Karaoke Forums

I'm looking to upgrade my wharefdale Pro Titan 12 speakers. I am using a QSC GX5 amp with a behringer mixer. I have got some Kj/DJ Xmas party gigs scheduled in larger venues (banquet hall type rooms - sitting approx 250 people).
Also, being fairly naive at this, would the amp have enough output to drive 4 speakers as opposed to just 2.
Any recomendations on speakers and general ideas on this would be most welcome.

If you look at the specs for your amp, you will see that by running both channels at 8 ohms you have 500 watts, providing your speakers are 8 ohm speakers. If you add 2 more 8ohm speakers, you will then be running at 4 ohms, giving you 700 watts.

Instead of buying new mains, you may want to think about buying a crossover and a sub-woofer to cover these banquet hall gigs. You'll get more low end, and better separation with this type of set up. Not to mention, it'll sound so much better than your current set up.

According to the specs of your QSC GX5, if you run one channel of the amp at 4 ohms (your mains), and the other channel at 8 ohms (your sub-woofer), that will give you 850 watts for the mains, and 600 watts for the sub-woofer.

Here are the specs of your amp, so you can see for yourself:

http://www.guitarcenter.com/QSC-GX5-Ste ... 1388205.gc

Hope this helps.

The numbers above are incorrect.

If you were to run your mains off ONE channel, then you are now at a 4 ohm load, so that's 350 watts to each speaker. If you run a sub off the other channel, that is a 8 ohm load (assuming it's a 8 ohm sub....many are 4 ohm), so 500 watts to the sub. Power is not "created" by daisy-chaining speakers, it is still virtually the same amount of total power, even at the different resistance levels!

A better upgrade would be to buy a powered sub, and not take power away from your mains. You are going to lose clarity in your mids and highs if you drop them from getting 500 watts each to feeding them 350 each, and that is not worth sacrificing to improve low end, in my opinion.

I agree, buying one sub would be the best upgrade you could make, but get a powered sub, not a passive sub (unless you are going to buy an additional amp as well. A good powered sub is going to run you about $600+. If that's above your budget, save up for it! You don't want to buy a cheapy powered sub!

In my opinion, running the same amount of power through different speakers is just going to make is sound "different" not particularly sonically better, so if you want to upgrade your main speakers, go ahead and upgrade the amp as well, and up the power, not particularly the size.

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C Mc
KJ, FL

These guys are spot on. The least expensive way to upgrade your sound would be to add a subwoofer to what you already have. I suspect that your Titans have enough sound to cover the 250 people if you add a subwoofer to the mix. It will round out the overall sound and make it fuller. With a pair of powerful speakers with 15" woofers in them you might be able to get by without a subwoofer, but in this case with a pair of 12" speakers, adding one or two subs is the way to go to improve your overall sound.

If you're in the US you could add a Carvin passive 15" sub starting at $250 + shipping and as was mentioned, you can run both mains off one channel of the GX5 and the sub off the other. Carvin also has a powered 18" sub for $550 + shipping.

If you can afford it, a Yorkville LS720P is a good powered 15" subwoofer that goes for around $719 + shipping, you may even be able to find it for less? The powered woofer has it's own built in amplifier and only needs a wire from your mixer to bring it the unamplified music signal. Very simple to do.

Remember, you don't need or want to blast all 250 people at a wedding/Xmas party/corporate party etc. Your main audience is on or near the dance floor. As long as people in other parts of the room can hear the music you're fine. Some people will move away from the music so they can talk. There is a difference between sound levels/volume levels at a wedding/Xmas party or at a nightclub/bar.

Are you in the US? Not many people in the US have Warfedale speakers. From what I've read they're decent, but Warfedale doesn't have much distribution in the US. I'd love to see and hear them just to know more about them.

This is very true! A 250 guest wedding requires a lot less sound than 250 drunk 25-year-olds. It's important to consider the format of the event when deciding what you need to bring.

Keep in mind that renting or hiring sound is a great alternative to owning equipment that you only need for a few gigs each year.


They have been making in-roads with MI stores and such for the past couple of years. IMO the particular speakers the OP owns are absolutely bottom-of-the-barrel, dirt cheap speakers that are sold for low cost, and nothing else. Yamaha Clubs would be a noticeable upgrade, honestly.

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

As posted above, go with the Yamaha Clubs (S115V) and you won't need no sub (for most venues).

Thanks guys for all your advice, alot to think about and consider here. I live in Alberta, Canada so most stuff I buy from the US has taxes added to it when i receive it, just the nature of the beast and costs I have to put up with! Anyway, the Titan 12's are a fairly low end speaker but for the price i paid (180Cdn each if i remember correctly brand new) do a fairly nice job in the usual smaller venues i have been doing. Most people compliment me on the overall sound i am producing but i do realise with better speakers and other gear for that matter, , it would obviously sound much better! Lonnie put me onto the QSC GX5 amp and the mixer over a year ago along with decent Shure mics and cables and all in all, i am happy with the sound the combination produces.
If it wasn't for the excellent advice you all give, i would have stopped doing this a long time ago, so rest assured us newbies value it immensley.
I have never used a sub before into the overall mix, so this is kinda intriguing. Much to think and ponder I guess.
Anymore advice is always welcome, thanks, Mick.

Yorkville is a Canadian company and will likely be among the most cost-effective options for you. I am really not big on most of their products compared to similar-priced offerings from other manufacturers; but with import duties and such, your cost differs and so does the value you get for your dollars.

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

That's what I get for trying to read specs from a mini laptop at 4am.....but hey...I was right about the sub-woofer!

Another Yorkville sub to consider is the LS608. It's an 18" sub, 91 pounds and about $600-$650. I can tell you that my Electro voice SX300 speakers sound great and put out a good amount of bass for 12" speakers, they very powerful and can put out a tremendous amount of sound. However, they sound even better with a sub or two. If you don't want to get rid of your Titans right now then adding a sub or subs is the way to go.

As was mentioned, the Yamaha S115V club series are good sounding, inexpensive speakers with 15" woofers that could replace your titans, but even they can benefit from adding a sub or two. You could keep the titans for your smaller shows or for side fill. It all depends on how much you want to spend to get better sound and more sound for larger crowds.

You need a sub or two no matter what, so that should come first, then you can decide if you need to upgrade your main speakers after you've heard the titans WITH a sub.