New £1000 system for Dubstep

[jbaldwinroberts]

Hey,

Me and a mate are going to uni this year and wanted to get a decent system for parties etc. as we are both into DJ'ing.

We have got £1000 to spend on a system that will be playing mainly Dubstep and some D&B. When we went and looked at some speakers at a local PA place we decided we probably want two 15" tops and a bass bin.

We think powered is better as it means less wires, equipment etc. What does everyone else think? What are your past experiences with powered vs seperate amp?

We listened to some Wharfdale stuff which sounded alright and its cheap compared to other brands. Is it a reputable make?

I'm new to this and this is my first setup so any help or advice would be really appreciated as we don't want to waste what is quite alot of money on crap.

We mainly care about bass, volume and reliability and we're not bothered whether its new or second hand as long as its in good nick as second hand means bigger speakers for the same money.

What would be your setup with a £1000 budget?

Thanks for any advice you can give.

Joe

 

[BlueWizard]

Let's be clear, is the £1000 just for speakers with amps, or is other equipment involved?

Steve/bluewizard

 

[jbaldwinroberts]

Speakers and amps only, however active would be preferred unless there is a reason not to.
We already have decks and a mixer.

Thanks for taking the time to help me.

Joe

 

[BlueWizard]

Just my opinion, but I think you could uses your DJ equipment as a pre-amp to a stereo PA power amp, and combine that with some Cerwin Vega speakers.

I think active speakers, though you are certainly free to pursue them, are going to be more expensive and less versitile.

Check out the Hard to Find DJ Megastore -

HTFR.com CERWIN VEGA items including Speaker / amplifier package,Cerwin vega v152,Cerwin vega v12f, and more

Cerwin Vega speakers will take some serious power and some serious abuse. The typically have massive bass.

Consider these speakers -

CERWIN VEGA XLS 12 - 300 WATT SPEAKER- EACH

A single 12" woofer in a 3-way configuration for £439 each. In case you hadn't notice C-V are not cheap.

Here is another passive speaker with twin 15" woofers from Cerwin at a much lower price -

CERWIN VEGA INT 252 - 500 WATT SPEAKER- EACH

The absolute bow down to the gods of rock Cerwin Vega speakers are these -

CERWIN VEGA XLS 215 - 500 WATT SPEAKER- EACH

Twin 15" woofer in a 3-way system for £779 each. Again, not cheap, but these are demolition capable speakers.

You can check these out you YouTube, and find other Cerwin Vega YouTube videos. Just search the brand and model number.

Just one example -

YouTube - Titus41 Cerwin-Vega!

Here is another Cervin Vega but this time active speakers -

CERWIN VEGA CVA 28 - 800 WATT ACTIVE SPEAKERS- PAIR OF

But when you add the amps, you lose a little on the speakers. These have twin 8" speakers.

This same site will have a range of active speakers you can look at.

Of the passive Cerwin Vega speakers, these two appeal to me most -

CERWIN VEGA XLS 12 - 600 WATT SPEAKERS- A PAIR OF

CERWIN VEGA XLS 28 - 400 WATT SPEAKERS- A PAIR OF

Nothing in you budget is really going to make an outdoor concert or fill an auditorium, but they will both make a serious party.

The nice thing is, you can get seriously powerful PA power amps for very little money.

As an random example -

QTX PRO 600 - 150 WATT PER CHANNEL- EACH

More serious examples -

W AUDIO HTF300 - 150 WATTS PER CHANNEL- EACH

STAGE LINE STA 500 - 300 WATTS PER CHANNEL- EACH

QTX PRO 1000 - 250 WATTS PER CHANNEL- EACH

BEHRINGER A500 - 230 WATTS PER CHANNEL- EACH

BEHRINGER EP1500 - 450 WATTS PER CHANNEL- EACH

WHARFEDALE S1500 - 500 WATTS PER CHANNEL- EACH

And the list goes on in ever ascending power and price.

Again, the same site has a long list of active speaker. But, you want to make sure the low end response of the speaker is down around 40hz or below. Ideally, the mid-30hz range.

Speakers and Subwoofers form Behringer, Kam, Mission and more

A random example -

SAMSON LIVE 1212 - 1000 WATT ACTIVE SPEAKERS £799

Personally, I think you will get large speakers, and a larger amp if you look at separates rather than active.

But then, that's just my opinion.

Steve/bluewizard

 

[Cruikshank]

hi there, just a small question. if the system was split between two people would active be easyier as then each partner can then take there half of the system and use it?
im a noob in PA and audio equipment so if im missing anything plz be nice

thank you for your time.

p.s i cant spell

 

[BlueWizard]

If the active speaker has two independant inputs, then each input could take a single stereo channel, though of course it would all come out of one speakers, so it wouldn't be true stereo.

The inputs would need some type of internal isolation so you don't end up shorting the two stereo channels together, but theoretically, it would be possible to input stereo signals into a mono speaker.

Though, many active speaker are in pairs, similar to computer speakers, where the control section is in one speaker, and the second speakers simply takes a single input from the first.

Though, some active speakers, are two truly and completely independent speakers, and would work as you suggest, all other considerations being true.

Without detailed specifics on the speakers, it is hard to say.

As another example -

KAM SOUNDFORCE 5 ACTIVE - 70 WATT ACTIVE SPEAKERS- A PAIR OF

Click on the third image showing the back of the speaker. Notice it has left and right stereo inputs. If we assume BOTH speakers are identical, then speakers like this would do what you want. But again, it assumes BOTH speakers are identical.

That is about all I can say. I think to know for sure, I would have to know the specific speaker, then go to the manufacturer's website and hopeful find some information or photographs there.

Consider, you might be able to buy two MONO amps with, hopefully, twin stereo inputs. Then you could each take one amp and one speaker, and play music from stereo sources.

Too many variables to say with any certainty.

Steve/bluewizard

 

[jbaldwinroberts]

Thanks, they look pretty good.

For amps, if we got say these would we need an amp with 500w per channel?

Thanks

 

[BlueWizard]

Thanks, they look pretty good.

For amps, if we got say these would we need an amp with 500w per channel?

Thanks

No you wouldn't necessarily need a 500w amp, and notice most of the amps I linked to rate their power at 4 ohms, which means to a standard 8 ohms load the rated power would be half that.

In general, 100w or more is fine. Let you wallet be your guide.

Steve/bluewizard