PA system

R

RickyRecordo

New member
I've been looking at PA systems for about a month, and was curious to get some opinions. This would be for coffeehouse-type venues, 1-2 acoustic guitars, 1-2 vocal mikes (maybe 3). Both guitarists have separate amps. I'm working with somewhere in the neighborhood of $1000, although I haven't necessarily told the salesmen that. First store recommended a Mackie head (list $599), and 2 12" Peavey speakers, $1000 with the speaker stands thrown in... but that still doesn't include mikes and stands. They were recommending Shure 58's or a comparable Peavey mike. ... The second store went with SoundTech S 60 PA, which is more of a package or kit... a 150 watt head, with 12" speakers; for mikes, they went with Sennheiser mikes... a kit including 21' of cable and a stand.
 
I will probably get some flack for this but still!

2 off Behringer B1500x Subs

2 off Behringer B1020 Tops

1 off Berry Ep2500 Amplifier

1 off Berry UB1622fx mixer

2 off active DI boxes (acoustic guitars)

Senn E845 Mics

This system would provide you with sound quality & quantity way beyond what you would expect for the outlay.

Tony
 
One combination is:

1 Behringer EP1500 Power Amp $299.99
2 Behringer B1520 Eurolive 15 Inch 2-Way Loudspeaker $399.98
1 Behringer Eurorack UB1202 Mixer $89.99
1 Behringer DI20 Ultra DI 2-Channel Active DI Box/Splitter $24.99
2 Shure SM58 Mics $199.98
2 Lo-Z Microphone Cable $9.98
2 Tripod Mic Stand with Boom $39.98
2 16-Gauge Speaker Cable $25.98

Total cost: $1090.84

Pricing is from Musicians Friend. There are clearly some lower cost amp options and some higher cost mixer options. I’d go for the better mixer, which add something like $100 to the cost. Many other similar options exist.

Ed
 
Thanks to both of you who replied! Helpful. Ed Dixon, that combo is right in my price range. Interesting you both recommended Behringer. Thanks.
 
Ay that price point Behringer is probably gonna give you most bang for the buck, the sound wont be A+ and cross your fingers about reliability, but you will get a good set of features.
 
vox said:
Ay that price point Behringer is probably gonna give you most bang for the buck, the sound wont be A+ and cross your fingers about reliability, but you will get a good set of features.
Click to expand...

The loudspeakers are very well made with decent drivers that are reallistically spec'd. and excellent crossovers that would do justice to Hi-end HI-FI speakers ( large poly caps and high capacity air cored inductors)

The amps are QSC clones (probably made in the same factory in China)

The mixers you either love or hate.

I have been lugging round a selection of berry P.A. equipment for two years now and have still not had a fault not even a channel strip on one of my 4 berry mixers. Maybe I am just lucky?

Tony
 
A local theatre company recently replaced all their older floor speakers and monitors with Behringer speakers.

They have a farily high tech setup with a 48 channel board, a dozen Shure wireless mics, and a sound booth with lots of gear. Thus far the sound guy there, who also does sound for our band, has been quite pleased with the new additions.

Ed
 
Ed Dixon said:
A local theatre company recently replaced all their older floor speakers and monitors with Behringer speakers.

Ed
Click to expand...

When I was after some new P.A. gear to work with local bands I wanted somethig that would scale for different sized venues from 100 pepes sized pubs up to small halls holding perhaps 800-1000 pepes.

I originally sent for a pair of the 1020s basically to take apart and also get an idea as to the audio quality.

To say I was amazed at what I found would be an understatement.

The 10" Bass driver had a very large magnet and the tweeter is a true compression driver (no peizo crap)
all wired together thru a superb x-over.
The cabinet is braced 18mm MDF and there is a generous amount of BAF wadding used to dampen the cab.

I now use up to 8 of these (4 per side)
with up to 4 B1500x subs (2 per side)
These are Bi-wired thru the Berry Digi x-over to twin 750watt/channel power amps.

The subs take 40-150hz and the tops 150-18000 both bandpassed with 48db/octave slopes.

The mid-range and top end are as good as anything I have heard up to 2x the price. The bass end is not quite to this standard and tends to loose clarity at high levels but still good for the price.

So far (despite my best efforts) everything still works as new.
 
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I've not heard the Behringer speakers but the amps seem fine. I'd get a Yamaha MG mixer, there's a couple around that size that would be good for you. Behringer DI boxes (the chunky silver ones with rubber corners) and *definitely* Sennheiser E835 or E845 mics over SM58s any time!!

I feel like tops and subs might be overkill for your sound, in which case I'd be tempted by 15" speakers. That's what I did in a similar situation. I think then I'd run the acoustics through the mains and let them use their amps as personal monitors (i.e. use the line out from the amps so you get the best of that expensive EQing, FX etc combined with your cleaner headroom).
 
noisedude said:


I feel like tops and subs might be overkill for your sound, in which case I'd be tempted by 15" speakers.
Click to expand...

The trouble with the units that use a 15" driver plus tweeter is that the woofer has to take the mid-range as well , up to 1500-2500hz and unless the bass driver is very well designed makes the mid sound a bit muddy. This is usually compensated for by adding lots of high end in an effort to increase clarity.

The same would apply for acoustic guitars.

I agree about the berry DI boxes they work very well .
 
Yeah I know, it's all a compromise but the flip side is that an acoustic band turning up with subs and tops is going to look a bit funny, not to mention the extra car/van space needed!

I decided that for the venues I was playing (and the style I was doing at the time), volume was more important that tone! The Yamaha 15"s, SE15 or something like that, sounded nicer than the Peavey Eurosys 3s I actually bought. But the Peaveys looked like they might take a better kicking, and if I remember rightly were lighter and cooler-looking.

All important factors ..........
 
noisedude said:
Yeah I know, it's all a compromise but the flip side is that an acoustic band turning up with subs and tops is going to look a bit funny, not to mention the extra car/van space needed!

..........
Click to expand...

Thats why I recommend the Berry B1500x subs + B1020 tops . The subs are probably slightly smaller than your Peaveys and the tops are very small.

All that is needed is a linking pole which saves the purchase of decent support stands.

The pose factor is probably not very high but the sound quality (and at the end of the day its this that matters) is pretty good.

I did a gig last night in Hinkley Leics. and used this very combo with a single amp. Even put the kick and D.I.ed bass thru it + 2 vox. Got some nice comments about the sound.

Tony
 
That's what I get for not being familiar with the cabs then :rolleyes:

They sound like a good buy, I may have to go and have a listen in case I need to 'upgrade' my current setup ......!
 
Believe it or not, I work in similar venues with a Fender Passport PD250. The Passport comes in a 150 watt and a 250 watt version, and the deluxe versions (PD150/250 as oppsed to P150/250) sound a hell of a lot better. I bought the PD250 for 750 bucks. It comes with 2 brand-X 18' mic cables and 2 mics which are ebay fodder for sure. I think they are re-branded Shure PG58's. I use it with a Sennheiser e835 and my Taylor plugged straight into the board. 4 channels, which can run mic/XLR or instrument/DI, and 2 pairs of stereo channels for inputting a CD player, etc.. Stereo tape outs for recording off the board. About 36 lbs. with everything.
God knows I wouldn't use it for a band, where 1000 watts would be in order, but for an acoustic solo act or a duo, it's entirely adequate. That, a couple of boom stands, and a couple of dynamic mics will do a coffeehouse very nicely, and it's wicked easy to move. I strongly recommend you try one out before committing to a bunch of Behringer hardware. You might be surprised.-Richie
 
Hey Ricky,

I will sell you my Mackie 1402 ( with an SKB case ) for $450.00 shipped and even throw in a Digitech S100 multi effect unit .

I also have a pair of JBL TR225 speakers that I will let go for 400 for the pair ( you have to figure out the shipping )

This was my main board for 4 years and I did the same type of gig that you want to do. It is in great shape, well taken care of . Drop me a PM if you are interested .


I just listed the complete P.A. sytem in the ads section for a killer price .
 
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