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Topic: Speaker Advice Needed.... - Page: 1

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Hi everyone,

I am a complete newbie to the game, and at the moment need a little direction. In the coming days I plan on ordering the Numark Mixtrack Pro, I have read some great reviews on the product, and for a novice, it seems to be a very complete unit. I plan on using this with my Sony Vaio, core i3 processor laptop. Having asked a couple of people I know in the game, they tell me that my laptop, the Mixtrack Pro, a couple speakers and an amp should have me good to go.

This is where I need help. My potential gigs will probably be to no more than 150-200 people on average. I don't have a massive budget by any means as I am literally only starting out. My question is what power outage would suffice for gigs the size that I mentioned? On Amazon, I have found a pair of speakers, each delivers 500-1000W, priced at £184.90 (€208) which to me seems very cheap. They are not a well known brand but that is not important for me at the moment. Would they be sufficent? Here's the link to the speakers:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Auna-2000W-Speaker-Pair-PW-2222/dp/B00265KX04/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308674169&sr=8-1

And here's a link to the compatible amp for the above:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Auna-Compact-Stereo-Karaoke-Amplifier/dp/B0020HA2CM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1308675516&sr=8-2

Any advice or opinions would be great.............
 
Posted Tue 21 Jun 11 @ 11:59 am
Before you do ANYTHING, this is a business...NOT A GAME!

If you don't plan on giving this profession the respect it deserves as a business, then you are just setting yourself up for failure. Want to be successful? Then research what it takes to start and run your own business.
 
Clearly you're not familiar with my use of the word "game". Being Irish, my use of the word game in this context indeed refers to the business.

You've answered your own query with your reply there also, if I was not researching what it takes, would I be here asking for opinions and advice?

Also, as I stated, I am completely new to this, and therefore trying to familiarise myself with all aspects. If you have anything constructive to add, or indeed a direct response to what I asked, I'd be happy to hear what you've to say.
 
If it were me I would stay away from those speakers/amp that you have listed. Stick with brand name stuff that is known or you will almost always be sorry. Here is a copy and paste from another thread here.

http://www.virtualdj.com/forums/149626/General_Discussion/Speaker_question__.html


EV Live X speakers are the best for less. Not knowing your budget its hard to recommend a setup for you. You can get a system anywhere from 400.00-5000.00 but it all depends on what you want to spend or can spend.

Yahama's new DSR series is Fantastic but pricey

QSC's K series great but pricey

EV Live X series - Awesome and priced lower than others in that quality range but still more expensive than cheap speakers

JBL EON or PRX Series - Very good, Hate the look of the EON's though. Still more expensive than other options.

Budget speakers - Behringer and Harbinger (Can be very good or can be very bad, quality control is not highly known here)
 
 
Yes and Yes, but Ive heard the output on the Mixtrack isnt that loud.

Good Luck
Huey
 
e-viper wrote :
Cool, thanks for the tip man. I know somebody who has a store that stocks the following EV speakers. Do you think these would give me sufficient sound for playing to around 200 people?

http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/speakers/electrovoice-sx-300e/1123408/

Would these be connectable directly to the Mixtrack Pro?


The speakers should be fine for starters. I would look for a 15" two way speaker though since you are not going to have subs to start with. Just my opinion though. 12" is okay but lacks some bottom end bass that is really what "we" dance to.

EV is great though, either way you will be ok.
 
Thanks pskeens, appreciate it!

Huey what would you suggest to get the best sound from the mixtrack with these speakers?
 
You could use another soundcard such as an Audio8, Hercules Trim or just run your outputs from the Mixtrack into another mixer and from that mixer out to the speakers.

Huey
 
As far as the mixtrack is concerned it will depend on the speakers and how large of an area you need to cover. While it may be a little lower output than some other mixers I have used mine without needing additional leveling with plenty of success. I would give it a go with just the mixtrack before putting any cash out for additional perhaps unneccessary gear.

I don't know if this is actually a Numark issue butt he Mixdeck has slightly low output levels as well
 
I did give you a very important tip. More important than what speakers or soundcard.

Successful businesses have detailed business plans. A little research would reveal that fact. A proper business plan details every single aspect of the business from marketing and advertising to operational costs. How can you possibly decide on what gear if you haven't determined a budget?

See, I would love for everyone who "wants to be a dj" become successful business people. The harsh reality is that most people just want to ask what speakers and laptop should they get, then they assume everything else just falls into place. There is so much more involved:

Contracts
Insurance
Taxes
repair/replacement costs
advertising
Transportation
Music/videos
PA gear
Laptop/computer
Lighting
projectors/tv's

I feel like a broken record here, but without reading through a business plan and understanding what types of events you plan to do, the types of venues those events will take place in, how much the business has budgeted for gear, and how much you plan to charge to get a return on your investment, NO ONE can make a SMART decision on what specific piece of gear to buy.
 
djnutz, everything you have mentioned has been taken into consideration. I've only asked about the speakers specifically because that is one area that I am particularly unsure of, so decided to seek some advice on them from those who know more than I do.

I am not being funny with you, but as far as a business plan goes, my outlook as a beginner is simple. Get the best products for my requirments but for the best possible price. I never said that I don't have a budget, of course I do. I should also point out that I did mention the scale of events I aim on playing, I can remind you that it is likely to be parties of around 150-200.


Thanks jbart, that sounds like a good tip, I'll certainly try them out before further investment.
 
jbart19 wrote :
I don't know if this is actually a Numark issue butt he Mixdeck has slightly low output levels as well


True which is why I dont use the built-in soundcard, I use an NI Audio8

Huey
 
That is all very true but it brings up point that I have been noticing lately more and more int the General froum

Sorry to go off topic -:)

----RANT----

DJNUTZ makes a great point that there is a lot more to being a successful business owner as a DJ than just speakers and laptops and mixers and I feel his frustration. But one of the great things and also one of the sometimes frustrating things for the people who follow these forums on a daily basis is the inclusiveness of the VDJ software and these forums.

VDJ with its many versions is a very powerful software that has been designed to be able to do anything the true professional needs above and beyond the capabilities of many of its competitors. That being said as an enticement and advertising scheme there is also the home free version a and several flavors of LE that are available with many low priced MIDI controllers and mixers. Inherently this will bring in more hobbyists and "Just for Fun" users. This clientele will always have the same group of getting started questions that will be repeated continuously. These will create a significant percentage of topics in the "General" forum. That is fine because the search is poor and there are great number of people who are amazing resources on these forums.

What would be nice - and this I believe both a user pattern issue and a forum moderation issue - the Pro level discussion board area is very under utilized because it seems like none of the Pro users monitor it and instead monitor the general forum which creates a more of overlap between "newbie" discussion topics and Experienced users than on most forums I am member of. The general forum is becoming a battleground instead of - excuse the term - a nursery - where beginners are nurtured and helped out no matter what their final goal is. Not everyone wants to DJ as a business. A lot just want to have fun and maybe have a good time in their basement or at a buddy's pool party on a holiday. The spectrum of users for VDJ is a lot more broad than something like Serato that has a higher barrier to entry.

Maybe if the Pro forums were expanded and used more frequently by the people who are DJ'ing for a living and a different forum - not called general because that is really a misnomer in most situations - and a separate home user and LE forum or beginners forum was distinguished it would be more productive and less heated. Of course if no experienced folks answer the questions it would not work but personally i feel like there has been a lot of tension created between the Experienced and professional every day making a living at it members and the exponentially expanding group of Just trying it out and testing the waters members. This is something that is not unique to the DJ industry.

Any time a tool is developed (midi mixers and software + MP3) that makes an art or industry that was for a along time very difficult to enter into and that required a large amount of training and had a high barrier to entry - cost of music, complexity of equipment etc - and makes that segment of society significantly cheaper and easier to enter into there will always be a conflict between the traditionally trained and those that enter in the "easy" way. The same thing happened in other industries like web development. Ten years ago the only people developing web sites were highly trained computer programming professionals that were highly sought after and highly paid. These days people feel like anybody can build a successful website with very little professional training because the tools to build websites have become very point and click and very powerful at the same time. This created a lot of resentment from professionals because it created lower wages and higher expectations from all of the clients. Eventually a balance will be created but the waters will be rough until that happens.


When everybody from my 8-year old brother to professionals that have been performing for over 30 years are able to use the same platform and are mixed together on the same discussion board there will always be differences of opinion. Being able to more clearly define areas of the forums and therefore create more realistic expectations of the type of questions one will see in each section may lower the frustration level that seems to be bubbling to the surface more often as of late.

-----End Rant-----

DJNUTZ your passion is evident and without strong experienced members like yourself this forum would not be "The Place" for VDJ users to come and learn please don't take my rant as a personal attack as it was not meant as one. I will even add 2 things to your list:

Business license
Permits
 
The old expression comes to mind:

"We all have to start somewhere"
 
Sorry viper for crashing your thread

Good luck finding the right equipment for your needs
 
It's all good man, I appreciate the frustrations that some will feel but it is a business that will new entrants all the time. Thanks again dude!
 
e-viper I'll start by saying I hope you become a great DJ and not just another twat with shit speakers :)

Nutz and other DJ's,

I understands what your saying, the software is marketed at beginners as well as pro's so you will get a lot of silly questions, you can always choose to ignore these topics and let these people learn the hard way as we did. Contribute more to the exp pro forum.
 
I take no offense whatsoever to anything said here. I follow a very detailed business plan for my own business. It really doesn't matter if all these new people use proper grammar, spelling, or make proper decisions regarding their own businesses. The effects of their mistakes are either complete failure, or they learn lessons the hard way. My mission is to plant the seeds in their heads.

To the original poster, I wish you luck in your endeavors.
 
You follow a detailed business plan because your running your own business. Someone that's starting out, You cant expect them to do everthying you do. You have to experience things as they come along. There are djs that just want to do simple parties and other DJ's that want to take it to the next level and do Weddings, Swett 15's or 16s, Corporate events etc.

As far as buying equipment. Buy your setup slowly if you are in the starting out stage.

By priiority

first is a Controller, Decks etc, Mixer. You can practice at home untill you feel like you are ready to do you first gig. Then you look
to buy your first pair of speakers

Second is speakers.
 
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