Hookup and config questions CS800 for home stereo

[aharlycpl]

Hello peavey peeps... complete newb to peavey equipment here but on a mission that may or may not be somewhat normal and including a cs 800 amp in my project. So I thought I would come here and ask for advice from the real peavey users who could point me in the right direction.

PROJECT: Redo my old school type home stereo component system to godzilla proportions. But doing it in completely independent and quality components. Something to give my neighbors something to complain about and possibly break the windows out of the house.

COMPONENTS: Primary speakers will be driven by a carver m200t amp rated at 120w/channel and going into a great set of 4 way speakers with 15" woofers. Sub will be driven by a peavey cs800 and feed an 18" woofer rated at 400w rms with 800w peak. I am still looking for the right preamp and am planning on 2 equalizers. One equalizer for each amp. So input from devices will feed preamp, preamp out on channels A and P (calling it P instead o B for the peavey channel) to equalizer A and P.. equalizer P to the peavey.. out put from equalizer will be an RCA jack and have a cable that will do 2 into 1 on the stereo outputs so the peavey can receive one RCA jack for input.

PEAVEY PART: So... my new best friends.. What kind of adapters.. where would be the best port to hook into and what would be the best way to configure the Peavey to push out power to the sub but perhaps not blow it up. I want to push that sub good so it really thumps but would prefer not to blow it out the first time I got stupid and cranked it to see what it could do.

Explain it like you are talking to a simpleton if you can.. though not particularly stupid have not dealt with peavey or equipment designed primarily for musical instruments before to the connectors are not familiar items yet.

Thanks for any advice and to help me get the knock on the door from the police to tell me to turn it down.

[Wooferhound]

What sub are you using ?
What is the sub impedance (ohms) ?
You will need a crossover somewhere in there . . .

[thunda]

I once ran a CS800 in bridge mode to power a single EV Eliminator i sub at 8 ohms. The sub is rated 800 watts. It fried the internal crossover in the sub...after that I started using a PV2600 rated 550 watts/channel at 8 ohms and now run two of the subs with nary a hiccup.

just my two cents' worth

[aharlycpl]

The sub is a single speaker.. I forgot to mention it is 8 ohm... Here are the specs on it:

18" Low Frequency PA Speaker
•Designed for
high powered
low frequency
reproduction
•Cast frame
construction
•Reinforced
cloth surround
•Heavy duty
papercone •Massive 100
oz. magnet •4" voice coil

Specifications: •Power handling: 400 RMS/800/PK
•SPL: 98dB, 2.83V 1/W/1M •Fs: 31Hz •Vas:
14.3 cu. ft. •Qts: .38 •Qes: .46 •Qms: 2.193 •Xmax:
4.4mm/.17" •DCR: 6.8ohm •Mms: 154.2(g.)
•Dimensions: A=17", B=18.6", C=7.5"

My thoughts are that I probably will not want to put it into bridge mode and just run it off one channel with a single speaker as my understanding is that this amp will be 800w rms in bridge which is about double what the sub was designed to handle.. and I do not trust myself not to turn it up too high.

[aharlycpl]

Instead of a crossover I am thinking I would rather have a separate equalizer for the peavey so that I can fine tune it more precisely to what sounds best. So in essence the equalizer will be the crossover.

From what I am gathering I will need a RCA Female to 1/4" TS Male Adapter. Am thinking I should be able to connect an equalizer with a 2 into one rca cable (one plug into the left and one into the right output that connect to a single rca jack to hook to the adapter plugged into one channel of the peavey) But I really am not sure what the peavey expects coming into its incoming ports and would rather ask the pro's here vs taking a wild guess.

[Dookie]

Instead of a crossover I am thinking I would rather have a separate equalizer for the peavey so that I can fine tune it more precisely to what sounds best. So in essence the equalizer will be the crossover.

From what I am gathering I will need a RCA Female to 1/4" TS Male Adapter. Am thinking I should be able to connect an equalizer with a 2 into one rca cable (one plug into the left and one into the right output that connect to a single rca jack to hook to the adapter plugged into one channel of the peavey) But I really am not sure what the peavey expects coming into its incoming ports and would rather ask the pro's here vs taking a wild guess.

(one plug into the left and one into the right output that connect to a single rca jack to hook to the adapter plugged into one channel of the peavey)

No!! you don't want to do this. You can't sum 2 channels coming out of you source this way. Something like this would work.
http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/5 ... hgodx0cD4A

I would go with something like this instead. It has the RCA outs and the crossover functions you need as well. There are many more low cost crossovers out there. Check with Peavey too!!

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/contro ... details&Q=

[aharlycpl]

Thanks very much... that was what I was looking for but not sure what would work best. That is why I came here to the folks who use the equipment for advice.

Much appreciated!

[colliedogboy1]

When you say that the outputs from the equalizer will be "RCA" connectors, I am wondering if the equalizer is the type used in home stereo component setups. If it is, then its output will be -10dB instead of the +4dB that professional amps are expecting to receive. You might get a reduced level of volume out of your CS800 because of the reduced level of signal going into it.
I think.

[0603Kenny]

Have a look at these EQ's, they will have the signal the amp need's

2/3 octave = https://peavey.com/search.cfm?term=pv231
1/3 octave = https://peavey.com/products/index.cfm/item/668/115802

[aharlycpl]

Ty for the info on the input levels.. that is one thing I had a hard time finding.. will try and find out what the output levels of my preamp is and figure out if there is a way to compensate for it or whether I just need a different preamp. I just hooked picked up the preamp that I love.. is a phase linear 2000 but can change it up if I really need to.

Some specs from this preamp are:
Specifications
Frequency response: 20Hz to 20kHz

Total harmonic distortion: 0.05%

Input sensitivity: 2mV (MM), 200mV (line)

Signal to noise ratio: 80dB (MM), 88dB (line)

Output: 2V (Pre out), 10V (Pre out Max)

Dimensions: 483 x 140 x 152mm

Weight: 5kg

Year: 1976

Another site puts the specs as these:

Specifications
Total Harmonic Distortion: Basically so low it is unmeasurable. Guaranteed less than 0,1% at rated output with 1 HF measurement.
Frequency Response: Phono ±0.5 dB of RIAA Standard
Input Sensitivity:
High level input : 40 K
Low level input : 47 K, 290 pf
Hum and Noise: 20 Hz - 20,000 Hz (inputs shorted)
High level : 88 dB belov 2 V
Low level : 74 dB a 10 mV input
Ambience Signal: (L-R) =L & (R-L)=R
Volume Control Tracking: Less than 1 dB Tracking error
Gain:
Low level (Phono) to pre-amp output : 56 dB at 1 kHz
Phono to Tape Output : 41 dB at 1 kHz
High Level to Pre-amp output : 15 dB at 1 kHz
Maximum Output Levels: Rated at 2 V : maximum 10 volts will source a 5 kohm load
Bass:
Turnover frequency 50 Hz : ±11 dB at 20 Hz
Turnover frequency 150 Hz : ±13 dB at 20 Hz
Treble:
Turnover frequency 5 kHz : ±10 dB at 20 kHz
Turnover frequency 2 kHz : ±14 dB at 20 kHz
Dimensions: 5½" (H) x 19" x 6" (D)
Weight: 15 lb

Now for more stupid questions... the peavey amp appears to have a crossover built into it.. From what I gather it needs "cans" to make it work right.. Staring at it in ignorance it kinda looks like the cans should plug straight into the back of the amp.. or are they inside the thing? And if so.. Do I need two of them.. kinda looks like place for two on each side.. or just one.. and if just one.. which plug does it hit and what is the best one to use in this setup.

My take on hookup would be from preamp to the xover input.. there is an RCA adaper in one of the plug of the picture below.. My B speaker outputs into each of the plugs(one from left output and one from right outupt). Take patch cable from the Lo output of the xover to the Amplifier input.. one side of it.. then hook up the speakers.. Am I kinda on the right track? I don't care about the high frequencies in this setup..simply want the sub driven hard and this amp is dedicated to it.



The B side looks the same but is a mirror image... It also has knobs up front to change some kinda voltage...

And there is the issue of the knobs up front... It appears to select the expected input level.. but really do not know exactly what that switch is going to do.. Here is a picture of the knobs.. there is one on each side of the amp.



So farmer mentality thinking out loud here.. Since my input to the amp is probably low.. the output of the amp is above what the speaker is rated for.. perhaps I can put it into bridge mode and it will power the speaker at the right level? Of course.. anticipate the next question.. if that would work.. how the heck do you do that, what cans do I need... make it simple if ya can.

[Dookie]

Ty for the info on the input levels.. that is one thing I had a hard time finding.. will try and find out what the output levels of my preamp is and figure out if there is a way to compensate for it or whether I just need a different preamp. I just hooked picked up the preamp that I love.. is a phase linear 2000 but can change it up if I really need to.

Some specs from this preamp are:
Specifications
Frequency response: 20Hz to 20kHz

Total harmonic distortion: 0.05%

Input sensitivity: 2mV (MM), 200mV (line)

Signal to noise ratio: 80dB (MM), 88dB (line)

Output: 2V (Pre out), 10V (Pre out Max)

Dimensions: 483 x 140 x 152mm

Weight: 5kg

Year: 1976

Another site puts the specs as these:

Specifications
Total Harmonic Distortion: Basically so low it is unmeasurable. Guaranteed less than 0,1% at rated output with 1 HF measurement.
Frequency Response: Phono ±0.5 dB of RIAA Standard
Input Sensitivity:
High level input : 40 K
Low level input : 47 K, 290 pf
Hum and Noise: 20 Hz - 20,000 Hz (inputs shorted)
High level : 88 dB belov 2 V
Low level : 74 dB a 10 mV input
Ambience Signal: (L-R) =L & (R-L)=R
Volume Control Tracking: Less than 1 dB Tracking error
Gain:
Low level (Phono) to pre-amp output : 56 dB at 1 kHz
Phono to Tape Output : 41 dB at 1 kHz
High Level to Pre-amp output : 15 dB at 1 kHz
Maximum Output Levels: Rated at 2 V : maximum 10 volts will source a 5 kohm load
Bass:
Turnover frequency 50 Hz : ±11 dB at 20 Hz
Turnover frequency 150 Hz : ±13 dB at 20 Hz
Treble:
Turnover frequency 5 kHz : ±10 dB at 20 kHz
Turnover frequency 2 kHz : ±14 dB at 20 kHz
Dimensions: 5½" (H) x 19" x 6" (D)
Weight: 15 lb

Now for more stupid questions... the peavey amp appears to have a crossover built into it.. From what I gather it needs "cans" to make it work right.. Staring at it in ignorance it kinda looks like the cans should plug straight into the back of the amp.. or are they inside the thing? And if so.. Do I need two of them.. kinda looks like place for two on each side.. or just one.. and if just one.. which plug does it hit and what is the best one to use in this setup.

My take on hookup would be from preamp to the xover input.. there is an RCA adaper in one of the plug of the picture below.. My B speaker outputs into each of the plugs(one from left output and one from right outupt). Take patch cable from the Lo output of the xover to the Amplifier input.. one side of it.. then hook up the speakers.. Am I kinda on the right track? I don't care about the high frequencies in this setup..simply want the sub driven hard and this amp is dedicated to it.



The B side looks the same but is a mirror image... It also has knobs up front to change some kinda voltage...

And there is the issue of the knobs up front... It appears to select the expected input level.. but really do not know exactly what that switch is going to do.. Here is a picture of the knobs.. there is one on each side of the amp.



So farmer mentality thinking out loud here.. Since my input to the amp is probably low.. the output of the amp is above what the speaker is rated for.. perhaps I can put it into bridge mode and it will power the speaker at the right level? Of course.. anticipate the next question.. if that would work.. how the heck do you do that, what cans do I need... make it simple if ya can.

I'd recommend a 100hz crossover can. Peavey PL-100.

https://www.google.com/search?q=peavey+ ... 36&bih=732

This can plugs into the crossover socket. Where it says crossover "HI" out the signal is 100hz and above. Where it says crossover "LOW" out it passes the signal 100hz and below. In your crossover "island" it looks like a broken alignment pin is still in it. You may have to pull that out before you can plug the new one in. Hard to tell from the picture. Also there is a socket for a balancing input transformer. Labeled "Bal. X-Former" there normally is a Dummy plug with just a shiny metal dome there. I'm unsure if audio will pass to the crossover outs without that there.

https://www.google.com/search?q=peavey+ ... ransformer

I may have one somewhere. If you don't get a signal to the crossover out plugs I'd try to find one as that may be the problem.

Signal flow with crossover can in socket. Input as you have it with rca to 1/4 adaptor. Signal goes through transformer socket to the crossover out. Take LOW out and with a 1/4 to 1/4 patch cable go to channel A PWR. AMP input. This will take 100hz and above out and feed your subwoofer. With 2 crossover cans and another sub you can have stereo subwoofer setup. You can take the same signal and feed channel B if you want and run another sub from this amp channel .

Bridging amp. Put amp in bridge mode. Do the exact setup as above with an input only to channel A.
Now connect the POSITIVE wire from you sub to the CHANNEL A RED BINDING POST in outputs section.
Connect the NEGATIVE wire coming from the sub to CHANNEL B RED BINDING POST (yes red binding post)
Now the two amps work as one and give you 800 watts into a 8 ohm load. You can NOT go lower than 8 ohms. 2, 8 ohm subs would be a 4 ohm load or too much of a load on the amp.
When in bridge mode the channel B input is bypassed and does not work so you can only use 1 side of a stereo input to an amp like this. It would take 2 amps like this in bridge mode for a stereo setup.

The knob in front is just as stated. The more you turn it up the less input voltage or volume it takes to get the amp to reach full output. When the red light just starts to light/flicker your given 240 watt peaks with an 8 ohm sub connected to that amp channel. In bridge mode your giving 800 watts peaks to the same sub. With the knob pushed in the DDT is active and it helps prevent clipping from reaching your subwoofer. With the knob pulled out now clipping and possible damage can happen. I'd keep the knob pushed in and never let much more than a very light flicker happen with the red led to keep things safe.

Hope this helps some. Doug

[aharlycpl]

Awesome, Awesome help and hopefully I am coming up to speed on things a bit. So here is the new progress to see if I am on the right track.

I picked up a rack mount crossover and equalizer pair for a great price that look like they should work.

Crossover:DOD 835 Series II
SPECIFICATIONS
Frequency Response: 10Hz.to 22kHz +0/-0.5 dB.
THD+Noise: Less than 0.006%.
Signal-To-Noise Ratio:Greater than -90 dB
Filter Type: 18 dB/octave Butterworth state-variable filters.
Crossover Frequencies
Stereo: LOW/HIGH: 100 Hz to 10 kHz in two ranges.
Mono: LOW/MID 100 Hz to 10 kHz in two ranges.
MID/HIGH 100 Hz to 10 kHz in two ranges.
Input Impedance: 20 k Ω unbalanced,40 K Ω balanced.
Maximum Input Level: +21 dBu (ref.:0.775 Vrms).
Output Impedance: 51Ω unbalanced/102 Ω balanced.
Maximum Output Level: +21 dBu (ref.:0.775 Vrms).
Dimensions: 19”(L) x 5”(W) x 1.75”(H). Weight: 4.38 lbs.

Equalizer:DOD sr430qxlr
Frequency Response: 20Hz to 20kHz, =0/-0.5 dB
Low Cut Filter: 12 dB/ octave roll-off, 3 dB down at 50 Hz switchable in or out.
Frequency Center Tolerance: 5%
Control Range: 12 dB cut/ boost
Recommended Operating Level: -10 dBV to +4 dBu
Input Impedance: 40k Ω balanced, 20k Ω unbalanced
Maximum Output Level: +21 dBu (balanced or unbalanced)
Input Level Control: +/-12 dB
Input Level Indicator: LED bar graph; -10,0,+10, and +17
Harmonic Distortion: .006% @ 1 kHz
S/N Ratio: Greater than 90 dB (ref. 0.0775Vrms)
Electronic Switching: In/Out and Filter switches (FET type)
Power Requirements: 100/120/220-230/240 VAC, 50/60 Hz @ 18 watts
Dimensions 430 and 431: 1.75”x6”x19”
Dimensions 231, 830, and 831: 3.5”x6”x19”

So the plan is this when the patch cables get here:

Input device to the Stereo Preamp. A Speaker outputs to the carver amp to power the regular speakers. B speaker outputs to the equalizer with an adapter to go from rca to TS mono jack. Patch cables from the equalizer to the crossover TS mono. Patch cables from the low outputs on the crossover to the A side of the Peavey input jacks, TS mono. Speaker wires from Peavey A and B sides to the 18" bass speaker. I tested the sound a little bit by going straight from a bluetooth receiver going directly to the crossover and then from the equalizer to the crossover and it sounded a lot better going through both but don't have enough cables yet to test out the entire hookup yet. Seems the crossover expects more input to get the right output for the peavey amp and the equalizer appears to help boost it closer to where it should be.

On the right track now?

[Dookie]

Awesome, Awesome help and hopefully I am coming up to speed on things a bit. So here is the new progress to see if I am on the right track.

I picked up a rack mount crossover and equalizer pair for a great price that look like they should work.

Crossover:DOD 835 Series II
SPECIFICATIONS
Frequency Response: 10Hz.to 22kHz +0/-0.5 dB.
THD+Noise: Less than 0.006%.
Signal-To-Noise Ratio:Greater than -90 dB
Filter Type: 18 dB/octave Butterworth state-variable filters.
Crossover Frequencies
Stereo: LOW/HIGH: 100 Hz to 10 kHz in two ranges.
Mono: LOW/MID 100 Hz to 10 kHz in two ranges.
MID/HIGH 100 Hz to 10 kHz in two ranges.
Input Impedance: 20 k Ω unbalanced,40 K Ω balanced.
Maximum Input Level: +21 dBu (ref.:0.775 Vrms).
Output Impedance: 51Ω unbalanced/102 Ω balanced.
Maximum Output Level: +21 dBu (ref.:0.775 Vrms).
Dimensions: 19”(L) x 5”(W) x 1.75”(H). Weight: 4.38 lbs.

Equalizer:DOD sr430qxlr
Frequency Response: 20Hz to 20kHz, =0/-0.5 dB
Low Cut Filter: 12 dB/ octave roll-off, 3 dB down at 50 Hz switchable in or out.
Frequency Center Tolerance: 5%
Control Range: 12 dB cut/ boost
Recommended Operating Level: -10 dBV to +4 dBu
Input Impedance: 40k Ω balanced, 20k Ω unbalanced
Maximum Output Level: +21 dBu (balanced or unbalanced)
Input Level Control: +/-12 dB
Input Level Indicator: LED bar graph; -10,0,+10, and +17
Harmonic Distortion: .006% @ 1 kHz
S/N Ratio: Greater than 90 dB (ref. 0.0775Vrms)
Electronic Switching: In/Out and Filter switches (FET type)
Power Requirements: 100/120/220-230/240 VAC, 50/60 Hz @ 18 watts
Dimensions 430 and 431: 1.75”x6”x19”
Dimensions 231, 830, and 831: 3.5”x6”x19”

So the plan is this when the patch cables get here:

Input device to the Stereo Preamp. A Speaker outputs to the carver amp to power the regular speakers. B speaker outputs to the equalizer with an adapter to go from rca to TS mono jack. Patch cables from the equalizer to the crossover TS mono. Patch cables from the low outputs on the crossover to the A side of the Peavey input jacks, TS mono. Speaker wires from Peavey A and B sides to the 18" bass speaker. I tested the sound a little bit by going straight from a bluetooth receiver going directly to the crossover and then from the equalizer to the crossover and it sounded a lot better going through both but don't have enough cables yet to test out the entire hookup yet. Seems the crossover expects more input to get the right output for the peavey amp and the equalizer appears to help boost it closer to where it should be.

On the right track now?

Well close.... Subwoofers cover a very small section of the audio spectrum. Around an octave to an octave an a half. Using an eq for this small area is somewhat of a waist of an eq. Experiment with sub placement would be a better indever.
If it was me. Input device to stereo preamp. Preamp level out A (left and right) to eq in left and right. Eq left and right out to Crossover left and right in. Set crossover to 100hz on both channels. Take Hi outs l/r and go to the amp driving your mains. Now take the mono subwoofer out and go to your Peavey amp. Either 1 channel or amp bridged.
Crossover settings. Put crossover in stereo mode. Mono light won't be on. Put the input gain knobs at the 3 o'clock position. Put the subwoofer (low level)output gain knobs at the 3 o'clock position as well. Turn the high level all the way down to start. Put the crossover knobs again set to 100hz. Now put on some music on and turn up your preamp so the sub is playing at a normal level. Now turn up your high level knobs so your speakers blend with the sub. You don't want your sub's or tops to be heard more than another. Try for a blend. Your so close to a true biamp system you might as well go and do it. I believe I had one of those crossovers. Not a bad basic unit.
Doug