Titan 39 - Outdoor Review

[Tim7707]

I wanted to give my review of my Titan 39s. I built 2 20 inch Titan 39s with 3012LF woofers last year but I've only gigged once with them and had PA issues on the first gig so I didn't think that would be a good show to talk about. I have been using one in rehearsal for my 80's band. My drummer uses Roland e-drums so the Titan is really needed to bring the kick drum out in the rehearsal room. I'm very pleased with the clear bass sound. We put it in the corner about a foot away from the wall and have about 280 watts going into it. It easily overpowers our 15 inch powered JBL speakers. I have to dial it back a good bit in rehearsal. Sometimes you think the sub doesn't even work but you unplug it and then you realize just what it has been doing all along. It really adds a fullness to the sound. Everyone that has come in to hear us talks about the hi-fi sound we have.

Last night we got a chance to really push them to see what they could do on an outdoor gig. We played a subdivision party where they had a nice ampitheatre. I played bass and ran the sound from the stage. I set the subs up next to me laying flat on their sides (not v-plated but in the v-shape) so I could hear the kick drum. I have a pair of EV ZX4 tops currently. The sound was very clear and balanced. Again, it had a hi-fi sound to it. I made a few adjustments on the mixer after comments from the singer's girlfriend (she couldn't hear the singer) I think I got it dialed in pretty good. She said the sound was perfect. You could hear everything in the mix. People were up dancing in the second and third sets which tells me the bass and drums were coming through pretty good.

I had the Titans running off a Mackie 1400 briged mono with about 1400 watts. I know that's a bit much but I had a DBX compressor/limiter on them (not sure of all the technical stuff). I looked down at the amp a few times and it never got close to clipping.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the sound of the Titans and the design when it comes to moving them. I cut the handles in the top/rear and put recessed casters in and that made it very easy to move them around. I can get in front of them and grab the handles and lift them up on the truck pretty easily by myself. Thanks to Bill for this fantastic design and thanks to Leland for the Titan 39 kit. It really makes building these cabinets easier. Up next, The V-Plate for the subs and OTops for the mains.

[doncolga]

Great to hear that man! Have you measured your volts?...watch out for that. I've got that same amp but it's in need of repair at the moment, but if I'm not mistaken, running it dual mono instead should be about perfect for those boxes. I'm running my T30's with 3012's off an EPQ 1200 in dual mono, using only one side to drive them both, so a 4 ohm load. I hope to eventually add two more for the other side of the amp. I usually run my input sensitivity on the amp at about 12 o clock and I can get plenty of volts there. Even though I've got the limiter set, I still keep a voltmeter on the outs if I start to get very loud, just so I can see exactly where I am.

Congratulations on the sound!

Donny

[Tim7707]

Thanks Donny. I don't have a voltmeter so I haven't really tested anything. I've just tried to keep it dialed back some. I'll admit I'm not very knowledgable when it comes to the technical stuff. Are you saying that I should run both of these off just one side of the Mackie and keep the input at 12:00? I would love to be able to use the other side of the amp for monitors or mains.
Tim

[DJPhatman]

I don't have a voltmeter so I haven't really tested anything.

You should absolutely get yourself an RMS multimeter, and learn how to use it. They are invaluable at gigs, for checking house voltage, amp output, continuity of cables.

Are you saying that I should run both of these off just one side of the Mackie and keep the input at 12:00? I would love to be able to use the other side of the amp for monitors or mains.

Yes, run both from 1 channel, but run the input all the way open and learn how to use your limiter properly. This will give you the most from your cabs. And, this is exactly when you should have a volt meter!

[Gregory East]

afaik all multimeters are more or less rms but using a sinewave test signal guarantees a true rms reading.