High Quality Passive PA Speakers?

[weltersys]

I kinda had the feeling that at some point in this thread, someone would tell me to fix my ground loops lol

I basically have a home theater PC plugged into my TV on one side of the room, and speakers plugged into three additional outlets.

I can literally hear the noise level increase by 400% when my Nvidia GPU is running hot, which is an obvious clue that noise from the HTPC is polluting every other electronic device in the room.

Looks like I need to clean up my wiring

Power supply (PSU) noise is harder to cure than ground loops.
The wiring is probably OK if you put the ISO transformers at the HTPC to keep it's PSU switching hash noise out of the shield wires- instead of shielding from noise they are radiating it from the source along the entire length.

 

[Jonasz]

Not pro audio but these look interesting to me, no need to build new boxes either

https://mofi.com/collections/mofi-e...electronics-sourcepoint-10-bookshelf-speakers

 

[profiguy]

I'd look at the Eminence KL3012CX 12" coax. You can put your own choice of 1" driver on it and LF wise it can go down to low 40s unassisted in 3-ish cu ft. Currently working on a design using this driver in a 2.5 way.

Good luck with most offf the shelf pro audio cabs. They sound anything but enjoyable to me and the worst part is usually the enclosures - resonant, flimsy, underdampened. They're always made to a tight budget with lots of markup.

If you want a good iso box to fix your ground loop noise, get a Radial JDI isolation box with Jensen transformers. They're the best sounding passive isolation box you can get off the shelf.

 

[Ugg10]

Worth having a read of Javad Shadzi’s dBacles build of Facebook loudspeaker project pad. May be just the thing.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/DIYLoudspeakerProjecPad/permalink/876739172681921/

 

[pelanj]

If ground loop is the problem, a pair of these should solve it. https://www.neutrik.com/en/product/na2m-d2b-tx

 

[tonyman108]

I know you’re a Danley/MEH fan… how about an SM60, in a “prettified” box?

With its molded meh horn it would be reasonably easy to remove and replace the outer box, or possibly order it without a finish on the cab, and veneer it.

Mine are the active version (overkill, and a bit noisy for intimate listening), but it is a 1-way amp and still uses the same passive crossover as the unpowered version, so a bit of fairly simple eq is presumably all it would take to drive it with an external amp.

It’s front “baffle” is about 21” square. Not sure what you’d want for subs, but I could imagine putting the SM60 on top a ca. 30”x12” Sonotube-style downward-firing pedestal stand/sub and having an end result that isn’t tremendously bulky looking.

Still too big?

 

[Cableaddict]

That's a great plan. I have a pair of the Behringer Genelec clones, and they've been a mainstay in my living room system for years. My only real gripe with them is that they're active - so they're noisy.

I wish these studio monitor folks could figure out how to make an active speaker that doesn't buzz.

You probably have issues with your electrical system. (not just ground loops.)

Consider installing a double-conversion (always online) UPS upstream. The Eaton 9PX series is excellent, though expensive. - But worth it, because it may well also improve the overall sound of your system.

If you STILL have issues, then you need to deal with EMI, etc generated within your audio environment. Careful wiring / grounding may help. Also corcom filters on anything with an AD / Da converter.

And if still no love, then get a balanced transformer, and put it just after the UPS. That will knock out everything not coming from the outside world.

 

[D1sco]

Other than prettying up an enclosure and gutting an existing passive, why not go in-wall? Infinite Baffle and discrete. Hide some subs in the corner. Revel sells some convincing models, but I can't imagine it would be hard to DIY if you own your property.

 

[VoxCelestial]

Behringer Genelec clones have a rather nice and quiet 3xTDA7294 amplifier - I would say it's better than 6 transistor wonder in original Genelecs - so in a quest for a perfectly silent speaker you need to defeat EMI demons and sever the vile loops of the ground wyrms.

As for the main question, Pierre Aubert has recently digitized dozens of .clf files from PA manufacturers for his spinorama collection.
https://www.spinorama.org/
Some of these speakers are REALLY good. Way better than JBL 4430, (cautiously : ) approaching Earl Geddes designs-good. Three examples just from the chronological top of the list:
https://www.spinorama.org/speakers/LD Systems DDQ15/LD Systems/index_vendor.html
https://www.spinorama.org/speakers/RCF ART 935-A/RCF/index_vendor-pattern-100x60.html
https://www.spinorama.org/speakers/BiAmp Community IC8-1153/BiAmp/index_vendor.html

BiAmp Community 3-way is probably the most impressive with its controlled directivity down to Schroeder:

 

[profiguy]

If you want direct recommendations for off the shelf -

Buchardt A500 2 way monitors - not cheap, but very good sounding / looking. Very attractive and well thought out design. I've used these in a studio environment and they perform very well for their size. Dynamics and linearity are as good as some Neumann stuff.

Martin Audio Blackline X12 passive 2 ways - a bargain for only $600 each with Celestion drivers and well made xover. I use a ton of these for installed sound and they blow away many more expensive 2 ways. The HF WG is very well designed and is dome tweeter smooth. Honestly the best and only 2 way for under 1000 bucks I would own.

 

[newvirus2008]

I would suggest getting older cinema speakers like the JBL 4722N, they'd do home, PA, studio, cinema or anything else. The newer ones are definitely smaller/shallower but their datasheets are also anaemic, with some not even disclosing as much as the crossover frequency used.

 

[TNT]

So when a fellow member has WAF problems, you suggest this ;-D

//

 

[profiguy]

I was thinking more along the lines of Altec A7s... lol

 

[newvirus2008]

So when a fellow member has WAF problems, you suggest this ;-D

Ok, then this.

https://jblpro.com/en-US/products/c211

 

[TNT]

OK, trolling

//

 

[hifijim]

Does it make sense to search out and buy a new speaker system, when you seem to be the kind of enthusiast who never stops experimenting and tweaking? Perhaps a DIY build, with a real focus on the "living room aesthetics" is your path to mutual marital satisfaction?

 

[chris661]

I kinda had the feeling that at some point in this thread, someone would tell me to fix my ground loops lol

I basically have a home theater PC plugged into my TV on one side of the room, and speakers plugged into three additional outlets.

I can literally hear the noise level increase by 400% when my Nvidia GPU is running hot, which is an obvious clue that noise from the HTPC is polluting every other electronic device in the room. When it's running hot, it literally makes a maddening sound like CHIK CHIK CHIK CHIK CHIK CHIK CHIK for as long as it's highly utilized.

Looks like I need to clean up my wiring

Question: how are you getting audio out of the HTPC?

If you're using the analogue outputs on the motherboard, a USB-based solution will be a huge improvement.

Chris

 

[wesayso]

HTPC -> S/P-DIF -> DAC = problem solved.

 

[wafflesomd]

I have two of the first Kali speakers and they buzz like crazy. As I understand it, they made some changes in the later versions. (Hence "version 2.")

I'm not running balanced inputs though.

That might be your problem, I have both 2031a and 2030a and the lp6 and they are all very quiet. I'd argue something in your setups is wrong.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Worth having a read of Javad Shadzi’s dBacles build of Facebook loudspeaker project pad. May be just the thing.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/DIYLoudspeakerProjecPad/permalink/876739172681921/

They banned me quite a while ago. They disagreed on my interpretation of horn termination and said I was spreading "misinformation."