EUROLIVE VS1220/VS1220F/VS1520 User Manual

4. Additional Considerations

4.1Length and diameter of loudspeaker cables

Loudspeaker cables whose diameter is too small can considerably limit the power amp performance. The longer the cable, the more pronounced the problem. As a result, musicians often simply “turn up” the amp, which can lead to loudspeaker damage. Therefore, don’t use cables longer than 15 m (45 ft.). For most applications, this will not be necessary. Cable diameter should be at least 14 - 12 gauge.

4.2 Power amp rating

Selecting the right amp can turn out to be rather difficult. Therefore, stick to the following rule of thumb: the power rating of your amp should be roughly twice the loudspeaker load capac- ity. A loudspeaker rated at 200 Watts continuous performance can easily be powered by an amp rated at 400 Watts output power. An optimal addition to your speaker system would be the BEHRINGER EUROPOWER EP2000 power amp, for example.

4.3 Fuses

We do not recommend the use of fuses with loudspeaker applica- tions. Damage to loudspeakers can be the result of high peak signals and high output power. However, fuses can only offer protection from one of these two factors, and never from both. Additionally, fuse resistances are sometimes nonlinear, leading to distortion and unpredictable overdriving.

4.4 Protecting your equipment

•Always try to find the optimal signal level. Avoid overdriving your amp.

•Keep in mind the physical limitations of your PA system.

•Use a limiter to restrict the output signal level. Place the limiter between the mixing console and the power amp. For this purpose, our proven AUTOCOM PRO-XL MDX1600, COMPOSER PRO-XL MDX2600 and MULTICOM PRO-XL MDX4600 compressors offer an outstanding solution. All models can be used as a limiter: the audio signal doesn’t overdrive any more, and unpleasant “peaks” are effectively avoided.

◊Our ULTRADRIVE PRO DCX2496 and SUPER-X CX3400/ CX2310 crossovers are particularly well-suited for protect- ing your equipment: for each output, they have independent limiters.

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5. Application Examples

5.1 Full-range stereo operation

In this example, the main output signal of a mixing console is connected to a power amplifier. Both the outputs and inputs are stereo. A full-range VS series loudspeaker is connected to each of the amplifier outputs, and these loudspeakers reproduce the entire frequency range.

XENYX 1202FX

EUROPOWER EP2000

EUROLIVE

VS1520

Fig. 5.1 Full-range stereo operation

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