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Need help with PA setup.

post #1 of 7
3/1/12 at 1:22pm
Thread Starter 
I'm trying to setup four Electro Voice Zx3-90 loudspeakers, but I'm finding myself a bit out of my depth. They are 600W continuous 2400W max passive speakers, and I have four of them.

I've run one speakon cable from each speaker to my audio source, but now I'm not sure what amp I should be using. Originally I was planning on using two Crown xti 4002 amps to power the speakers with one speaker per channel, but a store rep at Guitar Center recommended a single xti 6002 powering two daisy-chained speakers per channel. I'd really like to be able to keep my setup as is, since I'll have to cut open my ceiling and re-run cable in the latter case. What does everyone think?

Also, any guides/general advice on setup and operation are very welcome. Thanks a lot.

* 4 Electro Voice Zx3-90 Speakers

* Mackie ProFX12 Mixing Board

* 4ch Wireless Mic from Voco Pro, don't have the model number off the top of my head but it's 1 XLR per channel

* Sony STR DH-820 AV Receiver This is handling av switching from a BR Player, PC, and MP3 Player. I'm running a 1/4" TS cable from the headphone output jack to the Mixing board. It's sort of hackish, but I couldn't figure out a better way to do it.

* Either 2 Crown XTI 4002 or a Single XTI 6002 This is what I'm having trouble with. Each speaker is currently set up to run on a single amp channel. I can definitely re-run the speakon cable, but only if there's a performance advantage with daisy-chained speakers on a single 6002 rather than the two 4002's.

The room is essentially one big square measuring 50' x 50'. The speakers are located in each corner. The setup is in a restaurant. I'll basically be using a very small amount of the speakers peak volume, since this is only for parties.
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post #2 of 7
3/1/12 at 2:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lineage View Post

. . . Originally I was planning on using two Crown xti 4002 amps to power the speakers with one speaker per channel, but a store rep at Guitar Center recommended a single xti 6002 powering two daisy-chained speakers per channel. I'd really like to be able to keep my setup as is, since I'll have to cut open my ceiling and re-run cable in the latter case.

Hi Lineage,

I am not familiar with that equipment, but you shouldn't need to re-run cable for either arrangement.

I'm not sure what he meant by "daisy-chained", but I'm sure it means either wired in parallel or wired in series. If the speakers are 4-ohm, then you will probably want to wire them in series. If the speakers are 8-ohm, then you probably want parallel, assuming the amp can handle 4-ohms. If the amp cant handle 4-ohms, then wire them in series.

To wire them in parallel, simply attach two speakers to each channel, with the plus wire from each speaker connected to the plus terminal on the amp, and the same for the minus wires and terminal.

To wire them in series, you would need to wire the plus wire of one speaker to the plus terminal on the amp, and the minus wire on the other speaker to the minus terminal on the amp. You would then attach the remaining two wires, one plus and the other minus, together.

EDIT: I just found that the Crown XTi 6002 can handle 2-ohm, so you should wire in parallel.
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post #3 of 7
3/1/12 at 3:23pm
IMO there is not any significant reason to put 2 speakers on each channel of a more powerful amp, rather than using separate amps for each speaker. Simpler, cleaner, and you can stick with your speakon connections at the amp end.

What kind of space are you filling? You'll want to be a bit careful aiming those EVs so they don't run into significant areas where frequency cancellation occurs.

Assuming no compression, with the 4002 you could get those EVs up to about 124 dB at one meter which is crushingly loud. Unless you're in a really big space, you're not likely to need four sources that loud. That's fine, keeping things running less than flat out is good (IMO) for the life of the equipment, keeps distortion down, etc.
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post #4 of 7
3/1/12 at 4:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lineage View Post

I'm trying to setup four Electro Voice Zx3-90 loudspeakers, but I'm finding myself a bit out of my depth. They are 600W continuous 2400W max passive speakers, and I have four of them.

I've run one speakon cable from each speaker to my audio source, but now I'm not sure what amp I should be using. Originally I was planning on using two Crown xti 4002 amps to power the speakers with one speaker per channel, but a store rep at Guitar Center recommended a single xti 6002 powering two daisy-chained speakers per channel. I'd really like to be able to keep my setup as is, since I'll have to cut open my ceiling and re-run cable in the latter case. What does everyone think?

Also, any guides/general advice on setup and operation are very welcome. Thanks a lot.


By running the 6002 you will be able to deliver a little bit more power to each loudspeaker. You can simply parallel the seperate speaker cables at the back of the amp.

With the 2 smaller amps you would have "available" 650 watts to each loudspeaker. With a single larger amp you would have "available" 1050 watts for each loudspeaker. The difference is only 2dB. Not a whole lot-and in most cases not enough to even worry about.

I would let costs be the judge. Something else to consider is that with 2 amps you would have a backup in case one amp fails.
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post #5 of 7
3/1/12 at 5:03pm
What are you using these for? That should be the first question.
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post #6 of 7
3/1/12 at 8:42pm
Thread Starter 
This setup is in a restaurant. The room is 50' x 50' and the speakers are placed at each corner of the room. I will probably never use these at anything close to fully volume. My main concern is performance. If there's a sound quality difference, then I'd like to pick the better option. I was told by a Guitar Center representative that the XTI 6002 is a "huge performance difference from the XTI 4002." I wanted to confirm before I changed my setup. Cost/Labor is not as big a deal as the performance and quality of the final product.

Thanks again for all the help

Also, I've updated the OP with further details on my setup.
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post #7 of 7
3/2/12 at 11:32am
First, that's a lot of speaker for an indoor room of 50' x 50', somewhat of a waste really. Second if you ever get the gain up on these your going to run into potential sq problems with one in each corner.

You can run these as you've described with the 4002 though the 6002 would be a better choice and daisy chaining the speakers. That is run your speakon from amp to speaker 1, then another speakon from speaker 1 to speaker 2. Rinse and repeat for channel 2.
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