Double Bass VL-208s for home audio

[Tom Baldwin]

I have two VL-208s. When I'm not gigging with them, I'd like to leave them set up and run my home stereo equipment through them. I've done this mono, and it sounds killer! What would be the recommended gear to actually run them in stereo?
Stereo mixer + stereo power amp?
Powered mixer?
What brands?

Remember they like a lot of power.

Thanks!

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Funny you should mention this, Tom - I've been doing some serious home repairs (stripping wallpaper from 120 year old plaster walls, patching, sanding, painting, etc...) this week, and have been using an iPod into the effects returns of the Focus II through a VL108 to keep me company and keep the energy high. It sounds amazing, and really packs a punch! My guess is that you'd need a small stereo power amp (stewart, etc.) , and as long as the impedance was a good match, any line level signal would probably do. The mid and tweeter controls on the VL series speakers come in handy for balancing the sound out at higher volumes.

 

[Ric Vice]

Funny you should mention this, Tom - I've been doing some serious home repairs (stripping wallpaper from 120 year old plaster walls, patching, sanding, painting, etc...) this week, and have been using an iPod into the effects returns of the Focus II through a VL108 to keep me company and keep the energy high.

Although I've often thought of doing this I've never actually tried it.
I guess that I'll have to pull my second VL 108 out of the basement
and give it a try.


Ric

 

[Uncletoad]

Tom Bowlus reported one time having used a pair of them for the front of house PA with great results.

 

[Tom Baldwin]

I guess what I'm trying to figure out is how to hook up all of the various components - sure it would be easy if it were just one thing. Is there something out there that has a butload of stereo rca inputs? Or could I just feed a simple power amp from the headphone jack of my existing stereo receiver?

Thanks again!

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Or could I just feed a simple power amp from the headphone jack of my existing stereo receiver?

One of the techies will have to answer this one as regards impedance matching, but my guess is that if the input impedance of most power amps is anything like the effects return of the Focus, the answer would be yes. Alternately, you could use a small mixer like one of the lower end Yamaha units (I got mine for about $100). I use a bigger Soundcraft board as an input mixer in my music room, but upstairs, the little Yammy mixes the signals from a CD player, an Imac, a sound module, and the R-09 and routes them to a set of powered monitors. I can't imagine why you couldn't do the same thing with a power amp feeding the VL208s.

 

[flatback]

One of the techies will have to answer this one as regards impedance matching, but my guess is that if the input impedance of most power amps is anything like the effects return of the Focus, the answer would be yes. Alternately, you could use a small mixer like one of the lower end Yamaha units (I got mine for about $100). I use a bigger Soundcraft board as an input mixer in my music room, but upstairs, the little Yammy mixes the signals from a CD player, an Imac, a sound module, and the R-09 and routes them to a set of powered monitors. I can't imagine why you couldn't do the same thing with a power amp feeding the VL208s.

Well I find the most interesting aspect of this whole thread is that, count them, 2, two of the previously most coveted cabs of all time are being relegated to home stereo. I guess that Wizzy 10 is a winner?

 

[Ric Vice]

Piro,
Well so far I'm still playing gigs with both of my EA's. Obviously the lightness and SPL of the Wizzy 10 peak my interest, but I want someone like Chris to do a shoot off. I guess we should just all pitch in a few bucks and buy one for him to compare to the VL's cause there not gonna show up in St. Louis.

Ric

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Piro,
Well so far I'm still playing gigs with both of my EA's. Obviously the lightness and SPL of the Wizzy 10 peak my interest, but I want someone like Chris to do a shoot off. I guess we should just all pitch in a few bucks and buy one for him to compare to the VL's cause there not gonna show up in St. Louis.

A couple of the Cincy guys have invited me to come do just that when theirs some in. I hope we can work out the schedule this summer when those gents and the Toad can all be present. Only this this time, somebody's gotta bring some sodas so the BQ will be higher this go-round. I love the idea of an 18 lb replacement for the 208, but I need to to HEAR it before I'll believe it.

 

[Uncletoad]

A couple of the Cincy guys have invited me to come do just that when theirs some in. I hope we can work out the schedule this summer when those gents and the Toad can all be present. Only this this time, somebody's gotta bring some sodas so the BQ will be higher this go-round. I love the idea of an 18 lb replacement for the 208, but I need to to HEAR it before I'll believe it.

I'd do that.

 

[Tom Baldwin]

I love the idea of an 18 lb replacement for the 208, but I need to to HEAR it before I'll believe it.

The Wizzy 10 is not and should not be construed as a replacement for the 208. Maybe the 108, but my plan for the Wizzy is for those gigs or rehearsals where you just need a little bit. Sure it can get pretty loud, but for loud things (big bands, outdoor festivals, concerts in large halls) I still intend to use the 208 because that's where it really shines.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

The Wizzy 10 is not and should not be construed as a replacement for the 208. Maybe the 108, but my plan for the Wizzy is for those gigs or rehearsals where you just need a little bit.

A lot of the gigs I play are trio/quartet hits at a club where the 108 isn't quite enough but the 208 seems like overkill. I was hoping that the Wizzy 10 might be a sort of tweener volumewise in comparison, which would allow me to substitute it for the 208. Am I far off?

 

[Tom Baldwin]

OK, coupla dumb questions. I know how it works with a mono amp, but here's the thing: If I hook up two 8-ohm cabs, one to each channel of a stereo power amp, is it a 4-ohm load or is it an 8-ohm load per channel? The specs typically read, for example, 275Wx2 at 8-ohms. So does that mean each channel receives 275 Watts with an 8-ohm speaker?

Next: The inputs are either XLR or 1/4 inch TRS. If I take the stereo headphone output (from whatever device I want to amplify) and split it into two mono 1/4 inch plugs (left and right) will that work? Why are the inputs TRS?

It's looking like more money than I had figured on spending, but I'm looking at a couple of units -

Yamaha P2500S, $399. 275Wx2 http://www.yamahaproaudio.com/products/power_amps/p7000s/index.html

QSC RMX850, $319. 185-200Wx2 [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Any thoughts?

 

[Tom Baldwin]

A lot of the gigs I play are trio/quartet hits at a club where the 108 isn't quite enough but the 208 seems like overkill. I was hoping that the Wizzy 10 might be a sort of tweener volumewise in comparison, which would allow me to substitute it for the 208. Am I far off?

I would guess you are not far off. I can't say for sure because 1. I've never heard a VL108 and 2. I haven't gigged with the Wizzy but twice to date. Once with a soft drummer and once with no drummer. FWIW, Mark Carlson IIRC was going to use his Wizzy 10 for a big band rehearsal. I've got 4 gigs in the next 4 days, so I can give you a better idea then.

 

[tombowlus]

Tom Bowlus reported one time having used a pair of them for the front of house PA with great results.

Yup! I now tend to use my 'Berg PA', but I used to use my VL-210's (two) and VL-208's (four) as FOH, with my VL-110's (four) as monitors. I still use the VL-110's for monitors. They are great in that role!

Here's a (really crappy, sorry ) shot of one stack of the 'EA PA!':

 

[tombowlus]

I love the idea of an 18 lb replacement for the 208, but I need to to HEAR it before I'll believe it.

FWIW, when I heard the Wizzy 10 at NAMM, I said to John Dong that the cab these most reminded me of was the VL-108. John confirmed that he did design the Wizzy 10 as a 'VL-108 replacement.'

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

FWIW, when I heard the Wizzy 10 at NAMM, I said to John Dong that the cab these most reminded me of was the VL-108. John confirmed that he did design the Wizzy 10 as a 'VL-108 replacement.'

My question is: does it have more clean headroom than a 108? You'd think that with the increased surface area, it might.

 

[tombowlus]

My question is: does it have more clean headroom than a 108? You'd think that with the increased surface area, it might.

I would guess that it does, but since I only heard it at NAMM and at low levels, I really can't say. I do not anticipate it being as loud as a VL-208, though.

 

[Ric Vice]

My question is: does it have more clean headroom than a 108? You'd think that with the increased surface area, it might.

Chis,
Ye olde VL 108's have a much lower SPL than the Wizzy 10. I think that
SPL of the VL 108 was either @96 or 98, with the Wizzy 10 coming in at 126. I'm no techie but since the Wizzy is a 4 ohm cabinet wouldn't that give you more clean headroom just by virtue of those figures alone. Granted it's only on paper. Enlighten me.

Ric

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Ric - on paper it looks great. In reality for me, it comes down to voodoo like, "how loud can it get and still sound relaxed and/or good?" I have no doubt that it's a hell of a lot more efficient than the VL series, but the beauty of the VLs is that they retain their sonic character as the volume goes up better than any other speakers I've ever seen. We'll see about the Wizzy...