Anyone else using pro-audio speakers?
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mhardy6647
Lunatic Member
Well -- in the sense that the drivers (Altec Duplexes) were used for decades in many (most) radio & recording studios for monitoring and mixing -- yeah.
DSC_8059 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
DSC_5735 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
DSC_8059 by Mark Hardy, on FlickrDSC_5735 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
Rex Aeterna
Gigolo of Gigolos
I use the PA/installation version of the altec a7's(I believe) which are altecs 1204b with 808-8b drivers/511b horns,921-8a woofers and recapped 904-8a crossovers(pro/pa version of the 604's) and agumented by a jbl 4648-8a bass bin box crossover at 35hz as subwoofer box and probably best combo I ever had in my life.
I use nothing but, pro amps(love my crown s) and sources(interfaces) as well at home.
I also heard lot of other great PA speakers that I like more and thought sound better then lot of tiny studio powered monitors. Lot of PA speakers can sound great and used as studio gear as well.
I use nothing but, pro amps(love my crown s) and sources(interfaces) as well at home.
I also heard lot of other great PA speakers that I like more and thought sound better then lot of tiny studio powered monitors. Lot of PA speakers can sound great and used as studio gear as well.
"Pro" speakers can be quite nice, when they're oriented towards high fidelity.
I stuffed a pair of near-7 foot tall ElectroVoice VariplexB's in my bedroom for a while, and it sounded great, other than the drastic difference in height of where the frequencies were coming from:
(that's a 34" widescreen CRT for scale)
Driven by this rack:
My current living room system is a pair of EV Georgians as bass cabs with EAW CX-294 horn loaded 12" midranges:
(please ignore crossover HF setting, I had a really dirty switch)
These are my EV 30W's in utility cabs (I'm sure they were intended for professional use) with HPS SR-70's on top. The SR-70 is a Klipsch Heresy that's in a slightly bigger cabinet (I think) and is better built:
My friend's system that now occupies the same room is a bunch of VariplexB's and TL-770D's. I have the same exact speaker setup in storage for when I get space:
I also really like ElectroVoice Sentry 100A's, which I now have six of (seeing a trend here?
):
And, finally, in my bedroom system, I seem to have settled on ElectroVoice Sentry III's as my main speakers, and I really like them. Some might argue that they're more home oriented, but they were marketed to the professionals, and I believe found their first use in far more professional installations than home systems. (they now have the proper ST350A's):
There's a 50" plasma and Yamaha PC-5002M for scale.
I stuffed a pair of near-7 foot tall ElectroVoice VariplexB's in my bedroom for a while, and it sounded great, other than the drastic difference in height of where the frequencies were coming from:
(that's a 34" widescreen CRT for scale)
Driven by this rack:
My current living room system is a pair of EV Georgians as bass cabs with EAW CX-294 horn loaded 12" midranges:
(please ignore crossover HF setting, I had a really dirty switch)
These are my EV 30W's in utility cabs (I'm sure they were intended for professional use) with HPS SR-70's on top. The SR-70 is a Klipsch Heresy that's in a slightly bigger cabinet (I think) and is better built:
My friend's system that now occupies the same room is a bunch of VariplexB's and TL-770D's. I have the same exact speaker setup in storage for when I get space:
I also really like ElectroVoice Sentry 100A's, which I now have six of (seeing a trend here?
):
And, finally, in my bedroom system, I seem to have settled on ElectroVoice Sentry III's as my main speakers, and I really like them. Some might argue that they're more home oriented, but they were marketed to the professionals, and I believe found their first use in far more professional installations than home systems. (they now have the proper ST350A's):
There's a 50" plasma and Yamaha PC-5002M for scale.
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chadnliz
Addicted Member
While my daily drivers are Sonus Faber speakers I have a pair of JBL PRX735 speakers I use and abuse when the mood strikes and while they dont do audiophile things like crazy imaging they do play clean high fidelity sound.
Google is your friend if you want to see the model.
Google is your friend if you want to see the model.
I use some SP 215-6 Jbl, they have the 2447j horn with 4" titanium diaphragm and 2226 15" woofer, I have a dual 2226 15" sub also run via pa2 into Powersoft M30 and K6. it is remarkably capable system. I never get more than one signal led lit, it is shocking how silent it is, has same 'black velvet' character as my Bryston 4bSST/L7 kit.
mroboto
Super Member
My Dynaudio BM15 Passive speakers are (Discontinued) Professional Studio Monitors, I like them to sound neutral and detailed and not too noisy for close environments around, but they are Near-Field (To really enjoy).
My Klipsch Cornwall speakers can be heard from far longer distance, and are live sounding, but are less neighbour environment friendly at an analytic listening volume.
My Klipsch Cornwall speakers can be heard from far longer distance, and are live sounding, but are less neighbour environment friendly at an analytic listening volume.
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Cornwalls are my fave Klipsch model
Gigantic
A big, big love
my 20/20 3-way horns use pro drivers, JBL 2226H woofer, PRV D4500-PhNd & WG4550 Mids and a B&C DE-10 on the tweeters, but with a piano black finish with mahogany accents, they're not quite pro speakers. They're not near field monitors, either, but sitting 2m away, they're like full body headphones: 20 Hz to 20kHz at +/- 3db, time and phase aligned, the sound is enveloping and at 80dB or more, you feel it in your viscera.
Are those bass ca
Looks like a Lascala bin, or a variation of a Martin. how are you getting down to 20Hz?
Gigantic
A big, big love
it's based on a lascala bin, made from 25mm birch, with corner transitions and doghouse bracing, but with a JBL 2226H woofer. The woofer doghouse is coupled to the upper horn chamber, which has increased in volume by 50% for a total volume of around 8.5 ft. The upper chamber has been sealed and has a rear mounted, alloy 15" passive radiator. It simulated to 28Hz, but boundary loading and a pinch of PEQ go it to 23Hz and 20Hz with assistance from boundary loading.
it's also time and phase aligned:
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well done! take serious effort to find the last bottom Hz. I'm starting to learn about my DBX PA2, I just bought a couple more cables to try biamping the tops but haven't done it yet.
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I use tiny Adam A3X studio monitors with X-ART folded ribbon tweeter and 4.5" carbon fiber woofer for my computer speakers. They sound amazing for their size and put out more bass than would seem possible for small cabinet/woofer size. Although very capable on their own, I'm using a DefTech SC4000 compact sub (8" with 2 passive 8") to extend bass. That combo has pretty killer sound (kind of overkill for desktop computer speakers).
To pick the studio monitors, I went to Guitar Center on a slow day and had the guy hook up every one they had. I could not believe how differently all the different brands sounded. I would say FAR more variability in sound quality / sound differences across studio monitors than across normal passive speakers. The Adams were the best by far, Yamaha was okay, but everything else I really didn't like at all.
To pick the studio monitors, I went to Guitar Center on a slow day and had the guy hook up every one they had. I could not believe how differently all the different brands sounded. I would say FAR more variability in sound quality / sound differences across studio monitors than across normal passive speakers. The Adams were the best by far, Yamaha was okay, but everything else I really didn't like at all.
I have Yamaha MSP-5 active monitors. They are excellent as computer speakers and are loud enough for mid- and even short far-field listening. I paired them with a Yamaha 10" hifi sub since even a powered speaker with a 5" woofer will be limited.
I also once had EV Sentry 100A passives. They are very very nice speakers but they don't go that low either. I do love that EV Superdome tweeter. @vinyldavid if you blow one (which I heard is difficult) I have several that I may never end up using so ping me.
And I have a pair of JBL L166 which is the home version of one of the 4xxx series monitors - can't remember which one - 4312? (Powered by a really great PA amp, BTW)
Finally I have had by necessity a few PA speakers in various home configs. Overall the monitors are far superior sound, but YMMV.
Conclusion: Pro monitors can be excellent in my experience. But sound reinforcement equipment can be tricky - loud is more important than accurate.
I also once had EV Sentry 100A passives. They are very very nice speakers but they don't go that low either. I do love that EV Superdome tweeter. @vinyldavid if you blow one (which I heard is difficult) I have several that I may never end up using so ping me.
And I have a pair of JBL L166 which is the home version of one of the 4xxx series monitors - can't remember which one - 4312? (Powered by a really great PA amp, BTW)
Finally I have had by necessity a few PA speakers in various home configs. Overall the monitors are far superior sound, but YMMV.
Conclusion: Pro monitors can be excellent in my experience. But sound reinforcement equipment can be tricky - loud is more important than accurate.
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I always thought that the Sentry 100A went pretty low for the box size and efficiency-sometimes pushing those 6th order vented enclosures can get a bit weird, but I felt EV made a good compromise with the design.
A decade or more on, my main speakers are Dynaudio Confidence C4s, but I still have four Sentry 100As in storage, waiting for use, and a different pair of Sentry IIIs (that I saved from the dumpster) awaiting crossover rebuilds.
I like where you're going with this. These speakers have been entered into the shopping list. Looked at Bryston and Powersoft for years.
I've recently purchased another pair of coated diaphragms they seem like a bargain so far. There are a few different home and pro cabinets like the 4645C that have the 2242H. It seems that it would be a nice pairing.
