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[Brandon Spoon]

Question:

I have (2) JBL PRX700 speakers. Should I run those at full volume?

[Ivan Beaver]

Question:

I have (2) JBL PRX700 speakers. Should I run those at full volume?

Why not?

The only reason you should not run the volume/level control full up is if you are trying to increase the dynamic range of the system.

Generally to get more dynamic range you turn the level control down, to lower the noise floor.

The maximum level is set by the amp inside the speaker and the sensitivity of the speaker.

HOWEVER-understand that the "volume control"  IS NOT a wattage control-just a gain control.

How much "power you push"  or the speakers are dissipating is totally dependent on how hard you are driving them with your mixer.  NOT the volume control

[Scott Wagner]

Question:

I have (2) JBL PRX700 speakers. Should I run those at full volume?

I tend to run mine at 12:00 - sometimes lower, for less-loud gigs.

[Brian Jojade]

Question:

I have (2) JBL PRX700 speakers. Should I run those at full volume?

With any speaker, it's best to turn them up to 11.  Anything less than 11 is for wussies.

[Scott Wagner]

I tend to run mine at 12:00 - sometimes lower, for less-loud gigs.

The REAL answer is to run them at whatever level gives you the maximum volume you will need for each particular situation. Make sure the mixer is running at a happy level (proper gain staging - let's say 0dB on analog and -12 to -18dBFS on digital). Then adjust the speaker level to give you what you need for that particular venue on that particular day. Keep in mind that the knob on the back doesn't affect the maximum level that the speaker can produce. It simply adjusts the voltage required to get to the maximum level.

[Scott Bolt]

It is just a personal preference, but I prefer that the speakers start clipping at about the same time as the VU meters on the mixer start tickling the red.

If I were to run my speaker inputs full hot, I would have nothing to indicate I was clipping the speakers on the mixer meters.

By setting up the gain staging like this, I have a good idea how much juice is left in the FOH.

YMMV.

[Tim Halligan]

...I prefer that the speakers start clipping at about the same time as the VU meters on the mixer start tickling the red.

Please tell me you mean Peak meters, or dBFS metering...not VU.

Or do you really want your speakers to go into clip from - depending on the mixer and the level calibration - -12dBFS down to -20dBFS?

Cheers,
Tim

[Ivan Beaver]

It is just a personal preference, but I prefer that the speakers start clipping at about the same time as the VU meters on the mixer start tickling the red.

As Tim said-I hope you do not mean actual VU meters.

I know it is "proper" to have everything in the system clip at the same time (to have the most dynamic range), but I disagree with that concept.

And others will disagree-but here is my reason.

I would prefer the amps to "run out of gas" 6dB before everything else in the system.

The "problem" with everything clipping at the same time means that it will sound REALLY REALLY bad all of a sudden-with everything clipping at once).

If the amps clip a bit earlier, then you will have a bit of "fuzz" to the sound (assuming the amps clip gracefully-not all do), before it get really bad (with everything clipping at the same time).

The other problem with trying to use the meters on the console to give an idea of how far you are away from clipping, is that many conosles do not have meters that go all the way to clip.

They may go to +10 or so, then have the clip LED (which may be at +24dBu.

That gives a range of 14dB (give or take) that you have NO idea how loud it really is.

So the whole idea of the meters giving you an idea is out the window.

[Scott Carneval]

Doesn't anyone use limiters anymore? You should at the very least have a peak limiter in place to prevent the amps from clipping no matter what.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ivan Beaver]

Doesn't anyone use limiters anymore? You should at the very least have a peak limiter in place to prevent the amps from clipping no matter what.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Actually that is a lot harder than you think.

Depending on the attack time of the limiter-you often have to set the limiter quite a bit lower in order to keep the amp out of clip.

Of course there are a bit of "depends" on this statement.

Things such as "how fast is the clip indicator on the amp", or the fact that short transients clipping are hard to detect.

YES limiters should be used-but setting them properly is not always easy.

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