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Speakers, Powered or Not and Why
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Author:  MacDaddyGator [ Sat Sep 20, 2008 5:28 am ]
Post subject:  Speakers, Powered or Not and Why
I am going to buy a new powered mixer and speakers or a mixer and powered speakers. I want to be able to put out between 250 and 500 watts per side RMS. If you were starting from scratch, what combination would you go with? I am not going to do this commercially, but I like to have big parties with about 200 people, sometimes in halls. I want the system to sound great, but I don't want to spend a rediculous amount of money. I am also OK with buying used equipment. I am tied to the computer and hard drive method though.
Author:  MorganLeFey [ Sat Sep 20, 2008 5:56 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Speakers, Powered or Not and Why
I have used both but I prefer powered speakers and mixer. welcome to the forum btw :)
Author:  mckyj57 [ Sat Sep 20, 2008 7:25 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Speakers, Powered or Not and Why
MacDaddyGator @ Sat Sep 20, 2008 8:28 am wrote:
I am going to buy a new powered mixer and speakers or a mixer and powered speakers. I want to be able to put out between 250 and 500 watts per side RMS. If you were starting from scratch, what combination would you go with? I am not going to do this commercially, but I like to have big parties with about 200 people, sometimes in halls.

200 people is a lot of people. Luckily you probably only need to cover sound
well for about 100 at a party (vice a club or concert).

There are quite a few past threads about this:

http://www.karaoke-forum.com/viewtopic.php?t=14433
http://www.karaoke-forum.com/viewtopic.php?t=14260
http://www.karaoke-forum.com/viewtopic.php?t=13973

The choice between powered speakers and passive ones is always interesting. The disadvantage of powered are:

1. Requires its own mains power, sometimes hard when speaker on a stick.
2. Some people say more delicate (though modern ones are pretty hardy)
3. Heavier to lift up.

The advantages are:

1. By definition well-matched to the amp.
2. Can usually be used as monitor in other setups.
3. Fewer cables -- one from mixer or EQ to speaker.

The advantages of powered mixers are that they are usually an all-in-one package, have good provision for monitor speakers that can be added cheaply, and various built-in features. On the other hand, their 7-band or 9-band EQs are pretty worthless, and lots of times they don't have inserts for compression.

Quote:
I want the system to sound great, but I don't want to spend a rediculous amount of money.

Ain't that always the goal. Hard to get to, though. 8-) It is kind of important to know your budget. You will get advice from $1,000 to $5,000 right now.

I am liking the Yorkville NX55P as a powered speaker for crowds like that. They are about $700-900 apiece. For karaoke, you might get away with just that. If there is DJ involved, or you really want *great* sound, then you will want a subwoofer as well.

I am a big fan of the low-cost Yamaha mixers because of 1) good sound, 2) the single-knob compression, 3) on-target feature sets with good compression, and 4) nice price point. I use the MG124CX for karaoke.

You will also want some EQ and other speaker management features. I have been using the dBX DriveRack PA and loving it. That is a bit pricy at $500 -- you could get a BBE 362 and a dual 31-band EQ for about $250 instead. But it takes up 3 rack spaces and doesn't sound as good (IMO).

My recommendation on mics is wired for your main vocal mics. I like the Sennheiser 835 and the Shure SM58 for karaoke. There are better vocal mics, of course, but those usually have supercardioid patterns best left to experienced singers. The Senn and Shure will be very durable.

I like the AKG WMS40 for a low-cost wireless mic. That is what I use.

If I were going to go with a powered mixer, I would look at the Yamaha 5014c with the S115V speakers. That will cost you about $1400 exclusive of cables and mics. It will sound pretty good and be simple to set up. If you have less than $2000 to spend total that is my recommendation.

If you want to go lower-end yet you can look at the Behringer setups. They will run you quite a bit less than the above, but are not as high-quality. A lot of people use them and sound pretty good. They don't have near the resale value of Yamaha or Yorkville, though. And you will hear people dissing them all the time. Some of it is warranted, but if you read the reviews on zZounds or Musician's friend you will see a lot of people likeing them. I like Behringer OK, but in general I want something better now. I would use them as my first recommendation for an EQ or a compressor.

So it is all up to you. The choice depends on ease of setup requirements, sound target, resale value, and budget.
Author:  MacDaddyGator [ Sun Oct 05, 2008 7:34 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Speakers, Powered or Not and Why
Thanks for the input. Are there any nonpowered mixers with the features of the EMX5016CF? I hate losing the EQ or the compressor.
Author:  MorganLeFey [ Sun Oct 05, 2008 8:19 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Speakers, Powered or Not and Why
yamaha make the mg124cx it has the compressor built in...a friend of mine from Michigan put me onto it and I have been happy with it
Author:  mckyj57 [ Sun Oct 05, 2008 8:21 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Speakers, Powered or Not and Why
MacDaddyGator @ Sun Oct 05, 2008 10:34 pm wrote:
Thanks for the input. Are there any nonpowered mixers with the features of the EMX5016CF? I hate losing the EQ or the compressor.

Absolutely. I use the MG124CX and MG166CX mixers, which have all the features except the EQ. A seven-band EQ is kind of worthless in my opinion, anyway. You can do as well or better with the channel EQ and the sound-card EQ on a PC.
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