Hi, first post, hope I chose the right section to post this in. First, some background: I'm a college senior at Florida State University and have been DJing for maybe 5 months now, after many years of wanting to be one and finally saving up the necessary money. My current source equipment is two turntables and a mixer (one of the digital kind that lets you control the music on your computer with the turntables in addition to just playing vinyl), which I play through the speaker set-up at this link:
Peavey PV Full Range PA Speaker and Subwoofer System at zZounds
1 PV118D, 1 PV115D, and 1 PV115
Normally I'm a pretty DIY kind of guy and would have built my own speakers from the get-go, but with this being a sort of life-long dream for me I decided to go with something safer (I know somebody who has a very similar set up that has worked for him for a long time and always impressed me). I've been very happy with these so far, as they do a very good job of filling up the tiny 1000 sq ft home I live in with plenty of booming bass for my fellow intoxicated college students to dance to.
However, I'm now looking to do something a bit more ambitious, and would like some wisdom before going forward. A few local MCs and I have decided we would like to use the house as a little venue. The plan is to build a raised deck (maybe 15 feet long by 8 feet deep or so) for use as a stage, build some more speakers for the backyard (the property lot is about 9000 sq ft, about 5000 of which is the backyard, which I consider pretty big), and start doing performances on the stage earlier in the night with an audience of maybe around 200.
There is no real cap to my budget for these new speakers, but it would be nice to keep it under $1000. With that in mind I've started looking at DIY audio plans and so far the set up (for subs) that seems most recommended for my kind of usage sounds like it would be 2 of the Tuba 30's by Bill Fitzmaurice. As for tops, I really am not sure what will give me the best bang for my buck, and additionally I am not all too concerned about them because I have used my current PV115's outside and they seemed to have plenty of headroom while still projecting clear sound about 30 feet away, which is the most distance I'm really concerned with. I'm not concerned about amps too much, there seems to be plenty available used on craigslist that will more than meet my needs within my price range, so I will get whatever is available.
If somebody could affirm that the Tuba 30's would be a good choice for my needs, or a recommend a superior alternative, as well as give me some direction in choosing tops, it would be greatly appreciated. Also if I missed any details that would be useful in determining my needs, let me know.
Peavey PV Full Range PA Speaker and Subwoofer System at zZounds
1 PV118D, 1 PV115D, and 1 PV115
Normally I'm a pretty DIY kind of guy and would have built my own speakers from the get-go, but with this being a sort of life-long dream for me I decided to go with something safer (I know somebody who has a very similar set up that has worked for him for a long time and always impressed me). I've been very happy with these so far, as they do a very good job of filling up the tiny 1000 sq ft home I live in with plenty of booming bass for my fellow intoxicated college students to dance to.
However, I'm now looking to do something a bit more ambitious, and would like some wisdom before going forward. A few local MCs and I have decided we would like to use the house as a little venue. The plan is to build a raised deck (maybe 15 feet long by 8 feet deep or so) for use as a stage, build some more speakers for the backyard (the property lot is about 9000 sq ft, about 5000 of which is the backyard, which I consider pretty big), and start doing performances on the stage earlier in the night with an audience of maybe around 200.
There is no real cap to my budget for these new speakers, but it would be nice to keep it under $1000. With that in mind I've started looking at DIY audio plans and so far the set up (for subs) that seems most recommended for my kind of usage sounds like it would be 2 of the Tuba 30's by Bill Fitzmaurice. As for tops, I really am not sure what will give me the best bang for my buck, and additionally I am not all too concerned about them because I have used my current PV115's outside and they seemed to have plenty of headroom while still projecting clear sound about 30 feet away, which is the most distance I'm really concerned with. I'm not concerned about amps too much, there seems to be plenty available used on craigslist that will more than meet my needs within my price range, so I will get whatever is available.
If somebody could affirm that the Tuba 30's would be a good choice for my needs, or a recommend a superior alternative, as well as give me some direction in choosing tops, it would be greatly appreciated. Also if I missed any details that would be useful in determining my needs, let me know.
If you build Tubas you can't use them with the PV sub unless you also add some DSP processing, so why not just build some more bass reflex subs. The current bang for the buck sub driver is the Peavey Lowrider 18, in a 6cuft box tuned to 35hz it'll take full rated power all night long. There are lots of cheaper drivers out there but they won't take as much power or produce as much output. As for tops sounds like you don't need anything extra at the moment so don't bother unless you really want to, but you will need lots more bass output for outdoor events so it wouldn't be a bad idea if you ended up with 4 Lowrider subs eventually.. or a pair of double 18s. and then you can focus on getting tops that can keep up, and on a budget that is going to be hard to do.I'm currently refurbishing a pair of double 15+2 boxes that could keep up but there is $1200 in drivers alone.
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As a side note, what about neighbours?
As soon as you setup that large system in the open, it will be heard a mile away.
As soon as you setup that large system in the open, it will be heard a mile away.
Hmm I think I'm leaning towards reflexes again anyways for the sake of build simplicity. Thanks for pointing me in the direction of the Low Riders, they seem pretty ideal for my usage and price point.
The neighbours are a bunch of other college kids who are either at bars or throwing their own parties on the weekends.
The neighbours are a bunch of other college kids who are either at bars or throwing their own parties on the weekends.
Build the subs into the stage - go for a big tapped horn with a bunch of long-throw 12"s. Make sure it has a grille though - drivers don't like beer cans. Something that size could go really loud and low. Way below what most "subs" will do. Be careful with turn-table feedback, though.
If it were mine, here's what I'd do...
Build a stage-sub (you'll need an amplifier), use the Peavey sub outside.
Get a pair of cheap-ish tops to use outside, then consider adding a 2nd sub if necessary.
Get it all set up nicely with a speaker management system, like the Behringer DCX2496.
Chris
If it were mine, here's what I'd do...
Build a stage-sub (you'll need an amplifier), use the Peavey sub outside.
Get a pair of cheap-ish tops to use outside, then consider adding a 2nd sub if necessary.
Get it all set up nicely with a speaker management system, like the Behringer DCX2496.
Chris
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