bob6397

Open up the case and find out what is broken.. (It should be fairly obvious).. Then google and find the correct part yourself (Or contact Mackie direct).. Then ask your local guy to fit it if you don’t want to..

bob6397

I have used a pair of Rokit 5’s a few times (I mixed – as in multi-track audio mixing – on them in a studio for a while last year. They aren’t bass heavy at all – In fact I found that I kept turning the bass up on certain instruments and then had to compensate when I listened to my mix through different systems..

They sound good – But you really don’t need monitors that accurate for DJ practice, but you do need them if you are producing.

Also have a look at the Yamaha HS7 – £144 a side, apparently flatter freq. response than the KRK’s (which have a noticeable dip in the mid range)…

bob6397

If you are just producing, consider the Focusrite Solo as well.. The same audio chip, but fewer Mic inputs.. Could be ideal for what you need?

I personally use a Focusrite 2i4 for DJing (and some recording) and love it – it does everything I need it to and it sounds great..

bob6397

We tend not to have delay issues at all once the room is full – people absorb quite a lot of energy out of the highs/mids in particular and this stops the sound from the back getting to the front..

I have played through the system like this with no monitors and without mixing in my headphones and its easy.. The hard bit is judging volume levels on the floor – it is always significantly quieter behind the speakers.. So some DJ’s end up pushing the levels a bit so it is louder for them (again, due to not having monitors) and then it gets really loud on the floor…

One DJ actually equed his music so that it sounded right for him once.. He was behind the speakers, and next to a sub. So he took out all the low end and added lots of high… Result on the floor = awful sound 🙁

bob6397

You wouldn’t need to go through an external mixer unless you wanted to add extra channels/mics (Yamaha MG06 is worth a look if you do) as the SX has XLR outputs, as you say. You can go straight from the SX to the speakers.

(By the way, have a search on the forum for budget speakers, it’s been covered a couple of times recently with all the background info you will need. (Don’t buy Behringer speakers – there are good, budget, alternatives). Of course, if you have specific questions then feel free to ask 🙂 )

Pretty much all XLR cable says Microphone Cable on it – this is to differentiate itself from DMX cable, which is used for lighting control and has different internals, although it may look the same from the outside and also uses 3 (Or sometimes 5) pin XLR connectors, as well as to differentiate it from Speaker cable, which is used to go from Power Amps to Passive Speakers and is generally 2 or 4 pole rather than 3, and normally has either Speakon or TS Jack connectors on the end..

I use the “No Bull” XLR cables from Amazon.co.uk – they are really well made, the connectors (whilst not being Neutrik, which are the brand leader for Pro Audio/Power connectors), are strong, all metal and have worked fine now for a year – the lifetime of the cable, being used once or twice a week every week. I own 4 x 6m cables for my speakers (2 x 6m for each so I can daisy chain or not have miles of cable for each) and 1 x 2m for my handheld mic – which I use from just above the mixer.) I fully recommend them if you are in the UK. They also come with their own velcro cable ties and, best of all, are brilliant value. And you get a choice of colour!

I would (and I do, but from a mixer) wire from the XLR outputs Left channel going into the speaker on my left, and the Right channel going to the speaker on my right. I rig this the other way round (Left and Right swap) if I am doing PA work however.. But that’s different..

bob6397

I sort of know the gear – the Yorkville speakers are meant to be really good..

But layout is where I can comment – I would set it out like this (I do a similar event a few times a year where we use 8 speakers in a room like this). This is how we have found makes those rooms sound the best and gets the most even sound accross the floor:

(The tops on the stage are set above the subs.. It’s hard to do with a top-down diagram… 😉

I would run all the speakers from the same mix out on the desk, and adjust the levels actually on the speakers themselves. Once it is set up, you shouldn’t need to touch it (Although remember when sound checking that people absorb quite a lot of the bass – so make sure it is nice and high)..

You may want to see if the company can provide you with something like this – http://www.altoproaudio.com/products/stealth-wireless – it will save running XLR’s down the entire room (like I normally have to.. We normally fly them along the ceiling but that may be impractical in this situation).

bob6397

Lol.. Life lessons well learnt 🙂 Seriously though, it has prepared me like nothing else for DJing. I now have the confidence on the mic, and the presence in the room that it needed. I really didn’t have either of these before I started scouting… 🙂

bob6397