PA subs advice please!

[skidder652003]

We were using a couple of Peavey active subs but have no end of problems with them dying on us several times. We have decided to go with a single active sub second- hand around the £500/600 mark, does anyone have some experience with this sort of setup - 24 channel desk - poweramp 1000W - passive tops x 2 and active sub? Any makes for subs recommended would be appreciated!
cheers

[xgsjx]

Why are they dying? What about going down the passive route as you're using passive tops?

[JTUK]

Bit of a minefield.... we brought a Mackie Thump which was awful and got sold straight away
and we didn't rate the QSC K subs much for the money.
Went for RCF 905's instead..

[roonjuice]

go passive sub. far more options, easier to move and far easier to get value for money for.

[mrtcat]

RCF905s are great but possibly a little hard to find used so if you find some buy them quick. I was pleasantly surprised by a Mackie hf sub I heard this weekend but I always worry a little about Mackie reliability and service. If you want passive give me a shout. I have a pair of used BFM titan39's in the workshop that will shake your world.

[bertbass]

+1 to the [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]BFM titan39's, brilliant cabs.[/font][/color]

[skidder652003]

Im guessing the titans are passive right? We used active subs so as not to give us problems with resistance loads from one power amp feeding both tops and subs, also would there be any crossover issues going passive? You can see im a bit of a newb where PA stuff is concerned

[Guest bassman7755]

[quote name='skidder652003' timestamp='1396869670' post='2418101']
Im guessing the titans are passive right? We used active subs so as not to give us problems with resistance loads from one power amp feeding both tops and subs, also would there be any crossover issues going passive? You can see im a bit of a newb where PA stuff is concerned
[/quote]

Its pretty common to use a PA power amp to drive tops through one channel and subs through the other in a passive setup (i.e. two tops on one channel, one or two subs on the other). In fact many modern PA amps have a built-in crossover designed specifically for this set up, failing that behringer do some decent cheap rack crossover units that work well for this.

But yes in essence you would generally not drive passive tops and subs with the same signal (although some older passive subs have a builtin crossover and a daisy chain connection for tops but this isn't so common these days as its much less efficient and flexible than using separate amps and/or amp channels)

Edited April 7, 2014 by bassman7755

[Dad3353]

Passive subs are very unlikely to be damaged by full-range signal input. They will simply be incapable of doing anything good with the upper frequencies, but no harm will be done. The opposite, of course, is not true.
Having seen some of your questions and comments here, I would sincerely recommend 'gening up' a bit more on the basics on the subject; it will serve you well for years to come. It's all very well having a 'plug it in and it works' attitude, and we all have to start somewhere, but when things start to go a bit squiffy, it's good to know at least the rudiments. I haven't any reading to recommend on the subject, unfortunately; anyone got a good 101 book, 'PA for Dummies', to propose..?

[JTUK]

I wouldn't worry about passive subs and I think there is a lot going for them.
The weight as mentioned, is always helpful, and there can be a lot of
vibration going through a Class D section over the months with an active
Sub.
With this is mind, I might welcome passive subs as an option so you can
'park' the power amp some way away from the cab...which is not something
you can do with and all-in-1 active sub solution.
What you might save on the active costs, you might have to spend on a x-over control.