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PA System, can someone help?

Yankee Dog

Yankee Dog

Well-Known Member
Sorry, not sure where or who to ask. No experience with this so I thought I would ask here.

I am looking for some type of a simple PA system. I am a member of an association that holds association meetings for about 200 people.

I have been asked to help find a PA system that is easy to hook up and take down on an occasional basis. Again for an outdoor meeting (annual meeting) maybe 3 or 4 times a year.

Needs to be easy to operate as I have no clue how to even use a PA system and so do the rest of the members, most of them are elderly retirees.

We could get by with 5 microphones, but ideally 8 would be perfect.

It is for talking only, and it would be used in a covered open air gazebo of 30 by 60 (roof, but no walls).

I have no idea where to start, did look at parts express, but, not sure what I am looking at. Any tips, advice, suggestions, etc. At least to help get me started. Things to not do, watch out for, etc.

Again, HELP! Thanks YD
 
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marty59 said:
Others will chime in I'm sure but this may fit your application..

http://www.anchoraudio.com/
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+1, very nice stuff there!

You will be far better off with a greater quantity of small speakers as opposed to one or two large very powerful and loud speakers. Distribute the sound evenly in front of the crowd, down the sides if necessary. Place the microphones behind the speakers as far as practical, pointing away from the crowd in the opposite direction that the speakers face.

Go to the Shure website, http://www.shure.com/americas/ , and read through the How To and Buyers Guide sections. I think that may help to answer some questions for you.
 
weasel2htm said:
What is your budget?
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Not having a clue, we decided on $1000. Looks like that might be unrealistic?

Yes to the multiple speakers, we were thinking 4 smaller speakers mounted in the rafters (open rafters) of the gazebo/meeting area.

The speakers would be about 12 foot high, and projecting at a slight downward angle into the crowd. YD
 
Mixer and microphones.

To start things off, you will need a mixer:

To get one with enough channels for 8 mics you will spend about $300.
Both of these have two extra channels for a CD player, iPod, whatever.

Like one of these should do the job (I would go with the Peavey) :
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/EPM8/

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PV14/

Next you will need Microphones, a friend of mine used these at her church because the price was right, they were cheap, but worked great. A three pack is $50, so $150 for mics (hey, you got a spare!)

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/R21/

Now you are going to need a boatload of mic cables for all this, I recommend the Whirlwind or Peavey brand, however, as expensive as good mic cables are, if you buy a bunch of cheap chinese cables to get you started, I can't blame you.

Speaker and amp ideas in next post.
 
Speakers and Amps(?)

Lots of options (and potential confusion) here!

I would love to say get a pair of JBL EON 510 speakers and be done with it, but at $600 each, that will blow the budget, having worked with the older EONS, I can't say enough for their versatility, and they are powered and bi-amped internally.

But because we only have about $650 left in the $1000 budget (not counting cables) we need to look at the lower end.

Best I can come up is a pair of Peavey PR-12D $340 each or $680 for the pair, not counting stands or cables, we are only $30 over budget.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PR12D/

Continuing to blow the budget:
Speaker Stands
Cheapest I could find, these are from Guitar Center, so you might be able to get locally and save on shipping.
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Musician-s-Gear-Standard-Speaker-Stand-451036-i1466828.gc

Mic cables:

I have found this is something you are better off buying locally, save on shipping, the mom and pop store prices are about the same as chain store and online. Figure $13 for the cheap ones and $25 for the good ones with a warrenty. I recommend the Peavey or Whirlwind brand name, I do not recommend Stagg or Horizon.

Really though, with cables and all the equipment, we are only over budget $200-$300.

BTW, don't forget to factor in a surge strip and extension cords.
 
I don't know much about the PA world so take my advice for what it's worth and if you're lucky, it will get you a single french fry. :D

Backstory: I bought some PA bass cabinets and only had enough to make a single 'stack'. (black top horn and bottom two bass bins in my avatar, the LaScala in the middle was an experiment one day)

So we did an outdoor movie and I used the single stack. I was miffed because I really wanted a stereo presentation.

On talking to a friend of mine who HAS been in the PA business, he said I was ok with what I did. Not only was it sufficient in volume (it was) he also said because I only had a SINGLE source for the sound that I would get no destructive interference from a stereo presentation and my inteligiblity factor would be the highest.

Ironically, just last night, my (wheelchair bound) niece wanted to go to a country dance bar for the first time in her life so, my wife & I took her.

As we were there, we (my wifes brother & I) were talking about the sound system and frankly, how sucky it sounded. One thing that I felt is, the music was indeed "everywhere" since they had multiple speakers on the floor as well as others throughout the building.

I wanted to see what speakers they were specifically using and could not see a badge from my location. The speakers seemed to be "pro-PA" speakers in that they were trapazoidal shaped, and meant to fly in "packs" much like you might see at a concert. (doesn't mean that they weren't crappy PA speakers, I have no idea of their build quality)

What I noticed was my friends comment about the intelligiblity of the overall system. With all these point sources, everything was competing with each other.

I'd say to give it a slow & steady try... meaning, instead of jumping into something with lots of speakers all over the place, perhaps try a single larger capable speaker with good constant coverage. If that doesn't give you enough SPL then consider adding a second one if/as needed... then if forced, a third. In other words, after expericncing what I've experienced myself, I'd be hesitant on putting a bunch of speakers in playing the same material.

Again, I'm not a sound guy, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn last night. I'm just repeating some things I've been told that my ears are now telling me made some sense.
 
I'd say just rent stuff when you need it. It'll be better than spending money on your own stuff if you use it 5x a year and are buying at market value.
 
For the small area you need to cover, you don't need a lot of watts at all. For speech, a 35 watt PA amp is all you need. These mics seem to be good and hold up well: http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=248-626

If the amp don't have enough inputs, get a mic mixing board. Get a pair of PA speakers and stands to get them above the listeners' heads. Since this is voice, don't blow you budget on the larger PA cabs that are meant for stronger bass.

You should be able to do this for under $1,000 easily.
 
I would suggest that you look for some smallish PA speakers on stands rather than flying them in the rafters of the Gazebo. Flying them above adds another layer of complexity that you don't need. For a group of 200 and outdoors, you should be able to get by with two speakers.
With eight mics, you'll need a mixer and a distribution amplifier. Guitar center has all this and a trip to your local outlet would probably be a good fact-finding mission. The used market has a lot of PA equipment and you might be able to increase the quality of your system by buying used. Good luck with your project.
 
vinyldavid said:
I'd say just rent stuff when you need it. It'll be better than spending money on your own stuff if you use it 5x a year and are buying at market value.
Click to expand...

:thmbsp:

Best option for occasional use. Finding a PA company with a good sound tech is most important. Let the sound tech worry about the equipment and most of all, proper setup.
 
If you're dead set on buying stuff, Shure makes mic packs of PG58's and cables and I believe stands for a fairly low price. Decent mics for low cost. Then find a cheaper powered mixer on CL, two PA speakers (lotsa JBL JRX stuff out there) and sticks (stands) and you'll have a servicable setup for under 1k.


voltcontrol said:
:thmbsp:

Best option for occasional use. Finding a PA company with a good sound tech is most important. Let the sound tech worry about the equipment and most of all, proper setup.
Click to expand...

This is the other reason for renting stuff. It's all taken care of for you, there's a sound tech there to solve problems that may arise, and it's one less thing you have to worry about.
 
Renting is better if the need is occasional. The Fender Passport is the best solution for one man easy setup in a PA and better versions are good in your situation.
 
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