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tiggy
06-02-2012, 12:08 PM
Hi Guy can anyone help me set up my sound levels correctly my amp /mixer/gain and so on.
at the moment i have been setting my amp to 3/4 , mixer master to full , and turning the mixer channel volume up as the night progresses . im only using the one channel as i use a laptop for mixing which also has auto gain. I just want good quality loud sound without peaking the red all night. i also have the software master vol at max.

Buszaj
06-02-2012, 01:23 PM
What you need to do is set your gain structure correctly as to achieve the maximum output from each component in your signal chain, without clipping. Roughly, you will want:

Your DJ mixer master output sending from 0dB to +4, maybe +6 dB. Do not hit red, stay in the green, low yellow. Be sure that your individual channels are also in the same range. Even if you have your master sending out at a safe level, if you're sending a clipped signal from your channel fader, it's all gone to waste.

If you have a mixer between your amp and DJ mixer, have your DJ mixer input set also to 0dB to +4dB (use the PFL/Solo button to check the level on the LEDs).

Your audio mixer main output faders should be sitting at zero all night. Control your DJ mixer's level with the channel fader on the audio mixer. Once again, do not send out a clipped signal.

Finally, on your amp, have the output knobs turned to their maximum. You want to be controlling your levels throughout the night with your mixer, not the amp. And if by accident someone were to try to crank the amp channels, nothing would happen, as they are already maxed. This being said, be sure that your amp is not clipping too much. Generally, they should just touch red occasionally on heavy kicks or bass heavy sections. If they are constantly red, you are sending too hot of a signal to the amps.

ampnation
06-02-2012, 01:46 PM
So your signal chain is computer --> interface --> mixer --> amp --> speaker?

possibly the interface is built into your mixer?
If you're using headphone out, please get a USB interface instead... your sound quality will improve dramatically

What you're talking about here is gain structure and there are different approaches. They all boil down to trying to get the cleanest sound from a system at the highest possible volume while keeping your equipment safe.

Clipping is not safe so it should be avoided. With that in mind, this is how I do it.

First decide on a signal to use during setup. This might be the most demanding song you're likely to play, or it might be pink noise which is more demanding than any song. If you use pink noise, you'll have more of a safety buffer. If you use that one killer song, you'll have more volume and minimal (but usually adequate) safety. So try pink noise first. If you can get away with using that as your test signal it means you have plenty of headroom in your system. If you can't consider upgrading equipment when you can, esp. amp and speaker. To determine which signal to use, you'll first have to go through the process with pink noise. If and when you use your song, put the most demanding portion of the song on a loop.

btw, I'm assuming here your speakers and amps are well matched for power handling and output respectively.

With everything off, turn on your source. On the computer, yes, you should just max it out. On your mixer you should have gain, channel fader and master out. Place the gain at 0 or unity, the channel fader all the way up, and the master all the way down then turn it on. Turn your EQ pots all the way up. Techniques for each mixer can vary, but make sure you aren't clipping. If you are, reduce the gain till you aren't.

Now go to your amp with your mixer master out still all the way down and turn the amp on and max out the gains (technically they are attenuators).

Go back to the mixer and turn up the master out until either the output on the mixer is just clipping or the amp is just clipping. If you're using pink noise, leave it there. If you're using a song, back off that master out just a little.

If you do this with pink noise and find you can't get enough volume, note the positions of your knobs and go back through and do it using a song. You may find you can set your mixer's master out somewhere between the two.

note: if you have a digital amp, leave your speakers disconnected while performing this. if you have an analog amp you'll need the load of the speakers and you'll need to be prepared for some very loud annoying noise, esp. with the pink noise.

Also, if you're using a mic without compression and limiting, be more conservative because a dropped mic can be deadly to your system. If you can add a limiter to your signal chain post mixer out, that would allow you to be less conservative overall.

tiggy
06-03-2012, 05:06 AM
Thanks Guys for your help great info but im finding it really confusing ,its to advanced for me do work out . is there a way to simplify it for me. ill try to help by telling you my set up .. computer - deckadance house edition -audio 4 dj sound card - gemini ps 700i mixer - gemini xga 4000w amp -peavey pro 15 subs and satellite speakers 600w per speaker. the mixer has no eq only low mid & high , the only led lights i have are on the mixer / what is the pfl/solo button and what is pink noise . sorry if i sound dumb guys i probably am .

http://fashionbest19.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/deckadance.jpg
http://www.123dj.com/mixers/gemini/ps700i.jpg
http://www.djkit.com/images/products/xga4000_angled_lrg.jpg

ampnation
06-03-2012, 07:17 AM
Thanks Guys for your help great info but im finding it really confusing ,its to advanced for me do work out . is there a way to simplify it for me. ill try to help by telling you my set up .. computer - deckadance house edition -audio 4 dj sound card - gemini ps 700i mixer - gemini xga 4000w amp -peavey pro 15 subs and satellite speakers 600w per speaker. the mixer has no eq only low mid & high , the only led lights i have are on the mixer / what is the pfl/solo button and what is pink noise . sorry if i sound dumb guys i probably am .

Your mixer doesn't have any pfl/solo buttons.
Pink noise --> LINK (http://www.audiocheck.net/testtones_pinknoise.php)
Beyond what I've already said, I see you're running subs also, but you don't seem to have a crossover, so you're probably running a full spectrum signal 20Hz to 20kHz to both your tops and subs. You need to get one and you'll find your sound will be much better as a result.
The led meters on your mixer go green, yellow, red. Red = clipping. Same for the amp. Red = clipping.
Your crossover should be one with a mono sub output like a dbx 223xs. That's because you want your subs to couple and they will do that if they're reproducing the same signal and they are placed next to each other.

Since your amp is a 2 channel amp (like most) and you now have 3 feeds (left and right for the tops and a single sub) you'll need to buy another amp which you'll probably use for your tops. I haven't looked up the power ratings for your amps and speakers. If you've been running both tops and subs from this one amp, you should be able to run your subs off a single channel of the 4000 but you might want to use bridge mode or run each sub off one channel. If you end up seeing one sub per channel as your best option, you'll want to get a y-splitter adapter and run the same mono output to both channels.

So at this point, you'll run stereo (2 feeds) from mixer to crossover, then a top left (when I say top, I mean your Peavey top speakers vs. the sub) and top right to the new amp, the summed mono output you'll feed to the xga4000. From there of course you simply run your outputs as required to the tops and subs.

I hope that makes some sense. Once you do all that, you'll see your sound will be much much better. Plus you won't run near the risk of blowing your tops because you're trying to run a full range signal through them. FWIW, I think you should run a high pass filter (HPF) somewhere too to take everything below your subs range off the signal too. Your mixer is going to put out down to 20Hz and your subs are likely incapable of producing anything below about 45Hz. A HPF will keep your amp from producing those frequencies which is easier on both your amp and sub. The crossover I mentioned, the dbx 223xs has a 40Hz low cut filter which is the same thing as a HPF. That would work fine.

I'm sure you have more questions now, so shoot.

ampnation
06-03-2012, 07:20 AM
Oh, just noticed something in your reply... On a DJ mixer hi, mid, low IS your EQ. It's just 3 band vs.15 or 31 and uses rotary pots vs. sliders/faders. So when I say to max those out, I mean turn them all the way up. Max highs, mids and lows.

tiggy
06-03-2012, 09:07 AM
http://www.stagebeat.co.uk/sites/stagebeatv8.007/productimages/966x966f/114199_a.jpgthe peavey system i have has a built in crossover , will i still need to buy one though
300 Watts RMS continuous, 600 Watts program
4 Ohms
15'' (381mm) speaker with 3" (76mm) voice coil
Frequency response: 45 Hz - 300 Hz
efficiency: 98dB
2 x 6.3mm (1/4") jack and 2 x Neutrik Speakon sockets in parallel
Built-in crossover with high pass output for mid / high frequency satellite speaker
i do have a spare amp a gemini x-02 200rsm per channel would that power the tops.