DriveRack PA settings for DR200...

[RubiconProSound]

So I've got my DRPA (Thank You Subdude ...) and I'm getting ready to punch in some settings for my BF speakers. I'm looking at the SPL chart for the DR200 and I'm thinking the following:



Since I have 3 bands available on the PEQ I figured I would pre-set those for the DR's to smooth the curve a little prior to using the Auto-EQ. Looking at the SPL chart my thinking is to set up 3 bell curves at roughly 125, 5K, and 10K and then boost/attenuate and play with the Q to smooth the response. (down on the 125 and 10K and up slightly on the 5K)

To confirm and monitor the changes during programming I'll set up in a large outdoor area and use my TrueRTA to dial in the response. My thinking is that once I have the PEQ's dialed for the DR200's I can just let the Auto-EQ do it's thing at the various venues.

So how's my logic on this...am I headed in the right direction?

This is unless of course someone already has some settings for the DR200...

[jcmbowman]

So I've got my DRPA (Thank You Subdude ...) and I'm getting ready to punch in some settings for my BF speakers. I'm looking at the SPL chart for the DR200 and I'm thinking the following:



Since I have 3 bands available on the PEQ I figured I would pre-set those for the DR's to smooth the curve a little prior to using the Auto-EQ. Looking at the SPL chart my thinking is to set up 3 bell curves at roughly 125, 5K, and 10K and then boost/attenuate and play with the Q to smooth the response. (down on the 125 and 10K and up slightly on the 5K)

To confirm and monitor the changes during programming I'll set up in a large outdoor area and use my TrueRTA to dial in the response. My thinking is that once I have the PEQ's dialed for the DR200's I can just let the Auto-EQ do it's thing at the various venues.

So how's my logic on this...am I headed in the right direction?

This is unless of course someone already has some settings for the DR200...

One problem.... The best way to EQ without losing headroom is to EQ -down-.

So you'd have one for the bump at around 160hz, another for the bump at around 465hz, and another for the whopper at 10k hz. That will still leave you with a bit of a hole around 5500hz, but that's still pretty darned flat for a starting point.

Of course, your best bet is to RTA the system first and THEN see what you need to knock down.

[Tom]

Since I have 3 bands available on the PEQ I figured I would pre-set those for the DR's to smooth the curve a little prior to using the Auto-EQ.

Why not flatten them with only the AUTO-EQ and then apply the PEQ to brighten up the vocal range, for instance?

It worked better that way for me.

[Tim A]

Since I have 3 bands available on the PEQ I figured I would pre-set those for the DR's to smooth the curve a little prior to using the Auto-EQ.

Why not flatten them with only the AUTO-EQ and then apply the PEQ to brighten up the vocal range, for instance?

It worked better that way for me.

+1

One problem.... The best way to EQ without losing headroom is to EQ -down-.

So you'd have one for the bump at around 160hz, another for the bump at around 465hz, and another for the whopper at 10k hz. That will still leave you with a bit of a hole around 5500hz, but that's still pretty darned flat for a starting point.

Disagree, a little. Everything in moderation. Boosting a few dB doesn't hurt anything, especially in the upper ranges. I'd do exactly like you said, but boost the frequencies around 5.5k to fix the hole.

I like to find a happy medium about halfway between the peaks and valleys, and use it for my 'flat response'. In this case about 103dB. But if you have auto EQ, just let it do it's thing then adjust to taste.

[RubiconProSound]

jcmbowman:
I knew to pulll down, but I figured the slight up @ 5K wouldn't hurt headroom that much...

Tom:
My logic was that I could set the PEQ specifically for the DR's and save the parameters to memory much like I'm guessing the DRPA already does for the factory stored speaker parameters. Then the Auto EQ can adapt to each venue with minimal fiddling on my part. If I need to brighten vocals couldn't I just do it on the channel strip EQ's? I'm guessing turning the knobs on the mixer is far easier than adjusting the PEQ on the DRPA. (Although I do realize the EQ's on the mixer are not parametric and I can't select center freq.)

I do mostly DJ (pre recorded material) so I don't think I'll need to mess with EQ as much as if I was doing live sound.

I'll try both methods and see what works. I have a big outdoor event coming at the end of Feb (dry lake bed out in the middle of the desert... ) and I'll have time to play with settings.

Thanks guys.

[Sydney]

If I need to brighten vocals couldn't I just do it on the channel strip EQ's?

Yes, Individually, and If you have a sub group for vocals, that opens another point of control/eq. Some mixers have an "air" control to add a little lift @ 14Khz to sub groups.

so I don't think I'll need to mess with EQ as much as if I was doing live sound.

In theory a DJ only has 2 channels to EQ as opposed to the dozens on a mixer for a large band(s)...Many can't get 1 channel right however.

I still use 1/3 octave graphics and set the median around 0 detent for the range around 500 - 2000. Without a whole lot of extreme adjustment from any slider - Ideally with the avg @ 0.
I have had to re-eq other boards ( reset to zero and start over ) if 1 or more sliders are at their extreme +/- 12db, and reset gain structure balance, and try to even out response elsewhere.
It's always easier to EQ outdoors than indoors.

[RubiconProSound]

I still use 1/3 octave graphics and set the median around 0 detent for the range around 500 - 2000. Without a whole lot of extreme adjustment from any slider - Ideally with the avg @ 0.

I know what you mean...
Prior to the DRPA I had a 31 band and a dBX X-over in the rack. The setting on the range switch on the EQ never got into the 12 db range (I can choose 6 or 12 dB...) and like Tim, I pulled everything up and down to get an average.

No happy faces here....

[Sydney]

I know what you mean...

Figured you did, It's kind of a middle of the road setting.
If you ever get in a situation where you "inherit" someone else's settings on a set up with only graphic eq. ( Community/School/Benefit etc ).
Beyond the smiley ( or the less seen frown face ), Guys fighting feed back will eventually pull down several sliders to max cut - without finding and eliminating the feedback at it's source.
So I guess I try to avoid extreme adjustments on EQ.
I try to get a good sound through a quality sealed headphone on each channel, then the subgroups and main mix, and set graphic eq on FOH accordingly.
I get the center established ( esp.the 2k - 4k range); get the 100 - 14k settled, then deal with the bass. Usually there is work to be done from 80 - 200Hz.
So I punch in/out and compare phone via live and tweak as needed.
If ( as a sound guy ) you know the players well, you can anticipate/compensate/ for each player, also push and pull instrumental breaks/transitions and creatively apply effects.
The ability to "pop" music transitions and adjust for a player getting too loud/soft or getting buried in the mix, helps.
A player also running sound doesn't have that flexibility to be playing and manipulating knobs simultaneously.

[Tom]

Most venues won't allow you to crank up the pink noise to AUTOEQ, so it works to AUTOEQ out in a field somewhere, store the flat settings, and PEQ at the venue to some appropriate material - hopefully, some demos, etc. that the same band previously recorded.

[moo]

I also have DR200s and Driverack PA.
I do exactly what you have suggested. I have stored a basic 3 band parametric curve which gives resonably good results on its own for the DR200s if there is not time for RTAing.
It also helps out the RTA by not needing so much adjustment, and makes it quicker to set, and less likely to fail. (if the driverack detects more then 4 bands that need more than 12db adjustment, then it will take a long time to RTA and then say 'RTA NOT SET' (iirc)
It is good practice to use the RTA for correcting room problems, and the PEQ for smoothing speaker response.

My parametric EQ settings are an approximation of what I measured from my DR200s in the garden. My chart is an average calculated from 6 measurements from 3 different angles at 2 distances in the garden. It is an eye opener to see how much the response changes with angle and distance.
( I will post the settings some time at the weekend when I get the time to go to the shed and dig the DRPA out.)
The reason I do this is because there are peaks and troughs that appear at different angles and distances from the speakers and different reflections and nodes at different places in the room.
The single point measurement created by the wizard RTA on the driverack will only give you a flat response at that one point in the room, the rest of the room will still most likely have some random peaks and troughs due to resonances and reflections. You may also end up compensating for a anomaly at the mic measurement point, which is not a problem in the rest of the room, and then gives you a more uneven response on average throughout the room that you started with.

If I have time when I set up a new venue, I like to check everything with my laptop RTA and get an average of 6 positions in the audience area to tweak the global eq. This is slightly more promoter friendly, because I only need a short 5 second burst of white noise to get each reading. It is much less irritating than the long constant noise needed by the driverack to set its RTA.
This gives a better overall EQ throughout the audience area rather than just for one point in the room that the driverack RTA wizard gives you.

If you do not have a laptop RTA then a couple of tips for setting the RTA in the driverack:
First, listen to the system at different positions in the room to find an average sounding area with no unusual resonances to position the RTA mike.
If you see a big 12db boost corresponding with the crossover frequency after running the RTA, this is probably a phase issue, rather than an EQ issue. Try setting the delay before RTA-ing. (The average RTA on the laptop will also tell me if the subs and tops are out of phase, which also needs to be corrected with delay before setting the GEQ.)
If you use a Low pass filter then the Driverack's auto RTA will try to boost everything below the cutoff frequency, so this needs to be tuned off before running the RTA. Remember to turn it back on again afterwards!

There is a lot of good advice and info to be had on the Driverack forum on the DBX website. Try having a look there to see what you can learn.

I hope some of this info helps, and is not too confusing. I will post my PEQ setting later

Moo.

[RubiconProSound]

Moo, Thank you!...
exactly what I was looking for.

[mackcom]

I also have DR200s and Driverack PA.
I hope some of this info helps, and is not too confusing. I will post my PEQ setting later

Moo.

Moo, Can you post these settings? I just got a DRPA and I'm getting close to finishing my 4 - DR200s, so I'm eager to set this up and see how it sounds. Also, do you do any settings on the delay to align the 8" with the melded array?
Thanks.

[jcmbowman]

I also have DR200s and Driverack PA.
I hope some of this info helps, and is not too confusing. I will post my PEQ setting later

Moo.

Moo, Can you post these settings? I just got a DRPA and I'm getting close to finishing my 4 - DR200s, so I'm eager to set this up and see how it sounds. Also, do you do any settings on the delay to align the 8" with the melded array?
Thanks.

Unless you're bi-amping the DR200s, there's no way to set a separate delay for the piezos vs. the 8" driver. If you are biamping I'd delay the piezos at most 2ms relative to the mids.

[mackcom]

Unless you're bi-amping the DR200s, there's no way to set a separate delay for the piezos vs. the 8" driver. If you are biamping I'd delay the piezos at most 2ms relative to the mids.

Great, thanks.

[el_ingeniero]

Most venues won't allow you to crank up the pink noise to AUTOEQ, so it works to AUTOEQ out in a field somewhere, store the flat settings, and PEQ at the venue to some appropriate material - hopefully, some demos, etc. that the same band previously recorded.

If they don't allow pink noise, you might be able to sneak in a 40Hz to 20k Hz swept sine wave over 30 seconds. This would do the same job as pink noise and is certainly less unpleasant. You can pretend its part of a test track.