Martin audio speakers

[Alecstarlite]

I have martin audio f18 &f15 bins linked together and using a crown xti 4000 amp but enough power I think , also f12 &f15 on top linked together , but seems not a lot of power I am using the martin controller as well , my question is

Are my amps to small or what , the controller clips and I want more volume , so what or should I do

Thanks

Alec

[paulears]

Moderation: I note you posted the same post again today - so as quite a few people have seen it, I've deleted the new one and moved this original from technical chat to sound, which may be better. Paul Mods

 

I suspect you didn't include enough detail So you have F15s and S 18s? Not sure if you meant S rather than F?

 

You mention just one amp, but then ask if your amps are powerful enough? So we're probably a bit clueless.

 

The amp is pretty well the biggest you can run of a standard 13A supply (ignoring the usual far less current demand on startup) - but they're capable of a decent output level. Running just one F15 at 8 ohms your amp sounds matched, but output is not ear crunching, just loud. The amp will work down to 2 Ohms bridged - so linking the F12 and F15 will provide a 4 ohm load and your available power is pretty respectable. I guess you have another amp you are using to drive the subs via the controller - and again, you have ample volume, but of course your subs are going to sound a little less substantial than the tops. If the controller clips, then you are overdriving it, so back off. I assume that the amps are running flat out when this happens and the problem is insufficient volume in the room. If this is the case, then you need to establish what you need more of. Probably lacking in the sub department, rather than tops - but the solution is really to buy more of everything. If the speakers are being driven flat out to peaking by the amp, then reading the specs, the speakers are close to or at their limit - which is around 400W continuous. For more volume, add another system side by side. Having heard these Martin tops (can't say of the subs were the same as yours), my experience was they are pretty loud boxes anyway, so I'd avoid overdriving them, and just get more, and some more amps to match. Be aware the extra volume from another identical system won't seem like much extra. I often run two identical systems and accidentally killing power to one amp rack dropped the overall level much left than I expected, reconnecting it did not give a huge leap to level, if that's what you are expecting.

[mackerr]

I have martin audio f18 &f15 bins linked together and using a crown xti 4000 amp but enough power I think , also f12 &f15 on top linked together , but seems not a lot of power I am using the martin controller as well , my question is

Are my amps to small or what , the controller clips and I want more volume , so what or should I do

Thanks

Alec

 

You say you have your speakers "linked together". What exactly do you mean by this? All the Martin Blackline speakers have their signal on 1+ and 1- of the Speakon connector. You cannot just "link" from the full range speaker to the sub. You need separate amplifiers and speaker cables for each, with the sub amps driven by the sub output of the controller and the fullrange amps driven by the fullrange output. The M3 controller is a stereo controller set up to do just this.

 

As far as amp power, the manual recommends something on the order of 1000W/8Ω for the F15, and 2000W/8Ω for the subs. That puts the XTi4000 on the low end of the range for power for the F15s, and probably marginal for the S18s. If you want to stick with the XTi series, the XTi4000 to run up to 4 F15 or F12 tops, and an XTi6000 to run up to 4 S18 subs seems like a reasonable setup. It is not usually a good idea to run 2 different kinds of speakers off the same amp. If you use both F15 and F12 speakers in the same setup, you should have separate amps for them.

 

Mac

[paulears]

Mac - I wasn't sure if he had one or two amps? He originally posted in a different section, then repeated the post here - so I'm not sure when he'll read this. I'd not considered he could be trying to run everything off one amp? Martins don't have crossovers because they have the controller instead.

[mackerr]

Mac - I wasn't sure if he had one or two amps? He originally posted in a different section, then repeated the post here - so I'm not sure when he'll read this. I'd not considered he could be trying to run everything off one amp? Martins don't have crossovers because they have the controller instead.

 

Yeah, you can't tell much from that post. I'm (mis)lead to believe he only has one amp by the "linked together" comment. Maybe we'll all find out if he responds.

 

Mac

[Alecstarlite]

Sorry guys I have 2 amps crown xti 4000

So what I do is the s18and s15 together same on orher channel of amp which makes it 4 ohms

And on top I link the the f15 and f12 same on other side

I have a m 3 controller and set the jumper settings

But not that happy with volume should I change amps or

Just try a mew system or what

Thanks

[Shez]

I can see a few potential problems there.

 

The F12 and F15 have different frequency responses and different power handling capabilities - just plugging them in to the same amp channel together isn't making optimum use of either of them. They need different crossover settings and different limiter thresholds. Same with the S15 and S18.

 

Bearing in mind that the F12 and F15 both have 80 degree horizontal dispersion, how are you aiming them? If you're just pointing them both in the same direction, you'll get horrible comb filtering that certainly won't help your quest for volume. Setting them up so that their coverage patterns don't overlap would give you ~160 degrees of coverage which is likely too wide to be useful. Replacing them with more efficient speakers will give you more volume and better quality than just adding more speakers.

[Alecstarlite]

Thanks

Can I ask this if I buy 4 h3 martin audio speakers

And 4 s18 speakers would I get a better sound , I know it woill be louder . And what amps should I use , what make and power for the h3 and subs