I am thinking of upgrading my passive JBL cabs to active ones. I currently have 1 mackie 1801z sub and will probably eventually get a second one.
Any suggestions for new active cabs? They are used primarily for small to medium size electronic music events both indoor and out.
I saw someone selling a pair of used mackie 1521. I am also considering the QSC hpr1531 but they would be more expensive since new, and added shipping costs.
Thanks for the help and suggestions.
~Brian
www.circusofmind.com
Any suggestions for new active cabs? They are used primarily for small to medium size electronic music events both indoor and out.
I saw someone selling a pair of used mackie 1521. I am also considering the QSC hpr1531 but they would be more expensive since new, and added shipping costs.
Thanks for the help and suggestions.
~Brian
www.circusofmind.com
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Re: What cabs with 1801z sub?
Sun, September 16, 2007 - 1:05 PMDepending on your budget, either Mackie 1832s or 1821s would be good. The 1832s have a wider sound, good for electronic music, especially when paired with a set of 1801s. The 1821s are good fill or for smaller events. I would also suggest a pair of 450s for monitors if you are having DJs and/or producers.
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Re: What cabs with 1801z sub?
Mon, September 17, 2007 - 10:33 AMI think yvette means 1521's but maybe I am not up on the latest
mackie models.
I had a couple 1521's with just one 1801. The 18 was the older style.
it would boom most smaller rooms and was good enough with just one.
If you have two 1801's, you will need 4 AC circuits in order to get the rated 134 decibles from the system.
I know the 1521's are rated 129, but they really put out more like 131-134 dB.
You can put all 4 speakers on a single circuit, but you wont get everything you desire in terms of dynamics.
It sounds a little harsh and the heat sensing circuitry will kick in early.
The qsc's are one option and also the EV self powered series are pretty decent, they even have a wooden model. -
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Re: What cabs with 1801z sub?
Mon, September 17, 2007 - 10:53 AMThanks to the both of you.
I actually went with a pair of the 1521s. So there is one 1521 per 1801.
Its sounds fantastic. I am having some slight issues with buzzing and humming depending on where each speaker is plugged in. I am sure I can figure it out. I can't wait to test it out at full volume.
Thanks for the replies.
~Brian
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Re: What cabs with 1801z sub?
Mon, September 17, 2007 - 11:40 AMa couple of additional recommendations based on experience running a number of mackie configurations.
1) if you have two 1801's, you can get nearly twice the output if you stick them together in the middle right in front of the DJ/performer. in addition to more bass, you'll have a sweetspot of bass through the middle of the dancefloor/room. whereas, when you separate them, the sweetspot has a tendency to be back 10-15 feet from the DJ. not good for those up front. since you have the 1521's you can put those on stands.
2) it's good to have an external EQ to tweak the system. at full volume mackies tend to be harsh in the treble range. I think this has more to do with power and driver efficiency, and that the tweets get louder more easily than woofers which require more power to get louder. I generally cut frequencies 8khz and above to keep the sound from killing people's ears. The other advantage of the EQ is it has gain, so you can boost the signal out of the mixer keeping the mixer in the greens.
3) A compressor/limiter is another good piece of gear to have to safeguard the system from volume spikes and to keep from having to babysit those DJs that like to push the system louder than it can go.
Have fun with the new setup :) -
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Re: What cabs with 1801z sub?
Mon, September 17, 2007 - 11:56 AMThanks obi-J
I have an eq and the subs together in the middle. I need to find some stands though. Those 1521s are heavy!
~Brian -
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Re: What cabs with 1801z sub?
Tue, September 18, 2007 - 10:23 AMThe compressor is good.
Especially for the mackie. I like my eons for just that reason
they have the same harshness thru-out the night :-)
The compressor limiter really keeps the mackies sounding nice.
Critical for the uber-sound junkies still dancing at 5:30 am all 3 of them!
Another trick I found, when you dont have (or want) a drive rack or similar,
is to not run them hot. Keep the volume knob (really a sensitivty matching potentiometer)
around 11 am.
the real "harsh Mackie sound" comes when you hit the limiter. -
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Re: What cabs with 1801z sub?
Tue, September 18, 2007 - 11:55 AMthe big issue is that all systems have limits. and everyone always wants it louder.
one thing to note is that when that little yellow "limit" light comes on on the mackies, that they actually drop in output to protect the speaker. the problem is that if the DJ isn't aware of that, that they'll actually turn it up even more. When the limiters come on you really need to turn it down to make it louder. Rather counterintuitive. Every time i've run a mackie system i've had to babysit the levels to keep from hitting the limit.
another thing to be aware of is that mackies, and all powered speakers, utilize passive cooling. when working hard and especially indoors, they can get super hot. if there's not enough air moving around then they can go thermal (red light) for indoor events it's a good idea to bring a couple of fans just in case you need to move the air around the heatsinks to keep them a bit cooler. there have been a few times i've regretted not having fans on hand. -
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Re: What cabs with 1801z sub?
Wed, September 19, 2007 - 12:48 PMJust an FYI - not all powered speakers use passive cooling. My line array system (Actice boxes) have forced air cooling in them...
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Re: What cabs with 1801z sub?
Wed, September 19, 2007 - 12:49 PMThat should have read "active" not "actice" -
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Re: What cabs with 1801z sub?
Wed, September 19, 2007 - 1:23 PMi stand corrected. should've read something like "most lower-end or lower-power active speakers". a quick search did show that high-power active speakers do in many cases use fans.
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Re: What cabs with 1801z sub?
Thu, September 20, 2007 - 10:44 AMMy low level rcf speakers have a fan in them too,
but I knew what you meant.
At least for the RCF's they are passive cooled until needed. if you arent stuck at the board, the fans provide one more
warning signal. When they go on, you are getting warm.
here is my new babies, I traded up from the 1521's and 1801's
www.rcfaudio.com/vediMacro...roduct.htm
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