What is a good professional amplifier for live audio?

speaker system toa image

Sinterklaa

I work at a pub running the karaoke sound system. They are using a DVD player with two mic inputs connected to a TV for display and a Pioneer VSX-516 7.1 audio receiver. They have two 18" Elite pro subwoofers and a full-range TOA pro loudspeaker with a 12" driver and dual tweeters.

At first, only the two subs were hooked up. The system sounded very muffled and had no treble whatsoever (obviously lol). I hooked up the TOA speaker and the system sounded way better.

Soon after that, the receiver would overload and turn itself off. It was working fine for 3 hours at -17dB (volume level). I knew it was due to the loudspeaker being connected, so I tried disconnecting one of the subs. It was still overloading so I disconnected the loudspeaker and left only one sub connected. It was still overloading so I unplugged the receiver for half an hour before I tried once again. The receiver was STILL overloading and it wasn't running hot at all. It was slightly warm but that's it.

I'm almost certain the person who set up this system gipped the owners by giving them the Pioneer receiver. It's a good receiver and all, but I don't think it's powerful enough to properly power both subs and the loudspeaker. They were experiencing this problem for several days now and karaoke has been canceled due to these technical difficulties.

I want to do the owners a favor and hook them up with a professional amplifier that will have more than enough jam to power both subs and the loudspeaker without overloading or shutting itself off.

What is the cheapest amplifier money can buy to power two 18" Elite subs and a 12" TOA loudspeaker? They're buying it, of course, but I want to find them the best deal possible so they can save money and so karaoke can continue to run.

Answer
First off the VSX-516 is a 100 watt, 7-channel home theater receiver. Whenever you take gear meant for home use and try to integrated it with pro gear, things always go sideways.

The other answerer stated that you want to find the actual wattage of the speakers you are running. Assuming the elite pros are from Yorkville, you could be running any number of wattage options. Also, you will want to know if the yorkvilles have a built in crossover and can they run high-pass to the TOA speakers.

I run an audio company in So. Cal and can help you find a few great options for a new amp. Feel free to call or email me and we can talk. I will find a way to make the owners very happy with you.

Gerad Clarkson
888-502-5213
gclarkson@audio-avenue.com

How can this karaoke system be improved without having to spend too much money?

Sinterklaa

The bar I work at has a karaoke system that consists of two Yorkville Elite SW800 subwoofers, one TOA 15" full-range speaker, a Pioneer VSX-516 home theater receiver and a CAVS DVD-203G karaoke DVD player.

They have two Shure C606 microphones connected to the DVD player with XLR to 1/4" cables.

The system has potential, but it sounds like absolute garbage. A lot of people complain about its quality and I agree with them because the microphones sound utterly flat and distort easily. If you turn the microphone gain too loud, it causes bad feedback.

I'm sure the microphones are okay, and the problem lies in the 1/4" connectors and no equalizer of any sort. Rather, the microphones would be better off being connected to a professional mixer with XLR inputs.

music sounds good on the system, but the biggest issue is the dynamics of the microphones and the bad feedback. Are there any components that can be purchased that will prevent feedback and allow us to aim the speakers towards the singers so the rest of the bar can hear the music clearly? Right now they're pointed to the side to keep the feedback to a minimum. The bar is fairly small and has wooden walls, if that makes any difference.

The owners don't want to spend a lot of money on a whole new system because they claim it sounds good enough as it is. They don't know much about audio and dynamics and whatnot and I'm a DJ so I can tell that the system sounds really crappy in its current state. I just want to know what components can be purchased that won't be too expensive and will solve the bad microphone quality problem once and for all.

Answer
There are multiple problems with that system.

mics are pretty low quality but if you fix the pa amp, you probably will be ok

you need to run the mics into a REAL pa amp/mixer with XLR inputs - even a cheap one will work much better - it will also have EQ for each channel - when you have subs, you need to make sure that the vocals have the lows backed WAY off, otherwise they will sound very muddy - a nice powered mixer will work great and will not be too expensive:

http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-EUROPOWER-PMP1000-500-Watt-12-Channel/dp/B00117RP6I/ref=sr_1_7?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1343924485&sr=1-7&keywords=behringer+powered+mixer

check your TOA speaker - make sure the tweeter is not blown - put your ear up to it - you should hear the highs clearly

How are the subs hooked up?? I assume you have a separate power amp for them - you should not try to connect them directly to the home theater amp - get a separate stereo power amp:

http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-EP4000-Professional-Accelerated-Technology/dp/B001U5JFNM/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1343924683&sr=1-1&keywords=behringer+ep4000

If you live anywhere near the state of CT, USA I can help you.

dankeifer@yahoo.com if you have other questions

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Title Post: What is a good professional amplifier for live audio?
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