Sound Output question?

DJ Life & Community General Discussion
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Sound Output question?

Hello everyone!

I recently got a 2 channel controller with traktor pro 2, I also bought some speakers and amp it came with.
My issue is, the speakers are loud, but when you turn them up to a decent level, you can hear more highs then bass. Like its ear piercing.
They are 15" radio shack speakers rated at 150w rms and 300w max, Im using a audio/video amp, dont know much about it except its power consumption is 130w.
There is just not enought low bass, how do I fix it? Do I need to get an equilizer? Get a passive subwoofer?
I rather not get a new amp, since that one can go pretty loud, plus good ones are real expensive, not worth it for occasional house parties.
Any ideas? Thanks!

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chances are, the problem is the radio shack speakers

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Could be most likely. But I cant buy new speakers. They can be pushed pretty far and the build quality is decent compared to others Ive checked out. If it can be fixed using a sub or equalizer then I rather do that.

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I also hooked them up to my friends laptop when he was producing beats and the sound came out real nice clear like the monitors I had on my pc.

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With that setup, watch out that you don’t blow your speakers. If your amp’s power consumption is 130W, that means that it will push out max 65W per side (I think - certainly not the 300W that each speaker can take).

If you start to push the amp toward & beyond clipping, then you will end up with square waveforms, where the amp can not power the ‘peaks’ of the sound/waveform. Like this:

This, in turn means that your speakers will not move in a nice smooth (sinusoidal) action, but rather the clipped waveform will hold the speaker at it’s maximum/minimum points for a while (for the whole time that your waveform/output is being clipped).

This results in your drivers heating up as they are not operating normally, and end result is blown speakers. :rage:

Clipping will not only put your speakers in danger, but your ears too. The audio will start to sound awful (the more you clip, the worse it will sound)… there is a discussion somewhere else on DJTT about this and the damage to your ears that distorted audio can cause.

From what you have said tho’, you are already driving the speakers whilst the amp is clipping. This is probably why the treble is getting louder whilst the bass is not - treble takes a whole lotta less power than bass. You’ve probably hit the limit of what the amp can push out bass-wise and so the bass is clipping more and more. Increasing the volume just clips the bass. As the treble takes less power, the amp still has headroom to provide more amplification for the high notes.

Also, what are your impedances on the speakers and what is the recommended impedance(s) of the amp? If the speakers impedance is lower than the amp’s recommended impedance(s), your speakers are not providing enough resistance, and your amp will overheat (and possibly die). If the speakers have higher impedance than the amp, then you have a ‘mismatched’ system and you won’t be getting the best performance out of the amp (many people run systems like this though, it’s not a biggie, you’ll just loose some volume :eek:slight_smile: PA speakers impedances are usually lower than home stereo speakers (PA often 4 Ω, home speakers often 8 Ω - and the amp may only drive 8 Ω+ loads)

Next time you use the system, I would keep checking the temps of the tweeter driver (you may have to partly dismantle speaker to get to it tho:confused:!), the woofer driver (not as important - woofers only get blown by overpowering speakers, not underpowering) and the amp. If any of them are getting hot (hot, not warm!) then I’d be worried that you are causing damage… allow this to continue, and you’ll be forced into buying a new amp or speakers.

Your amp really doesn’t sound ('scuse the pun!) like it’s going to do your speakers any favours - invest some of your hard earned into a 300W+300W stereo amp - make sure it can deliver this power into your speakers impedance (e.g. 300W+300W into 8 &#937:wink:. Your amp should be 1.5x - 2x the speakers RMS power rating per channel). If you do blow your tweeter, you’ll have to buy a new amp at the same time to avoid blowing it again - buy one now and you’ll avoid the cost of a new tweeter - and you’ll have more volume to play with… mmmmmm… more SPLs! :smiley:

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news! I may be wrong (& often am!) - the whole of this is based on the fact that the amp draws 130W, so is unable to push out more than this (e.g. my 800W PA is rated at 1kW). If this assumption is wrong, then you can ignore me! :smiley: Can’t help feeling that you need MORE POWER tho!!! Cheap amps can be picked up on ebay for very little - and unless you want to spend megabucks, an amp is an amp is an amp!

Using your amp when it isn’t clipping is fine. If you have a clip light on the amp USE IT - it can come on now and then, but not on every bass beat!

Alternatively, it could be a loose wire or a crappy sound card (!) :confused:

Sorry if this sounds gloomy - just trying to save you the cost of a blown speaker (by spending more money on a new amp - go figure! :roll_eyes:slight_smile:

Happy to help if you need any more info.

ₒ ᴑ O (Phew, that post took a while!)
:slight_smile:˚

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shitty blog tunes?

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Can you post the name and specs for the speakers and amp?

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escapemcp, thanks so much for your reply mate, I just learned so much!
I did research on the speakers and the reviews say that they do have low bass and high trebble, and in attemp to fix that I wanted to remove one of the 3 tweeters and leave an extra inlet hole for more bass. But now that I read your post it makes a lot more sense.
My amp does have a little LED display where there are green leds that are always on and sometimes when I turn the volume up there are red LEDs just above them thatare going off at every kick, is that what you were talking about?

What I will probably Do is just sell this set or the amp and get something else. I saw they sell PA speakers that are already powered just plug in the input cables :smiley:

I just made a stupid mistake without thinking, If I knew that information before I bought them I would of not bought them haha.
What If I have a 500W amp running those two speakers? 250w each and RMS is 300W on them?

Thanks!

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chefmix, sorry all I know about the speakers is that they are 150w Rms and 300w max, the amp is NEC amp that draws 130w, it was probably used in a small bar because it looks likea home entertainment amp but it has way more stuff on then needed for home entertainment.

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Does anyone have any experience in using Car amps to power the speakers?
I can get a nice car amp that will have waaay more power then needed, plus its cheaper. If you run it through a regulated power supply? wont it be the same thing?? but the distortion will mess it up probably?

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I would suggest going to or at least talking with a professional at a music store. Tell them what you have going on and see what they say.

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The thing that worries me about your speakers: RMS should be roughly 2/3rds of the peak, not half. So either that RMS value is incorrect, or the peak value is …

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yea you might be right that something is funy about those speakers. In fact I talked to guy yesterday who had exactly the same speakers and he said that he blew one by using them at recomented wattage, and that 100w each is ideal.
Im only lacking 35w each speaker with the current amp, but Im still looking for options.

Modding the speakers by removing tweeters and stuffing them with polyfill brings great results I’ve heard, but If I dont a new amp soon, no need to do that for right now.

question: Can I buy an amp rated way higher then the speakers? I want to get 1000w-2000w just to be later on if I get more speakers or upgrade, can I still it with these speakers as long as I dont turn it up too high?

Thanks

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Lesson learned :open_mouth: I should have done that, I will take bigger precautions next time, thanks!