PA Speakers?

[stephenu88]

I originally looked at getting one of those drum amp packages for my e-drums.
But after looking around I find them to be a bit overpriced.

So I've been looking at some powered pa speakers. I hear good things (from vdrums.com) about the mackie thump 15a, yamaha msr400, jbl eon, and a few others.
My only problem is these only have 2 xlr inputs. Are there any that have a setup similar to the e-drum amps? I want to amplify my drums, and plug my metronome or zune in as well to play along. 

[Fishman]

I think you should buy which ever speaker you find best and rather than spending more on a speaker that has these extra features, I recommend buying a small un-powered mixer. This is the cheapest one I could find. http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Behringer-Xenyx-502-Mixer?sku=631262
Really anything like this will do what you want, and maybe better and cheaper than a special amp with these features.

[Fishman]

Also what dose your budget look like? What applications are you using this amp in, live jam, band, or just practice; how much juice do you want?

[stephenu88]

Thanks for your advice. However I already purchased a Yamaha msr400 pa speaker. It may be overkill just for practice in my basement. But I like the possibility of adding on with the compatible sub and it being loud enough if I ever do a live show.

It should be arriving Thursday, so ill let ya know how it goes.

[Fishman]

OH MAN! 400W! that baby will be sing'in! lord knows i love to turn it up, and with a sub...WOO! great for house party's. looks like a great speaker, let us hear about when it arrives!

[stephenu88]

I received the speakers today.  Please bear in mind that I've only had my drum set for a week and I have nothing to really compare this speaker to as I've never bought or compared various PA speakers.

At first I didn't think it was really loud enough. On the back you can adjust the gain of high and low freq. and also the overall input gain. The control goes from -4db to +4db. I had it all the way up to the +4db but it wasn't really that loud, probably only loud enough to just hear it over the clicking of the cymbals. You can turn the dial past the +4db to where it says "mic" and I wasn't sure if I was supposed to but I did anyway. The speaker gave a slight noise (hiss) when turned up to mic (maybe my cables?) but the beast came out in it!! Its really loud--my ears where really starting to hurt after a half hour.  The cymbals sounded great.  The only negative is the bottom end is just ok. It still sounds great but it doesn't quite go as low as it should. I guess it would be ideal to pair it with the msr800 (subwoofer) but the price is just a little steep for me right now (its $800.)  The bass isn't bad at all, its just punchy there isn't really any boom to it.

Overall, I would recommend it. However I think the price may be a little steep (I paid $500 @ americanmusical.com.) But then again I don't really know how good a powered pa should be for that price. 

[Guinness]

You could return it, yes?  I think you can pick up the Simmons 200w one for $299, and I've heard nothing but good things about it...  especially the low end.
 
and if you really want to get to that 400w number, you could get a pair of them (L/R channel).  Then you're looking at $600 vs $1300 as proposed above.
 
Although, I think 400w is overkill in a basement.  That thin stream of blood trickling out of your ears is a bad thing.      I can't even turn up my 50w guitar amp all the way.  I can't imagine standing next to 400w.  But whatever....     invest in  some good NRR 32 ear plugs.   
 

[ProDigit]

Best budget speaker or powered stage monitor is the Samson Auro412, it is a 12" 400W monitor for only $249!
Buy one for rehearsal or two for onstage, and you'll have enough juice to play HARD!

The tweeter also is a small dome driver, instead of a regular tweeter. It sounds very bright.

Try these out at your local SamAsh dealer (or look here for details)

[ProDigit]

...
 
Although, I think 400w is overkill in a basement.  That thin stream of blood trickling out of your ears is a bad thing.      I can't even turn up my 50w guitar amp all the way.  I can't imagine standing next to 400w.  ....

There are some fundamental differences between a bass amp, a drum amp and a guitar amp.
It's not hard for an amp to drive a speaker with guitar frequencies, drum or bass frequencies (which are a magnitude lower) require also a magnitude more power. If you want a bass that sounds loud enough to play side by side with your 50W guitar amp, he will need about a 200W system.
Same goes for the drums.
Overall the drums can do fine on any occasion with a 100W system, if it wasn't for the bass kick.
The kick (and at times the toms too) require a much more powerful system.
For a practice amp, I would seriously consider a 100W system min!
I've tried playing back on my 2.1 system (2x40W + 1x20W subwoofer) and found it was greatly underpowered, like mentioned, I could hear the padstrokes at the same volume as the vol out of the speakers.

I connected a 200W stage monitor, and found it was definitely loud enough.

If you want to go portable, onstage, the smallest and cheapest you can go is having 2x Behringer B208D amps (~$360 total, plus cables). They are tiny but loud. They also might not amplify the snare a lot, as they are missing out some mids. A single B208D does not provide enough low end to accurately portray the low end of the bass kick though, but I don't know what 2 would do onstage.
A step up would be a pair of B210D's. They tend to have more mids, and deeper lows.
Next I'd suggest the Samson Auro 412 like mentioned in previous reply.
These ones should suffice on almost any stage, for any volume.

[stephenu88]

Thanks guys! Yes, prodigit, you are right my 50w peavey tube amp (tube amps are louder) can just about keep up with the 400w pa.

I think I will add a sub to the msr400 soon. But like I said earlier the msr800 is just too much. Can somebody recommend a sub for under $400? I see peavey has some for under $300. Does anybody have experience with these? Would I be able to daisy chain from the msr400 to the subwoofer? Do the subs have built in crossovers?

[ProDigit]

Peavey subs are floppy and sound weird.
They are loud though!
If that is what you can afford it might be good enough.

[Guinness]

Prodigit-
 
doh.  I knew that.  Wasn't thinking...  doh.  Thanks for clearing up my advice. 

[TommyLeeRocks1]

 I have a Gemini PA system running through two Cerwin Vega double 15 speakers with 12" horns. They are 400 watt speakers and It's run through a Pioneer receiver.

I'm wondering how this will sound with the DM10 Module? Or do I still need a drum amp?

Thanks, guys.

[ProDigit]

I generally don't recommend running your setup through a sub. But if what you have is a fullrange speaker, then yes, a single 15" could do the job.

The only con is that the larger the speaker, the further the throw.
You will want a single 10 or 12" monitor ~200W as your monitor.
The larger the cab, the less you'll hear yourself playing next to it, and the more the audience hears it.

A drum amp is nice, but costly.

They also are very similar to a sub and sattelite speakers of a 2.1/5.1/7.1 home cinema (eg the ones of your blueray/dvd home theater), only slightly more powerful.

Drum amps generally are either working great for the bedroom (small amps), or for live.
Larger drumamps tend to disturb the neighbors easier.

I tend to just go for a stage monitor,like the Behringer B210D, B212D, or the Samson Auro D412.

[mplyler]

I use two Tapco (Mackie) 15's, that you can find for about $250 or so apiece.
They 300 watts each and have exceptional sound quality.