Wuts good SL fam? I kno ive been gone for a minute but im back, well kinda lol Anyway, I have the Matrix 2000 system. Now, im wondering is there a way to get more power/volume out of it. This is the scenario:

I have a tech. 1200 turntable setup with a pioneer 300 mixer. Im running the output of my mixer into the back of the powered sub using a RCA to XLR Female cable. Now sometime i need to raise the volume but i end up getting to the red clipping section of my mixer BUT i kno the Matrix system can produce more volume eventho i have the volume on 3 o' clock like the manual says. Theres even been instances when i crank it to max and its still good, just my mixer hit thr red a lil more than im comfortable with, altho i dont hear distortion, its just that the red scares me.

Anyway, i was thinking of gettin a small board like this www.pssl.com to take some strain off my mixer and add more volume (eventho the system is powered).

I was thinking of rebuilding my overviews (analyze files) to raise the volume of my music cuz its not as loud as it can be in SSL. I have plenty of headroom on SSL for majority of my files. Also, i was gonna try to hook up my decks thru my line input instead of the "cd input" that i have on my mixer an see if that helps.

However, the Matrix system is great. I just want to be able to sleep better knowing that i dont have to clip anything to get loud volume. (I think i might be a lil paranoid lol)

BTW, sorry for the long post and thanks for any help ya'll have.

Rob-Low

what's your ssl master gain set at? don't be afraid to crank that up a bit...

Part of the problem is that you are using a 300 and converting the RCA level to an XLR level signal with a cable. I would recommend either getting a mixer with balanced XLR outs, or getting a small live PA / line mixer that has them and running it inbetween the Pioneer and the B52s. I have a Matrix 1000 and it gets plenty loud off of my 57!

i've always wondered what is the IDEAL setting for ssl mastern gain?

Actually its at 12 o'clock. I dont mess with it. I try to keep ssl from hitting the red.

Ahhhhhuuuuhhh, that does make sense. Do u recommend a specific board/mixer to run between the two? Im gonna check out some mixers with xlr outputs. I cant get a 57. Its sooooo not in my budget right now lol. I was looking at the 56, but that doesnt have xlr output either so im not sure what to get. I gotta o some research. Thx Eric

there's a difference between track gain and the master gain....for the problem you are experiencing, you might try raising your master gain a bit and see if you get better volume out of your speakers without having to buy any additional equipment. you should be able to get some additional output without adversely affecting/distorting your tracks...

Whatever will work best for your situation... a 56 has balanced 1/4" outs, so you can get balanced 1/4" to XLR cables and still have better results than thru RCA out. If a Pioneer 300-level mixer is all you need feature-wise, this one might be good too... Allen and Heath with XLR outs for $300...

www.pssl.com

action, it's gonna really depend on your system. for the most part, the 12 o'clock position is just fine, but in cases like rob's, it may be beneficial to crank it up a bit. For me, I set my master gain after I set up my powered speakers (I set them at 12 o'clock) to the maximum volume I want for that gig without getting any distortion. That way I know exactly how much headroom I have while still getting the best possible sound.

Right, My track gain can be raised up tho. I set my files to 92db and i still be having headroom on my track gain. I believe the majority of my files are like 95db, but i always put it to 92db.

That definitely can help, especially if the EQ has RCA ins and also acts as a balancer in the signal chain. It also may have gains on it that can give you a little extra boost. That EQ could potentially serve the same purpose as a PA/line mixer... just going inbetween your 300 and your Matrix setup and giving you an extra stage of gain control.

Yep.. It has RCA ins and XLR outs. It has a volume control for each channel (left & right). However, its about maybe 5 years old and its a wack brand. So its definitely not the best quality EQ out there. Would it really matter tho?

Someone alluded to avoiding using RCA, so I think going with XLRs will give you better results.

Another thing I have noticed about Pioneer mixers is that they don't seem to have as much headroom as, say, the TTM 57. The Pioneer mixers tend to hit the red too soon.

it says there is only one left...

www.amazon.com

Yeah, i think ur right. It does clip waaaay to soon. I figured something was wrong between the cables and mixer cuz that system THUMPS. I guess ill try and get a better quality mixer with either 1/4in or XLR outputs.

Question.. Is there mixer out that has alot of headroom like the TTM 57? I reeeeeeely dont have $1500 lol

i know this is a old thread but i finally gave up and turned the sub all they way up while leaving the other speakers alone at the 3'oclock position, mixer is still in the yellow at peaks and depending on the song some times you have to turn the bass down but it does get you some kick ass lows with that sub

That isn't normal. What equpt are you using?

well im using the matrix 2000, and needed a bit more kick out of the sub, its coming from two tt's and a berihinger mixer, the few songs where the bass distorts because mainly of a bad song, there's a few that i have of lower bit rates but cant find at anything higher.. those songs have since worked there way out of rotation...
but the matrix is so loud i rarely can even get it close where it becomes an issue anymore. if i had to buy speakers again i will go with an other matirx 2000

Which Behringer? I've found all the older ones I've used to be somewhat lacking in the low end category (although I've never used and have heard great things about the DDM-4000).

its the one right below the 4000, for the most part its been pretty good, but the sound is starting to bleed when all the faders are down and the master is turned up, not much but just enough to annoy me. once im done paying off the new speakers thats getting replaced..