Using PA Speakers In A Home "Audiophile" Application!

The crossovers used in PA speakers are typically designed more for power handling than that nth degree of que ne se quoi for ultra high fidelity. But that doesn’t mean that they can’t be adapted for home use with quite good results. This is just CD played on an Oppo95 through a Yamaha RX-Z9 RECEIVER in "Pure Direct" mode through two speakers (JBL 2241H, 18", JBL 2251J, 9-1/2", Heil AMT) easily filling a 5,000 cu ft volume with no sub or eq of any type being used.

@toddalin Nice!

One of my rooms is around 5000 cu.ft as well. I have always tied some of my less pleasant PA speaker experiences to lousy venues and subpar electronics behind them. But, yeah, putting some hifi grade electronics in front of the better designed/built PA speakers should make them exhibit significant audiophile attributes, i’d think.

These guys seem to have such a huge list of PA speakers in different series and it is hard to tell which ones are supposed to have the best drivers and so on... I just zoomed into a smaller one from the "For discerning engineers" category, for now. I don’t think some of these models with the bigger drivers are all that affordable w.r.t prices either...

https://usa.yamaha.com/products/proaudio/speakers/index.html

P.S. I had that meaty RX-Z9 for many years.

deep_333: Keep in mind that I have been at this hobby since the early 80’s. Things accumulate over time. We have no kids and it’s just me and my partner in the house...

Funny true story - Years ago I was at work bidding on 4 or 5 stereo components simultaneously when a co-worker who has 5 kids looked at my computer monitor and asked me how I could afford all that. I pointed at each auction while I said: this is kid #1, #2, #3, #4 and #5! He looked at me with a face of regret and disappointment (he likes audio also).

@ellajeanelle , I understand now...Fortunately, my kids are growing/grown up, leaving the house one by one...

My favorite DAC at the moment is my Ps Audio Stellar Gold DAC. It’s the most musical of the DACs I have, regardless of cost. Some of the speakers have built in amps, but mostly QSC and Crown amps for PA. For non-pa amps I also love just about any Ps Audio amp. There’s just something about their voicing that I haven’t found anywhere else. You may want to consider a mix. Such as HI FI main speakers and a couple of PA subs, if you’re into extreme bass. I used to do that, but the older I get the more balanced, even and realistic I like my music to sound.

I am still meaning to make it to Boulder and audit P. McGowan’s stuff. I can appreciate insane PA bass, but, the home situation is not that conducive (spouse works from home, 1 floor above).., have Rythmik (sealed/smaller) subs.

deep_333 OP: I went to the Rythmik website a little while ago because I was curious about those subs.  I had not heard of them.  They seem like good subs, particularly their servo technology.  They go pretty low in frequency too!  The only think that would keep me from buying them is that most of their models don't have balanced XLR inputs, other than that they have a lot more adjustments than most subs at that price. You should be content with those...

Meyer

@ellajeanelle 

You can have all of it, volume, low bass and refinement. I do use QSC amps to drive my subwoofers but would never resort to  PA loudspeakers for home use. They are usually fatally colored. I can understand the attraction as commercial equipment is much less expensive. Getting the required output out of an audiophile system is not an easy trick either and can get expensive in a hurry. 

@deep_333 

You do not have to resort to PA equipment for "insane" bass. All you need is a lot of surface area and power. The minimum requirement for a small system in a 12 x 16 foot room is two 12" subwoofers. My system is on a 16 foot wall and I use eight 12" drivers in four enclosures. Each enclosure gets 2500 watts. They are also set up to form a line source or linear array like you see in stadium concerts.