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Pro sound speakers at home?

Andy_H

Andy_H

Behind the Wall of Sleep
Please humor my potentially silly question as I still have much to learn :stupid:

Today I saw a pair of JBL TR125 speakers with a 15" woofer and a compression driver/horn. They're marketed as DJ/PA speakers but what I'm wondering is would they merit any consideration for home/hi-fi use? They have huge power handling capability (225 watts continuous) and 99db sensitivity. The driver complement seems like many horn setups I've seen for hi-fi.

What makes these different from home stereo speakers? It seems like a lot of people use vintage pro sound type speakers such as Altec VOTTs and many incarnations of JBL studio monitors for hi-fi. But I can't recall seeing any newer pro sound speakers in home setups.

I'm curious :scratch2: I'd like to understand this issue better.
 
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The best thing to do, would be research the drivers of the speakers you are looking at. For instance if the woofer rolls off before 70-60 HZ or the compression driver rolls off before 16-18 Khz, it would most likely not sound very good in a home situation. But i'm really not the one that should be saying this, i myself use Altec votts :thmbsp:
 
because there's a difference between DJ/PA speakers and speakers intended for studios and high end movie theatres.
 
Tom Brennan said:
Which is?
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*typically* low end PA/DJ speakers "make loud" HiFi is not a requirement.

*typically* nice studio monitors are not suited to live sound/PA applications, such as feedback, drunk idiots running the mixer, etc etc etc. HiFi is a requirement.

I've heard those TR's...they make kinda loud.
 
I myself use a pair of vintage yamaha s4115h pro speakers and find them quite good, i actually prefer them over my DQ 10s, but my taste in music leans heavily to the side of rock and live shows, so for me these are a perfect fit, but mine are as Theebadone stated, in that the base roles off pretty high, i assume because they were designed to be used with separate base bins for the really low lows, i use a good subwoofer to supplement the lows, eventually i plan on either adding another matching sub or a pair of base bins to obtain stereo base.

What pre amp and amp you use can make a big difference as to how successfully you can use them for home audio, i use a mosfet power amp which has a smoother less harsh sound and a pre amp with built in parametric EQ, and i was able to tune mine to a very pleasing not at all harsh level, and most pro speakers are very efficient, not needing large amounts of power or volume to sound good JMO.

But as to the difference between old pro audio and the new pro audio you asked about, i have wondered about this myself, i would think the newer good brand name pieces would be better and more dependable with the newer technology, but that's just speculation, i do know most the newer pro speakers are rated for way higher wattage than the older ones, for example my massive 130 pound yamahas are only rated for 100 watts, whereas the ones you mentioned are rated for 225 watts, and most newer pro speakers i have heard tend to be considerably brighter sounding than mine which might make them less pleasing for home use.
 
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Better PA products offer insane sound quality/SPL for the money you pay.

Nice examples imho;

Yorkville u15(P)
u15_cut.jpg


QSC 2150 (Actualy a cinema speaker from a 'professional brand')
90722sc-2150.jpg
 
Andy_H said:
Please humor my potentially silly question as I still have much to learn :stupid:

Today I saw a pair of JBL TR125 speakers with a 15" woofer and a compression driver/horn. They're marketed as DJ/PA speakers but what I'm wondering is would they merit any consideration for home/hi-fi use? They have huge power handling capability (225 watts continuous) and 99db sensitivity. The driver complement seems like many horn setups I've seen for hi-fi.

What makes these different from home stereo speakers? It seems like a lot of people use vintage pro sound type speakers such as Altec VOTTs and many incarnations of JBL studio monitors for hi-fi. But I can't recall seeing any newer pro sound speakers in home setups.

I'm curious :scratch2: I'd like to understand this issue better.
Click to expand...

I've got the TR225s (double 15" version), I wouldn't even say that they're good DJ speakers. I use them for vocal/keyboard monitors in my studio, and they're only there 'cause they were essentially free & they do the job. As mentioned, they lack full-frequency extension and certainly lack finesse. Cabs are also low quality & resonant. I had to pin the baffle boards in from the sides to keep them from rattling.

They get really, really loud with low power, though. Really loud.

je
 
Brace up the TR125 cabinets, add some damping material, swap out the horn driver with a Selenium D220Ti, and replace the crossover with an Ewave variant. Should sound great after that. After all, that IS the cabinet series where the original Ewave horn flare CAME from!
 
GordonW said:
Brace up the TR125 cabinets, add some damping material, swap out the horn driver with a Selenium D220Ti, and replace the crossover with an Ewave variant. Should sound great after that. After all, that IS the cabinet series where the original Ewave horn flare CAME from!
Click to expand...

...and keep it away from any moisture at all (even sitting on a dry-looking concrete floor), or the cabinet material will swell up like a sponge & split at all corners. Replace the plastic jack plate & connectors while you're doing the x-over, too.

je
 
I would listen to Gordon W if you decide to pick these JBLs up. They would be a lot of fun to play with. I don't know if I would use them as my #1 speakers. I have a pair of Klipsch KP301 in the house. These are an Industrial/Pro Audio version of the Klipsch Chorus. Some compare them closely to the Cornwall as well. I have them actively biamped and am playing around with the port tuning to extend the bass. Agian, it is a blast fooling around with this equipment. I am driving the bottoms with a monster QSC. The horn stacks are driven by a Rotel integrated that also handles the preamp/switching duties.

Having said this, I do prefer my JBL 4410 Studio Monitors for critical listening. I am running a nice M&K subwoofer to extend the bottom of this system.

For casual listening, I have a nice pair of Bozak B302a, Frazier Monte Carlo A, Norman Lab Model 10 and Epi A120. These all sound very good, with the Epis and Bozaks running neck and neck for favorite all around speakers. The Normans need to have some crossover work done.

After listening to all of these different speakers, my Pro Klipsch are currently #2 on my list compared to the JBLs. I bring all of this up because all of these systems have strengths and weaknesses. Also, I am a tweaker and a speaker freak. If you like several systems, then a good Pro system would probably be fun. If you are a one system kind of guy, I would steer clear - they aren't as simple to setup and enjoy.
 
Have a pair of JBL G735 PA/DJ speakers. They play stupid loud with little power.
They have ok bass but you will need a large sub to get there. Generally they sound ok like my Advent e'waves but they don't image like the e'wave and have a narrower "sweet spot". The G735 don't need much power and are happy with 60WPC.
I bought these for the garage or maybe to do an e'wave with the components thinking the woofers might work well with the JBL wave guides and Selenium 220TI or the JBL 2415(I think) that was OE with this system. I get the impression that the 15" G135-8 woofer may not work as well as the Dayton Classic 300 12" woofer for e'wave.
Anyway, your DJ/PA JBL speakers will sound good, be rugged and are efficient, even if they're at the botton of JBL's pro stuff. They are not audiophile speakers but should be trouble free and sound good.
 
GordonW said:
Brace up the TR125 cabinets, add some damping material, swap out the horn driver with a Selenium D220Ti, and replace the crossover with an Ewave variant. Should sound great after that. After all, that IS the cabinet series where the original Ewave horn flare CAME from!
Click to expand...

Seems kinda like saying "Oh, you can buy that car, but if you do you'd better replace the engine, and the transmission, and while you're at it the suspension should be replaced, and the wheels really aren't so hot, but if you do all that you'll have a decent car …" :D

I wasn't really planning on buying them; I just saw them and they made me curious. If they were really cheap I might get them for an Ewave-type project. Interesting and informative to read all the opinions, though. Thanks!
 
vinyldavid said:
*typically* low end PA/DJ speakers "make loud" HiFi is not a requirement.
Click to expand...


Ahh, low end. That's a qualification you didn't make before.

I don't think there's anything inherant in a speaker's being intended for DJ or PA use that disqualifies it from being hi-fi. I've heard JBL, Klipsch and EV DJ speakers that were very hi-fi. Some hornies report that the QSCs sound very good in hi-fi use and of course there are the Danleys. I heard those tall, skinny Bose PA "stick" speakers once and they sounded hi-fi believe it or not; good tone and clarity and floated a nice image.
 
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botrytis said:
Ask Ilikeitloud on this site - he uses pro drivers, pro amps, and pro active crossovers for insane room filling sound. He is also in the general Cleveland area. He is a really nice guy!
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Similhost also uses the pro gear in his setup. He has some great info and ideas on the gear, speaker stacks and interconnects.
 
the thing about pro speakers is they are usually built for filling public places with large volumes of sound.. some people might find them uncomfortable in a residential setting
and others (like myself) do like them because they tend to be a bit more flat and do not compress at increased levels like the bulk of home speakers can.
its one of the reasons i like the older pro monitors and pro subs .
 
Surprisingly perhaps, this sounds pretty damn good.

RooferBen and Spkrmn57 are at it again.. Here with Altec 815 bass horn cabinets and my Cosmos HF horns
 

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