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$1200 subs (1 Viewer)

Nikko

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Nikko Shelton
Okay, my church is running upgrades on our sound system right now, new mixer, new cd burning tower, new chorus mic, and new subs. We right now are running two yamaha powered mains (R+L) and are looking for two subs to handle the low end of the speakers. Our budget is about $1200 for two that will be placed directly next to each of the mains. Right now we are looking at Carvin brand. Things to remember: need two, $1200, for live music, room is about 35'Wx55'L with the speakers placed about 7' from the front wall.
 

SteveCallas

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I'd go with two of these:

http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_g...rwin+vega+je36

106db sensitivity and 8ohm - should be a very easy load to drive and should provide tons of output. I'm a fan of Carvin amps, and I assume you were considering their SW1802B? - the Cerwin Vega will provide lots more output with much less power. Good luck.

PS - Based on a hunch from your name, is this for a Greek Orthodox church?
 

Nikko

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na, it's non-denominational christian. I just have a weird name. I live in california though. And I was really looking for powered subs at this point. It just makes it easier to run with our system
 

SethH

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I would stick to Carvin, Yamaha or Peavey. If you can find used EAW in your price range then snatch those up. I personally think any of these will provide better sound quality than the Cerwin Vegas.
 

Jacob C

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I've been a fan of JBL for live sound for a long time. I would at least check them out. That said, there are many good options out there.
 

SteveCallas

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I understand and am aware of the perception of Cerwin Vega speakers being crap, and under most circumstances I would agree. But we're not talking about a sub for a home environment and music listening, we're talking about sound reinforcement in a large open space. The CV sub I linked to is a bass horn, meaning it will by its nature play louder (and should do so with less distortion) than the other traditional options. In large spaces, sensitivity becomes a limiting factor really quick.

But since it needs to be powered, it won't meet the criteria.
 

SethH

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While SVS makes great subs, I don't think many people would recommend them for live sound applications.
 

SethH

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Regarding powered subs . . . you might consider Mackie's powered subs. I haven't specifically heard their subs, but their powered speakers are very competitive at their price point.
 

Mark Seaton

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Creative specmanship runs rampant in the Pro Audio world. If you're trying to run a DJ in a club on the cheap, the CV's will thump pretty damn loud, but sound pretty weak compared to any substantial sub as they are very lacking in the real bass regions.

Nikko,

You might want to as for some suggestions in the LAB Lounge section of ProSoundWeb. Personally I would probably go with passive subs and a cheap amp for the budget involved, but there are some ok powered subs in the price range you are looking at. FYI, while I don't know the layout of your room, if you can possibly get the subs together in the center that will give you the best results.

Some brands worth checking out would be Carvin, JBL, Mackie and Yorkville (and maybe even Peavey). Of course there are plenty of others who make decent products, but I suspect those are your most likely candidates. Fortunately you have a rather small room to deal with in terms of live sound reinforcement.
 

SteveCallas

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Are you saying they won't meet their 35hz spec? I don't know too many pro options that will go significantly lower than 30hz.
 

Mark Seaton

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That depends on how you define "meeting spec." :rolleyes

I'm sure if you expand the window enough, it fits, or if you apply enough EQ. Even the biggest companies get more creative than the home audio retailers (not the more current trend of more straight forward measurements and specs). The worst part really comes from the sensitivity and output specs. Does it count if the "rated" sensitivity only occurs above 100Hz? What if that max output only applies over 50-80Hz... for a subwoofer?!? There have been some measurement sessions done by members of the PSW Live Audio Board, but not a lot of them.

I've attended at least 3 different pro sub measurement & listening shootout. You'd be surprised how many subs that are spec'd to go quite low start rolling off pretty quickly in the 55Hz range. The "better" ones turn that corner around 45Hz, and there are no where near enough subs that get down into the 30s. That said, for a lot of live work, strong and clean response to 40Hz can work well, with 30-35Hz *real* response is a significant step beyond that, where filling a large space can get a bit expensive.
 

SteveCallas

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I can understand more so in the home market, but why no standardization in the pro sound field? Having no experience with this particular unit or having seen any measurements, I'd have to give them the benefit of the doubt - I'd imagine their frequency range goes from the low end -6db to the top end -6db points.
 

chuckg

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Don't forget that there's basically no sound at all below 42 Hertz in live repro...that bottom note on your bass guitar is pretty much the bottom.
 

Mark Seaton

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Having set up and used plenty of sound reinforcement systems with very strong response into the 26-35Hz I would respectfully dissagree. Just about every transient in live music has lower frequency content... except it is often high passed since the systems of the past didn't have a chance at reproducing it. I am still very confident that the next evolution for live-sound bass reproduction will be in providing strong output to 25Hz. Of course in many applications that's going to require some creative implementations and even some directivity control to not incurr other problems. All problems with clear solutions though.
 

Mark Seaton

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As you stated, you obviously haven't seen the real world translation of the laughable max output specs (often simply calculated) and the lack of any correlation to sensitivity and frequency response. Power hanlding for most subs are purely thermal numbers, where heavy compression or bottoming often kick in at fractions of the rated power, and distortion levels exceeding 30% are not uncommon. I'm not saying it's rocket science to build a good performing subwoofer, but you might get that impression looking at a lot of what is in common use in the market.
 

SethH

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That's the "e" on a 4 string bass. 5-string basses are very, very common and have a low "b" which is about 30Hz.
 

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