Any sound system gurus here?

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O4L

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I'm helping a non profit set up their ancient system for an outdoor event. They have a Peavey XR 600C powered (mono) mixer that's rated at 200W at 4 ohms.

There are two sets of speakers. One is the wedge type monitor speakers that are rated at 200W RMS and the other set is rated at 300W RMS (Program). Both sets are 8ohms.

My question is which set of speakers I should use with the powered mixer or can I use both sets and not risk the amp or speakers?
 
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tRidiot

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If the amp is rated to power speakers at 4 ohms, you can wire those 8-ohm speakers in parallel to achieve a 4-ohm load. They will obviously not get the maximum power they can handle, but you probably ARE better off using both sets.

If you use one set at 8 ohms, you can expect maybe 100W per speaker. If you add the second set, it drops the impedance, allowing the amp to play to it's potential, while also doubling cone area (assuming same size speakers), so you will have much better output.

In short, given the information you've provided, you can easily run all 4 speakers off the amp in question. No worries.
 

O4L

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I was thinking that plugging one set into the speaker output jacks on a mono mixer is the same as running them parallel therefore dropping the load to 4ohms. Am I wrong?
 

tRidiot

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Is that a mono mixer??? Sorry, I was assuming it was a stereo output, hence 200W x2 (L/R).

If it is indeed a mono mixer, you can run one set of speakers to get a 4-ohm load.

I looked up a manual for that and it LOOKED like it said it could do 300W at 2 ohms (it was kind of a blurry picture). If that is the case, you could hook all 4 8-ohm speakers to it for a 2-ohm load, and each would get ~75W apiece.
 

O4L

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If I go all four for 2ohms would that underpower the speakers and cause problems? I'm thinking it would be easy to clip the amp trying to get enough volume.

Edit: Yes, it is 300W at 2ohms.
 

Dave70968

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If I go all four for 2ohms would that underpower the speakers and cause problems? I'm thinking it would be easy to clip the amp trying to get enough volume.

Edit: Yes, it is 300W at 2ohms.
Not only that; if it's not set up to deliver to a 2Ω load, you could easily overload it and blow out your final driver.
 

O4L

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Not only that; if it's not set up to deliver to a 2Ω load, you could easily overload it and blow out your final driver.

If you're talking about the powered mixer, it has a 2ohm rating of 300W.

What do you suggest for the equipment I have to work with?

The 200W RMS speakers are wedge type monitor speakers with one 12" and a tweeter.

The 300W RMS set has one 15" and a horn in each cabinet.

This will be used outdoors on an elevated stage. I only have one set of speaker stands to use and there is no amp for monitors.
 
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tyromeo55

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Is that a mono mixer??? Sorry, I was assuming it was a stereo output, hence 200W x2 (L/R).

If it is indeed a mono mixer, you can run one set of speakers to get a 4-ohm load.

I looked up a manual for that and it LOOKED like it said it could do 300W at 2 ohms (it was kind of a blurry picture). If that is the case, you could hook all 4 8-ohm speakers to it for a 2-ohm load, and each would get ~75W apiece.





It is a MONO amp with two 1/4" output jacks internally wired in parallel.

The amp in the mixer can handle 8 Ohm loads down to 2 ohm ( per the manual ) Which means you can run a single speaker or the pair of what you already have on hand. One speaker will get about 100W and two will be about 200W total ( note that even though the wattage is only double with two speakers you actually will 4X the output )

Which set you use is entirely up to the venue size and type but I'd guess either would be fine. If you are trying to project really wide I'd setup the wedge and not worry. Test them first and make sure they are not blown of corse.
 

BryanDP

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I have opposing views on this:

1) I have always felt "more speakers" is more important than "more power" so I would say go for it if the mono amp can take a 2 ohm load.

2) In my experience, a 2 ohm load is not a great idea with old Peavey equipment. It technically might work, but it might overheat if you work it really hard like playing lots of music through it at high volume. If this is just the occasional voice announcement you would likely be OK.

Basically the things to be concerned about are overzealous Peavey specs and speakers that are really more like 6-7 ohms when they say eight. Only going to go two speakers gives you some breathing room in this case.

Bryan
 
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