I have been doing Stereo, Home Theater, and Multi-Room audio and installations since 2000. I am currently working on a 21 zone distributed audio system and am involved in a brand new company.
I took an interest in Drum and Bass 5 years ago, and as a side project I built a portable sound system specifically built for doing live DJ shows. It has evolved from a pile of direct radiating car subs and various amps, into a legitimate sound system, while on a very modest budget. Below is a picture history of how the system has progressed. The design goal was 20-20 as flat and loud as possible.
Version 1.0 was just a pile of hifi gear with some subs, it all began here...
Version 2.0 began more of a conversion to pro oriented gear...
Version 3.0 included more subs and even more pro oriented gear...
Version 4.0 featured even more subs, and also more amps...
This is the point where I decided to seek more efficient options, the number of amps used made it impossible to power on a 20A circuit. Through some research I found Billfitzmaurice.com... The rest is a continual cycle up upgrades and builds.
I started by building 8 24" THTs...
Shortly after, I built 2 dual12 tops...
Using these cabs and some creativity I have created a system that runs off of my Explorer, WiSound Mobile. 15 min setup and tear down, great sounding, and all fits in the truck for transport...
I got a pair of used DR290s and converted them in to Kickbins, or DRwiKs:
Here are a few more recent pics of the system in it's various forms and stacks:
Here are a couple of videos from the last show I did, that poor camera mic:
[YOUTUBEID]vXjDHbb7ldY[/YOUTUBEID]
[YOUTUBEID]E9pz-L-495s[/YOUTUBEID]
Right now I am in the process of gearing up to revamp the subs.
I'm running a PC controlled Ashly NE880m for processing and Ashly FTX-2001s for amplification. The sources are decks, CD-Js and the mixer.
I have a myspace profile with a ton of pictures not posted here as well:
WiSound | MySpace
I'll try and answer the 2 most common questions I get:
1. Why did you build THTs and not a pro sub?
Because I wanted solid output to 20hz, I understand that that extension results in lower sensitivity, I overcome this with cab count. I had 8 drivers on hand that would work in the THT, so instead of spending $800 on drivers I built the cabs. We also came up with a build process and set of jigs that gets the build down to a couple of hours per cab.
2. Why are the driver covers not on?
The drivers I used are car woofers, and not the most robust ones either. They do a VERY good job, but fall significantly short of the DVC. I took the covers off to monitor the driver status better, it does tweak around the response a bit but that was something I had to deal with. When loaded with DVCs, the covers will go back on.
To conclude, this whole project has been a great learning experience and a lot of fun. I'm taking a break from doing shows for a while so I can get the system actually finished. It will probably be at least a year before I agree to do another show. I'll more than likely limit it to 2 or 3 shows a year if or when I do go back to it.
Well there you have it, a summary of my last 5 years of work.
I took an interest in Drum and Bass 5 years ago, and as a side project I built a portable sound system specifically built for doing live DJ shows. It has evolved from a pile of direct radiating car subs and various amps, into a legitimate sound system, while on a very modest budget. Below is a picture history of how the system has progressed. The design goal was 20-20 as flat and loud as possible.
Version 1.0 was just a pile of hifi gear with some subs, it all began here...
Version 2.0 began more of a conversion to pro oriented gear...
Version 3.0 included more subs and even more pro oriented gear...
Version 4.0 featured even more subs, and also more amps...
This is the point where I decided to seek more efficient options, the number of amps used made it impossible to power on a 20A circuit. Through some research I found Billfitzmaurice.com... The rest is a continual cycle up upgrades and builds.
I started by building 8 24" THTs...
Shortly after, I built 2 dual12 tops...
Using these cabs and some creativity I have created a system that runs off of my Explorer, WiSound Mobile. 15 min setup and tear down, great sounding, and all fits in the truck for transport...
I got a pair of used DR290s and converted them in to Kickbins, or DRwiKs:
Here are a few more recent pics of the system in it's various forms and stacks:
Here are a couple of videos from the last show I did, that poor camera mic:
[YOUTUBEID]vXjDHbb7ldY[/YOUTUBEID]
[YOUTUBEID]E9pz-L-495s[/YOUTUBEID]
Right now I am in the process of gearing up to revamp the subs.
I'm running a PC controlled Ashly NE880m for processing and Ashly FTX-2001s for amplification. The sources are decks, CD-Js and the mixer.
I have a myspace profile with a ton of pictures not posted here as well:
WiSound | MySpace
I'll try and answer the 2 most common questions I get:
1. Why did you build THTs and not a pro sub?
Because I wanted solid output to 20hz, I understand that that extension results in lower sensitivity, I overcome this with cab count. I had 8 drivers on hand that would work in the THT, so instead of spending $800 on drivers I built the cabs. We also came up with a build process and set of jigs that gets the build down to a couple of hours per cab.
2. Why are the driver covers not on?
The drivers I used are car woofers, and not the most robust ones either. They do a VERY good job, but fall significantly short of the DVC. I took the covers off to monitor the driver status better, it does tweak around the response a bit but that was something I had to deal with. When loaded with DVCs, the covers will go back on.
To conclude, this whole project has been a great learning experience and a lot of fun. I'm taking a break from doing shows for a while so I can get the system actually finished. It will probably be at least a year before I agree to do another show. I'll more than likely limit it to 2 or 3 shows a year if or when I do go back to it.
Well there you have it, a summary of my last 5 years of work.
I think that is the longest 'intro' post that I have ever seen!
You certainly seem committed, so welcome to DiyAudio, and good luck with your interesting obsession.
G.
You certainly seem committed, so welcome to DiyAudio, and good luck with your interesting obsession.
G.
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