New User Introduction
Dave Burris
Posts: 3
I've recently joined the DriveRack PA clan by adding 3 DRPA to my setup. Having come from a world of EQ using Yamaha Q2031s and a Goldline DSP30 with separate analog crossovers and compressors, I couldn't be much happier with the DRPA.
My main negative criticism so far is that I feel the lack of power-up muting and potential for large spikes is a HUGE oversight for even a modestly priced unit!
I was also a little surprised that in order to have a setup that can be configured 3-way or 2-way without wiring changes, I had to come up with crossover settings for both in the 3-way modes. This is not a huge deal but a bit of a surprise. I just use the mid of the 3-way and adjust the frequencies accordingly while the low goes unused in the biamp arrangement.
I've designed my system to be very scalable. I done some Auto-EQ setups for the various speaker arrangements, along with presets for limiters and gain stages, etc.
Next Saturday will be my first trial-by-fire at a live show. I'll be doing a very small pub show with 2 JBL VRX-932LA in stands for mains and 2 JBL SRX712M for floor wedges. Each of these will use a DRPA and a Crown XTi1000. I can't wait to see how the system performs!
Overall I'm very happy with the DRPA units. They are great units in terms of bang-for-the-buck. I find some of the negative criticisms I've seen a bit surprising as my initial reaction to these units is quite positive. They sound great! Crossover, PEQ, GEQ, Limiter, Compressor, and Feedback suppression in a single rack space! Imagine 3 Q2031s in a single rack, along with a Dbx 166 and 2 Dbx 160 and crossover!
The 160s and 166 can now go to inserts where they belong.
I'm looking forward to the gig. At at a brewpub with fresh homebrewed beer no less!
My main negative criticism so far is that I feel the lack of power-up muting and potential for large spikes is a HUGE oversight for even a modestly priced unit!
I was also a little surprised that in order to have a setup that can be configured 3-way or 2-way without wiring changes, I had to come up with crossover settings for both in the 3-way modes. This is not a huge deal but a bit of a surprise. I just use the mid of the 3-way and adjust the frequencies accordingly while the low goes unused in the biamp arrangement.
I've designed my system to be very scalable. I done some Auto-EQ setups for the various speaker arrangements, along with presets for limiters and gain stages, etc.
Next Saturday will be my first trial-by-fire at a live show. I'll be doing a very small pub show with 2 JBL VRX-932LA in stands for mains and 2 JBL SRX712M for floor wedges. Each of these will use a DRPA and a Crown XTi1000. I can't wait to see how the system performs!
Overall I'm very happy with the DRPA units. They are great units in terms of bang-for-the-buck. I find some of the negative criticisms I've seen a bit surprising as my initial reaction to these units is quite positive. They sound great! Crossover, PEQ, GEQ, Limiter, Compressor, and Feedback suppression in a single rack space! Imagine 3 Q2031s in a single rack, along with a Dbx 166 and 2 Dbx 160 and crossover!
The 160s and 166 can now go to inserts where they belong.
I'm looking forward to the gig. At at a brewpub with fresh homebrewed beer no less!
0
Comments
Welcome to the DBX user forum!...:) I hope you'll chime in from time to time to help answer some of the questions concerning the DRPA... My knowledge about the DRPA is quite limited to only what I have read here... Truth be known:...I know very little about the DRPA but I'll chime in and try to help,...or at least run interference (I create lots of confusion and havoc) for Gadget and "Mini-Gadget" (Dra) to clean-up...
It's often recommended here that DRPA users purchase a standard UPS for AC power to the DRPA... In a power outage this should allow for the amps to power down before the DRPA... This would be the normal power down sequence...:)
I'm a little surprised with this myself!...:shock: This is not a problem with the DR260...
From what I've read I'm certain the DRPA is very good unit for the $money$,...but I'm glad I bit the bullet and spent the additional (church's $money$) for the DR260...:D
Thank you for posting and let us know how your gig went... I wish you a huge success!...
Cheers,
Kevin
Dave, What are you wanting to do regarding the 2-way / 3-way thing?
DRA
I have a three-way system with a dual 18, dual 15, and 2in driver on a biradial per side. In smaller venues where a two-way system will suffice, I essentially use the same amp rack but was thinking I would switch to 2X4 mode.
However when I do this it is the mid that is removed and the LOW and HIGH are used. I have my mids (now used as lows) wired through the same Neutrik NL-4 with the horns. This allows me to use a two-way setup by just leaving the dual 18s behind and everything connects through a single NL-4 per side and an 11-4 cable.
For my situation, it would make more sense to switch off the LOW and extend the range of the mid so that it drives the lows. It wasn't a huge deal since the crossover for the mid adjusts through the range I needed. It just caught me a little by surprise when I had built my setup and switched to the two-way setup only to find that I had no lows.
So I created two different 2X6 setups with the crossover frequencies adjusted over the two-way range I needed. If there were artificial limits on the mid frequency range, it would have been a much bigger issue. As it is, I just disconnect the lows and extended the range of the mid downward.
Welcome. Hope you stay around the forum.
DRA