Anyone here ever try pro-sound speaks for a big room? (1 Viewer)

[Chuck Bogie]

Right now I'm running some speaks that are 89-91db sensitive, depending on the actual speaker. I've got plenty of watts for 'em, but I can't really get the "oomph" that concert DVDs seem to want... And yeah - I've got two 15" subs...

I'm thinking of trying some 97-98db sensitive pro-sound Peaveys... What do y'all think?

 

[John Garcia]

I heard a set of powered Mackies in a large room. It sounded very good.

You say plenty of watts - define that a little better. For a really big room, most receivers will not cut it.

 

[Chuck Bogie]

I'm using about 150 pounds of them ol' big iron amps... My Denon 2803 is just used as a preamp.

Fronts: Hafler DH-500 (255/8 ohms)
Sides: DH-500
Rears: DH-225 (about 120/8 if it's anything like my 200 upstairs on the maggies)
Center: DH-225 (bridged, good for a coupla hundred)

The subs each have a PE 240 watt plate amp

The two sets of bass shakers in the sofas each have 100 watt plate amps

 

[Jerome Grate]

What's the size and the layout of the room?

 

[John S]

Chuck Boogie,


Make sure you can audition those Peavy speakers, and return them if it does not work out.


Very rarely would that be a good solution, I won't say never. But speakers do tend to work best in the environment they were meant for.

I'm a little surprised it is not cutting it here. Have you attempted to play with the cross over point to your subs some?

Room size and charateristics please.

 

[rob-h]

For concert DVS's I crank down the main vol to -15 and up the subs to +10db. Try upping your sub level for these DVD's.

 

[John Garcia]

Sorry, didn't realize you were the same guy asking about the Entras.

 

[Chuck Bogie]

Yeah, getting a little frustrated.

34 long x 17 wide, with two couches, a rear countertop, a bar (also in the rear), a fridge with a beer tap, and a dropped "acoustic panel" ceiling.

The Entras are "okay," but don't really rawk. I've tried upping the sub level, and about all that does is make things boom and stuff fall off the walls. I've moved the xover point up and down some too.

 

[Mark Seaton]

Hi Chuck,

I know a variety of pro loudspeakers quite well, and I would say that the ones that will sound good in a home environment are less likely to be found at your local MI store, and will not be the least expensive. I would also point out that I somewhat doubt that your problem is purely a matter of sensitivity. This is about being able to cleanly play loud. I doubt a 3/4" dome crossed at 2kHz to a pair of 6.5" woofers are going to deliver what you are looking for with any amount of power. The problem is that such levels require too much from your speakers in the same way loud, deep bass requires too much from modest subwoofers. Big bass deserves a clean upper range to allow you to experience it in proper proportion.

You also need to not discount the center channel's workload, as it is very important for those concert DVDs. When looking, don't worry about low end out of the mains, since that's what your subs are for. While by no means a rule, you will likely have a better chance of seeing the levels you desire from a 3-way set of fronts. Sensitivity will still matter, and I would not bother with anything less than 89dB@[email protected] with 91dB+ being preferrable. One example that comes to mind is the new Concerta F12 & C12 from Revel. I haven't heard them personally, but that would be a nice option at a still reasonable price. Of course there are many others.

 

[Kenneth Harden]

JBL makes things like this for a reason:

http://jbl.com/home/products/product...at=PTS&ser=PTS

So does Klipsch:

http://www.klipsch.com/product/product.aspx?cid=6

Fill big rooms with HUGE sound, and do it with little distortion or strain.

I have a pair of Chorus II's (15" woofer with 15" passive radiator, big mid horn, horn tweeter), and with even a modest amp (must be VERY clean power), you can play anything you want as loud as you want in as big of a room as you want. PERIOD. I have seen plenty of 'big' speakers with their 6" woofers and delicate tweeters just destroy themselves (even when set to 'small') with loud, demanding music. The Klipsch's I have would not break a sweat. As a bonus (though expected), I think they sound fantastic (NOT bright, shrill, etc., clean, clear, and beautiful.)

Oh, and I only paid $89.99 for the pair

 

[Kenneth Harden]

Oh, and does Wilson Audio:

http://wilsonaudio.com/products/x1/index.html

And Legacy:

http://legacy-audio.com/2004/whisper.html

And JM Labs:

http://www.focal-fr.com/home/en/utopiabe/index.htm

And B&W:

http://www.bwspeakers.com/index.cfm/...l/Model%20801D

And Tannoy:

http://www.tannoy.com/Kingdom15

Use 15" woofers because they are cheap and boomy? Nope. They use them because they are vicious and can make music come alive.

(Wow, I ranted about 15" woofers. I am SOOOO lame!)

 

[Chuck Bogie]

Yeah, heard a pair of the B&W 800Ds a coupla weeks ago. I liked 'em. Dunno if I like'em _that_ much tho... They seemed to play louder than my upstairs maggies, but my living room sounds pretty darn nice.

Yow - Just did a quick ebay search for the Klipsch Chorus IIs... You got a deal - $500 starting bid! And they go 101db 1w/1m...

I think I'm going to look some more into either an array-type speaker, or try to DIY a pair of "Klipsch-killers" - Looks like a tweet, a horn mid, and a 15" woof for the fronts, and 10" woofs for the sides/rears... I think the crossover's going to be the really difficult part.

 

[Kenneth Harden]

So Chuck, you think you can best 50 years, countless thousands of hours of work, and millions of dollars in R&D...and Paul W. Klipsch?

I wonder how these would compare to some of the BIG Klipsch stuff:

http://www.pispeakers.com/contents.html

 

[Rory Buszka]

If the Danley Sound Labs stuff was available, I'd tell you to get a PB-12 Tower Of Power or two (more output than a Servodrive Contrabass, but just as deep!) and five SH-100 wide-dispersion loudspeakers.

 

[Leo Kerr]

In one of our theaters at work, we've got some Bag End full-range speakers (they make more than the InfraSub 18.)

They sound quite nice; one of these days, I'm gonna try that space out with some more... entertaining material. It's a stereo hall only, though, but with the Christie DS+25 projector, that should be a nice place..

too bad it has (literally) bench seating..

Leo

 

[Chuck Bogie]

Doubt if I can even equal 'em, but then again, I'm not going to be spending that much $$ on 'em either. Pi speaks are in the running too...

 

[Philip Hamm]

Genelec makes a hell of a system based on their biamped pro stuff. Overkill IMO.

 

[Kenneth Harden]

Philip:

Not at all, they make everything from 'computer speaker' sized things:

http://www.genelec.com/news/news.php?year=8020

To things I have deams about:

http://www.genelec.com/products/1036a/1036a.php

Cool stuff. I would like to hear it.