Recommendations Please!!!!

Hello All:

I am in the USA (Charleston, South Carolina to be exact) and I am a Hip-hop/Reggae DJ. I do a lot of outdoor venues (parks, playgrounds, football fields, etc.) and my crowds are getting larger so I need to build a bigger system. Currently i have 2 sonic full range 15" cabs with EV drivers with a Behringer EP2500 amp(..yes its a berry and i love it, going to buy 3 more - what you got to say? :thumbup: ).

I have been online alot looking for sub plans and came across Bill Fitz Maurice plans and found this site as well as speakerplans.cxm site. My sound engineer friend suggested that Bills plans were way off and the curves suggested bad design, i dont know any better so i cant really argue. However, he suggested that we build trapazoids front loaded 18" subs and go from there.

So i ordered four Eminence Sigma Pro 18a speakers. Well, since then my "freind" who was going to assist with the build has been flopping around with different ideas from w-bin, to traps, to arrays...just all over the place. And bottom line i needed these subs like yesterday.

So with that being said. I loved the USB and super scoops that I have seen on this site, however, the driveres that are readily available in the UK are not here in the US. So Eminence is the driver of choice here. Thats what i can afford and they have done good by me before.

My goals:

Currently I play mostly recorded hip-hop/reggae music, but, I have been contacted to provide sound reinforcement for live concert venues. So i want a system that is scalable for venues up to 5,000 peope in a outdoor setting. 2-way hi/lo system.
And designed using the Eminence drivers that are readily available in the US.

What i need is recommendations for cabinet designs for the Eminence 18' sigma pro driver that will get me a nice clean punch on my lows. Size is no worry, however, i would like the option to take 1 or 2 cabs with me for a club gig, or bring out the entire herd for areana venue.

Thank you very much everyone for your help in advance!!!

Oh, and obviously for these new subs Im going to need tops. Again, im in love with the BFM DR250 design, however, again, my friend has painted the picture that these are garbage??? Any other suggestions for buildable line array cab i can use for tops?

Lev on SP site says his reccomends that driver in a scoop. As there is an Emminence scoop design.........
Very thin cone though.

www.freespeakerplans.com/resourc ... signs.html

With the greatest respect to you it's no easy task to come up with a relatively low budget 2 way system that will deal with both club gigs for maybe a few hundred people AND outdoor venues with up to 5,000 people.

Line arrays have become the 'system of choice' for many bands and shows these days and with good reason - most of them (if set up properly and engineered by people who know how to use them) really deliver the goods. However, there's normally a considerable investment in mixers & outboard gear, amps, processing, speakers and distro systems to achieve this.
Funktion 1 have taken a different approach with their point source designs which also work extremely well - again, providing they're set up correctly. Similar requirements to a line array in terms of the hardware needed to drive them though.

Given your budget, the amps you're using and the type of music you play a scoop design for the bass end is going to deliver the lows you want and probably for many venues/locations it will have plenty enough 'throw' also.
Looking at the BFM site for a Mid/Top cabinet I would suggest you consider the DR300 as it has high efficiency and is designed to be used in a line array. However, note the comment in the description: DR300s are narrow dispersion long throw cabinets and are not recommended for use when the minimum speaker to audience distance is less than thirty feet, nor for venues with less than 800 seats.

Hope this helps!