par-tay speakers needed

[ultrachrome]

I have friend who likes to hold large bashes in his house using his 17*28*9 foot living room as a dance floor. He's been stereo-less (okay, Bose-less, not really the same thing) since he split up with his significant other and has been borrowing some crappy PA speakers from a friend.

I'd like to build him a speaker that he can watch movies with and fill this room with tunes. Originally I thought a linus array would be sweet but these would be a bit distracting flanking his 32" television.

So my second idea is a watt/puppy config where the sattelite and woofer box would have PA-style pole mounts and the sattelite could be positioned above 6ft (on top of the woofer box) for broader coverage when the room is full of dancers (swing or salsa).

At the same time, this should be a pleasant speaker to watch TV and dance with.

Is this idea sane enough to work? Are there any good satellite kits out there that can be crossed over 100-200Hz and have the necessary SPL capabilities while still being pleasant at lower volumes and nearer distances?

Thanks.

[ultrachrome]

No thoughts at all? Dumb idea? Too brilliant for words? In poor taste?

[matth]

Doesn't sound like a bad plan, a while ago I built some speakers like this for PA which sounded very nice at low volume (still loud).
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showt...635#post230635
I would recommend that you bi-amp this system with an active crossover.

[RobWells]

I like the bi-amp idea,

If I was doing this I'd be looking at a 15" per side for the sub (poss 2x12" push push) with an MTM for the satellite (mtm for power handling/ higher output for parties)

Cheers

Rob

[purplepeople]

Movies really like bass management so run the sub XO'ed at 120Hz like the AC3 standard.

But, parties really like a lot of bass. If your satellites are going to be MTM try for at least 60Hz extension and use the sub low-passed from L/R full-range signal. That way, all drivers that are capable of bass are delivering it. Less accuracy, but awe-inspiring to the guests.

:)ensen.

[wintermute]

Interesting, I watched the Matrix Reloaded the other night, and decided that while my speakers aren't great for music appreciation they are very good with movies and also have been very successful as party speakers.

They are very humble, Vifa 10" woofers in approx 70L vented cabinets, with Phillips dome mids and cheapie philips textile dome tweeters, crossed at 500 and 3000Hz (stock crossovers purchased assembled).

I really notice the shortcommings when critically listening to CD's, but for movies, and when cranked at parties they sound great.

So I guess what I'm getting at is that it would appear that it is possible to make a relatively low cost speaker which is good for Movies and Parties even if it's not so great for music appreciation

Regards,

Tony.

[purplepeople]

I have the opposite problem. I can't get my system to sound good with movies unless it's turned up louder. For critical listening with music, it sound great at all levels, but the movies thing is kind of weird. I have noticed that movies are very dynamic topping out with the explosions so I probably need to figure out how to get more low-level resolution out of the system.

As an aside: One urban myth I've heard is that sound systems appear to perform better just by turning up the volume, which is why so many salespeople crank up the amp when they are demo-ing something. It could be that for movies and parties, we all turn the volume up high enough to make everything sound good to just about everyone regardless of the system shortcomings.

:)ensen.

[ultrachrome]

My friend doesn't want pounding bass as he doesn't want to irritate the neighbors.

Matth speakers are quite like what I am thinking only with a narrower profile. Maybe a side-mounted 12" per side.

Will the tweeter be able to keep up in a situation like that without becoming harsh?

[TheoM]

I have two optional solutions. 1) I have a studio where I use renkus-heinz sr82s as both tracking monitors (high quality), and PA speakers for rehersal (loud). They look very much like an MTM type of config. You could just emmulate them. I beleive you will find the specs on Renkus-heinz.com. Or you could just buy some
but they are not cheap. They are two 400 watt 8" woofers per speaker, and a very high quality compression driver and conical waveguide plate.

2) Build 4 high quality two way bookshelf speakers, all the same. Treat two as "front" in a 5.1 system, and two as "rear". Sub optional. When you are doing tv, you have a 5.1 system. At party time, switch all the speakers to drive from the front power amp in simple stereo mode. Not only is this how dance clubs are configured (lots of hung speakers on the walls), but you'll be getting the most of your amp and speakers.

Neither of these solutions handle bass below 60hz very well, but you could handle it by adding a low end component to the front pair in design idea 2, or adding a sub in either case, but keeping it off the ground to protect neighbors. Call me crazy but I can't figure out why someone would want to have a wild dance party above the neighbors and then consider sheilding them from too much noise by not having subs. Like a room full of dancers won't bother them?

[purplepeople]

Originally posted by ultrachrome
My friend doesn't want pounding bass as he doesn't want to irritate the neighbors.

Do what I do... invite them. Who knows, they could be cool and/or attractive!

Come to think of it..., the more expensive the speakers look, the less likely people will put drinks on them. So, maybe a couple of huge line arrays with a sub would be perfect. Besides, if you notice your speakers during a movie, then you've rented the wrong flick - get something more interesting to watch.

If you make the speakers active, then put a Post-It note on it warning people about the dangers of frying themselves, you'll practically guarantee that no drinks will rest on them during the party.