OK, so I've now had the system out on two more events. The first was primarily a speech thing, and the second was a live music event. I'll detail the system first, as there have been some questions about that, then I'll get into how it was used for each event, and my thoughts.
There are two amp racks. Each amp rack contains two VSX26 2x6 DSP units, as well as two Crest 5200 amps for HF, and four Crest 9200 amps for all the cones. The way the rig is set up, each 18" cone gets a channel of 9200 for 1300W program per cone, or 2600W program per sub! The tops are set up to run two 8 ohm cones per channel of 9200, which is still 1100W program per cone. The HF in these boxes is configured to 16 ohms, which puts the program right at 145W per box. The suggested method of wiring allows one to shade boxes in pairs.
My only "worry" with this system is the power handling of the HF vs its SPL@ 1w1m. That said, at no time running the rig did I ever feel like I was lacking in HF. I think the typical compression driver numbers are higher, but also not as correct as the ribbon's numbers. Peavey rates the ribbons at 99dB 1w1m. Typical 2" exit HF drivers, which handle similar power, are rated in the 108-113 range, depending. BUT, compression drivers tend to fall off rapidly above a certain freq, and require big boosts in the higher end of their drive to remain "flat". This adds up to LOTS more power burned in the top end, while the ribbons Peavey is using are flatter up there, so the numbers seem to work themselves out. After talking with Boomer about this, I am confident that the HF "odd numbers" thing is a non-issue. He actually says that if the boxes are driven as mine were, and run "normal" (meaning with a flat-ish curve, not super boosted HF to compensate for hearing issues), that you'll burn the 1000W cone before you'll burn the HF drivers.
OK, gigs:
Saturday...
One of my clients is the local hospital. They had a grand opening for their new, $27M satalite facility. When we discussed sound needs for the event, they were very clear on what they needed: "we want the CEO to be able to stand at the podium, and talk to 2000ppl". No problem. We had the rig hung 6 deep, over one sub per side. Due to power distro/genny location issues, I opted to run 3 boxes per channel and lose the shading. The mains were a good 40' in front of the stage, due to the shape of the location. As such, we had gain for days. The CEO got up, said his things, and EVERYBODY heard him. He was very pleased. I heard it from him personally, which means a little. I also heard it through the back channels, which to me means MUCH more, as that means he wasn't just politely saying "everything was great", but that he was truly happy. In addition to the speaking stuff, they had a taiko (sp??) drum group on my 24x20 stage. We very sparsely mic'd the stage for that, and had extremely good coverage for the whole area. I had the lifts on the ground, all the way up, so 13'. The box angles were 0 degrees for the top 3, then 2.5/2.5/5 for the next three. I had a single self powered 12/1 box set up as a front fill, to cover the area between the stage and the hangs, fwiw.
Sunday....
Drive 2 hours NW to a farm, set up the rig on an SL100 stage. We put the lifts on the deck, and had them about 12' off the deck. This put the tops at about 16' high. I opted for angles of 2.5 between the top 5 boxes, with the bottom box at 5 degrees. We had two subs per side, and ran the tops in pairs off the amps. The rig sounded BEAUTIFUL. I had no problem getting it up to high 90s , A weighted. I like to drive around 95-98, with peaks no louder than 102 or so. FOH was 125' out, and coverage was VERY smooth. I walked back a good 300+', and still had plenty of SPL. I have the screen still open on the tablet which drove the 01v96. My only eq was a -4dB cut at 600 on the mains. That said, my vocals were flat, and the vox mics were e835s, which seem to like 600Hz, so.... We got through 3 of the 8 scheduled bands that day before it rained and hailed and blew like a sum-bitch. As an example of the winds, the front section of the SL100's roof got LIFTED UP off the supports. A wee bit of wind..... Prior to that, I got nothing but compliments on the sound. There were quite a few "THIS is PEAVEY???!!!!!!" type compliments, which is both good for Peavey, and bad, I suppose.
My impressions:
I like this rig, quite a bit. My only gripe is the lifts, they are a class-A pain in the ass. If I bought this rig, I'd get Genies, or Sumners, or something of that ilk. I have already run the numbers, and I figure I have subs, power, and drive, (DR260s) although Boomer suggest I look into their VSX dsp if I go with these boxes. These boxes sound GOOD. They are smooth. They lack that "in your face" compression driver thing. The businessman side of my brain has had the "dude, it says PEAVEY on it" internal debate. In the end, for where I am today, the name Peavey won't hurt me. These boxes are NOT "your father's Peavey" to borrow from an Oldsmobile ad from a few years ago.
More later, including quite a few pics. I have to go clean the rig up and get it all ready to ship, so Boomer doesn't kick my ass!