Karaoke Forums

LadyC,
I agree with Brian about the P-250 and hip hop, DJing and rap.
The P-250 will work for a room of 200 people depending on the people and the room.
When I heard it everyone was "kicked back" in the park.
A room full of loud, rowdy drunks will be another story.

I went to the Fender site and found that the P-250 weighs 53 lbs, and the PD-250 weighs 55lbs.
For me weight is an issue.
You can always upgrade with powered speakers.
I havn't shopped for power speakers but I do know that Mackie has some that are 46lbs, and if you shop around you should have no problem finding lighter.
Brian should be able to direct you to some without too much difficulty, and get you a good deal.

Lightweight, powerful speakers go get Yorkville NX520s powered speakers. 550W 12" with horn, under 40 lbs, more power than the Mackies, sound great plus a 2/10 warranty.

I know they aren't the top of the line, but I've been having some great success with Gemini's 15" 5way speakers. They only weigh 35lbs., and they look impressive. The sound is more than enough- and a pair is less than $400 (much less).

Good. Cheap. Light. That's for me!

_________________
Let's Kick the Tires and Light the Fires!

OK, people. What are you all forgetting?
Talent, folks, talent!

_________________
Imagine!

I take this line from the Kevin Costner Film "Field Of Dreams"

"If You Build It They Will Come"

LadyC,
The Mackie SRM450 active speakers are a little on the expensive side with a msrp of $800 each. You cannot buy factory direct.

Timberlea mentioned power. Don't think about power unless there is a maj differance in the speaker's or an amp's output. You need 10 times the power to double the sound. A little more power to one speaker may give you less sound than if you send a little less power to a more sensitive speaker.

The Mackies expense is due to performance rather than power. They're not just powered, but active speakers. They use 2 amps for thier 2-way speakers and 3 amps for thier 3-way speakers.

Carvin's powered speakers start around $400. You can pay less if you buy a set of 2 or 4.

I think that you would do well to look at your basic systems first, and worry about upgrades later.

Carvin has some nice packages. So do other companys. I happen to like Carvin. I think that you get a lot of "Bang-for-the-buck" from them.
This doesn't mean the you can't get just a good or a deal eleswhere.

You might consider pairing an efx mixer with powered speakers of the same differant brands, or pairing a powered efx mixer with passive speaker of the same or differant brands but, I would recommend that you stay with a package to optimise the components, and for cost.

I would recomend that you stay away from the Peavey Escort, (not enough umph).

I would recommend the Passport P-250 for low cost Pro sound and portability for $600. You could upgrade to the PD-250 for $850, but I wouldn't.

For $1200 I would recommend the Carvin P800-832 or for $1300 I would recommend the P1200-832 for high quality Pro sound and reasonable portability.

There are some Mackie packages that I would recommend but give me a chance to give them a closer look.

Weight and cost are both issues. I may consider something pricy but not heavy.

The Yorkvilles are also active. Compare the specs, warrany etc. Yorkville is at www.yorkville.com.

Timberlea,
The NX 520 is a 1" and a 12" the only way to compete with the sound of a mackie..is to buy both the high/mid and the sub.. AGAIN.. a costly unit!
where you can get a mackie in a 1" and a 15" for a few dollars more. I'd personally like to be able to feel frequencies go down to 35 hz than be stuck at 65 hz anyday .. then i know where i'm at in the songs and my singers will too..

We run subs anyways.

Timberlea,
do you use the poles or use the "flyware" I seem to like the idea of "rigging" my systems in the clubs it leaves alot less equipment to move from club to club.. and if with a system there i can lease it to a club with an operator for thier live events in a packsge deal.. and to me "Poles" look kinda tacky... but that's me..

Hey Brian, we use poles. There is a pic of the set up on another board. Still learning how to use computers. It takes the two of us around 20 mins give or take to set up or tear down. That's from the time the truck is opened to turning on the system and starting. About 40 min if alone. Going to see if I can attach a pic.

For some reason it didn't work.

On the Mackie SRM 450's if you can find a price online for $649 or so, print it (preferably a couple sites have it for that price, print both) and take them into your local Guitar Center or other pro audio shop in your area and ask them to match the price. Guitar Center did that for the bar owner who I helped to build a system.

Also I'd like to say to knightshow that his system on page 1 is great for a system. We use the Audio2000's AKJ style mixer and also the DK Millenium series. On thing we did differently was add a 400 disc Sony CD carosel with Leader CDG decoder. It works pretty well.

LadyC,
Why don't you go to your local Wal-Mart and pick up a few bags of dogfood and find out exactly what kind of weight you can easily handle.
I did a couple of days ago, and found that 55lbs was more than what I could easily handle and that 50lbs was more than what I want to handle.

I've been in a clinical trial, and have dropped down to 100lbs. I'm now at 110lbs, which isn't much for some one who stands 5'8".

The point is:
If weight is an issue, find out EXACTLY what your limitations are and THE4N shop.

I'm down sizing my system. I'm looking at 46lb speakers and 46lb monitors by Carvin. The Carvin mixer/amp that I'm looking at weighs 28lbs. I'm also thinking about adding one or two cabinets that weigh either 31lbs or 40lbs.
You can buy Carvin 33lb monitors and 36 lb loudspeakers for $199 each.
You can get a P800-822 package that has the 28lb P800, 8 channel, mixer/amp with effects, and the 36lb 822 loud speakers, and 2 mics for $990.
The 33lb, 722 monitors cost $199 each. If you buy these as a package also, but I'm not sure about what you would save.

There are other brands. I can only comment on the brands that I know about. One of the things that makes Carvin attrctive to me is the fact that thier cataloge has technical info, prices and weights.

Folks: another hint....
Another fact people should be aware of.. some manufacturer's catalogs and retailers list thier weights at actual "Shipping" weights.. not the "REAL WORLD" weights.. so find out what the show room weight is .. without the packaging and other things that they add.. those 5-7 lbs. or even 10 lbs. per item really add up per system. but remember amps and speakers are not light.. and full racks are still heavy no matter the size...

also anything on caster wheels makes the world an easier place to live in when moving things by yourself on flat land and keeps you from destroying your body....


Good luck..

Brian D.