we have a behringer PMP2000 powered mixer http://www.cheapbandgear.com/EUROPOWER_PMP2000_p/pmp2000.htm
im having trouble determining exactly what amount of power we are putting out to our two peavy 15inch mains.
the specs on the mixer say this:
* Output Power
* RMS @ 1% THD (sine wave), both channels driven; 8 Ohm per channel: 165 watts; 4 Ohm per channel: 250
* RMS @ 1% THD (sine wave), bridged mode: 8 Ohm: 500 watts
* Peak Power, both channels driven; 8 Ohm per channel: 225 watts; 4 Ohm per channel: 350 watts
* Peak Power, bridged mode: 8 Ohm: 800 watts
so we are wanting to buy another set of 8olm mains, but im trying to figure out what continuous wattage rating i need to be looking for. i dont understand the RMS @ 1% figures.... but im guessing it means "non-peak" or continuous sound? i understand the we'd be pushing 350 watts per channel with two 8olms mains daisy chained, but is that rating meaning thats the most it can push constant? or peak as in, a loud sound spike, here and there? ill call that question 1.... :lol:
question 2: does anyone have any bad words against behringer? i see products like Behringer EUROLIVE B215XL Speaker 15" 2-way which rate with a 250w continuous/1000watts peak. would these be too small for our pa? all we got running through the pa, is my acoustic guitar, and two mics. everything else is amped on their own. im still confused on the continuous/peak meanings.
we are trying to buy some monitors, and found some behringer 125w powered stage mon's, after we get two of those, we want to get two more mains.... but if we decide to get powered mains later instead of passive, can you still daisy chain the mains like you would two passive speakers? we only have two outputs on our mixer.
...we dont play metal or grunge, or heavy rock for that matter, just country...and some rock, but with a country overtone...so i dont think we'd be pushing this equip like some bands would.
any thoughts or suggestions? basically im having trouble shopping for the right equip because of my lack of tech saavy concerning live sound.. thanks in advance....
check out our band's progress: Delta Mud http://www.youtube.com/user/DeltaMudBand
Peak power is the most an amp can deliver for a given load. This would be transient spikes
RMS/continuous is the power the amp can deliver with a given amount of distortion. 1% THD is a LOT of distortion. If it were a movie it would be XXX rated for being so dirty. I'd recommend you upgrade to a cleaner powered mixer before you add speakers. I've been using a Carvin RX1200 for a few years now. They're excellent units for small to mid size venues.
We've been using the Kustom KPC12M for our monitors for about a year now. Nice sound, rugged, and cheaper than the Behringers
Playing guitar and never playing for others is like studying medicine and never working in a clinic.
any thoughts or suggestions? basically im having trouble shopping for the right equip because of my lack of tech saavy concerning live sound.. thanks in advance....
Educational links for you :)
http://www.prosoundweb.com/article/danger_low_power/
http://www.prosoundweb.com/article/how_many_watts_loudspeaker/
http://www.prosoundweb.com/article/eq_101_what_are_those_knobs_for_anyway/
Playing guitar and never playing for others is like studying medicine and never working in a clinic.
I own the original model of this powered mixer, it is similar, but a little more powerful now.
Yes, RMS mean continuous power. So with an 8 ohm speaker on each side, each amp will produce 165 watts. With two 8 ohms speakers daisy chained in parallel (4 ohm load), each side will put out 250 watts contiuous. So each speaker would get 125 watts. Of course, you could run one 4 ohms speaker and it would get 250 watts. And peak means the power the amp can produce in short bursts.
As far as Behringer products, I own many and have had great success with them. Behringer speakers get pretty good reviews, I would not be worried about purchasing them at all. I do not own any Behringer speakers. I do own a powered mixer, unpowered mixer, amp, dual 31 band eq, crossover, mics and several other pieces of Behringer equipment. Every thing I own runs as good as the day I purchased them many years ago, I can honestly say I have not had a single issue with any item.
Powered speakers are completely different from passive speakers. Passive speakers must run from your Speaker Outs on the back of your powered mixer. This is a very powerful, amplified signal that should only run into passive speakers.
With powered speakers you would go from the "pre-amp outs" or "line outs" on the front of your powered mixer. This is a much weaker signal from the pre-amp section that must be amplified before it can drive a speaker. You run from these into an amplifier, then to a passive speaker. Or, you can also run out from these pre-amp or line outs into a powered speaker which of course has a built in amplifier. And most powered speakers have a "line-out" which is also a weaker signal like the pre-amp outs on your powered mixer. So yes, you can go from the "line out" on the powered speaker into the input on another powered speaker and daisy chain them like this.
So remember;
Speaker Out= very powerful, run only into passive speaker
Line Out, Pre-Amp Out= weak signal which must be amplified by an amplifier.
Here is a powered speaker from Behringer
Notice on the product description it says "Additional Line output allows linking of additional speaker systems", this is what I'm talking about, you can go from this output into the input on another powered speaker, so you can daisy-chain as many as you wish.
Hope that helped.
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
thanks for all the links and advice, yes, we just purchased some behringer powered monitors, ran them out of the monitor out, then daisey chained them from the line out on the back of the monitor, just like you mentioned. man it was almost like playing for the first time again, I CAN HEAR MYSELF!! our backup/rhythm guitar member bought some 12inch 400watt mons, they cut through the sound like butter.
check out our band's progress: Delta Mud http://www.youtube.com/user/DeltaMudBand
