Gemini GX450 Powered Speakers

[navydiver]

Anybody on the forum ever heard or used this particular make and model speaker? Opinions welcome. Local ad at: http://www.usedvictoria.com/classifi...t-Set_23681284
Guy literally lives around the corner from me according to the posted location map. Was interested in lights but have a nephew who is getting into DJing - wondering if this would be a good setup for him or if I should keep looking...
Good deal or not?

[Unknown DJ]

That's low end crap. I live on the Island. If you need any help let me know.

[wapples]

$1000 USD Is a lot of lolly. THERE IS SO MUCH YOU COULD BUY NEW and get started with what you need. The lighting is a bit primitive for my liking $2-300 will probably set you up nicely with a good little foggy and some great LED fixtures from the likes of Chauvet American Dj Blizzard KAM etc

Iam sure you can pick up some half decent speakers new or second hand and a mixer to get you rocking. yes it might be close and save you some cash on logistics but i would probably invest my money on some good bits it won't be all that long before you have a great setup. I started small and have never looked back. My older smaller stuff which is still good is sent out to other jobs o kept as a spare. But Speakers are not something you want to scrimp on on a good pair of s/h QSC or EV's are like likely to deliver more than a new pair of Berrhingers or Gemini. BUT others will have more to say thats just one opinion
OPOAT

[light-o-matic]

First of all "speakers alone are worth $1000 a piece new" is a total lie. More like $250 new.
So basically this guy is a liar. Yea, it is true that all those lights and stands do add up to quite a bit so if you actually REALLY REALLY wanted each and every low-end piece he's selling then it would be an ok deal, but really, you don't.. so just skip it.

Take your $1000 and buy an actual decent pair of powered speakers, a pair of stands, and a controller.. and that will get your nephew started. Those are the important pieces. Then later when he is ready to do some gigs and needs lights, he can put together a more sensible lighting package than that. A starting DJ needs good sound first and foremost, and just a few lights, if they are well-thought-out. will be fine. Nothing looks lamer than a hodgepodge of cheap-ass lights.

[navydiver]

Thanks all for the quick turn around on this - yeah pretty much figured but wasn't sure if the speaks were a hidden gem or not as I had never heard of them and from Google searching thought they were off the continent good stuff like Yorkville Elite stuff here in Canada. Price is actually $750 Canadian which is cheaper yet in US Dollars so not sure where the $1000 is coming from (other than the claim of $1000 per which I dismissed immediately - for that scratch I could buy some awesome speaks new I am sure)...
This pretty much answers my question though so thanks to all. Here is my current rigs:
http://navydiver.ca/Library/DJ_Syste...n_with_Sub.jpg
http://navydiver.ca/Library/DJ_Syste...enon_Mixer.jpg
which you can see and hear in action here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71uO...9YhiqiOzM2ek3w
and here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEXx...9YhiqiOzM2ek3w (big CVs are hidden behind sheer curtain)
I do loan my gear out to my nephew when double booked so not a rush thing to get him hooked up...

[conanski]

A little FYI here.. the speakers on stands in those clips are too low, the bottom of the speaker should be about 6' off the ground.

And yeah skip those Gemini speakers.. if you could get them for a few hundred bucks they would make an OK backup speaker but you won't like lifting them at 62lbs!! The EV ZLX12 would be a comparable modern speaker that you could buy for the same money and they only weigh 32lbs each.

[navydiver]

A little FYI here.. the speakers on stands in those clips are too low, the bottom of the speaker should be about 6' off the ground.

And yeah skip those Gemini speakers.. if you could get them for a few hundred bucks they would make an OK backup speaker but you won't like lifting them at 62lbs!! The EV ZLX12 would be a comparable modern speaker that you could buy for the same money and they only weigh 32lbs each.

Thanks conanski - heard that elsewhere as well and I promise next time the speaks will be well up in the air. Understand if they are too low up front it blows out folks dancing in front and there is too much sound absorption/reflection in the front that sound in the back is crap.

I have been looking at passive Yorkvilles to possibly replace my Behringers. Looking at YX15C or if this fellow comes down in price at all may try for something in their elite series like this set:
http://www.usedvictoria.com/classifi...itors_23652174

Also, I contacted the fellow with the Geminis to ask him how much he would sell his light system and fogger for separately without the speakers - he said $350 firm a few days ago and just came back to me today saying $300 after second thought via email. Is that good value or am i just buying someones old crap? I have not replied yet.....

[conanski]

Thanks conanski - heard that elsewhere as well and I promise next time the speaks will be well up in the air. Understand if they are too low up front it blows out folks dancing in front and there is too much sound absorption/reflection in the front that sound in the back is crap.

Yes if you get the speakers up over peoples heads then they don't have to be as loud to deliver sound to the back of the crowd and people in the front have an easier time.

I have been looking at passive Yorkvilles to possibly replace my Behringers. Looking at YX15C or if this fellow comes down in price at all may try for something in their elite series like this set: http://www.usedvictoria.com/classifi...itors_23652174

Decent speakers but not exceptional for the $$. If you want a real upgrade from where you are now look for some better quality 12+1 mains and then add subs, this keeps the heavy boxes on the floor where they work best and lightens those you have to lift. People get sucked into these big heavy 15+1 boxes thinking they will produce big bass but most of them don't produce any thump worth talking about especially after you put them up on stands, so don't go there unless you're building a big live sound or highschool dance system, and even then you want 15+2 boxes.

Also, I contacted the fellow with the Geminis to ask him how much he would sell his light system and fogger for separately without the speakers - he said $350 firm a few days ago and just came back to me today saying $300 after second thought via email. Is that good value or am i just buying someones old crap?

You're buying someone elses crap. The fogger may be usefull I didn't look it up but the other stuff is obsolete, I have a mirror ball too but it only comes out when requested(not very often) and also some of those old xenon strobes but all my LED fixtures strobe too so these haven't been out in decades. My advice for lighting is to pick a control system and build up around it. In my case I picked the ADJ UC3 system(and DMX) as requirements for all new purchases and that allows me to send out a small system with 2-4 fixtures on a tripod that can be controlled by a UC3 wireless controller, or I can build a bigger system around DMX control. You could do something similar with Chauvets IRC wireless system too.

[navydiver]

Muchas Gracias conanski - will give the lights a miss too. On the light side I have a number of dmx capable crystal ball lights and dmx mini LED Par cans that I bought from China on ebay cheap. They are mounted on tripod T light stands (those I just link up and make them respond to the music beat in unison) - they work quite well and get me by. Have tried dmx controllers but have had no luck with them. I also have a small two colour laser and some LED strobes. You can see some of them here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V527Eo4mlGE
Will do some research on ADJ UC3

For speakers - One of my wingers uses the Mackie SRM450V2 and swears by them as a tried and true setup. I haven't actually heard them as we are always doing gigs separately but he does have 2 or 3 pair of them. I went for the 15+1 because they were inexpensive when I started and because on numerous occasions I have played real small venues that don't warrant the addition of my single 18" sub (Passive Yorkville Pulse PS18) or my old pair of very large Cerwin Vega PD-18 3-ways. Because the venues are small like nearby Hatley Castle (if you have ever seen the X-men movies it is Dr Xavier's
school for the gifted for filming), I just use the 15+1 Behringers where they are more than adequate on their own. I have always thought 12+1 like the SRM450v2s would be inadequate on the low end for a stand alone speaker but that is what my friend does and he has an excellent reputation being an ex-radio announcer on one of the big local rock stations for many years. I will likely stay on the passive side unless of course a really good active deal comes up so will keep my eyes peeled. I am pretty much booked up for weddings all spring, summer and fall but have time in hand til then and what I have does
work for now for any short notice engagements. Being an ex home hifi nut from decades past, I am finding that being on the hunt and learning more on the pro side is more than half the fun. The wife's only stipulation is I have to do all my procurement's outside our regular job incomes so what I get is from gigging for eventual handover to my 19 year old son for him to make some side bucks - so I have to be both frugal and patient in my acquisitions. Everything I have so far has been bought from that methodology...

[conanski]

The SRM450s were/are industry workhorses and produce good fullrange sound up to a point, if you try to get too much SPL they get harsh. But Mackie's reputation for building reliable equipment has taken a turn for the worse since they got bought out by Loud technologies so I wouldn't recommend buying any of their recent products. I have a set of Behringer B512's that are SRM450 look alikes and those too produce surprising quantities of bass, and there are a couple new 12" speakers from Yamaha and Yorkville that produce impressive bass along with very good overall sound quality so you really don't need 15's for those small events. What I'd suggest is to go demo some of these new powered speakers to see where technology has come and put things into perspective, products like the EV ZLX12p, Yamaha DBR12, Turbosound M12 will surprise you with their sound quality and light weight. For smaller events I love being able to bring nothing but a pair of lightweight powered speakers and a DJ controller.. no racks.. the whole system fits in the trunk of a car.