DRPA set up for Peavey DTH4 + DTH218

Blueyes1971

Hi all, I'm new to this forum and indeed DBX DRIVERACK.
I have just acquired a DRPA and was looking for some in depth guidance on settings to get the most from my setup.
My rig is as follows...
Mackie 24ch mixer
Driverack pa
Crown macro-tech 3600vz powering the tops in full range at the moment until I purchase a crown macro-tech 1200 to combine with the 3600 and bi amp the tops...so at present running them full range.
Crown Macro-tech 5000vz running subs
Peavey DTH4 tops (2x15 + horn) 700w rms/continuous
Peavey DTH218 subs (2x18) 1000w rms/continuous

For the time being I need advice on running the tops full range regarding xover settings and what slopes etc and why.
Both tops and subs are to be ran in stereo
My amps are in the dbx data base however the speakers are not so I'm guessing I need to custom input those and choose the xover points in accordance with the specifications.
However, I imagine running the tops in full range for now will allow them to produce a lot of bass freq that the subs would be taking care of naturally ...so should I cut the lows from the tops via the xover settings in order to run them more like mid/high cabs and if so at which points would y'all recommend I do this...
All other advice regarding my setup would be very gratefully received.
Kind regards

Blueyes1971

Any takers? :-/

Dra

Best to not over lap 15's and subs. It can cause cancelations.

Tops - 100hz LR24
Subs - 45hz BW18 - 100hz LR24

DRA

Blueyes1971

Many thanks Dra
That was my thoughts to be fair..
Am I right In thinking I should stick with peavey specs regarding the 2k crossover point for the 44T horns when I add the third amp ?
And would I then look to perhaps crossover a little more on the lower mids with subs at that stage or keep at 100hz?
I understand that the DTH4's are really a full range cab and don't do so well with subs, which is why I also have a pair of DTH2's (1x15+horn)
Which gives me the option to use them with the subs if needs be, but they are only 400w rms rather than 600w and may be a little light on power.
I will however endeavour to try them when I add the crown macro-tech 1200 for the horns.
Thanks again for taking the time to reply.
Regards

Dra

The lower that you cross the mid to sub transition, the more the 15's will move. The more they move, the more they interact and interfere with vocal clarity. I wouldn't go lower than 90hz, if you do lower it. Personally I would lower the horn frequency. Crossing a 44xt at the same freq as a 22xt, frankly, is wasting the capacity of the large format horn. 1K - 1.2K is where I'd go... using LR24 there as well.

DRA

Blueyes1971

Yeh I did wonder why such a horn..and these are the earlier 44T not xt ...why the passive xover had them at 2k upwards I think to around 18k when the specs show they can run easily down to around 1k...go figure.
My intention was to experiment with my ears starting with 1.5k and see if I can find a sweet spot but will now look at 1k and up .
I understand you point of lowering the point of the 15's issue...but considering we are a 5 man rock band with drums fully mic'd up ..guitars x 2 mic'd cabs....bass DI'd ..lead vocals and 3 harmony vocals running through the system....and I'm the drummer trying to teach a new to the game sound guy..how I do it and why...I have my work cut out
Starting to think I need a 4way stereo driverack now and run both the 15's independently
Lol
I have no options to set my rig outside to store a baseline eq, however my old school approaches to ringing out have never let me down so I'm guessing I can manually ring out the FOH with the GEQ just as I would with a stand alone graphic.....I'm not a big fan of sub harmonics so doubt I will use that and have never compressed the final mix as a whole so will stick with my separate compressor routed to buses for vocals and drums..so just leaves the limiter side of things...I've never used them and would like to take advantage of its protection capabilities so any recommendations Dra?

Dra

Limiter's are for speaker protection (stop clipping), though if you limit too much the amp could pass too much continuous power, depending on amp power.
Use your current compression scheme. System compression is rarely a good thing, especially when you only want to compress a loud vocal or drum. No one wants the entire mix to compress, just because the vocalist gives a primordial scream.
Sorry, 4 way is not an option with a single driverack (DBX).
Do those Macro's have x-over filter card available? Or maybe you have an old analog x-over to do the last split. The problem will then become having all the PEQ filters you may end up needing.

DRA