PMX400 replacment

[jmdh]

The mixer discussed at http://www.blue-room.org.uk/index.php?showtopic=54612 has failed with the main fuse going, so it's now in with the local repair shop. However as we have a show opening in a couple of weeks I'm looking at replacement options too. The system drives a pair of Warrior Audio L300s, which may or may not be 300W RMS/8ohm (there is practically no data available that I can see).

 

The channel count is about right - 4mic, 4 stereo line, and the form factor of real faders is good. Robustness is quite important as it gets chucked around a bit and operated in damp outdoor production environments - for that reason I wonder whether a rack-mount setup may have some benefits if it can be permanently racked. In that case, perhaps a separate amp plus rack-mount mixer would offer some additional flexibility at the cost of real faders. For example if we went down that route, the ability to house a second stereo amp and playback gear (eg a racked Mac Mini) would be quite attractive.

 

Baseline budget is £400-£500 but I suspect I could justify more for something which offered real benefits compared to what we have/had.

 

All thoughts welcome!

 

Cheers,

Dominic.

[chelgrian]

The channel count is about right - 4mic, 4 stereo line, and the form factor of real faders is good. Robustness is quite important as it gets chucked around a bit and operated in damp outdoor production environments - for that reason I wonder whether a rack-mount setup may have some benefits if it can be permanently racked. In that case, perhaps a separate amp plus rack-mount mixer would offer some additional flexibility at the cost of real faders. For example if we went down that route, the ability to house a second stereo amp and playback gear (eg a racked Mac Mini) would be quite attractive.

 

I'd generally stick with separate amps and desks as it's much easier to replace each bit if it fails. Within your budget you can get a recognised make 300w RMS amp in the form of a QSC GX 3 for less than £250 from thomann.de.

 

In terms of mixers something like a Yamaha MG166C which again is less than £250 and can be rack mounted or if you can stretch to it an Allen and Heath Zed-14. Don't forget the cost of the the rack and cables.

[jmdh]

The channel count is about right - 4mic, 4 stereo line, and the form factor of real faders is good. Robustness is quite important as it gets chucked around a bit and operated in damp outdoor production environments - for that reason I wonder whether a rack-mount setup may have some benefits if it can be permanently racked. In that case, perhaps a separate amp plus rack-mount mixer would offer some additional flexibility at the cost of real faders. For example if we went down that route, the ability to house a second stereo amp and playback gear (eg a racked Mac Mini) would be quite attractive.

 

I'd generally stick with separate amps and desks as it's much easier to replace each bit if it fails. Within your budget you can get a recognised make 300w RMS amp in the form of a QSC GX 3 for less than £250 from thomann.de.

 

In terms of mixers something like a Yamaha MG166C which again is less than £250 and can be rack mounted or if you can stretch to it an Allen and Heath Zed-14. Don't forget the cost of the the rack and cables.

 

Thanks for the QSC recommendation. That box gets lots of positive ratings...

 

I've just thought, having them separate boxes means I can separate the amp and source by quite some distance, avoiding long speaker cable runs and clutter at the control point, which would have actually been quite handy for the outdoor show I just ran. Something like an EPM6 would probably do the trick on the mixer side (that's what I have in my personal kit list and it's a nice little mixer). The price seems to jump up quite steeply once the channel count gets much more than 6 + 2stereo.

[chelgrian]

I've just thought, having them separate boxes means I can separate the amp and source by quite some distance, avoiding long speaker cable runs and clutter at the control point, which would have actually been quite handy for the outdoor show I just ran. Something like an EPM6 would probably do the trick on the mixer side (that's what I have in my personal kit list and it's a nice little mixer). The price seems to jump up quite steeply once the channel count gets much more than 6 + 2stereo.

 

As you say it's best to avoid long speaker cable runs. With signal transmission in an ideal world (which unfortunately we don't live in) you are transmitting no power and have perfect RF rejection (Ho Ho). However speaker cables is transmitting power and even short runs needs lots of cross sectional area to avoid losing excessive power in the cable and copper is sadly expensive.

 

So all other things being equal it's usually better to have a long connection between source and power amp and a short connection between power amp and speaker. Obviously if other things aren't equal and you have issues with weight, weather or simply supplying mains power to the site of the power amp then the correct thing to do changes again.

 

Obviously with mixers bigger mixers require more components however I expect much of it is just that there is a much smaller market for higher channel count mixers so they end up more expensive.

[jmdh]

The channel count is about right - 4mic, 4 stereo line, and the form factor of real faders is good. Robustness is quite important as it gets chucked around a bit and operated in damp outdoor production environments - for that reason I wonder whether a rack-mount setup may have some benefits if it can be permanently racked. In that case, perhaps a separate amp plus rack-mount mixer would offer some additional flexibility at the cost of real faders. For example if we went down that route, the ability to house a second stereo amp and playback gear (eg a racked Mac Mini) would be quite attractive.

 

I'd generally stick with separate amps and desks as it's much easier to replace each bit if it fails. Within your budget you can get a recognised make 300w RMS amp in the form of a QSC GX 3 for less than £250 from thomann.de.

 

In terms of mixers something like a Yamaha MG166C which again is less than £250 and can be rack mounted or if you can stretch to it an Allen and Heath Zed-14. Don't forget the cost of the the rack and cables.

 

Thanks for the QSC recommendation. That box gets lots of positive ratings...

 

I've just thought, having them separate boxes means I can separate the amp and source by quite some distance, avoiding long speaker cable runs and clutter at the control point, which would have actually been quite handy for the outdoor show I just ran. Something like an EPM6 would probably do the trick on the mixer side (that's what I have in my personal kit list and it's a nice little mixer). The price seems to jump up quite steeply once the channel count gets much more than 6 + 2stereo.

 

We went for a GX3 in a flight case, and a Zed-14 in a Thomann case (decided that racking it in a case wasn't really necessary). Thomann have a good deal on the Zed-14 and one of their own brand cases that is less than their price for the Zed-14 alone! (http://www.thomann.de/gb/allenheath_zed14_bundle_02.htm)

 

We bought the amp and used it over the summer with my EPM-6 and are just ordering the Zed-14 now. Looks like a nice piece of kit - having 4 AUXes and USB I/O were particular highlights for me.

 

Cheers,

Dominic.