Is a nice sound acheivable from an inexpensive PA?

[palantir]

Evening all

 

As some will know, I'm involved with an amateur Panto group down yer in Cornwall:

 

I was asking round for advice on buying an inexpensive PA, and was offered the loan (with option to buy) of a very sweet 10 year-old system:

 

Crown Pwer-tech 3

Court accoustics crossover

Samson 31ch EQ

2 Court accoustics LX3 cabs (15"/horn/tweeter)

2 Court accoustics LB3 subs (18")

 

There was a PSL 2030 amp of dubious reliability, but it blew up :D

So I ended up using a Yamaha 2002 to drive the subs; I know it's under powered compared to the Crown, but it did sterling work & never even got warm.

 

I ran 3 Pro-signal boundary mics (from CPC) & 2 Audio Technica PRO45s with a CD & a minidisc player into my little Behringer Xenyx 1622 mixer, and the sound was truly a thing of beauty :D .

 

Now we come to the Nitty-Gritty - We can't afford to buy the system B-) .

 

My question is, will I have to settle for a significantly poorer sound quality from a cheaper system? I'm thinking, maybe, of :

 

Thomann TA 1050 on the mains

The Yamaha 2002 on subs

Behringer xover

Behringer EQ

T Box PA 302s

T Box PA 18 subs

 

The opportunity to aquire second-hand kit down here is fairly limited, although I'd rather wait for the right kit than buy something that's just not going to cut the mustard.

 

I'd like to aceive a good clear midrange, for voice, without a shrieking top &, of course, deep, resonant bass. I used the 1st part of Vangelis' Theme from Cavafy (with the low frq. emphasised & hi-cut taking out anything over 300htz. overlaid with the beginning of Mutiny on the Bounty, to open the 2nd half & the result was rather electrifying: The drummer's ride & crash cymbals were singing a treat & it was just as well we'd had the interval for the older ones to have a pee!

 

I never had the amp levels above 35% all week, even allowing for Fader Creep.

 

So, what are my chances of putting together a decent system for not too much money? Any advice accepted gladly, as always.

 

Pete

[paulears]

What is going through it? Amateur panto group. Why do you want subs? Panto sound usually doesn't have bags of bass content, so maybe you'd be better throwing your budget at decent full range cabs that would do fine? So your question "is nice sound achievable from an inexpensive PA" is yep, certainly. Is gut wrenching sub bass available, then probably no.

 

The Thomann 302s actually don't sound that bad. Not the smoothest sounding cabs around, but for the budget are pretty good value. The amps are fine budget amps too. All depends on the music content - vocals and track are ok - and those cabs do array quite well, so if you buy lots, you have a very versatile system at modest cost - but rock and roll it won't be!

[palantir]

No, don't need R&R, but it was very satisfying when I powered up the subs & everything filled out - You know the feeling, you didn't realise it was lacking 'til it wasn't.

 

Back in my days with a R&B group in the 60s my bass amp went Sputt one night & when I asked if the absence was noticeable, the reply was " Not really, but everyone sure noticed when you came back in!"

 

It's nice to be appreciated B-) .

 

There's a lot of thunder in panto & then there's the dance music................ it was SUCH a nice sound............

[mervaka]

I dont know if it's anything to go by, but I bought some of the MA120 monitors not long ago; I assume similar specs go into their PA range. they give an amazing bang per buck, but I still wouldn't say they could be considered "industry standard"

 

this thread brought up some nice systems too! be sure to check out the mackie SRM450/SWA1501 system. it's a very clinical sound, but I dont know if thats a good thing for you or not. on the plus side, its again very good value for money!

[timtheenchanteruk]

nothing wrong with the Thomann TA amps, I have 2, just ordered a 3rd, find them good, sound good, work nicly, and the air flow is front, back, so dont get blown with warm air when the amps are next to me.

[jamesperrett]

this thread brought up some nice systems too! be sure to check out the mackie SRM450/SWA1501 system. it's a very clinical sound, but I dont know if thats a good thing for you or not. on the plus side, its again very good value for money!

 

The old Mackies are cheap at the moment but they've just announced the Mk2 version so I suspect that the new ones will be more expensive.

 

There are plenty of other perfectly serviceable alternative to the Mackies though.

 

Cheers

 

James.

[mervaka]

but surely if the MKIIs are on their way out, they'll soon be clearing the MKI stock? <_<

[Rob_Beech]

Yes, if you listen and like then it may be better to wait until a few companies shift old stock at lower prices. Then again, they're not bringing out a new model for the sake of it. So if you hear the news ones and prefer them you have to ask yourself, is it worth the extra money, I'd say probably yes it is. That all said, lets not limit our options to 2 versions of the SRM450 or indeed Mackie, as good as they are, there are other options.

[Sirch Sound]

If your talking about getting a new pair of Mackie's SRM 450's I would warn you, there not upto the build quality of there pre-decessors! Mackie products are now produced in some far easten country, tiwan maby?, and the build quality is not a patch on the cabs produced in italy. We had a coustomer who, after hiring ours, the old italian made versions, decided to buy a pair, the sale ones were the new far easten produced units, and was back in 3 times for repair before he decided enough was enough and got rid of them. Im sure there fine if your not going to be chucking them around, but its just a little warning.

 

Rich

[Rob_Beech]

They've been manufactured over there for a number of years now. I thing the main comparison was between the mkI and mkII version.