help with setup

[goldenboiyaj]

Hi, just starting to get into all this pro-audio stuff and learning little by little. any help would be much appreciated.

Current setup is Crown XLS602 AMP, YAMAHA MG166cx Mixer, and pair of JBL DUAL JRX125 speakers. Perform in small venues and gigs as DJs. Want to expand since I'm starting to do bigger gigs. Want to add two smaller speakers on stand and a monitor on the ground.

Budget is around 1500, give or take a couple hundred dollars.

An option I came up with was purchasing a pair passive JBL JRX115(http://www.guitarcenter.com/JBL-JRX115-15--2-Way-Speaker-Cabinet-102566023-i1152818.gc) which I can put on a stand. It's passive but would fit into the banana plugs of my amp thus connecting all four speakers to the AMP. Would my Crown AMP be powerful enough to power the jrx125 and the jrx115 at the same time? If not, what amp should be powerful enough to bridge and power bother these pair of speakers. Any thoughts on the Behringer B312A Powered PA Speaker for monitor?

I know my current speakers and the one i suggested are passive, would like to go the active. what speakers are out there to fit within my budget? Just don't want to have my AMP blow one day and have no spare speakers at the gig.

If I go with the powered route, what do I need? I know any powered monitor will fit into my yamaha but how can I connect new powered speakers to my mixer because I know they can't go into the crown amp. What piece of equipment do I need to make this work?

thanks,
KY

[Byll]

Hello, KY: I took a look at your mixer's picture, on Sweetwater's site - blown up to its largest size. It looks like you will be able to use powered front of house (FOH) monitors without having to purchase any extra gear, except the monitors, stands, and cables. I use a lot of Yamaha gear live and in the studio, and one of Yamaha's best features is designing gear that can easily route signals to where they are needed. Please note that my conclusions are predicated on a picture - as Sweetwater's published specs do not go into the kind of detail you need. It would be wise to check my conclusions with your owner's manual, and a Sweetwater rep., before any powered monitor purchases are made. May I suggest Brad Every at extension 1321...

Your Yamaha mixer has the main outputs, which you are already using for your amp/passive monitor FOH mains. Your mixer has the feature of being able to route any input to the stereo buss, plus Groups 1/2 and 3/4. Once you have routed your inputs to Group 1/2, you then can control the final volume of that group from the appropriate output fader, on the lower right hand side of your mixer. In your output connector bank, on the upper right hand side of your mixer, you have stereo outputs for Group 1/2. You will simply drive your powered monitors from the Group 1/2 outputs. it is totally separate from your main outs, and you will then balance between the two systems at will.

Within your monitor budget is the Mackie SRM350v2. You could actually purchase two for FOH, and one for your floor monitor. If one ever failed, you would then only lose your floor monitor, as any of the three can be used for front of house. This would create a kind of 'fail-safe' situation for you. Redundant gear is always good...

Behringer. Hmmm. I don't quite know what to say. I own one piece of Behringer studio gear. I purchased it because it was incredibly inexpensive, and that particular piece of gear is unique... Suffice it to say that the company is not known for reliable equipment.

Hope this all helps a bit.
Be well.
Byll