EQ settings for DR 250 with HPF & New Horn Design

[Craig]

I have just completed building 6x DR 250's. They have the Neo 2510 fitted, high pass filters on the piezo's, and the new horn design (nov 08 plans).

I am ready to start playing with EQ settings and was wondered if;

1. The curves listed by;

Dave Carter -- http://billfitzmaurice.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=5150 or
Dave Perry -- http://billfitzmaurice.net/phpBB3/viewt ... =17&t=2639

are close enough to use?

2. Does anyone have a more up to date setting that accounts for the component and design changes?

Kind Regards

Craig

[Chris_Allen]

They are close enough to get you going but Dave Perry built DR280's where Dave Carter built DR250's, so I would ignore DP's chart.

Neither of these builds have the piezo filter though and I think DP's were also pre-throat filler.

[Tim A]

Neither of these builds have the piezo filter though and I think DP's were also pre-throat filler.

+1. I'm pretty sure Chris is correct. And I'm not sure if they had melded arrays either, which is a huge difference. Use it for a starting point.

Don't forget, stacking them flattens the response considerably. If you intend to use them with 1, 2, or 3 cabs per side depending on the size of the venue, make sure to EQ each setup separately.

[Craig]

Thanks Guys,

I have built the 6x DR250's and (4x T48 starting today) to use at a Christian conference in Perth West Australia which is happening at the end of the month. We have an anticipated attendance of 1600-2000 guys from all over Australia. The money we would have spent on hiring a sound rig has gone a long way in paying for all the DR's T48's and Amps, proccessors, desk etc.

I have 2 cabs running and just need to fit the filters to the remaining 4. Will be starting on the 4x t48's today. Have a good saw bench which has made the whole process a heap more pleasant than with the hand-held circular saw and sled which I started with. Was great to nbe able to setup "production line" cuts with jigs etc.

Had not real problems and somehow managed to make it through without making any big mistakes! I found, that if I took my time and was careful and accurate with each part of the construction it wasn't so much difficult, but time consuming.

I have not had a chance to listen to the cabs properly but have been very impressed with the clarity, and sparkle in these cabs that I have never heard in PA radiating boxs fitted with compression drivers. The amazing thing about this design is that you don't only hear the instrument but all the little transient sounds before and after. They are like hi-fi speakers.

Had a sound engineer friend drop by for a fiddle and listen. Once we got past the whole "piezo thing" he was very impressed and was keen to have a crack at a pair himself. Bang for buck is unsurpassed.

Ideally I need to RTA the setup, but thought that someone may have a "starting point curve" appropriate for this version and component combination.

Is the sound plot that Bill has on the DR250 info page of the site based on the latest impovements and recomended 2510 speaker with HPF and throat fillers? If so i could cheat off that to get a "starting point".

Would be great however if someone had a up-to-date curve that accounts for the 2510 drivers, piezo HPF, melded & straight 1016 arrays, latest horn design with throat fillers.

Kind Regards

Craig

[DJPhatman]

Cheers, Craig, and congrats on your builds!

I would highly suggest you invest in a DSP system, preferably with RTA or Auto-EQ, and run it outside, in a very open area. Unless you have a very keen, trained ear for frequencies, this is, by far, the best way to get a starting point. I know this is not what you want to hear, but it is an investment into a system that will more than likely last decades!

[David Carter]

My EQ settings were based the published response plot for DR250 (w/meleded array) + T39. I believe I adjusted the EQ to center on 105dB for the DR250's (above 110hz) and around 102dB for the subs (below 110hz). Then I used my DCX unit to set crossover point at 110dB and hold the tops back -3dB to match them to subs. Since I don't have any RTA capability, that's all I was able to do. I may have gone back and tweaked the 8k and 10k bands a little to suit my ear.

[Alan Star]

Hi Craig, I am in Perth as well and would be interested to come and hear your set up sometime. I would be happy to help you eq it if you would like some help in that area and i could show you how I do it using a reference mic, laptop and deq2496. I really like this processor and have found it an invaluable tool along with the laptop and mic in getting my system(s) balanced.

[Craig]

Hi Allan,
Sorry for not getting back to you earlier. Holidays . . .

Thankyou for your kind offer, I would be keen to catch up and any help you may be able to give with base line EQ setting would be really appreciated. Sounds like I need to purchase a deq2496 for myself.

I am a little stretched with work commitments at present and need to tidy up a few things on the cabs before I would be in a position to do any accurate testing.

maybe send me a personal message and we could set something up.

Kind regards

Craig

[WB]

Sounds like I need to purchase a deq2496 for myself.

I highly recommend the deq2496 as well. The auto eq function does an amazing job. Just one suggestion, before starting the AutoEQ make sure to engage the "room correction" option. It will automatically drop the output by one dB for each octave rise in frequency. The high end will be too bright without this correction engaged.

You can see the "room correction" engaged in the bottom left corner of this picture. It's on page 2 of the AEQ menu.