest in a set. Anyone have any recommendations? I don't think DIY would be a good route unfortunately. unless I could find empty ballistic speaker boxes. I guess I could make my own monitors though... so recommendations for that would be cool too.

common ones seem to be the jbl eons (sound tinny to me), mackie 450's... etc. yorkville's?

Chad?


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## JasonPaul (Jul 2, 2007)

xcoldricex said:


> Anyone have experience with any self-powered DJ speakers? I'm going to start gigging again in places that don't have their own setups... so I'm probably going to invest in a set. Anyone have any recommendations? I don't think DIY would be a good route unfortunately. unless I could find empty ballistic speaker boxes. I guess I could make my own monitors though... so recommendations for that would be cool too.
> 
> common ones seem to be the jbl eons (sound tinny to me), mackie 450's... etc. yorkville's?
> 
> Chad?


Whats the budget? Are you investing in a sub?


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## xcoldricex (Apr 28, 2007)

probably not investing in a sub. $1200ish? i haven't really looked into pricing yet


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## xcoldricex (Apr 28, 2007)

monitors aren't included in that. ^


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## xcoldricex (Apr 28, 2007)

did a little reading - seems like the mackies overheat a lot. yorkville nx55p's get good words as well as fbt 4a's (the just released himaxx40a's look interesting but i don't know the pricing...)


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

What type of events? Do you know what a red light means when it starts flashing? What style of music?


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## xcoldricex (Apr 28, 2007)

just smaller events - wine bars, bars, etc. smallerish venues. 

haha yes on the red light.

funk, soul/neo-soul, disco, downtempo, electro/electroclash, hip-hop, crunk...

there's some restock fbt maxx6a's that might fit the bill?


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

Well, I like the sound of the SRM450's, they are nice and natural and not harsh like other powered designs. Although I use a ton of JBL I feel the entire EON line BLOWS BALLS, they just sound horrible IMHO. I have never had any experience with the mackie's overheating, and I have used them as stage monitors with the heatsink angled down. I never used them for anything crazy though but have seen people play them ignorantly loud.

Caveat is the lack of low end, they play just as low as the ****-box EONS but for booty wiggling you will want a sub with either model, even Mackie's single 15 or single 18 to fill it in. It ain't gonna get you to rock star status but you can get the whole rig in the room in few trips. A big boy can handle 2 450's, one in each hand. Dolly in the sub and mixer, then the Rest is stands, music and [gasp] lighting. I've never heard the FBT's or yorkville but have used Yorkville cabs before and liked them.

Chad


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## ///Audience (Jan 31, 2007)

ive actually had good responses with the JBL Eon line... keep in mind that they may not be the Top SQ drivers, but to play DJ music and reproduce pretty well they do the job nicely... 

Ive been meaning to get one of the Fender Proaudio sets for my acoustic guitar and a little side DJing at parties.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

BassBaller5 said:


> they do the job nicely...
> 
> .



If that job is drilling thru porcelain


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## JasonPaul (Jul 2, 2007)

The Makie 450s are a good choice or you might want to look into the Ev SxA line. Both are very warm sounding setups and have not let me down at a gig yet..


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## xcoldricex (Apr 28, 2007)

yeah i hate the jbl's - a friend has them. very lifeless.

also heard good things about the Ev SxA line - a bit pricey though. I may be able to get a set of the NX55p for 1k...


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## jgsacoustics (Dec 7, 2007)

I've been lurking here forever, but now I finally feel I have something worthwhile to offer to a thread  .

I'm a salesperson at Full Compass Systems, as well as a gigging musician and live sound & recording tech. I've used a lot of powered speakers, including all that have been mentioned thus far (minus the yorkville's). My first recommendation would be QSC's HPR series. The HPR122 sounds amazing, more like a studio monitor than a PA speaker. It's very smooth through the midrange. This will push your budget though. If you can get a good deal on those FBT's, that is another great option, and will have a lot more low end than the QSC's.

I definitely agree with everyone else on the JBL Eon series. It was alright several years ago, but they just don't stack up anymore. The SRM450's aren't as good as they used to be either. Mackie moved production to China about a year and a half ago, and they are not the same speaker anymore. The EV SXA250 is a great option, but like the QSC, it lacks the low end of the more DJ oriented speakers, and both the EV and QSC are wood cabinets, and quite heavy. 

I hope you don't think I registered just to sell something to you, but feel free to contact me at Full Compass. I'm definitely happy to offer deals to friends with similar interests. Email me at bayer (at) fullcompass.com , or call me tomorrow at 800-356-5844 x1184. 

BTW, I currently have a '06 Elantra GT with a CDA-9835, the cheap Aura amps that PE had on closeout last year, a Dayton Titanic MK3 12", Peerless Exclusive 5.5" & LPG 25nfa up front. My winter project is going to be Raammatt.

Nice to meet all of you, look forward to participating more in this forum.


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## xcoldricex (Apr 28, 2007)

the qsc's are ~60lbs - comparable to the other speakers aside from the FBT... 
the himaxx40a seems to be ideal - but probably out of my price range unfortunately.

thanks for the input - welcome to DIYMA!


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## xcoldricex (Apr 28, 2007)

oops i guess the yorkvilles are 40 lbs too.


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## JasonPaul (Jul 2, 2007)

xcoldricex said:


> yeah i hate the jbl's - a friend has them. very lifeless.
> also heard good things about the Ev SxA line - a bit pricey though. I may be able to get a set of the NX55p for 1k...


The Sxa 100 is in your price range and you can probably find a good deal on the Sxa250 (I use these). A friend has the B-52 act15s and they sound just as good as the mackies for a little cheaper.. There is so much out there I would stop by a guitar center or some other store and get a good listen to see what you like. I play tribal, funky, deep and progressive house and the Evs I own sound the best with this style of music so far.. Got a mix Cd?

The JBL eon series do not impress me and I have never used the FBT or Yorks...


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## xcoldricex (Apr 28, 2007)

the ev's seem to be rated pretty low (power wise). the sxa100 are probably too small - i'd probably go with the 250 or 360's. you don't have to run a separate sub playing prog/deep house??

from reading some msg boards and talking to a couple dealers it seems

fbt has an edge over yorkville on bass output and sound quality. i'm not sure where the ev's would fit in.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

jgsacoustics said:


> I've been lurking here forever, but now I finally feel I have something worthwhile to offer to a thread  .
> 
> I'm a salesperson at Full Compass Systems, as well as a gigging musician and live sound & recording tech.


We've got another one!!!!!

Man we have bought a LOT of **** from you guys 

Mackie is still loaded with RCF right?


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## xcoldricex (Apr 28, 2007)

hear the ART-522A are nice... too $$$ though


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## JasonPaul (Jul 2, 2007)

xcoldricex said:


> the ev's seem to be rated pretty low (power wise). the sxa100 are probably too small - i'd probably go with the 250 or 360's. you don't have to run a separate sub playing prog/deep house??
> 
> from reading some msg boards and talking to a couple dealers it seems
> 
> fbt has an edge over yorkville on bass output and sound quality. i'm not sure where the ev's would fit in.


The sub and top cabs I bring depend on the gig and how big the room is. 80% of the time I bring one sub but if its a big hall I will bring everything.. I have 2 CV folded horns and a 1 bagend sub but none of my subs are active. I haven't heard either one of those brands so I couldn't tell you how they would stack up against the EVs.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

JasonPaul said:


> The sub depends on the gig and how big the room is. 80% of the time I bring one sub but if its a big hall I will bring everything.. I have 2 CV folded horns and a 1 bagend sub but none of my subs are active. I haven't heard either one of those brands so I couldn't tell you how they would stack up against the EVs.


What is the delay needed between the Earthquake and Bag end, or do you not use them at the same time? I would imagine that with the two that the delay of the earthquakes combined with the phase angle fo the bag end would cause one to grey early setting that up!

Chad


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## xcoldricex (Apr 28, 2007)

thanks for the input - any good places to look for used equipment?


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## JasonPaul (Jul 2, 2007)

chad said:


> What is the delay needed between the Earthquake and Bag end, or do you not use them at the same time? I would imagine that with the two that the delay of the earthquakes combined with the phase angle fo the bag end would cause one to grey early setting that up!
> 
> Chad


I usually only use the Bagend for small venues.. The horns are plenty loud for most of the rooms I play in. I use the BBE DS26 and it does makes life alot easier when setting up a room..


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## JasonPaul (Jul 2, 2007)

xcoldricex said:


> thanks for the input - any good places to look for used equipment?


Audiolines.com has some EV demo stuff for good prices..


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

JasonPaul said:


> I usually only use the Bagend for small venues.. The horns are plenty loud for most of the rooms I play in. I use the BBE DS26 and it does makes life alot easier when setting up a room..


Are you coupling the mouths of the horns? you know that by coupling the mouths that it acts as one much larger horn thus lowering your cutoff frequency right?


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## JasonPaul (Jul 2, 2007)

chad said:


> Are you coupling the mouths of the horns? you know that by coupling the mouths that it acts as one much larger horn thus lowering your cutoff frequency right?


Never bothered to try since they performed very well set up spaced apart.. Maybe I will try it next weekend and see whats better in a big room.. Most of the time in the bigger halls I do a few times a year I have the EVs and CVs set FOH and the Mackies as ROH.


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## jgsacoustics (Dec 7, 2007)

JasonPaul said:


> Audiolines.com has some EV demo stuff for good prices..


 I can get you the SXA100 or SXA250 *NEW* for cheaper than their used or open box options.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

JasonPaul said:


> Never bothered to try since they performed very well set up spaced apart.. Maybe I will try it next weekend and see whats better in a big room.. Most of the time in the bigger halls I do a few times a year I have the EVs and CVs set FOH and the Mackies as ROH.


Center packing subs is the only way to go IMHO, horn loaded or front loaded, MUCH better coverage AND more output from coupling... like sometimes OVER 3dB. That's like doubling your power! And we all like FREE power don't we?

Think about it. You have 2 subs spaced apart, walk the room, you will find dead nodes out at angles where the subs cancel each other and/or interact with the room. Right down the middle you will have "power alley" and that's it. If you put the subs together in the center they CANT cancel each other, just interact with the room and the room interaction is actually less because you are dealing with one source to interact with as opposed to two! "Power alley" now widens and becomes more omni directional (actually a figure 8 pattern) as opposed to sat a beam shooting down the middle of the room with dead nodes out at angles. I'll try to dig you up some polar plots if I get some time.

Free power, less interaction, there's no reason NOT to do it 

Chad


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## JasonPaul (Jul 2, 2007)

chad said:


> Center packing subs is the only way to go IMHO, horn loaded or front loaded, MUCH better coverage AND more output from coupling... like sometimes OVER 3dB. That's like doubling your power! And we all like FREE power don't we?
> 
> Think about it. You have 2 subs spaced apart, walk the room, you will find dead nodes out at angles where the subs cancel each other and/or interact with the room. Right down the middle you will have "power alley" and that's it. If you put the subs together in the center they CANT cancel each other, just interact with the room and the room interaction is actually less because you are dealing with one source to interact with as opposed to two! "Power alley" now widens and becomes more omni directional (actually a figure 8 pattern) as opposed to sat a beam shooting down the middle of the room with dead nodes out at angles. I'll try to dig you up some polar plots if I get some time.
> 
> ...



I haven't had any cancellation issues with the left right front of house setup, they are also about 30+ feet apart. I do however run my bagend in the middle for small room setups. I ran into cancellation issues with the old Yamaha 18" subs I used. They only sounded good in the middle but they were front firing cabinets. As far as power I have plenty of it but I will give it a try next weekend and see how much of a difference there is.. 
Do you Dj chad?


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

JasonPaul said:


> I haven't had any cancelation issues with the left right front of house setup, they are also about 30+ feet apart. I do however run my bagend in the middle for small room setups. I ran into cancelation issues with the old Yamaha 18" subs I used. They only sounded good in the middle but they were front firing cabinets. As far as power I have plenty of it  but I will give it a try next weekend and see how much of a difference there is..
> Do you Dj chad?


It's how I got my start and intrest in pro audio. Now I do FOH, Monitor, and system engineering. Well NOW it's on the side that I work "for the man."


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## JasonPaul (Jul 2, 2007)

It also depends on the room you are in and its limitations.. 
What would you do in this room?
The main hall is very narrow and long and the set up for the dance floor is in the middle and I am stuck on the one side. If I look over my Dj rig the wall straight ahead is the closest. Left and right of the DF is very deep so to cover the floor the left and right is probably better but I will test the coupling out and see.


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

chad said:


> Center packing subs is the only way to go IMHO, horn loaded or front loaded, MUCH better coverage AND more output from coupling... like sometimes OVER 3dB. That's like doubling your power! And we all like FREE power don't we?
> 
> Think about it. You have 2 subs spaced apart, walk the room, you will find dead nodes out at angles where the subs cancel each other and/or interact with the room. Right down the middle you will have "power alley" and that's it. If you put the subs together in the center they CANT cancel each other, just interact with the room and the room interaction is actually less because you are dealing with one source to interact with as opposed to two! "Power alley" now widens and becomes more omni directional (actually a figure 8 pattern) as opposed to sat a beam shooting down the middle of the room with dead nodes out at angles. I'll try to dig you up some polar plots if I get some time.
> 
> ...


That is why I'm working on my current project.
I too feel horn loaded subs have a certain "Je ne sais Quoi"


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

JasonPaul said:


> I haven't had any cancellation issues with the left right front of house setup, they are also about 30+ feet apart.
> I do however run my bagend in the middle for small room setups. I ran into cancellation issues with the old Yamaha 18" subs I used. They only sounded good in the middle but they were front firing cabinets.


Regardless of the design of the system there simply WILL be nodes out at angles and a power alley, The problem with DJ's is that they don't get to walk the room they have to sit behind things for the most part. there wil always be artifacts from having seperated LF elements, speaker design cannot defy the laws of physics.



JasonPaul said:


> As far as power I have plenty of it.


Dear god man! See a doctor! You are the FIRST person I have heard say that they have "plenty of power, either in amplification or coming out od the wall 

Chad


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## durwood (Mar 7, 2007)

chad said:


> Center packing subs is the only way to go IMHO, horn loaded or front loaded, MUCH better coverage AND more output from coupling... like sometimes OVER 3dB. That's like doubling your power! And we all like FREE power don't we?


OH man, this reeks of monophonic....where's abmolech?


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

durwood said:


> OH man, this reeks of monophonic....where's abmolech?


Sometimes you just gotta do what you can 

I'm mono up to 250 cycles in that rig


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## JasonPaul (Jul 2, 2007)

chad said:


> Regardless of the design of the system there simply WILL be nodes out at angles and a power alley, The problem with DJ's is that they don't get to walk the room they have to sit behind things for the most part. there wil always be artifacts from having seperated LF elements, speaker design cannot defy the laws of physics.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 You do not need a ton of power when you use horns.. That’s part of the design of a horn, higher output with less power.. A couple Crown CE amps do the trick just fine for me at less then half gain. I think everyone knows there will always be some small voids in sound as in with any portable rig. As for cancellation I do walk around the room after I set up using my laptop connected to the ds26 and tweaking as needed. I have only run across a major dead spot on the floor with my front firing Yamaha subs. Laws of physics or not the CV horns in the same location don't cancel out like the front firing designs and the whole dance floor is nicely filled with bass..


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

JasonPaul said:


> You do not need a ton of power when you use horns.. That’s part of the design of a horn, higher output with less power..


I guess it depends on what you are going for  I often times look at the last few dB as oposed as the first few, I'm guilty. I know I'm carrying X amount of power then it comes to the economics of how many people I can feed with how much truck space. Front loaded or not I'm reaching a target level with X amount of power, whatever is left after that is the amount. In other words I do not assume that I can go with less power with my horns, I feed them as I would any other cab, with a ton of power, or as much as I can afford and I can get out of the distro/wall. If I don't need it then I dont, but it really comes in handy. My horns node just like every other cab, even the CV's that I have used.

Cool trick with the CV's is to get 4 and mouth to mouth them 2 wide 2 tall giving you that surface area. One big mondo horn, it's unbelieveable for the price. And if you go WAAAAY back when Cerwinski released the first design, that was the recommended array technique.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

On the note of horns, check out this little booger:
http://www.peavey.com/news/article.cfm/action/view/id/266/20072807.cfm

A dealer has some on order locally and I plan to take 4 of them out to see what they will do. The excursion and power handling of the Low Rider meets the folded horn... Hmmmmmmmm.

Chad


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## JasonPaul (Jul 2, 2007)

chad said:


> I guess it depends on what you are going for  I often times look at the last few dB as oposed as the first few, I'm guilty. I know I'm carrying X amount of power then it comes to the economics of how many people I can feed with how much truck space. Front loaded or not I'm reaching a target level with X amount of power, whatever is left after that is the amount. In other words I do not assume that I can go with less power with my horns, I feed them as I would any other cab, with a ton of power, or as much as I can afford and I can get out of the distro/wall. If I don't need it then I dont, but it really comes in handy. My horns node just like every other cab, even the CV's that I have used.
> 
> Cool trick with the CV's is to get 4 and mouth to mouth them 2 wide 2 tall giving you that surface area. One big mondo horn, it's unbelieveable for the price. And if you go WAAAAY back when Cerwinski released the first design, that was the recommended array technique.


I try to only feed the subs what they need to get the job done.. I like my equipment and would like to keep it working for as long as possible.. If I had lots of $$ I would by a few more horns and play but thats not gonna happen with a baby on the way..  Not to mention I can barely fit all of the gear I have now in my truck..


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

JasonPaul said:


> I try to only feed the subs what they need to get the job done.. I like my equipment and would like to keep it working for as long as possible.. If I had lots of $$ I would by a few more horns and play but thats not gonna happen with a baby on the way..  Not to mention I can barely fit all of the gear I have now in my truck..


Oh I hear you brother I hear ya! Congrats on the little one coming!

Chad


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## JasonPaul (Jul 2, 2007)

chad said:


> On the note of horns, check out this little booger:
> http://www.peavey.com/news/article.cfm/action/view/id/266/20072807.cfm
> 
> A dealer has some on order locally and I plan to take 4 of them out to see what they will do. The excursion and power handling of the Low Rider meets the folded horn... Hmmmmmmmm.
> ...


1600 watts each cabinet?  
6k for subs = a lot of mains to keep up..



chad said:


> Oh I hear you brother I hear ya! Congrats on the little one coming!
> 
> Chad


Thanks...


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

JasonPaul said:


> 1600 watts each cabinet?
> 6k for subs = a lot of mains to keep up..
> 
> 
> ...



It's all horn 

1/2 of one side ****ty pic at a rednek "speaking event"...... here come the jokes..... you don't wanna know.










That's 63-20K active 3 way, subs fed off of an aux, center packed. There's usually 2X of that per side stacked end on end 2 subs on end bottom, two tops on end ontop of them. horns only do 40Deg H


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## JasonPaul (Jul 2, 2007)

I wont start with the jokes but whats with the cut off shorts..  

Here is a pic of one of my old setups.. 2 - 21" sub cabinets and some top cabs loaded with RCF 15s.. Along with my custom Dj console and yes it was portable.. Great setup a few years back and the EP2500 amps are still kickin..


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## BlueAc (May 19, 2007)

chad said:


>


Mullet= Business upfront + Party in the back


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

JasonPaul said:


> I wont start with the jokes but whats with the cut off shorts..
> 
> Here is a pic of one of my old setups.. 2 - 21" sub cabinets and some top cabs loaded with RCF 15s.. Along with my custom Dj console and yes it was portable.. Great setup a few years back and the EP2500 amps are still kickin..


Nice !!


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

JasonPaul said:


> I try to only feed the subs what they need to get the job done.. I like my equipment and would like to keep it working for as long as possible.. If I had lots of $$ I would by a few more horns and play but thats not gonna happen with a baby on the way..  Not to mention I can barely fit all of the gear I have now in my truck..


When I came from the DJ world to live I was immediately shocked with how much power it took to get the job done. Recorded music is mastered and leveled out, live is VERY dynamic and we all know that speakers can take an incredible amount of power for a very short duration. I can go deeper into this if one wants, it's important to know.



JasonPaul said:


> I wont start with the jokes but whats with the cut off shorts..
> 
> Here is a pic of one of my old setups.. 2 - 21" sub cabinets and some top cabs loaded with RCF 15s.. Along with my custom Dj console and yes it was portable.. Great setup a few years back and the EP2500 amps are still kickin..


It was a "unique event" to say the least.

Countersunk SL1200's I always liked that albeitg sometimes tough to get used to when you like that edge there when riding the pitch control. The club I worked in had them recessed, mine were in their cases so it had an extended edge so it wasn't that bad. Nice to see them set up disco style and not battle style, I like mine lower, closer and flanking the mixer though... But I'm a short bastard 



BlueAc said:


> Mullet= Business upfront + Party in the back


He's ACTUALLY pretty sharp with the gear for what he is, has a voice like wolfman jack to boot


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## JasonPaul (Jul 2, 2007)

chad said:


> When I came from the DJ world to live I was immediately shocked with how much power it took to get the job done. Recorded music is mastered and leveled out, live is VERY dynamic and we all know that speakers can take an incredible amount of power for a very short duration. I can go deeper into this if one wants, it's important to know.
> It was a "unique event" to say the least.
> Countersunk SL1200's I always liked that albeitg sometimes tough to get used to when you like that edge there when riding the pitch control. The club I worked in had them recessed, mine were in their cases so it had an extended edge so it wasn't that bad. Nice to see them set up disco style and not battle style, I like mine lower, closer and flanking the mixer though... But I'm a short bastard


I am fully aware of the power need to reproduce...  The disco style booth was modeled after a few clubs I have spun at in NYC with floating tables.. Try riding the pitch when the tables are hung from rubber bands. Its not fun untill you get use to it and I made that booth the same way..


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