Hi!
I'm net to this forum, but none the less excited to be a part of it. I have wanted to build a large, portable PA "party" system for a while now and have been googling around to look for tips and ideas. The thing is, i'm completely new to this and for me to just start throwing out hundreds of dollars on components that might not work together, sounds dumb. So here I am trying to find help. Im thinking of spending around 1000 dollars for the entire system, and as you already might have understood, size isn't an issue. I found a picture of a system i'm looking to copy in size and design
Things I know I want in my system are:
Strong punchy bass (15-18 inch drivers)
Tweeters that don't get drowned out
long battery life/energy efficient (10-12hrs, i'm connecting it to a solar panel so this is mostly for night time / cloudy days)
Car batteries since they are cheap and have a large capacity (this means I can't have a crazy high voltage system)
120+ dB rating (the plan is to bring it to festivals and play for 20+ people)
I am currently studying electrical engineering, so the wiring part wont be a problem.
So, to make a long story short, i'm asking if someone is nice enough to send me a parts list with components that would fit this criteria (drivers, amps, crossover, all the parts needed) since if you already know these things, I'm assuming it's easy.
If anyone is kind enough I'll be sure to send pics of the completed project!
I'm really excited to see what this could become.
Best regards!
I'm net to this forum, but none the less excited to be a part of it. I have wanted to build a large, portable PA "party" system for a while now and have been googling around to look for tips and ideas. The thing is, i'm completely new to this and for me to just start throwing out hundreds of dollars on components that might not work together, sounds dumb. So here I am trying to find help. Im thinking of spending around 1000 dollars for the entire system, and as you already might have understood, size isn't an issue. I found a picture of a system i'm looking to copy in size and design
Things I know I want in my system are:
Strong punchy bass (15-18 inch drivers)
Tweeters that don't get drowned out
long battery life/energy efficient (10-12hrs, i'm connecting it to a solar panel so this is mostly for night time / cloudy days)
Car batteries since they are cheap and have a large capacity (this means I can't have a crazy high voltage system)
120+ dB rating (the plan is to bring it to festivals and play for 20+ people)
I am currently studying electrical engineering, so the wiring part wont be a problem.
So, to make a long story short, i'm asking if someone is nice enough to send me a parts list with components that would fit this criteria (drivers, amps, crossover, all the parts needed) since if you already know these things, I'm assuming it's easy.
If anyone is kind enough I'll be sure to send pics of the completed project!
I'm really excited to see what this could become.
Best regards!
You’re welcome!
And
Are very hard to meet together requirements.
But, let’s start.
High efficiency while speaking about 18” sub for outdoor use - and you straightly come to the tapped horn.
Search for and think about two well-known symmetrical projects:
Cyclop CB-18
ROAR18
Suppose, you’ll feed your company by one of this, so 3-4 sheets of plywood (ask your local supplier) and good driver (from ~$300, say 18LW1400 or TBX100)
Mid/HF could be built on the famous Fane Sovereign 12-250TC fullranges, check the prices locally.
Put it in the sealed front-horn enclosure like this:
Usually it doesn’t need tweeter support because of the very clean mid-freq sounding from huge-sized front horn.
Add amps, use car one’s, they have all needed voltage and power conversion circuitry. Remember, strong bass is a power, so keeping battery - only D-class.
Start from that midbass horns and add sub only after building and real listening, while you like to really disturb your neighbours.
Thank you!!
After reading all the information that you've given me, it all seems much more possible now. I will have to look up where I can find these components locally and start picking them out.
I think i will go with the Cyclop CB-18, as it seems easier to build and after som googling also appears to sound better. It also looks better haha. I'm thinking of having two of these stacked or next to each other.
How many Mid/Hf horn do i need then if i don't want them to be drowned out. Two aswell?
Last question:
Do you know any good car-amps you could recommend that can power all of this system? I looked around a little and theres alot of different options and they all show an impedance of 4 ohms while the speakers you recommend are at 8 ohms (atleast the subs).
once again, thank you for all the help!!
After reading all the information that you've given me, it all seems much more possible now. I will have to look up where I can find these components locally and start picking them out.
I think i will go with the Cyclop CB-18, as it seems easier to build and after som googling also appears to sound better. It also looks better haha. I'm thinking of having two of these stacked or next to each other.
How many Mid/Hf horn do i need then if i don't want them to be drowned out. Two aswell?
Last question:
Do you know any good car-amps you could recommend that can power all of this system? I looked around a little and theres alot of different options and they all show an impedance of 4 ohms while the speakers you recommend are at 8 ohms (atleast the subs).
once again, thank you for all the help!!
Also, the 1000 dollar spending limit was just an example, I am willing to spend more if thats whats needed for this system.
Thanks!
Thanks!
What city is that (in the background?).
USD 1000 = 2 18" drivers plus wood for the enclosure.
You need $$$ for batteries, amps, lo-mids, tweeters,....too - so USD 1000 cannot suffice for "a large, portable PA "party" system".
For USD 1000 you get the soundboks 2 ... That is a small portable mono bluetooth speaker.... hmm... (it isn't bad given it's cost).
USD 1000 = 2 18" drivers plus wood for the enclosure.
You need $$$ for batteries, amps, lo-mids, tweeters,....too - so USD 1000 cannot suffice for "a large, portable PA "party" system".
For USD 1000 you get the soundboks 2 ... That is a small portable mono bluetooth speaker.... hmm... (it isn't bad given it's cost).
You can do a lot with a medium quality 15" driver and compression horn and the Altec 828 cabinet you show. A horn mounted directly to the top rather than what is shown is also recommended. $1k is not a lot but if you can build or find the cabinets used (plenty out there) you might come within budget. Others will know more about the power side of things but that cabinet that does everything 'wrong' but puts a smile on my face every time I listen to mine. It's very forgiving and was designed in the day when the ears did the talking.
+1 on the Fane 12-250tc, or the 15-300tc, absolutley awsome drivers for the money, with some decent subs it doesn't get much easier to get a good sounding efficient system on a budget, add a sure dsp to the setup, with a bit of tuning they can be pretty amazing.
I have no idea about the 250tc, but Ive got a pair of 15-300tcs as my current "make do" tops and they do need EQing really, after which they sound OK, otherwise they are a bit peaky in the 2khz region.
If you are going cheap for the tops then perhaps its worth budgeting for some kind of DSP processing unit too (perhaps a second hand Behringer 8024 DEQ)
If you are going cheap for the tops then perhaps its worth budgeting for some kind of DSP processing unit too (perhaps a second hand Behringer 8024 DEQ)
Yeah, the 15" triple cones do need some EQ, but EQ is easier than a crossover.
I'd go for a pair of those and then add subwoofers as needed.
Chris
I'd go for a pair of those and then add subwoofers as needed.
Chris
No, guys, just follow my posts and capture that idea.
Only 12-250tc, because volume and cutting sheet was deeply optimized for 12”.
Really it needs some fluffy cotton wool inside HF cone for some kind of damping on-axis HF beam. At your hearing preferences.
Last edited:
The system in the picture is not what I would call portable, more movable. If you want to be able to take it anywhere easy you might be disappointed.
Years ago, I had (in parts now) a system like that; pull cart with 8 inch air tires, with a small table on top, 2x 105ah deep cycle batteries (40+kg) on the bottom, speaker above that, and in the flip up table top the 600w car amp, little mixer, laptop etc. I wrapped 2 flags around the table's legs to protect the speakers from rain and wind.
Being about 80 kilo's in weight, I could still walk it around fine, but not much more as I needed a van or pickup truck and someone else to get it in to move it any further then walking distance.
So my new project is putting something together that is modular and lightweight. I like to be able to move the whole setup easy as it will get used a lot more.
With Class D amps and lithium batteries I can get rid of 40kg in weight compared to the AB and lead I was using, that makes a big difference.
New system will be more powerful, sound better and probably stay under 25kg.
Years ago, I had (in parts now) a system like that; pull cart with 8 inch air tires, with a small table on top, 2x 105ah deep cycle batteries (40+kg) on the bottom, speaker above that, and in the flip up table top the 600w car amp, little mixer, laptop etc. I wrapped 2 flags around the table's legs to protect the speakers from rain and wind.
Being about 80 kilo's in weight, I could still walk it around fine, but not much more as I needed a van or pickup truck and someone else to get it in to move it any further then walking distance.
So my new project is putting something together that is modular and lightweight. I like to be able to move the whole setup easy as it will get used a lot more.
With Class D amps and lithium batteries I can get rid of 40kg in weight compared to the AB and lead I was using, that makes a big difference.
New system will be more powerful, sound better and probably stay under 25kg.
Last edited:
I also thought that using the 15" as a full range speaker, when driven properly the deeper bass (around 45 hz) began to interfere with the reproduction of highs, creating a slightly odd but subtle distortion. Not a problem for me as I'll be using subs < 120hz
- Status
- Not open for further replies.