Cabling monitor inputs on some QSC PLD amplifiers

[@johnmcquay82]

Pre-cabling is such a benefit. All of my racks are pre-cabled; speeds up build and tear-down, and also means I always have the kit I need where I need it. It's quite frustrating having to hunt down stuff that you use all the time.

[@bongtirao1649]

Good luck and more power!

[@bongtirao1649]

Great video, Thanks for the info sir, I wish i can have also equipment like that sir. Thank you.

[@stageleftaudio]

You are very welcome

[@carlgoyal58]

Another great video🇨🇦

[@stageleftaudio]

Thanks 👍

[@carlgoyal58]

Thanks guys for sharing your ideas and experiences in our industry..

[@petersams5054]

Also assuming you're not driving any 2 ohm loads then PLX2502s are more than redundant. One i9000 can drive all subs if the other one fails. If a PLD fails then condense mixes down to 4. The PLXs are dead weight, maybe rack 1 in a 2u and leave in the truck

[@sandersmit1796]

Great video! I am wondering why don't you make a few pre wired and easy accessible patch panels on the back of the rack? I would think it saves the connectors in the amps, is easier to see and reach and thus most likely even faster for setup. You probably had your reasons, i am just curious! 😁

[@stageleftaudio]

Thank you for your comment. Great question! Yes, I have my reasons! I used a patch panel in an amp rack many years ago; and from that point... I do not use them. Patch panels are great and they have their place, though, there were some issues we saw with them that led to the decision for us not to use them. 1.) Cost -- Considering just the amps used in this video, the expense of having good quality panels (2 would be needed per amp) and connectors (both input and output) was far too much just to move connections about 7 inches away from the amps. 2.) Logistics -- If we did have connector panels, they would need to be recessed into the case about 3 inches (I think there are some patch panels that provide a recessed setup). This is to provide some protection to the XLR cables (inputs/thru) from being knocked into and potentially broken/damaged. The "normal" type of panels sit flush to the rails. This places some connectors "outside" the rack; this causes problems when needing to place a rack in a tight location, or a location where there is a lot of gear (or people) moving around as part of the setup and tear-down. From personal experience, I found it very easy to damage a mic cable and sometimes a panel connector, due to cables (mic and speaker) being knocked around because they were sitting "outside" the plane of the case. Using a patch panel would help and would certainly speed up a setup, but due to the different events do, we are unable to setup our system (geographically) the same way each time. For some events we do, the potential for cable and/or patch panel damage would be very minimal ; for other events, the potential is very high. We error on the side of caution and keep all connections "safe" within the racks. Hope this helps.

[@petersams5054]

2 things: use fan to fan snakes for cables. Use a NL4 patch panel for outputs. I also use XLR inputs on the panels, no hands should be going into racks

[@stageleftaudio]

We used to have panels (years ago), but encountered some issues with it. Take a look at a recent reply I did for someone that commented on this same topic. There's a reason we no longer use panels in the racks.

[@ytrazziatore1979]

Hi! I love you behind the scenes video. A question: Do you use the Crown MarcoTech i9000? Do you use the ethernet connection ( HiQNet ) to control the amp remotly? So far you had only shown the crowns from the front. QSC PLD amps with displey, DLP etc seem much more advanced than the crown but the presence of the network port surprises me.

[@stageleftaudio]

Thanks for your comment. We use the MacroTech amps for large shows; they are only used to power sub-woofers. For how we use the MacroTechs, we use the HiQNet only to setup/configure the amps ahead of time. We can control the amps remotely during a show, and we can watch them during a show, but once they are setup, there's usually no need to "manage" them once the show starts. The QSC PLD amps provide a lot more functionality, however, the PLD amps are a much different amp than the MacroTechs... and as such, they should provide more control. The PLD amps are controlled through a USB interface.

[@ytrazziatore1979]

@@stageleftaudio Thanks for the nice info :)

[@marktone6833]

You have cover over the output pin information with the A sticker. It should be where the original A was put bye crown .

[@stageleftaudio]

Good observation. Yes, the sticker is covering the output information. Though, we keep a paper copy (several copies) of that information with us in case it is ever needed. Rarely do we change from the configuration that we use the amplifiers for. Thanks for your comment.

[@marktone6833]

@@stageleftaudio keep up the good work I was just thinking not best to cover up the output info , keep using crown amps , I love them , but do work in the industry any more ,

[@Mersuharrastaja]

Why not use one 6 pair multicore cable?

[@stageleftaudio]

That would work as well. We decided to re-purpose some of our cables for this setup.

[@makstaz79]

Those Qsc Amps air flow is from back to front but the crown amps pulls air from front to back,isn't it a bad idea to put two sets of amps with opposing air flow in the same rack?

[@stageleftaudio]

Good question. It usually only becomes a problem when the amps are racked directly on top (or bottom) of each other, and if the bottom amps are generating a lot of heat (the heat could rise enough and make its way into the top amps). The amp rack(s) need to be large enough to allow dissipation of heated air. However, with Class-D amplification, having amps sitting on top/bottom of each other, rarely has caused any issues. Cooling issues, of which you describe, were a bit more common in class A and A/B amps (many years ago).

[@makstaz79]

@@stageleftaudio Thanks for replying. As a amateur sound guy I really appreciate you sharing all these tips and info with us.Thanks again

[@Lighthouse_Audio]

What do you use for a label maker?

[@stageleftaudio]

It's a DYMO Rhino 5200.