You willing to step up to the plate?
I don't know how it would work with your budget....but...
Pretty much unobtanimum HOWEVER, if you can find them:
Klipsch KP-600's
Two would probably do very nicely indoors (HAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA inhale, HAHAHAHAHAHAHA)
Four would be absurd.
(TWO would be absurd)
I once heard these indoors at the Klipsch listening room at their factory. What was amazing is (and I am speaking VERY literally here) the hair follicles on my arms were feeling the pressure and though it was 'loud', it was nowhere near what they're capable of.
I recall actually looking at my arms and rubbing them from the vibrations.
Do a google search, salivate, and begin your quest. |
Ignore the Klipsch suggestions. And tbh F1 sucks at midrange. Martin Audio, L Acoustics, D&B Audioteknik, Danley… or just go with JBL. |
Listen to davidbrinknyc- he's the one with the right idea. Funktion One dominates the club business worldwide and QSC is a quality company building good sounding alternatives for less money. |
I reno’d my basement 2 years ago. My goal was a home theater/bar in the theme of a basement club/bordello and hosting parties. Art work is all framed 12x18" concert billboards of artists that have influenced me through out my life etc. I have also decorated with guitar’s , mic stands, horns etc, along "the wall of sound" to emulate a stage. The 5.1 sound system consists of heavily modified Klipsch Lascala’s (new X overs, tweeter and mid driver from Bob Crites). The Lascala’s are powered by a Bryston 3B. I also have a pair of passive EV 18" sub’s, each sub is powered by an older restored Bryston 4B's configured in bridge or mono (800W per sub). I am using a Crites horn loaded center and Klipsch wall mounts for the rear channels, each powered by Bryston 2BLP’s. Also have a 3rd powered sub, utilizing a Axiom 600. I would love to have hung the lascala’s , but the basement ceiling height would make it difficult. The room is about 25’ x 60 with a variable height ceiling. The system will pressurize the room just fine, never even get close to clipping any of the amps, but the Lascala’s will get a little "horny" if pushed hard. I have been working on that by placing area rugs (as you see on many stages during live venues ) . Covid has kept me from having a large party, but it is giving me a great excuse to have one once it is safe to do so! With 1 watt or less the system sounds pretty good within the sweet spot. 10 watts or more the club sounds starts to kick in. I use the pre-processor to adjust sub output depending on the activity, usually I have them boosted with about 3db of gain over the Lascala’s. A few years prior we were hosting a party celebrating "A National Celebration" the final Tragically Hip concert ( Yes I am Canadian). We hosted the party in our family room 20x25 with vaulted ceilings. I ended up renting a EV powered 15" or 18"? sub , and a pair of EV "highs" which I sat on my PSB Stratus Gold towers. The PSB were just used as speaker stands. I used the aforementioned Bryston 3B to power the EV "highs". We had close to 25 people , sitting dancing etc watching the show on a 65" tv. I was told by several people that the sound was as close to a live show as they ever heard/felt. What I ever learned throughout the years, use high efficient speakers with lots of dynamic range, and lots of clean power. It will sound a lot better if you are not pushing the system to hard. What I would do different? Class D power for the subs , (Crown XLS series etc.) . They are cheaper and lighter. |
Zu Omen Defs are good speakers at 101 dB/watt. But, I would not compare them to some others like JBL, Altec, Cerwin-Vega or BagEnd. Not even very close for "club" or concert volume. You wouldn't even hear the Zu's in a room with the others. In your house they are fantastic speakers for the $$.
|
I have a set of Zu Omen Defs that could prolly recreate a jet engine, but I rarely wind them up. Mostly jazz. However, I do now & then, on EDM / beats type stuff. They're seemingly limitless. They don't have pounding bass like a sub will but from ~35 on up or so, buckle up. |
For a club experience at home, set it up like a club. Put a mackie srm450 in each corner top corner. Its important to have the speakers above everyone so that when people are standing up dancing, they dont block the speakers. Add 4 big accompanying mackie subs. Use a bluesound node 2i into a good dac and then eq or dsp. Control the music from your phone or ipad. Get spotify, tidal and amazon hd; that way you’ll have all your music covered.
Id add sound treatments from gik all over the place. This will allow you to play music loudly, cleanly and for long periods without destroying everyones ears.
last tip, play to the audience / guests. Whatever they like they’ll dance to so tune in on that then find a good playlist with that genre so that you can entertain guests rather than picking a new song every 3 minutes.
If people are into it crank it up. If everyone is trying to converse, either change music or turn it down or both.
|
Altec lansing a 7 speakers of any vintage are the perfect club simulator for your home they will give you that live visceral experience every time.
|
130+dB? No thanks. I guess I’m an old fart. That would definitely rattle my stents loose. |
love this thread...
forgive me if I aleready mentioned this, but I have a Yamaha DRX10 that sounds excellent and is powered. I use it for literally everything ... my bass rig, my guitar rig, stereo and PA duty. It has a bit of hiss (white noise) at idle with no input. I see that Tannoy has a powered version of the V12, the VXP12 and that may be my stereo upgrade in the future. One reason I really like these powered PA monitors is that I travel and work internationally and offloading a mid to high-end set of audiophile speakers in some of these countries is near impossible but these powered pro-audio boxes always have a market .. my bottom dweller will probably be a Behringer 15 inch powered sub .. or two. I figure for 3-4 K you can have an absolutely wall crumbling stereo, less $ used and even less $ if you move down in driver size. |
Then the solution is obvious. Martin audio which you have already found or if you need to be on a smaller budget, used Tannoys.
|
I saw the cerwin vega, they look great but difficult to find in France.
All Uk/french brands are easier to access (Funktion, void, l acoustic, martins). But for the budget Martins seems like the only high end accessible. |
No QSC. Used and heard on a few occasions. They sound like crap. Jesus, who in their right mind and not deaf would recommend QCS?
|
Cerwin Vega towers and add one of their earthquake folded horn woofers.
QSC speakers and a subwoofer.
Lots of brands you can work with. |
Thanks for all the info. I know the setup might be overkill (Martin 2x X15 + 2x x115 + amp + DSP) for a open space of 28m2. I guess I will be always at 50% of the capacity of these speakers. However I also plan taking them to beach houses and other places where I will be able to push them higher outside. No need to rent anymore.
I will check the Tannoy setup! If can get the same sound quality for cheaper why not |
Ibiza type sound is going to need to be multiple PA speakers, and you're likely looking for mid bass slam that alot of people here cannot relate to as bass is too often asscoaited with subwoofers and most home speakers or even subwoofers wont get you that 130+ db slam
consider 1 sub per speaker also
a 4 + 4 set will have the cops at your place faster than a 911 call
a pair of QSC KW 122's alone will get you a ton of output
these types of setups can be super inexpensive compared to the home audio world and a ton of fun, super ugly though
most of these types of systems will be very easy to set up including all the neccessary amps , connections, and power cords, etc......ususally just requiring inexpensive baanced cables after purchasing the gear
the massive output (i.e. fun factor) will overcome alot of room integration issues
I'm also interested in hearing from members who have approached the above with home gear, particularly higher end home tower speakers that can slam and offer excellent overall bass
|
|
For any kind of electronic music party you cannot count on dual 10" woofers for bass. Real bass with impact and low distortion needs to be produced by a sub or a pair of subs. Pair of 15" should do. But also you need midbass with impact == big horns like Funktion one or high efficeincy PA cabinets like Martin Audio or Tannoy. Big horns wont fit your room size so go with good PA direct radiators like
Martin Audio or Tannoys. Lastly, an expensive but awesome option is Meyer Sound System. All powered so nothing to mess with. UPA1p or Upj1P + matching subs. |
I love Deep House as well, I have Legacy Audio Signature SE - dual 10" woofers and easy to drive. Basically those two are the main qualifiers, the speakers have to be easy to drive/fast and they have to be able to produce deep bass. these speakers are all rounders, they do everything well. With most "audiophile" speakers you're restricting yourself to a specific spectrum of music only. Audiogon users only listen to Diana Krall and Dire Straits, you can't just be limited to that. |
Big horns and big amp, no specifics. JBL and Altec Voice of the Theater come to mind. BagEnd is loud too. |
That would be a kick butt system to throw parties. A bit overkill in a 28m2 room. So... if you need to save money or need to make it work on a smaller budget, get a pair of Tannoy V12 ($600)
+ Lab Gruppen E amp
+ pair of powered subs
+ an analogue active crossover.
You would spend half as much and get very good sound. I have Funktion One and Tannoy speakers so I've listed to both extensively. In a room around 28m2 you will be best off with a pair of Tannoys. V12 or V8 or CPA15, those three models sound very nice. All need a subwoofer.
|
Dear community,
I hope some of you are expert in sound system and could help my choice. It follows the same question, hope you can help.
I am a fan of deep house and recently moved to a bigger house where i can dedicate a living room (28m2) to play with my mixer and throw small parties.
I am selling my Hi-Fi speakers which I feel are too weak and heat up after 6-8 hours set :)
My budget to install the new sound system is 5kusd. Trying to replicate a clean club sound. Unfortunately void and Funktion one small speakers are out of my budget.
I have looked into QSC 12.2 + sub and bose 812 + sub set up but I feel it is a more (mobile dj) set up.
Recently I have recieve this offer for 4.2kusd:
- X2 Martin Audio BlacklineX15
- X2 Martin Audio sub x115
- X1 Celto P4x1400 amp
- X1 Martin DX0.5 DSP (For a full control on EQ of the system)
I feel this setup I just listed will give better quality sound, than a typical x2 bose 812 with sub setup right?
Would appreciate your advise for all sound engineers and experts on this field out there.
|
I’ve watched a few installations in Japanese nightclubs/bars on youtube.
They were using huge JBLs. |
This is not really in your budget range, but for the fun of describing what I have here, and it is in a 10,000 cu foot room with an 18 foot ceiling; it's probably better than any night club I have been too. My brother, who is an audio/video engineer said that my system comes the closest to a live concert he has worked with the national bands.
Main speakers are Bryston Model T signature with PX1 external crossovers being driven with 2000 watts each from Anthem M1 mono blocks. An Axiom Audio EP800V4 dual 12 driver sub with a linear power supply, no switchers here and to the left side. An Axiom Audio EP500V4 to the rear, single 12 inch driver with linear power supply to the rear. And A Bryston Model T subwoofer with triple 8 inch drivers and linear power supply to the right. Total power in the system is around 7000 watts and trust me, you can not only hear very detailed music, you really feel it!
The largest improvement I made recently was the addition of a Whest PS.30 RDT SE 2019 phono stage... yikes! the sound stage and imaging is simply incredible. I have a huge collection of 1980's electronic club music and it just blows the windows out if needed. The detail in the instruments is astounding.
BTW, Axiom Audio builds all of Bryston's speakers, so the system is totally matched. Again, this is not within your budget, but man is it fun to play this system with a party here.....
|
|
Maybe I missed it, but I didn't see any mention of room size as I scanned this thread.
I've seen some good suggestions:
Klipsch
Altec
Cerwin Vega
MTX
Ohm
... and a few others.
Pretty much any decent sized box speaker with a minimum 10" woofer works well. Mount them in the corners horizontally at the ceiling to get bass gain.
I did this at my previous home. Some neighbors loved me... and others hated me.
I also have this setup, (on a smaller scale), in the garage of my current home. Great for informal "get togethers"... such as fish frys, hobo dinners, and yard parties. |
The best PA speakers generally have fairly wide high frequency dispersion these days, and if you're using something small-ish like little powered "phased array" type boxes (common in newer installations as the lower profile makes them easier to fly above the crowd, stacked or otherwise), and a couple of good powered subs on the floor someplace, you're in there...all controlled by an iPad from anywhere in the room...you're likely to be surprised at the overall sound quality of this stuff. |
My thought would be that if you want to bathe the room in sound you need to understand the dispersion pattern of your speakers and then place the speakers strategically through out the room to achieve the amount of coverage that is desired. The advantage of pro audio speakers is that they are designed to cover large areas and not a single listening position so they should make the task easier to achieve, assuming that you are using the correct speaker for your application. Some are designed to work alone and others are designed to work configured in arrays. Another plus for the pro gear is that the cabinets are designed to be suspended and the electronics are fully balanced.
Without knowing anything about your space I would start with some type of 4 sub system on the floor such as an inline configuration that mijostyn uses or a DBA arrangement. You may need more depending on desired volume level and room size. I would then go with either a front fill type of cabinet (i.e. the small speakers that are placed on the front edge of a stage in large venues to cover the front rows) or an under balcony speaker suspended from the ceiling firing straight down. The quantity being determined by the area needing to be covered. You could use any sub that you like, I would not use anything smaller than a 12" and I would highly recommend balanced in's and out's and a sealed cabinet would be a must.
Integrating the system to your room will probably be your biggest challenge. You will need some type of speaker management tool like an XTA DP424 or maybe a dbx unit if they still make something, which is how you will connect your source to the speakers system, and some type of room correction either passive or electronic. |
"Night club systems are PA systems, not audiophile systems"
Yes. But I find that good PA systems sound closer to live sound than almost any Audiophfile systems. One exception that comes to mind would be Avangarde trio -- that one was good.
OP wanted to have music parties. This is PA sound territory -- one needs to move some air! |
Night club systems are PA systems, not audiophile systems. That being said, the most musical sounding PA gear I've ever heard come from Bag End. Buy their stuff. Will easily fit your budget. |
|
I would like to recommend a pair of used JBL 4435‘s. I had a pair once and they really filled my 27 x 20 x 10 living room with great sound. These are big box speakers but I think they look great.
I was told the 4435’s were used in a lot of disco clubs in the 80’s.
They were designed to cast a large sound field with the bi-radial horn. The Dual 15” woofs can mix concrete. Efficient enough to be driven by lower power amps. I was driving mine with a MC275. They sounded very natural to me.
You should be able to find a great pair for $2-2.5K. |
Who cares about the op? Aren't we just venting out in response to the usual audiophile equipment non-sense talk?
Oh wait, no. OP had a good question so we all trying to help him. Yep, that's it! |
I am familiar with QSC CP8. I would rate the Tannoy V8 over the QSC's in terms of sound quality. Also the V8 can be purchased for around $350 used, for the pair.
All that being said, the Tannoy V12 would outperform both of the above, no contest. Hence my original recommendation. |
51 reponses, in over a week, and we have not heard back from the op ? |
Actually QSC makes a smaller powered speaker that would work really well and doesn’t cost too much- the CP8. I had a pair in my basement and thought they were very listenable and very very good at what they do. Very small footprint too. Pair them with a small equivalent sub woofer and you’ll definitely have a good party system. I wouldn’t say it is audiophile sound quality but it is pleasing sound and definitely would be great for parties. I enjoyed them for relaxed listening and was surprised at how nice they sounded. A real bargain
|
As an option to Funktion One, you may look for a used VOID system. Overall, expensive but good sounding when set up properly. Do not forget, Visual Appeal is also nice for a party. It makes people pay attention to the sound system and draws them into "sound quality" topics and conversations. In this regard F1 and VOID are way above the other modern black boxes. |
I can answer the question because I have this type of a listening space/venue with very similar needs. My space is 550sq ft, and at times I have 20-30 people listening at party levels. Other times, quiet listening.
From other posts -- KEF, Goldenear, Cerwin Vega, QSC, Mackie, JBL are:
1. either not capable of high output with low distortion
2. Are just not high fidelity PA speakers. Like QSC. Yeah, they're PA speakers.
3. Too colored sounding -- like Altec VOTTs or many other vintage designs. A "decent" option out of all those would be the Klipsch LaScalas.
Altec 604 are not bad but start to fall apart at high levels, so not suitable for the OP requirements.
You're not a PA rental company and you do not need to select based on the motto "work horses of the industry". Keep in mind, this is what QSC, JBL, EV and most others design for. On the plus side they're consistent -- like McDonalds.
IMPORTANT:
In my view the key to "listenability" at high output levels is lots of headroom. You need PA that's designed and built to the Standard of Highest Fidelity and Listenability. By listenability I mean being able to listen at higher than usual levels for extented listening sessions -- over 6 hours without fatigue. Another important point to consider is how much more output capabilities are required when there are 15 or more people in the room. Going to someone's place and listening to a system will not be a good indicator of how much output you may actually need, when there's a party goin'!
THREE systems come to mind:
1. Funktion One
2. Meyer Sound
3. Tannoys
I have all three. Each one has it's advantages and disadvantages:
If your space is OVER 600 sq.ft. I would recommend F1. Go with Res2 (or AX88+F115 for higher output) + a sub or two.
If your Space is UNDER 600 sq. ft, go with USED Meyer UPA-1p + USW-1P subs. They are powered so you do not need amps. Compared to most speakers listed in this thread, the Meyers are in a different league. They sound very good.
If you're on a tight budget get Tannoys CPA15 or V12 or i12 and add a sub or two. The mentioned models are highly musical PA speakers -- much better than most.
ANY OF THE ABOVE CAN and SHOULD BE PURCHASED USED! This is the only way to get good quality PA gear and not pay over $10k
P.S. no experience with BagEnd or Bose so my comments do not apply to those.
|
You are welcome to come hear my Super Big Red Altecs. While you may never come across a pair of Super Big Reds, it will give you an idea of what a Altec 604 can do with an added woofer for the bass. These are tri-amped using a Marantz 1180DC and two 170DCs. I’m in Orange County. https://youtu.be/4MWmYYV1bg4https://youtu.be/jsPePauUaLo |
Go to the websites for some of the clubs in your area that are the size of your space, and see if they have the tech specs listed. You can even request this information from wedding, party rental spaces, etc.
Clubs provide this information for touring bands and DJs that will play at their space. Information for artists like square space footage, capacity, components, instruments on hand, sound board info, speakers, load in times etc.
I’ve thrown my own public party nights with bands and DJs in NYC/Brookyn for years. |
Great Thread!
i have those Goldenear Triton 5’s and I use two JL Audio Dominion D108 Subs with them Driven by Parasound Halo A21&P5. However....
when I want to party and absolutely rock the house out, I use two pair of Vintage Cerwin Vegas. The D9’s and The 317p Hard Rockers. I’m not certain that the current Vegas have the frequency range that these older ones do. Even their big monsters made today seemed tuned to Home Theater.
I’d go old School and find a nice used pair of Vegas, Infinity, JBL, or the MTX AAL Monitor series. The Vegas are incredibly efficient, my Sansui 9090 Receiver absolutely thunders and shakes the house with these 4 speakers.
i switch back to my Goldenear / Parasound set up when I’m back to normal, critical listening.
Happy Hunting!!
Big John |
I used to work in several clubs and ended up being a DJ after all was said and done. Go to Guitar Center (or any local place that does live sound reinforcement) I second some of the recommendations for Mackie, JBL!, QSC etc... There's also EV, Peavey, EAW (real high end) and others. I think for simplicity, the QSC active speakers might be your best bet... Run them Mono. If you are setting a playlist ahead of time, you could import it into Native Instruments Traktor (software) It has a feature which automatically matches the volume /levels for all the tracks, it's amazing when you are using material from different artists /albums. |
Altec 19
Klipsch Forte 2 or 3 - had these in a small room, didn't think much of them - just fine. Sold them to a guy who had a very large garage/shop, and I couldn't believe the sound with a cheap receiver. The sound was exactly as you describe.
Klipsch La Scala II with a nice 50 watt amp. |
I own two nightclubs and a bar that all have high-end Funktion One sound systems. One thing to keep in mind is the drivers in Funktion One dance stacks, included the bass drivers, are horn loaded. You won't be able to replicated this in your home on a $4-6k budget. But if you want to have a pretty good sounding rig that will play at high volumes, with wide dispersion and lots of bass, I would recommend 4 x QSC K12.2 (Powered 2-way speaker) and 2 x QSC K181 (powered 18" sub). I have used similar set ups at house parties with good success. This is also the preferred set up for many underground parties and mobile DJs. The total system cost would be $5200.
|
Check out Ohm speakers made in Brooklyn.
Don’t know how loud they get, but should bathe you in sound anywhere in your room. Use a pulsating cone that provides omni directional
sound. 60 day free trial and fairly priced.
All models are the same, just different sizes
depending on room size |
+1
Club systems are large, typically horn-loaded, and feature efficient drivers.
Two Bose 802’s with stands, a decent subwoofer, a 500 watt Peavy power amp, and your choice of DJ mixer. Bose 802’s will light a room, and from personal experience, I know you can push Bose 802’s a lot harder than Bose 901’s. |
You guys all focus on gear and HW...
Imo, first come...
Mixing
DJ prowess
Electronic effects
Music source
Then, only then, gear
R.I.P.
|
There are a LOT of great suggestions here, with best occurring multiple times: horns like Klipsch, JBL pro stuff, other brands of powered PA equipment, etc. Club systems are large, typically horn-loaded, and feature efficient drivers. In contemporary systems the amplification, whether built-in or external, is class-D, and in this context there's nothing wrong with it.
The
Funktion 1 stuff looks AMAZING but is probably quite expensive. I would LOVE to hear those speakers in a stereo, audiophile context ... I bet that on big symphonic music they would be ... interesting.
The Cerwin Vega suggestion is inspired.
Using digital room correction is another good idea; I'm pretty sure many powered PA systems now feature it built-in.
Hiring someone who designs PA systems for a living is another REALLY good suggestion.
I hope you come back to this thread and tell us what you did! |
Klipsch La Scalas with good amps! Don't need massive amounts of power just good clean power! |
The large Altec VOTT's or JBL horn loads will work quite nicely for you. |
