Why is a pro woofer bad for home use?

[Rob41]

I had to replace a pair of 15" woofers in a pair of CV PD-3's that I bought new in 1984. I replaced the woofers with a Dayton pro woofer and while I was at it, I replaced the tweeters with a pair to Planar tweeters. I use these (and always have) for home stereo use and I'm very pleased with the results. I have received a ton of flak especially from the audiophile types as if I'm a moron with ludicrous speakers and the icing on the cake to them is that I'm using a pa woofer for home use.

I can see that in most home woofers there a rubber or butyl etc. surround around the cone, whereas on the pro woofers I've seen it's a sort of folded fabric or paper surround. Also the pro woofers seem to have higher power handling capacities as well as higher spl's. Beyond that, why do so many folks think pa woofers are junk for quality home use?

[FrankWW]

Cuz they don't know better.

Beyond that, why do so many folks think pa woofers are junk for quality home use?

[theAnonymous1]

PA speakers generally have a higher Fs and lower Xmax when compared to a "standard" speaker. They are intentionally designed this way to achieve higher efficiency.

Nothing wrong with using them in a home setting as long as the design is specifically tailored for them. Just dropping them in as a replacement for blown or bad speakers would be a crap shoot with really bad odds.

[Rob41]

Thanks for the info. I guess I was fortunate and got lucky this time. The bass is now tighter and more controlled.

Here is the info on the Dayton's:

Specifications: • Power handling: 500 watts RMS/1,000 watts continuous program • VCdia: 3" • Le: 3.38 mH • Impedance: 8 ohms • Re: 5.8 ohms • Frequency response: 28-3,500 Hz • Fs: 28.3 Hz • SPL: 98.5 dB 2.83V/1m • Vas: 8.85 cu. ft. • Qms: 9.99 • Qes: 0.23 • Qts: 0.24 • Xmax: 5.0 mm • Dimensions: A: 15-1/8", B: 14", C: 6-3/4"

[johnr66]

Pro woofers tend to have a higher Fs for a given size. For example, 12" Pro woofers tend to be designed for mid bass applications, even up to midrange. As you see, they are designed to get a lot of sound per watt.

I use whatever woofer models best in the software for the application.

[Michael Bean]

Pro drivers are designed with different capabilities for use in a different environment. For example, would you want a farm tractor engine in your family car?

Mike

[Rob41]

Originally Posted by johnr66

Pro woofers tend to have a higher Fs for a given size. For example, 12" Pro woofers tend to be designed for mid bass applications, even up to midrange. As you see, they are designed to get a lot of sound per watt.

I use whatever woofer models best in the software for the application.

Thanks for giving some specifics John.

[Pano]

I use pro drivers at home all the time. I've found nothing better. Don't let your buddies buffalo ya, pro driver are were it's at. But you won't find the fan boys drooling over them in the audio mags.

True, you need a bigger box to get very low bas out of pro woofers, but you also need a great deal less power. Often 10 times less for the same levels. And with the pro drivers you get dynamics and a big sound (if those things are important to you).

Just FWIW, a year or two ago The Absolute Sound Reviewed the big CV with the double 15s. They were quote surprised to find how much they liked it.

[454Casull]

They work great for everything except low bass. Only problem is very few pro drivers get measured like hi-fi drivers.

[Rob41]

Cool Pano, I do like the dynamics and big sound. And my old CV's are just slightly larger than what the specs for the woofer consider optimum. Here is a picture of the CV's I've had since I was 18.....I have a grandson now. lol