advice wanted on PA rig for Dance school

[DanDini]

My sister-in-law runs a dance school that need a PA system to rehearse and perform too. They work in a hired church hall (standard building, not high vaulted ceiling etc), so it will not be wired permanently.

 

They perform to around 200 people and have less than £500 to buy something. They use a cd or mp3 player as a source. It's pretty basic.

 

I see that you can buy cheap DJ style outfits on ebay:

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=370081876664

 

Does anyone know if these are likely to do the job?

 

I've been to many of the shows and they are not used to high-fidelity so almost anything will be an improvement.

 

Thanks,

 

Dan

[MarkPAman]

No doubt it will make a noise. :)

 

I'd avoid anything with piezos in, they don't sound good. Even more so piezos + a 15" as there'll be a big hole in the mid frequencies.

 

I see you've edited your budget up slightly, so have a look at Thomman.de. rather than ebay.

 

Maybe something like this would be a starting point.

 

 

 

Edit: link fixed.

[DanDini]

No doubt it will make a noise. :)

 

I'd avoid anything with piezos in, they don't sound good. Even more so piezos + a 15" as there'll be a big hole in the mid frequencies.

 

I see you've edited your budget up slightly, so have a look at Thomman.de. rather than ebay.

 

Maybe something like this would be a starting point.

 

 

 

Edit: link fixed.

 

Thanks, Mark.

 

The active speaker looks good. What are the benefits of this over a PA amp and passive speakers? Also, you specced it with quite a fancy looking mixer - could one of the smaller ones not do the job just as well? If so which one would you recommend.

 

Thanks again, this looks very promising.

 

Dan

[MarkPAman]

The active speaker looks good. What are the benefits of this over a PA amp and passive speakers?

 

This is a bi-amped system so you're replacing a stereo crossover & 2 stereo amps, which you'd probably want a rack for.

 

For me, in a small system,

+ease of setup,

+no amp(s) or crossover to store, carry or plug in.

+amp(s) should be a very good match for speakers

 

-break an amp & you've lost the speaker too / break a speaker & the amp's useless.

-a speaker with amp(s) in it is heavier

 

There's lots of threads here about that discuss this here - have a bit of a search. My opinion is not shared by all! :)

 

Also, you specced it with quite a fancy looking mixer - could one of the smaller ones not do the job just as well? If so which one would you recommend.Dan

 

Ahh. Guess it's a quirk of the Thomann website and it's reverted to a default. I meant to link to that package, but change the desk for the cheaper 1002*, which has 2 mic inputs, & will still let you plug in CD, mp3, MD & a laptop at the same time if you want & . You'll need to get the cables to connect your chosen source(s) but should still get change from your £500.

 

*Note that this desk has (balenced) jack outputs so you also need to add a couple of product no 199116 or similar.

[smalljoshua]

O/T note about the Thomann website.

 

If you click disable IFrames once you have created your package it allows you to use the URL to link to the correct page.

 

Josh

[MarkPAman]

Thanks Josh.

[johndenim]

I'm with Mark on this one.

 

I don't like piezo's either.

Plus they have reliability issues.

Personally I would not trust any company stating the rms power handling in 'peak power' :)

 

How can this system be labeled, "1200w" when the amp is only 600 w rms?

Iv'e not heard this system or the box stuff from Thomann but have heard great reviews of the latter.

In fact, I HAVE heard some 15" full range cabs from them, can't remember model,I think they were just the entry level cabs but they sounded ok for the app.

(CD playback)

 

John Denim.

[DanDini]

Great, that's very useful.

 

OK, with the iframes removed (thanks Josh!), here's a bundle:

 

http://www.thomann.de/gb/prod_cbundle_31.h...amp;iframes=off

 

That would appear to be everything except for the appropriate connections from the source to the deck?

 

The cables you mentioned were XLR to 1/4" jack but I wasn't sure what they were for as I'd assumed the 9 metre XLR-XLR were to go to the speakers?

 

Does that make sense?

 

Dan

[MarkPAman]

The cables you mentioned were XLR to 1/4" jack but I wasn't sure what they were for as I'd assumed the 9 metre XLR-XLR were to go to the speakers?

 

The other cables were for if you change to the 1002 desk as it does not have XLR outputs. The 1222 in your link has XLR & will not need the extra cables.

[smalljoshua]

Your link doesn't seem to have worked but this link includes

 

2x THE BOX PA302 (12" Speaker)

 

1x BEHRINGER XENYX 1002

 

2x CORDIAL CTM 10 MP-SW (Jack - XLR) - You need these becuase the Mixer only has Jack outputs.

 

2x MILLENIUM BS-2011 (Speaker Stand)

 

Total: £466

 

Josh

[MarkPAman]

Only thing with that is you'll then have unbalanced runs to the speakers with those leads. Using the leads I linked to above will keep things balanced & avoid potential hum problems.

[Shez]

Your link doesn't seem to have worked but this link includes

 

<Slightly OT>

 

These links contain a session ID in them, which will expire after a random length period of inactivity. Although arduous, it might be worth posting the contents of these packages as none of the links will work for long...

 

</Slightly OT>

[MarkPAman]

OK

 

I think Dan has the info he needs, even given the dodgy nature of the links.

 

If not, let me know & I'll list everything that I'd order.

 

ETA .........................Thanks Shez

[jamesperrett]

One thought - do you need a mixing desk at all with these speakers? You could simply feed the CD player/mp3 player straight into the speakers themselves which would make life simpler for the average, non technical dance teacher.

 

Some powered speakers even include a very basic mic/line mixer to handle situations like this without the need for any additional gear.

 

Cheers

 

James.

[DanDini]

One thought - do you need a mixing desk at all with these speakers? You could simply feed the CD player/mp3 player straight into the speakers themselves which would make life simpler for the average, non technical dance teacher.

 

Some powered speakers even include a very basic mic/line mixer to handle situations like this without the need for any additional gear.

 

Cheers

 

James.

 

 

Thanks, James. I had considered that, but in a way I want to be able to offer them some flexibility as I think with some better kit they may start doing some more inventive things. I must say that this forum is extremely responsive and among the most useful/least full of nutters that I've come across. Thanks to all.

 

Dan