Q Acoustics Concpet 20 for home djing (vinyl)?

[aaroneight]

Hi everyone,

What are your thoughts on setting up some q acoustics custom 20 for home djing on vinyl? I previously had some kef cresta 2's (the best budget speakers on the market when i got them for my birthday 12 years ago) set up to a marantz amp.

The tweeters blew on my kefs after a heavy session this weekend and i now want to get some custom 20s. But i am worried the same thing might happen again? I dont have parties or play the music VERY loudly that regularly but we do have the odd gathering where its only appropriate that the volume levels are turned up...

Would the custom 20s be powerful enough to take the frequency from my vinyl decks / mixer without blowing at reasonably high volume (occasionaly)?

I would also like to use my sound system to play music through my ipad / laptop, which i imagine the custom 20s would be perfect for given my budget.

Thoughts?!

Many thanks!

 

[The_Lhc]

Concept 20s, not custom.

Hi-fi speakers are not designed for club level volumes, neither are most hi-fi amps (that may actually be the problem, the amp is clipping at high volume, that'll destroy your speakers pretty quickly).

If you want to have parties get a cheap PA system from Maplins and set that up when you have friends round, treat your hi-fi with a little more respect. I'm still using a pair of Cresta 2s myself from that same period, nothing wrong with them because I don't abuse them.

 

[davedotco]

You mention that you have 'decks / mixer' which presumeably has variable line level output, ie a volume control.

Disco or PA speakers were suggested but active studio monitors are probably a better bet, any of the better budget models with an 8 inch bass driver will give you what you want, think Mackie MR8, Yamaha HS7, Presonus Eris 8 among others.

They are all about the same price as a pair of Concept 20 and you will not need expensive custom stands to get the best from them.

 

[bluedroog]

Presumably your mixer has XLR outputs? I was recently given a Numark NS7 deck thingy and a pair of KRK Rokit 10-3 active speakers so have been having a play around with them, why not just get a pair of actives and hook them up directly to you mixing desk? They are much more fit for purpose, no need for an amp, will do bass better for electronic music and will take a lot more abuse.

If you are prepared to go for a used pair you should find some for around the price of the Concept 20s, new they are around £800 though but still there are plenty of other cheaper options including smaller speakers in the same series of the likes of ADAM Audio. While the KRK Rokit 10-3 are not the most refined speakers in the world they should be too far behind the Q-Acoustics but will destroy them in terms of scale for parties, they are pretty substantial speakers, a three way design with 10” woofer.

 

[Thompsonuxb]

Small tip if 'stereo speakers' are your preference (alot better looking than pa kit) place them high.

Above the crowd you won't require as much volume - any 'budget speaker' should be of the 200watt handling level kind

And try limiting how high you push the volume on your mixer.... It's hard to resist I know but try.

Or pay a visit to cash converters they're usually good to pa kit.

 

[Overdose]

Small tip if 'stereo speakers' are your preference (alot better looking than pa kit) place them high.

Above the crowd you won't require as much volume - any 'budget speaker' should be of the 200watt handling level kind

And try limiting how high you push the volume on your mixer.... It's hard to resist I know but try.

Or pay a visit to cash converters they're usually good to pa kit.

The speakers are only part of the problem, the amp too is not up to the task and simply replacing the speakers (irrespective of power handling as it's most likely to be low amp power causing the problem) will result in more damaged speakers further down the line.

A pair of active speakers as previously mentioned are exactly what is needed here.

 

[steve_1979]

I echo other peoples suggestions here. For your needs a pair of active speakers would be better. They're usually clearer sounding and are more robust when pushed to higher volume levels.

If your main concern is sound quality, for the price of the Concept 20's and a good amplifier you could buy a pair of AVI DM5's which have much better clarity and stereo image than the Concept 20's. They also go reasonably loud and have built in 'soft clipping' which offers a degree of protection if you push them too far. Clicky

If you want something that goes even louder and/or has more bass some active monitors with a 6.5" or 8" woofer would be your best choice. Yamaha, Adam, Behringer and Mackie are all very good for the price. For a slightly less refined sound but still pretty decent quality KRK are good party speakers with plenty of bass and volume. Clicky