Need New PA

[hallo]

Hey, my band are looking for a new PA, we was using a Wharfedale PM600 but had to sell it to old band members, we got £240 for it. Anyway we're looking for the complete package and none of us know that much about PA systems. We have around £500 to spend and need at least 250w. It doesn't need to be too powerful as it will be vocal only.
Thanks in advance.

[IanStephenson]

In the UK the Phonic Powerpod 740 is a bargain. You can get it for well under £200, and it's 2x220Watts (or 400 bridged). 7 mic channels, and built in effects. Another £150-£200 for speakers leaves you 100 left over for odds and ends (stands, cables etc). You might squeeze one mic into the budget.

My main band used one for vocals only for a year until we upgraded to a full rig, and it got the job done. I bought one for my side projects on the strength of it, and it's been great.

Ian

[hallo]

Hey cheers for that, does this look like a good deal?
http://www.themusicking.co.uk/carlsb...ystem-tmk-sys1

[IanStephenson]

Originally Posted by hallo

Hey cheers for that, does this look like a good deal?
http://www.themusicking.co.uk/carlsb...ystem-tmk-sys1

Looks like a lot of toys for the price. The gotcha is in matching the amps to the speakers:

The amp:2 x 85W @ 8Ohm - 2 x 150W @ 4Ohm
The speakers:Impedance ( nominal) : 8Ohm

So you're only going to get 170Watts out of it. It's not going to be loud.

Other quibbles - The amp is rack mount, so you're going to need a rack to carry it in (unmounted gear is a pain to transport), and there's no reverb/fx on the mixer.

I think it's great value for the money (in UK prices - back when I was starting out around 1990 we'd have killed for a rig like that), but it may not be up to the job you want to do. If you've got more cash to spend, then it may be worth spending more...

Ian

[hallo]

Hey thanks man your a real help, the rack isn't a problem as most of the time it will be staying in our rehersals room.
At the moment I'm thinking of this setup can you see any problems with it:

Power Amp - http://www.themusicking.co.uk/carlsb...ower-amplifier

Mixer - http://www.themusicking.co.uk/behrin...nyx-1204-mixer

Speakers - http://www.themusicking.co.uk/carlsb...2-200s-speaker

Or do you reckon we should go for the Phoinc powered mixer and get some speaker to go with it?

Thanks in advance,

Adam

[hallo]

Would it be worth the extra money to go for this mixer:
http://www.themusicking.co.uk/alesis...demo-available

The ability to record would be a great advantage to us, I just know that in general Behringer's quality does lack sometimes.

[IanStephenson]

The poweramp/cabs seem more in the ballpark. You'd be getting 240Ws into 2x8ohm.

The mixer's seem a lot of money for something quite limited. For a bit more you'd get something you wouldn't outgrow, while for a bit less you'd get something you'd be happy to upgrade at some point (how many mic channels do you need?). The Alesis should be better quality, but the iPod thing looks like an expensive gadget, and for that price I'd want some built in FX. For the price difference you can run a cable from the mixer to a recorder.

The Behringer has 4 mic channels, while the Phonic has 7 plus built in FX. It's also 2x220watts (a little more than the carlsbro), and is about £180, rather than the £240 you're spending, so it's probably a better deal, but don't take my word for it! I'm suprised someone else hasn't chipped in with suguestions.

Ian

[hallo]

hey, need to pick your brains again, I think we're settled in the speakers and mixer, we've decided to go with the Alesis mixer as we won't need anything more for recording etc. Just wondered if this power amp owuld be better than the previous carlsbro one:
http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/shop/f...oduct_id/31376

Thanks

[IanStephenson]

It's got a little more power (2x150w into 8 ohm - which your cabs can handle), and it's actually a bit cheaper - looks good to me, but I don't know what rep the Alesis power amps have. Worth a shot?