Gary,

Great that you finally got around to the Z-5500's. I look forward to future comments on them. I was wondering - were your current comments relative to output from your keyboard only or have you had a chance to check out your vocals through the system?

Thanks,

vc

I hooked up the Crown CM-311A to the PSR-3000, and fired everything through the Z-5500 system last night--superb. The vocals were crisp, cleaner than I could have ever imagined, no feedback whatsoever, even at higher volume levels with the speakers pointed directly at me and positioned just four feet away. I'm am really excited about the prospects of this system, and sincerely believe that once I have everything set up the way I want, I should be able to perform in front of audiences of 150 to 200 with ease and still have lots of top end volume to spare. I will not, however, know this until I set up in a large hall and test everything out. I will use it on New Year's Eve for this year's annual bash at the Diamond Ranch.

I have a relatively light schedule during the upcoming week, just a few newspaper and magazine articles to write until Friday's gig (job), therefore, I hope to have the Z-5500's speakers all mounted on stands, the wiring harnessed and everything else packaged for use on the fly. Should be fun, and I will post final results and photos.

Gary

Gary good luck with your new system...I know you'll sound great performing with it this Holiday Season for sure. Awaitig your setup Pictures.

Gary, you shouldn't have any problem with the power that the Z-5500 system has.
I just played a dance in a 3000 sq. foot hall with the Z-2200 (satellites on stands as you described). This was a very "live" hall, long and narrow. In fact the hall is so live that I had to face the satellites backwords, pointing directly into the stage curtain. No amount of equalization seemed to work. In spite of the sound directed into the curtain, there was plenty of volume with power to spare.
Since I don't sing, I can't attest to how the z-2200 would sound with vocals under the weird setup that I had to use.
We'll be waiting for your report from New Year's Eve.
Best of Luck,
Walt

Gary,
You seem pleased with yourZ5500...which is great...Based on previous input from you I've had a look(onLine) at same...and am a bit puzzled when you say you expect this 500W & quite small system, to cover audience of 150/200...in a concert situation maybe, but surely not powerful enough for your typical NY Eve bash....or am I missing something here.
I think I may have mentioned that I am at present doing some Live trials for Bose on their Euro version of PAS Syst....it has awsome power,clarity & dispersion(180*wide)...main issue for me is that it is only Mono & Euro cost is 3500 for basic unit. So are we talkin Apples & oranges here, 'Cause Bose unit would at best cover audience of 300....400 absolute Max....
Would like to keep in touch on issue as you put 5500s through their paces.

Regards
LeoD

Leo,

For the past 10 years or more I've been holding my own New Year's Eve bash, which only involves about 60 of my closest friends. I take care of everything, the food, booze, entertainment, etc. They just show up and we all have a great time. Last night I performed for an audience of about 200 and used the Barbetta's, it went great, kept the dance floor packed and people of all ages and at one point had a 100 people conga line that mainly consisted of younger people. I believe the 5500 would have sufficed at this venue, but unfortunately, the system is not ready to go on the job yet.

Gary

Hi Gary

I wonder if you would list your setting you are using. Seeing that you have had much experience with the Z2200's and are now enjoying your new Z5500's even more, I would love to see how you are doing it to see if I can increase my enjoyment of them as they come in the box.

My thanks to you for pioneering this and to Chico from Brazil for letting us all know about the new Z5500's

Best
Scott

[This message has been edited by Scott Langholff (edited 11-22-2004).]

First, the keyboard's master EQ settings are: EQ1=4, EQ2=3, EQ3=4, EQ4=8, EQ5=10

The current mic settings are:
Low= 100hz +9d, Mid= 2.0 0db, High= 10Khz +9db
Noise Gate= off, Th. -60Db, Compressor= on/-20/5.0/110
Harmony Control= play/off/lower/0-bal/auto/xf/off/70

The individual speaker volume settings on the Z-5500 are currently set at maxium, and only the main volume is used to control the overall volume. This seems to work out well in the office, but I may have to modify this in a larger venue.

As for the input, i merely placed the selector switch in the up position, then connected a Radio Shack headset adapter cable to the 1/8-inch input jack located on the side of the remote receiver, and plugged in a short effects cable into the 1/4-inch female plug at the other end of the headphone extension. The 1/4-inch males are then plugged into the standard keyboard output jacks, which provides you with additional volume control directly from the keyboard itself. I'm singing through a Crown CM-311-A headset mic, which has provided me with outstanding results.

Today, I'm off to the local music store to look for appropriate stannds for the left and right satellite speakers, which I intend to mount two to a pole, and they will be faced at a 30 degree angle from each other to provide the broadest possible coverage. The satellites will then be positioned about 3 feet to my left and right, about three feet behind me. The sub and center speaker will be positioned on the floor on the left side of the keyboard stand, and the remote receiver will be on top of the sub as well, positioned behind the center speaker. I'll probably Velcro the center speaker and receiver in place just to be on the safe side.

All of the wiring will be harnessed using cable wrap, which can be purchased at Radion Shack as well. This keeps the cables neat, covered and eliminates the eyesore of dozens of cables all over the floor. It also facilitates faster set-ups and tear-downs.

As things progress, I'll post some photos,

Gary

Gary,
I'll be following your progress on this topic ...very interesting ...We'll let you do all the donkey work....not really fair is it....but they seem to be great value for the price ...and convenient too...

Thanks
LeoD

Hi Gary

I assume you have found the PLII Music setting the best for sound?

Scott