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Looking for advice on a budget PA set up!


ace

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Hi all,

 

Just wondering if you could give me some advice. I am looking at investing in a small PA (Suitable for 60 - 70 people in a small inclosed room). Including a small mixer and a radio mic. There are an awful lot of budget systems out there - can anyone tell me if any of them are any good? I am looking for a cheap set up which actually works, is reliable and doesn;t feel too cheap!

 

Thanks for your thoughts,

 

Chris

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Usual questions:

 

What do you consider cheap?

 

Is the mic to be hand-held / clip on / headset?

 

What (in addition to the mic) will be going through the system?

 

Will the audience be sitting /standing / dancing?

 

Will the be silent / talking / shouting?

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Hi Mark!

 

Thanks - I should probably have answered these questions in advance!

 

>What do you consider cheap?

 

I consider cheap value for money.- I guess I am looking to spend somewhere between £500 - £900.

 

>Is the mic to be hand-held / clip on / headset?

 

Hand held

 

>What (in addition to the mic) will be going through the system?

 

probably a cabled mic, and maybe a CD player

 

>Will the audience be sitting /standing / dancing?

 

Sitting

 

>Will the be silent / talking / shouting?

 

Just talking!

 

Many Thanks,

 

Chris

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Hi

 

A realy good speaker system is the B-52 Matrix 1000 system its realy good. It contains 1x 15" sub and 2x 10" tops 700 watts in total sounds great and can pick them up from £800 we have 3 If you are interested. You can have a listen if you want I'm sure you will be impressed.

 

Thanks

 

Jake

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If you're after a compact system look at something like a Stagepas300

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Yamaha-Stagepas300-P...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

(Apologies for the link but I knew it would have a useful photo)

 

4 mic chanels (including line in) plus I think 2 stereo line channels. THe mixer-amp is built into the back of 1 speaker and there is cable/mic storage in the other with an option of putting the mixer on a mic stand (with an adapter).

 

Its a 2x150W system but doesn't provide phantom power (although from what little you've said you may not need it) and you need top hats to mount the speakers on stands.

 

These would also give you the option of using them as monitors if/when you get a bigger system

 

Mi-ul

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I used a stagepas for a quick and easy conference gig a couple of weeks ago, and it sounded good, felt solid and did exactly what the it seems the OP is looking for.

 

edit: apart from the radio mic bit. In this case we used a base level audio technica uhf radio mic to cope with that bit.

 

M.

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Hi Dunc,

 

My only problem with that being is I am a long way away from any of their high street shops. Anyone know if there are any similar suppliers anywhere towards North Wales? ie Chester, Manchester...

 

Thanks

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Am I going to regret getting a system with an Amp rather than active speakers?

 

Just been re-reading the post and the replies - you haven't really described what you want to do - are you after something portable or is it a semi-permanent install?

 

What use will be made of the room - press conferences/ lectures / etc?

 

Would you be better with ceiling tile speakers / multiple speakers? Does it need to be packed down? Is set up time / storage space important?

 

Are you likely to need to expand the kit in the foreseeable future?

 

Mi-ul

 

Sorry to ask so many questions - I started thinking about this too much I think - more red wine needed!

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Hi guys,

 

Many thanks for your thoughts,

 

This is to be a portable set up, ie it can be packed away but only used for vocal presentations in a small style lecture room. It is also likely that we will want to expand the equipment in the futre so it needs to be multipurpose!

 

Enjoy your wine!

 

Chris

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By the sound of things this system is to be used for presentations and similar style events where vocal reinforcement is the important bit. Am I correct?

 

In such cases, 'intelligibility' becomes very important. This is controlled by a number of factors with the equipment being one of them.

 

When I've used budget range equipment for situations like these before, intelligibility has been compromised simply because the speakers and/or microphones are not capable of producing a clean, articulate response. There are some reasonable systems out there for less money but you really need to audition these to check their suitability.

 

Also, when only dealing with vocal reinforcement and background music you can get away with much smaller loudspeakers - 6 to 10" drivers. Expanding the system to suit larger spaces simply needs the addition of more speakers (possibly with additional amplification and delays) but still keeps the system relatively small for transportation and setup.

 

Steve

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