Amplification Gear / Power Amplifier or Powered Mixer?

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fenderguy4life

New member
Okay so here's the scenario. I'm all set for recording. Got mics, got audio interface, got DAW, got headphones. I record guitars and vocals. I'm currently running my audio interface into an old Yamaha mixer/PA amp (from the 70's) to power a pair of PA speakers for general listening purposes. It works okay, but has a few bugs. For one, I'm running the interface into the mixer through the front mic channels. And it's BIG. It sits on my desk. One of my channels crapped out on me yesterday. The volume dropped and is not equal to another channel. Not a huge deal. I have six channels. 4 good ones left :/ - But I'm considering replacing this behemoth.

I'm considering a powered mixer or a power amplifier. The benefits of a powered mixer is the ability to use it live. Is there any benefit to choosing a power amplifier? I'm assuming both units will have proper inputs from out of my audio interface and into my PA speakers. I like the sound of the PA speakers (Yamaha - they match the powered mixer). I'm not ready to go down the powered monitor road just yet. Been there. Took them back due to economic restraints. Like I said, I do like the PA speakers for general listening anyhow. I mix with the headphones then see what it all sounds like through the PA speakers. Advice?

Newbie here. Trying to put together my chain in the most economical / efficient way.
 
Ideally you would want to look at reference monitors. I can't imagine any PA speakers are giving you a good representation of your mix.
Most studios (Even on a budget home level) will have some kind of audio interface feeding a pair of active monitors.

Some use interface into power amp into passive monitors, but I'd guess that active ones are more popular.
They're designed for critical listening and as such aim to be as neutral and realistic as possible.
A PA is probably designed to be loud at any cost, or have impressive bass and cutting highs; IDK, whatever you want to hear in a club or venue.


That aside, a powered mixer is just a power amplifier and a mixer combined.
The benefit is that is saves space and presumably a bit of money.
That's about it really.

If you always plan to use the amp and mixer together, I don't see any advantage of buying separate units.
 
Steenamaroo said:
Ideally you would want to look at reference monitors. I can't imagine any PA speakers are giving you a good representation of your mix.
Most studios (Even on a budget home level) will have some kind of audio interface feeding a pair of active monitors.

Some use interface into power amp into passive monitors, but I'd guess that active ones are more popular.
They're designed for critical listening and as such aim to be as neutral and realistic as possible.
A PA is probably designed to be loud at any cost, or have impressive bass and cutting highs; IDK, whatever you want to hear in a club or venue.


That aside, a powered mixer is just a power amplifier and a mixer combined.
The benefit is that is saves space and presumably a bit of money.
That's about it really.

If you always plan to use the amp and mixer together, I don't see any advantage of buying separate units.
Click to expand...
Thanks. My thoughts are kinda a mess. Thanks for your reply. I kinda figured powered monitors are the way to go for now. I'm more of a musician trying my hand at recording. So I tend to think in terms of gear aimed at the end of the process. Plus what I can use live as well as during the recording process. I'll get it figured out eventually lol.
 
Anybody have any experience with these?
1. Alesis Elevate 3 Studio Monitors
2. M-Audio AV 40 Studio Monitor

I had these
-KRK Rokit Powered 5 Generation
Could not justify the expense at this time.
 
Hey no problem.
You're thinking smart trying to buy gear for a range of uses, but there isn't really a middle ground where live amplification meets critical listening, as far as I know.

I can't really offer any comments on those monitors, I'm afraid, but I'm sure someone will.
I have used alesis m1 active mk2 and samson resolv a6 though and was less than impressed.
I ended up saving for mackies and never regretted it.

Make sure you get some great first hand and reliable reviews if you're budget monitor shopping. ;)
 
Well I'm off to the store today. I'm leaning towards the M-Audio. I realize these are low-end monitors, I just wanna get this bulky old PA/Mixer off my desk. At $150 a pair these aren't much of an investment. It has the connections I need and will get the job done. I'll be monitoring this thread while I'm out if anybody has any better recommendations. Thanks!
 
Ok, cool.
If at all possible do test the speakers out before you buy, and make sure to use some commercial music that you know very VERY well.
That's a good way to get a quick idea of how suitable they are.

If you can listen to a few different brands and models in the same environment that'll help too.
 
Remember that you have to LEARN your monitors. Load the songs from a CD that you know sounds good, and load it into your DAW, then listen how it sounds through your monitors. When mixing, burn a copy to disc, and take that and listen on as many different systems as you can - car, friend's car, living room stereo, friend's stereo, etc. Learn how our mix sounds on different systems so you can adjust the mixd based on your inexpensive monitor's sound.

Using a PA system (whether it is powered mixer, or non-powered and separate amp or powered PA speakers) is fine for listening, but don't mix based the sound from it.
As far as buying a powered mixer vs unpowered mixer and amp, its personal choice, and depend on overall use. If anything goes wrong on your powered mixer - crapped=out channel, left side amp, etc), the whole system is junk. Separates allow you to replace just the bad part.
 
mjbphotos said:
Remember that you have to LEARN your monitors. Load the songs from a CD that you know sounds good, and load it into your DAW, then listen how it sounds through your monitors. When mixing, burn a copy to disc, and take that and listen on as many different systems as you can - car, friend's car, living room stereo, friend's stereo, etc. Learn how our mix sounds on different systems so you can adjust the mixd based on your inexpensive monitor's sound.

Using a PA system (whether it is powered mixer, or non-powered and separate amp or powered PA speakers) is fine for listening, but don't mix based the sound from it.
As far as buying a powered mixer vs unpowered mixer and amp, its personal choice, and depend on overall use. If anything goes wrong on your powered mixer - crapped=out channel, left side amp, etc), the whole system is junk. Separates allow you to replace just the bad part.
Click to expand...
I've heard that before, about learning your monitor. Good advice. I can tell you one thing now, the M-Audio AV 40s sound way smoother and detailed than those PA speakers. They also sound a ton closer to my CAD MH110 headphones. I know this stuff isn't high performance pro gear, but it gets me in the ballpark. Price of admission is very reasonable as well. Thanks all for the nudge I needed. Oh, and my desktop is MUCH less cluttered lol.
:thumbs up:
 
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