Somewhat of a newbie question: 4 Cerwin Vega L36pe OR (vs) 4 BFM T48s OR T60s

[tribal king]

UPDATE:

Bought a Crown XTi4000 and used it with 1 DR280 with the Eminence Kappa 12a, (Yes I KNOW but better could not be done in the timeframe for our Carnival) and a pair of the T48s built to 28 inches wide loaded with the JBL 2226H and BOY DID THAT SYSTEM HIT HARD!! Only obstacle I had was the limiting setting on the Crown which is set in dbs (-3db -6db and -12db), I just set it to -3db for the subs but all in all it was worth the built effort. Any tuning tips would be greatly appreciated!

I located a pair of 3012HO's which I should get by month-end

[Tom Smit]

[Bruce Weldy]

UPDATE:

Bought a Crown XTi4000 and used it with 1 DR280 with the Eminence Kappa 12a, (Yes I KNOW but better could not be done in the timeframe for our Carnival) and a pair of the T48s built to 28 inches wide loaded with the JBL 2226H and BOY DID THAT SYSTEM HIT HARD!! Only obstacle I had was the limiting setting on the Crown which is set in dbs (-3db -6db and -12db), I just set it to -3db for the subs but all in all it was worth the built effort. Any tuning tips would be greatly appreciated!

I located a pair of 3012HO's which I should get by month-end

Lots of disparate facts here......JBLs are only a little over 7mm xmax, so I wouldn't get too carried away. Using the limiter inside the Crown and just guessing at a setting is a receipe for blowing speakers. Use a voltmeter to see what's actually coming out of the amp with a test tone and set the limiter accordingly. You mention the 3012HOs....are you replacing the JBLs? Building more T48s? Hope not on either of those options. Or, are you planning to build more DR280s with 'em?

Provide us with a little better picture of what's happening and we can do a better job of helping out.

Oh, and a driverack is a way better option than the limiting in the XTi.

[Seth]

I love hearing about these types of results! Any pics or video you can post up?

I agree with Bruce. To provide quality tuning tips to really get you dialed in, it's helpful to know what's in your entire signal chain, from source to speaker. Definitely get yourself a dbx Driverack.

[tribal king]

The Kappalite 3012HOs are upgrades for my Dr280s I am currently using an Eminence Kappa12a (which I owned before learning about the BFM League Of Extraordinary Cabinets). The JBLs according to Bill wasn't mentioned in the line-up mainly because of the price BUT they fall within the specs (and I got the pair for free ninety nine).

So far I got 2 T48s @ 28 inches wide (plan on building another pair soon) and 1 DR280 functioning, I also got 3 more DR280s framed up since 2017 that I plan on completing so I am aiming at 4x4 by mid-year.

All I got for now was the Crown XTi4000 which handled the 2x1 system nicely (never got hot) and I also got access to both the dbx DriveRack PA260 OR the PA+ which ever is best suitable, I should have either one in my possession mid-March. Besides those it's just my computer (Virtual DJ and Serato). So its Computer to Amp, Amp to Cabinets (Channel 1 to top, Channel 2 to subs) simple. Hope that clears things up a bit
And what voltage would be correct for the JBLs?
Thanks in advance

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

The listed xmax of 7.6mm is very conservative, being measured by the calculated method rather than with Klippel. It's probably 9mm real world. Between that and the 20mm xlim it's safe to use the same voltage as the 3015LF.

[Bruce Weldy]

I also got access to both the dbx DriveRack PA260 OR the PA+ which ever is best suitable, I should have either one in my possession mid-March.

The 260 has 6 outputs.....which is overkill. The PA+ has everything you need to run what you are building. I'll assume that the 260 is a lot more expensive as the PA+ is available used. Save the money and go with the PA+.

[Rich4349]

Besides those it's just my computer (Virtual DJ and Serato). So its Computer to Amp, Amp to Cabinets (Channel 1 to top, Channel 2 to subs)

Are your computer outputs balanced? If not, won't that drop the available voltage / available volume?

[tribal king]

I also got access to both the dbx DriveRack PA260 OR the PA+ which ever is best suitable, I should have either one in my possession mid-March.

The 260 has 6 outputs.....which is overkill. The PA+ has everything you need to run what you are building. I'll assume that the 260 is a lot more expensive as the PA+ is available used. Save the money and go with the PA+.

Actually the PA+ is what I was leaning towards lol

[tribal king]

Besides those it's just my computer (Virtual DJ and Serato). So its Computer to Amp, Amp to Cabinets (Channel 1 to top, Channel 2 to subs)

Are your computer outputs balanced? If not, won't that drop the available voltage / available volume?

Break that down for me...

[Rich4349]

"What are the benefits of Balanced Audio?
A louder signal with more headroom is transmitted because balanced cables are less susceptible to signal loss along the cable run. This means your device won't have to be turned as high to achieve the desired volume, and the dynamic range of the source material will be maintained."

Now several other sources mentioned that using less than 10' of unbalanced cable will likely NOT result in distortion or signal loss, so caveat emptor.

I am not vouching the veracity of this information; it's just something I ran across recently.

https://www.datapro.net/techinfo/balanced_audio.html

[Grant Bunter]

"What are the benefits of Balanced Audio?

Um, one would need to determine if the computer actually has balanced, or unbalanced outputs first.
Using balanced leads with an unbalanced source won't make a difference, both the "sending" unit and the "receiving" unit need to have balanced signal capability for balanced to work.

I try to keep unbalanced leads to 6' or less for my unbalanced outs...

[Rich4349]

Yes, absolutely accurate; I failed to mention that part. *MY* PC only has 1/8" out jacks so I assumed most do, as well. I wonder if this would be worth the $200?

https://www.amazon.com/TRASAM-Balanced- ... B08JYJBVY2

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

For that price you can get a small mixer with XLR balanced outputs.