DJ Vintage

Yep, I prefer wood to plastic as well. Most subs will be wood though. When you start looking for active top end speakers, the higher end ones will be wood, lower end plastic. Don’t trust cheap wooden one. In any event, the truth for PA gear is still “you get what you pay for”.

As for Mackie, they have some models that are love or hate (the Thump comes to mind), they have some reasonable mid-range stuff. I tried the HD-series I have in a showroom in direct A-B comparison and the only thing that came close enough to make it a decision was the (pre-Behringer) TurboSound. Naming Behringer and RCF in one sentence is funny. They come in TOTALLY different categories (both based on price and quality). I have a long and unfortunately not too positive history with Behringer. With Behringer it really depends what type and model of gear. You can find a few good things, butt here is plenty that, even at the low prices, turns out to be too low a quality.

And yes, you can find bad info on everything online. It pays to find out the quality of the source.

SpeakOn to XLR is a very uncommon cable as very few amps or speakers have XLR connectors anymore. Not in the least to prevent people from connecting the wrong sources. If you were to put the SpeakOn into your speaker output on the amp and then put the XLR end accidentally into an input on your mixer or active speaker there is a fair chance you will blow up electronics. It’s a cable I do NOT have in my collection (and trust me when I say I have almost every conceivable cable option in my crate). The SpeakOn to mono Jack isn’t much better (although most mic inputs are XLR only, but you’d be in trouble with Jack or Combo inputs on say a mixer or active speaker), so you need to clearly mark the Jack end of the cable with a bright color tape or something to make clear that this is a speaker lead, not a signal cable.

This is the cable I ment: https://www.thomann.de/nl/sommer_cable_monolith_1_powercon_xlr_10m_2.htm.

You could run this from a box like this near your DJ booth: https://www.rolight.nl/image/picture/ROLIGHT133317_web.jpg (you put power into the blue one, the whites go to your other gear)

At the speaker stack you would have a box like this: http://static.webshopapp.com/shops/030335/files/048202380/keraf-15-dl-schuko-verdeeldoos-met-powercon-in-uit.jpg so you could hook up your active speaker, your active sub and something else (light for example).

This setup would have you running only one cable to each speaker stack, cutting back on cabling in a big way.

Good luck with your choice.

Hi, thanks for the introduction. Welcome to the forums.

Reading your gear list and your report of your first gig, the first thing I have to say is good job making it work on such short notice and still having the crowd going.

I am sure you have a good reason to have a reasonably large PA mixer in the setup.

There is only one “proper” way to hook this setup up correctly if you want to use all gear:

1) Output 1/2 from the Hercules (RCA) to channel 5/6 on XS8 (Jack unbalanced). Cable: 1 cable 2x RCA (male) to 2x Jack male (TR)
2) XS8 main out (XLR) to Alto Sub input (XLR). It is important to connect both Left and Right channel to the sub! Cable: 2 cable XLR male to XLR female
3) Alto Sub output (XLR) to Prosound amp input (XLR). Important that the switch “output full range” is OFF! Cable: 2x cable XLR male to XLR female
4) Prosound amp output to CM1210 speakers input. I couldn’t figure out the input connectors of the CM1210 (you can post a pic if you are unsure), but I think they have both bare wire posts and Jack (mono). Cable: 2x cable SpeakOn 2P to Jack Mono.

Finally, you have an amp that delivers about 340W RMS into 8Ohm and speakers that can only handle 125W RMS. This is only 1/3 of the amps power. So you have to be VERY careful not to set the amp to high.

I think you already know that none of this is very high end gear, so be sure to check with us by the time you want to upgrade so we can give you some solid advice on what to buy and what not.

Hope that helps some.

We have a forum for information about the forum itself (FAQ, News, etx.) which is where you originally posted this. We have forums about DJ software and hardware, not relevant to your question. Also a forum for Mixes, Music and Shows which is pretty self-explanatory and also not relevant to your question. Of course Introduce Yourself which is, right!, to introduce yourself if you are a new reader. There is the Non-DJ Chat forum for everything you want to talk about that isn’t DJ-related, like your favorite TV-show or movie. Finally there is the DJ Booth. This is to discuss all things DJ-related that don’t fit in the other categories. Like questions about courses. Hence this is why I moved your post to DJ Booth.

Since the courses are run by the main site, there is no specific forum here dedicated to course-related questions. But when they are posted in DJ Booth, we are more than happy to provide any help and information we can.

You are welcome and good luck. Keep on spinning!

Hmmm … that is like someone saying he started driving a Tesla a month ago but now bought two 1952 chevy’s without power steering and power brakes.

And it is really beyond me if you have a controller with DJ software why you would ever want to switch to ancient CDJs that don’t even have USB support (as in can’t be used as controllers, nor can they handle USB-sticks) and that can ONLY be used with regular CD’s.

There is absolutely no reason why you can’t achieve your goals of mixing “properly” (whatever that means in your opinion) and “learn my library” (a good plan on any platform) on a controller.

The mixers you mention are either old or very limited in features (like not even filters) or just plain not such nice mixers (my personal experience with the 350 for example is less than stellar).

Sorry to say, but my advice would be to get rid of the CDJs asap and stick with your controller. Spending even more money on limited and/or outdated gear in order to use those two dinosaurs is a terrible waste imho.

The money you save by not buying the mixer and perhaps selling the 800s is much much better spent buying some music and taking one or more of the Digital DJ Tips courses (like How To Digital DJ Fast). With that last course, you will learn “proper” mixing and many other things (including some basic effects use) in less than two months. It will teach you what to practice and how to practice it the correct way to help you avoid figuring it all out yourself and having to go back to relearn things you learned an incorrect way the first time.

Just my three cents, as usual.

First: I changed both your header and text because it was in ALL CAPS. It’s poor etiquette to use all caps as it is considered shouting and thus impolite. So please refrain from doing this.

On-topic
– subs are most likely also powered (active) speakers. We talk about subs (short for sub-woofer) and tops (top-end speakers), the latter also called full-range speakers. If they have built-in amplifiers they are called active or powered speakers, if not they are called passive speakers.
– There are many (correct) ways to set up your main PA. Slightly in front of the DJ booth and a few feet to either side is surely one of them. One on each of the four corners of the dance area aimed at the middle is another. And plenty of variations in between. The reason to put them in front of the booth is to have no/less problems when using a microphone (feedback). The 4-corner setup helps distribute the sound with more balanced volume over the dance floor and contain the sound somewhat in the dance area.

The further you put the main speakers away, the bigger the problem with latency becomes. Hence the need for monitor(s).

Monitor placement depends on the type of monitor, the space behind the booth and your personal preference. I have seen booths with two 15″ powered speakers on stands on either side of the DJ’s head like a super-sized headphone. Personally I always use one ear for headphone cueing so I don’t need or even want a monitor on that side. I will always have only one and it will be on the other side of the headphone cueing.

I have a pretty compact monitor that sits on microphone stand which I set on hip height and tilt upwards at my ear. You could, if you prefer, set a speaker on a stand at the height you prefer (ear height makes sense) or you could use a floor monitor firing upwards at your ear (keep an eye on the correct angle). I have my monitor slightly to the side of booth firing at me. Directly next to you is an option as well. I advise against setting your monitor behind you, due to the way sound and your ears work.

Hope that helps some.