Simon Farr

Whats better for playing recorded music in a medium sized venue
(mainly R&B and Dance music for students) -

2 x Kam Z Sub (350 watts 4 ohm)
2 x Kam Z 1504 (250 watts)
www.kam.co.uk

OR

2 x Gemini GX400 15" 300w
http://www.geminidj.com

i have quotes for both systems of £300

any comments greatly appreciated

Ben

Simon Farr wrote:
> Whats better for playing recorded music in a medium sized venue
> (mainly R&B and Dance music for students) -
>
> 2 x Kam Z Sub (350 watts 4 ohm)
> 2 x Kam Z 1504 (250 watts)
> www.kam.co.uk
>
> OR
>
> 2 x Gemini GX400 15" 300w
> http://www.geminidj.com
>
> i have quotes for both systems of £300
>
> any comments greatly appreciated

I wouldn't expect a lot from either of those. But yea they're cheap.
What kind of amp or amps do you have? If you don't have amps, you can
get the Geminis as the GX-450, same speaker with amps built in for a
surprisingly low price, it might be a good way to go for you.

I heard the Geminis, they are not too bad sounding, I think they have
compression drivers for the tweeter. I have not heard the KAMs (they
aren't too common here in the USA) but they have piezoelectic tweeters,
which I personally would stay away from, even on the cheap.

On the other hand if you really want bass you can feel, you probably
won't get it from the Geminis, and I think you will be dissapointed with
that. The KAM setup with subs is tempting. You will certainly get more
bass. But #1 can you afford the amp or amps you will need, and #2.. ok
do the math, twice as many speaker cabinets for the same amount of
money, what are you losing? They may not sound very good. I don't know
but I'm suspicious of what they can be giving you for that price. A
bigger pile of crap is still crap. But if you want the floor to vibrate
then you will want the subs.

You could get the geminis and add subs later when you can afford it.
But it depends on your situation. If you need stuff now and have 300
pounds to spend, and there isn't going to be any "later", then that
approach doesn't work for you.

Bottom line is, it's hard to make this kind of choice without hearing
the stuff. There -are- some ok deals from these kinds of brands, but
you have to pick and choose.

A totally different option for you:

Look at Behringer, another cheap brand. But their stuff is not bad.
Behringer B1800X subs sell for $220US/each, Behringer B1220 2-way 12
inch cabinets for $180US/each (you can get away with 12" woofers when
you have subs, it might even sound better) or B1520's (15 inch two way)
for $200US/each. It's a little more expensive than what you are talking
about, but you might be able to get a good deal and make it work. I
have heard the Behringer and it's a very fair deal for the money, the
Behringer subs are really surprisingly good. Like I said I never heard
KAM but they don't appear to be that great, I think it's a good bet that
you will be happier at the end of the day if you are able to get
something a little better like this.

Remember you will need amps too. When comparing amps, ALWAYS look for
the power rating as RMS watts per channel into 8 ohms. Ignore peak
power, ignore "bridged mono" power since you won't be using it.

For example, my amps are rated at "500 RMS Watts per channel @ 8 ohms
stereo". That is a real rating. The amp will really deliver 1000W into
my 8 ohm speakers, continuously, all night.

Another amp might say it puts out 750W RMS into 4 ohms stereo. Is that
amp more powerful than mine? No, it isn't. Mine will also put out 750W
into 4 ohms. Most good amps will put out more power into lower
impedance (ohms) speakers.

Another amp might say it puts out 2000 watts into 4 ohms bridged mono.
Is that amp more powerful than mine? No, mine puts out 2400 watts RMS
bridged mono into 4 ohms.

Another amp might just say it's 2000 watts. But no mention of RMS watts
and it's ridiculously cheap? That is because they are LYING. Yes, that
amp probably is like 200 watts, not 2000. So be careful. Always use
the same rating system when comparing amps. And ALWAYS ignore "peak"
power ratings. You only want to look at continuous RMS power ratings.

-Ben

transeurope

When I saw the subject line of this post I clicked on the thread with
the intention of posting a simple reply: Why bother worrying about
these speakers, just buy Behringer.

Ben took the words right out of my mouth. There is a world of
difference between Behringer and the two brands you are looking at.
Kam is a ghastly brand, and so are Gemini, IMHO. I have used all three
speakers.