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Adding Speakers to system.

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Travis Benavides:
I just happened to get a job in a small college town at a Bar as a live sound engineer. The Bar is a decent size (299 occupancy limit). The sound system is pretty bar bones, but I have seen worse. The system comprises of a Behringer Eurodesk sk2442fx, Behringer Multicom pro-lx, a dbx Driverack PX, Behringer ep2500 and QSC plx 3602 power amps, with 2 older model Peavy SP 218 subs and 2 Peavy HDH 224T's for mids and highs. To me this system seems a little bottom heavy I was wondering if I should add more speakers to the system to even it up or pull out a sub or does nothing needs to be done at all. I feel like I have a good ear for this but am still pretty new to the whole setting up and buying equipment. If you need anymore info let me know. Thanks!

Tom Young:

--- Quote from: Travis Benavides on April 12, 2011, 10:54:49 PM ---I just happened to get a job in a small college town at a Bar as a live sound engineer. The Bar is a decent size (299 occupancy limit). The sound system is pretty bar bones, but I have seen worse. The system comprises of a Behringer Eurodesk sk2442fx, Behringer Multicom pro-lx, a dbx Driverack PX, Behringer ep2500 and QSC plx 3602 power amps, with 2 older model Peavy SP 218 subs and 2 Peavy HDH 224T's for mids and highs. To me this system seems a little bottom heavy I was wondering if I should add more speakers to the system to even it up or pull out a sub or does nothing needs to be done at all. I feel like I have a good ear for this but am still pretty new to the whole setting up and buying equipment. If you need anymore info let me know. Thanks!
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Do you mean that the fullrange speakers run out of steam ?  How is the coverage from the fullrange speakers ?

Ivan Beaver:

--- Quote from: Travis Benavides on April 12, 2011, 10:54:49 PM ---I just happened to get a job in a small college town at a Bar as a live sound engineer. The Bar is a decent size (299 occupancy limit). The sound system is pretty bar bones, but I have seen worse. The system comprises of a Behringer Eurodesk sk2442fx, Behringer Multicom pro-lx, a dbx Driverack PX, Behringer ep2500 and QSC plx 3602 power amps, with 2 older model Peavy SP 218 subs and 2 Peavy HDH 224T's for mids and highs. To me this system seems a little bottom heavy I was wondering if I should add more speakers to the system to even it up or pull out a sub or does nothing needs to be done at all. I feel like I have a good ear for this but am still pretty new to the whole setting up and buying equipment. If you need anymore info let me know. Thanks!

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Have you tried simply turning down the sub amplifier?

Usually adding more speakers is the worse thing you can do.  It may get louder-but will most often times sound worse.

Brad Weber:

--- Quote from: Travis Benavides on April 12, 2011, 10:54:49 PM ---I just happened to get a job in a small college town at a Bar as a live sound engineer. The Bar is a decent size (299 occupancy limit). The sound system is pretty bar bones, but I have seen worse. The system comprises of a Behringer Eurodesk sk2442fx, Behringer Multicom pro-lx, a dbx Driverack PX, Behringer ep2500 and QSC plx 3602 power amps, with 2 older model Peavy SP 218 subs and 2 Peavy HDH 224T's for mids and highs. To me this system seems a little bottom heavy I was wondering if I should add more speakers to the system to even it up or pull out a sub or does nothing needs to be done at all. I feel like I have a good ear for this but am still pretty new to the whole setting up and buying equipment. If you need anymore info let me know. Thanks!
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Probably one of the first things you should have verified or done either before or after taking the job was to go through the whole system making sure everything was working correctly and properly adjusted (signal flow, gain structure, EQ and crossover settings, etc.).  In general, really getting to know the system and how it works, including getting into the DSP to learn how it is programmed.  Have you done that?
 
Tom asked about coverage but other questions I'd have would include whether the overall level is acceptable?  What type of music is involved?  Does the problem exist everywhere or is it limited to specific areas?  Any chance the console EQ has the low end turned up on some sources?  Any chance what you're hearing is at least partially a result of the levels from the kick drum and bass amps on stage or from the contribution of the stage monitors?
 
Assuming one HDH 224T on each channel of the EP2500 and one SP218 on each channel of the PLX 3602 you'd be looking at the SP218 probably having somewhere around 5dB greater output, however the specifics of the situation could make that a larger or smaller difference.  So could the specific model of the SP218, over the years there have been different versions with different performance.
 
All that being said, as Ivan suggested, if you're thinking that pulling out a sub is a potential solution then have you thought about simply turning down the levels on the sub amp?  I would still go through the system and make sure everything is working and set properly, but that seems a pretty simple first option.

Chris Carpenter:

--- Quote from: Travis Benavides on April 12, 2011, 10:54:49 PM ---I just happened to get a job in a small college town at a Bar as a live sound engineer. The Bar is a decent size (299 occupancy limit). The sound system is pretty bar bones, but I have seen worse. The system comprises of a Behringer Eurodesk sk2442fx, Behringer Multicom pro-lx, a dbx Driverack PX, Behringer ep2500 and QSC plx 3602 power amps, with 2 older model Peavy SP 218 subs and 2 Peavy HDH 224T's for mids and highs. To me this system seems a little bottom heavy I was wondering if I should add more speakers to the system to even it up or pull out a sub or does nothing needs to be done at all. I feel like I have a good ear for this but am still pretty new to the whole setting up and buying equipment. If you need anymore info let me know. Thanks!

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I'm drawing a target on my back for making a generalization on this board, but to me, Peaveys always sound a little warmer than other brands. Especially if you are dealing with well amped, SP dual 18s. I would be pretty happy to have that kind of bass headroom with a system like that.

Secondly, you said a driverack PX? I understood the PX was for powered speakers, not passive ones?

I agree with the general consensus that, if you have achieved the level you are looking for, and simply need to tone down the bass, turn down the subs. Your processor should be plenty powerful enough to allow you to make this correction.

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