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Budget DJ limiter?

robmorin

robmorin

Mr. Legacy
Hello all.. I DJ small parties normally under 60 people... I use anything but high quality equipment. I only DJ about 4 or 5 parties a year all for free just for friends birthdays and whatever else...

My setup is kind of simple.. 2 Cerwin Vega AT-10 and DIY homemade 12" subwoofer a Tapco mixer and a cheapy 300 watt stereo amp and my subwoofer is powered by its own amp(mono)

I feed the mixer with a PC where the output is a Creative USB sound card that i feed to my mixer.

Now i know lots of people use the Behringer DCX2496 to manage or prevent speaker over drive or clipping however since i DJ for free my budget is limited...

I cannot buy a 3 to $400 limiter... And its really hard to find a used Behringer DCX2496 too.. can anyone suggest a more budget friendly limiter like around $150 i can use to prevent my speakers from clipping/overdrive as there seems to be a direct correlation between the amount of beers i drink and the amount of clipping that occurs.. :)

Thanks guys/gals
 
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I have a Behringer Composer Pro XL MDX-2600 that I use mainly as a De-Esser, but it also has a Gate, Limiter, Compressor, etc and you can get them pretty cheap used. (under $100 shipped) Lots to pick from on the auction site. Might do the trick.
 
Ok Rick I guess i used the wrong terminology........ I want something to help protect the speakers from over driving them. As sometimes i can be playing the music at a good level then the next song i mix in might have a higher volume to it, and this will send the woofers on the main into a point where you hear that pop noise you never want to hear...

Thats how i can explain it...
 
ok, SO jsik since i have 3 speakers , 2 main and one sub, can i Use the 4600 instead? Looks like it does all that the 2600 does, but for about $30 bucks more...


Thanks..
 
JoeESP9 said:
Why not use the volume control?
Click to expand...

That is exactly what I was thinking too.....

You cant get something for nothing, you simply need to turn it down.

All a compressor will do is reduce the dynamic range, and in doing so it will raise the average output level, and then you will have overheating voice coils and then you will fry your speakers....
 
robmorin said:
Hello all.. I DJ small parties normally under 60 people... I use anything but high quality equipment. I only DJ about 4 or 5 parties a year all for free just for friends birthdays and whatever else...

My setup is kind of simple.. 2 Cerwin Vega AT-10 and DIY homemade 12" subwoofer a Tapco mixer and a cheapy 300 watt stereo amp and my subwoofer is powered by its own amp(mono)

I feed the mixer with a PC where the output is a Creative USB sound card that i feed to my mixer.

Now i know lots of people use the Behringer DCX2496 to manage or prevent speaker over drive or clipping however since i DJ for free my budget is limited...

I cannot buy a 3 to $400 limiter... And its really hard to find a used Behringer DCX2496 too.. can anyone suggest a more budget friendly limiter like around $150 i can use to prevent my speakers from clipping/overdrive as there seems to be a direct correlation between the amount of beers i drink and the amount of clipping that occurs.. :)

Thanks guys/gals
Click to expand...

I am with those who suggest just using the volume control. If too many beers is the cause of overdriving the system, then cut back on the number of beers so that you will be more lucid.

BTW, you could also lose the cheap mixer and use a program like Virtual DJ to mix tracks. I maintain a modest system for home and family parties, and run the free Virtual DJ Home Edition on a laptop. I often put the program on automix mode and mingle with party guests.

The great thing too is that there is a Virtual DJ app for iphone that allows you to control the program on the laptop from your smartphone via wifi. There I was last week, chilling with guests while lining up tracks from my phone. Uber cool.

Virtual DJ Screenshot
IMG_0772_zps17b302a3.jpg~original
 
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You can pick up an Alesis 3630 compressor for cheap on Craigslist or that auction site. Crank up the ratio to max and adjust the threshold so that it limits right before your amp clips.

But Glen B has the right idea. Software is the way to go.
 
If you want a hardware unit as a safety valve, you should also be able to pick up a Really Nice Compressor (RNC 1773, IIRC) for about $100 used or a bit under $200 new. It's actually a very good unit for the price and very compact. The maker is FMR Audio, which was founded by Mark and Beth McQuilken.

Cheers,

Otto
 
Just set up your stuff so the amp can't clip. Set the master volume for the soundcard / OS such that a -0dB sine wave doesn't clip the amp with the mixer turned all the way up. If that's still louder than the speakers can handle when playing normal tunes, back off the master volume a little more.
 
I used a DBX 118 in peak limit mode and I'd turn up the sound system early in the evening to find the limits and then crank the sensitivity until I could hear it. then lessen the compression a bit so it doesn't sound like an AM radio station.
 
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