PA Speakers

[Petrix]

I'm fairly sure that the answer is no, but none the less, I shall ask anyway;

Is it at all possible to use normal hi-fi speakers with a low power (100 Watts RMS) PA system?
Would any adjustments need to be made, or would it just destroy the speakers?


The reason that I ask is that my band have the opportunity of getting a 100 watt powered mixer, and We can't really afford PA speakers, where as I have plenty of normal hi fi speakers at my disposable (that are able to cope with 100 watts).

Any thoughts? Any other suggestions about how to get speakers on the cheap?


Thankyou

Peter.

[Swedish Chef]

If you want adequate SPL:s the answer is NO!

"Hifi" speakers usually have a sensitivity of ca 88 dB @ 1W, 1m whereas pro sound speakers are around 100 dB. So at 16 watts of input power the "Hifi" speaker will have the same acoustic output as the pro sound speaker @ 1W.

And while they may be rated for 100 W RMS they will probably sound like crap above 40 W or so. And the bass drivers will probably reach Xmax way before 100 W too.

While they still may sound loud in a normal living room they will sound very weak in a pub setting or whatever with a crowd.

There simply is no free lunch. But you can generally get second-hand PA speakers very cheap. As for the sound quality, you get what you pay for.

If you want do DIY you can get away quite cheap. Check out Bill Fitzmaurice basshorns on http://www.billfitzmaurice.com
Also some designs on http://www.speakerplans.com

/Magnus

[Petrix]

Thankyou, yes, it was as I thought. Very useful information there too, thankyou.

As a band we don't, want the PA to do gigs, but we need amplification for vocals and probably bass for band practices

[Swedish Chef]

For vocals they might be OK depending on what kind of music you play. But I would say forget about bass duty.

However a quite decent vocal rig can be thrown together for very little money. Take a pro sound 10'' like one from Eminence (http://www.eminence.com) or P. Audio (http://www.paudio-europe.com) and add one or two piezo horns (KSN-1141 or 1165, AVOID the KSN-1005!!!!).
Since you live in the UK you can check out http://www.prosoundparts.co.uk). They have killer prices on quality drivers like Beyma and B&C.

And one of Bill's basshorns can be made very cheap too. You just need some woodworking skills and the time to do it.

Cheers
/M

[HeatMiser]

I'd avoid trying home speakers even for practice, as they tend to be not nearly directional enough and will almost always lead to piercing feedback through the mics before you reach a useful volume level. You may have experienced that as a problem even with pro speakers once you put them in a garage or basement or some such small room, but home speakers are much worse as their tweeters tend to spray high frequencies all over the room (comparatively speaking).