SLA Pro driver question

[Tom Smit]

Pre-spray the corners and patches, etc. to take care of any possibilities of lack of Duratex adhesion. There is no problem with Duratex bonding to plain wood.

[kenkenni]

Will do. Thanks for that Tom.

[kenkenni]

Okay I have finished both the first two SLAs (pictures coming soon). They both sound good on their own. I am now trying
to daisy-chain the speakers using only one channel of my QSC RMX850 amp. I cannot get sound from the second speaker
when I connect the SpeakOn. I have configured my amp all kind of ways and I still can't get sound out of the second speaker
when daisy-chained. Will my amp not allow for that or did I mess up with my wiring again.?
I was trying to connect the second speaker using 2-conductor SpeakOn adapter on both ends of a 1/4" mono cable.
Could that be the problem?

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

If everything is wired correctly it will work, and if it doesn't work everything isn't wired correctly. Why are you using anything 1/4"? Use Speakon and only Speakon.

[Bruce Weldy]

Okay I have finished both the first two SLAs (pictures coming soon). They both sound good on their own. I am now trying
to daisy-chain the speakers using only one channel of my QSC RMX850 amp. I cannot get sound from the second speaker when I connect the SpeakOn. ?

Daisy chaining means running from the amp to one speaker, then from that speaker to the other speaker. Is that what you are doing?

Have you tried plugging into the second speaker directly from the amp? Does it work?

I have configured my amp all kind of ways and I still can't get sound out of the second speaker
when daisy-chained. Will my amp not allow for that or did I mess up with my wiring again.?

Amp configuration has absolutely nothing to do with daisy-chaining two speakers. Your amp has no idea whats on the other end of the wire.

I was trying to connect the second speaker using 2-conductor SpeakOn adapter on both ends of a 1/4" mono cable.
Could that be the problem

Could it be ? Yeah, but probably not - unless the speaker cable itself is no good.


Have you tried plugging into the second speaker from the amp, then running the first speaker? Does that work? If not, then the problem is in the cable.

But, like Bill said.....get rid of those 1/4" speaker cables. You don't still use a bag phone, do you? They were ok when that's all there was - those days have long passed.

[kenkenni]

I have one four conductor cable from the amp to one speaker jack. I then tried to run from the second jack to the second speaker
using the said adapter from above. Both SLAs work fine coming direct from the amp individually. I do have new four-conductor
cables on order, but I was hoping to here both of them together using the adapters until then.

[Bruce Weldy]

There is no reason to use four conductor cable. 2 conductor from the amp to the first speaker. The jacks should be paralleled. You should only be using the 1+ and 1-. Same on the other speaker.

Have you wired it differently? If so, that's your problem.

[NukePooch]

There is no reason to use four conductor cable. 2 conductor from the amp to the first speaker. The jacks should be paralleled. You should only be using the 1+ and 1-. Same on the other speaker.

Have you wired it differently? If so, that's your problem.

He wired according to the plans, on 2+ and 2-.
The 1/4 adapter will not work because it only connects to 1+ and 1-.

This is exactly why I wire everything on 1+ and 1-.
I want to be able to grab any cable and have it work every time.

Perhaps I wasn't completely clear in my last post. The plans are written to allow subwoofer biamping on 1+/1-, and mains on 2+/2-. The plans are completely correct, and that's how 4-conductor Speakons are designed. They are designed to be the best case for running a biamp signal to ONE cabinet with one cable...

However, I personally have no need/want to biamp on one cable. I wire everything on 1+/1-, use only 2-conductor cable (cheaper), and 2-conductor Speakons where possible (Edited, see post below-use NL4 panel jacks only). I have two 1/4 to 1/4 speaker cables that I have used to run older monitor wedges. I have run them with the 1/4 to Speakon adapters. They work fine because I'm wired on 1+/1-.

When I eventually get to where I need to occasionally "biamp", such as a drum wedge with a separate sub, then I'll run two separate cables. No big deal. I do not plan on biamping drivers inside a cabinet.

Kenkenni, if you left your wiring as is, the 1/4 cable and adapters will not work. You need to run all 4-conductor cable and connectors all the time, without exception. If you are not planning on biamping, then you might want to rewire your SLA's to 1+/1-. You will then be able to use your 4-conductor cable, AND 2-conductor cables, such as the 1/4 adapters... You will also be able to run stereo off of both channels of your amp if you desire, or you could daisy chain...

Most every store-bought cable now will likely be 2-conductor...most every store-bought speaker now will be wired to 1+/1-...the industry is headed toward 1+/1- as the standard...

The only downside to wiring on 1+/1- that you have to be aware of is if you were to plug your SLA's into someone else's system...if they have wired to run subs on 1+/1-, and mains on 2+/2-, then their system will send sub low frequencies to your mains, and you could toast your speakers...

This is what is so great about building your own system! You can tailor your system to work exactly as you need it to work...

[kenkenni]

Man. You learn a lot here. Nuke I was about to dis-assemble and re-wire again until I read your post. Thanks for the clarification. This is exactly why I still haven't soldered
the wire on the lungs yet, just in case I managed to screw something up. You are also right about SpeakOn cables. Can't seem to find any 4-conductor cables, only 2-conductor
in my local audio shops. Can I just disconnect the 2+/2- terminals on all the jacks and leave the 1*/1- terminals connected or do I have to completely switch out all the
4-conductor jacks for 2-conductors?

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Can't seem to find any 4-conductor cables, only 2-conductor in my local audio shops.

http://www.parts-express.com/13-awg-4-c ... t--100-485
Besides, you don't need to use four conductor cable. You may use two conductor cable, when you assemble the cords just use the 2+/2- connections on the Speakons. As noted in the plans:
You can run a four conductor cable from the amp rack to one cab, connecting it to other subs and tops
with shorter cables, and all the signals will end up going to the correct speaker. For
cables for tops use only use 2 conductor cable connected to the 2+2- terminals.

Also explained in the plans you should never use 2 conductor Speakon jacks, because they'll only accept 2 conductor Speakon plugs. Four conductor jacks will accept 2 or 4 pole plugs.

[NukePooch]

My mistake for not being completely clear again...Bill's right, of course, about using only NL4 4-conductor Speakon panel jacks... The 2-conductor panel jacks (NL2) are a weird offshoot that doesn't apply...as are the larger NL8's. The newer style 2-conductor cable Speakon (NL2FX and NL2FC) will work with the standard NL4 panel jacks (on 1+/1-). These (NL2FX) are generally what come on store-bought 2-conductor cables (and are wired 1+/1-).

You won't find any store-bought 2-conductor cables wired 2+/2-...To run this way (2-conductor on 2+/2-), you will have to buy bulk wire and 4-conductor cable Speakons. You won't be able to use the 1/4" to Speakon adapter with your 1/4" cables, if you need to...and you won't be able to use any store-bought speakers, if you need to. In addition, you will need to have both 4-conductor cables to run to subs, and 2-conductor cables to run the mains...and some way to label them so you know which is which. You will also need to keep your wiring order in mind...For instance, you need to run 4-conductor from the amps to the subs, then jump 2 conductor to the tops. If you run 2-conductor from the amps by mistake, then you will get nothing at the subs.
If you decide to keep your system wired according to the plans (subs on 1+/1-, mains on 2+/2-), then I'd strongly advise to just run all and only 4-conductor everything.

If you wire everything to 1+/1-, you can use store-bought cables, either 4 conductor NL4 or 2-conductor cables with NL2FX connectors. In addition, your system will be set to run existing store-bought speakers if you come across any.

I would imagine that there are a whole lot of us here that run 2-conductor cables on 1+/1- only... Unless you're biamping single cabinets (and running serious pro gear), 2-conductor cable on 1+/1- just makes more sense and is cheaper and easier to deal with.

Whatever you do, leave (and only use in the future) the NL4 panel jacks on your speaker builds and amp rack breakout panels (if you have them). Also, make your own cables...it's really easy.

[kenkenni]

So if I do decide to re-wire to 1+/1- the wiring from the cross-over to the speakers will then have to be re-wired 1+/1-?
And then all the jacks on the tops will only be connected on the 1+/1- terminals? By the way I have the NL4MP-UC SpeakOn
panel mounts.

[kenkenni]

Success again! I decided to re re-wire everything on the 1+/1- terminals and now I am able to daisy-chain the SLAs and sub
all off one channel. Thanks for everyone's input You have helped me out a lot and I now have a better understanding of SpeakOn
wiring configurations. I Will try to post pics soon of them decked out in their Dura-Tex suits.

[NukePooch]

What make/model sub do you have?

I think you don't have a crossover (driverack or equivalent) yet, correct?

[kekani]

Success again! I decided to re re-wire everything on the 1+/1- terminals and now I am able to daisy-chain the SLAs and sub
all off one channel. Thanks for everyone's input You have helped me out a lot and I now have a better understanding of SpeakOn
wiring configurations. I Will try to post pics soon of them decked out in their Dura-Tex suits.

Color me interested. I just reread all 7 pages of this thread, although I've been keeping up a little, not really paying attention on the 2+/2- subjects.

Semantics are at play for me, so when you say everything and daisy-chain SLA and sub, with no dsp, you're running a less than 4ohm load (sorry, not doing the math right now) off one channel from the amp (which is okay, since it does 2ohm, right?). I'm not a crossover student (which means I'm less than that), but I've got to think something's missing in this equation.

Off the top of my head, wouldn't one run the subs off 1 channel, and tops off the other?