Using PA Speakers In A Home "Audiophile" Application!

As previously mentioned, several brands like JBL, Klipsch & Altec ( in the past) offer both home & pro “PA” speakers which are very sensitive, dynamic & can play loudly while still sounding quite good without straining. Often the difference between their home & pro models was primarily the cabinet style & finish & terminals for connecting to an amp.

Volti Audio Rivals use Italian made pro drivers by Faital to similar effect and look and sound great in a home environment. You may want them out. Of course, it’s a matter of taste but Their big, open & effortless dynamics bring a realistic, live sound that not many high end speakers can match.

@jonwolfpell , I have always had TAD speakers (most time spent with their sound), which is essentially a Pro Audio company before and after Andrew Jones got his hands in the mix.

More recently, it looks like Levinson (DHertz) also went down the PA route for his flagship M1 speaker. Here he is.. getting into some of his design decisions and how his drivers got custom done by a PA company...interesting talk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EB5UQ-AOfA

Levinson may be onto something...Maybe, some of the conventional home audio hardcores are missing part of the secret sauce....

There is video on you tube of a guy who salvaged PA speakers from a venue.... The horns are massive, GE drivers (I think) and a structure to support the things. Totally impractical, but man, wouldn't it be grand... High school friend had black painted Altec Lansings which I think came from a movie theater, his dad was a Master Electrician. They could go louder than you could tolerate. Led Zep and Cream until his dad would go to the panel and pop the breaker...time to go home. Definitely high db focus, for us, at that time. They were perfect

I’ve also worked in pro sound. Though that was long ago, the general design principles remain the same today as then. The biggest advances are in DSP (digital signal processing). Some things to consider.

1) most (not all) music venues are mono - not stereo. This is because you want people everywhere to hear roughly the same sound. Given that pressure levels drop by 3 DB as you square the distance, people on the left side of the hall are not going to hear separate information on the right side of the hall. PA speakers are not designed with imaging in mind if this is important to you.

2) because of the demands for high acoustic volume, most PA speakers (even relatively large ones) will have limited low frequency extension unless you adopt a line array structure (not practical for home use). You’ll also notice how big the subs typically are (often multiple cabinets the size of a VW Bug w/ twin 18” woofers). They’re pretty poor at low bass definition (these are not the most rigid woofers because of their size) but wow can they put out the volume. However, even those huge subs don’t go to 20 hz - typically only down to 30 hz. 

3) as others previously mentioned, crossovers built in are for power handling. Many better sounding PAs use outboard crossovers with separate amps.

4) The cabinets are designed to take the abuse of the road. They’re felt covered plywood or vinyl covered plywood, or plastic. And, they ring like crazy. Because they’re driven to high volumes in larger spaces, nobody cares.

5) There’s an adage that goes something like:  full range, high output volume, high quality, or low cost: pick two.

This is not to say it’s a bad idea. There are certainly pretty good sounding PA speakers. And, many home audio speakers put more into their cabinets (looks are everything). But on balance, at a price point, home audio speakers will perform better in home than PA speakers adapted for home use. The latter will play louder with far less effort.

As others noted, some Klipsh classic horn speakers might do the trick by offering that dynamic pop. Other horn loaded speakers will likely do the same as they’re very efficient and generally easy to drive. You might also look at horn loaded monitor speakers used for mastering. They’re higher quality and can produce high volumes without stress.

An interesting thread for sure.

@mgrif104 - Great post & fully agree. I too worked in live sound most of my life.

In my main system, I’m using pro audio JBL 18" low frequency drivers. I bought JBL ASB7118 cabinets which were loaded with JBL 2269H 18" drivers. Those drivers were JBL’s best 18’s for maybe a decade or so and are only used in a handful of cabinets including the SUB18 studio monitor sub. I removed the 2269H drivers and had Joe at Stewart Speaker System redesign a pair of cabinets to house the 2269H drivers for a flatter response and in a walnut finish to eliminate the Pro PA look in my living room (see my system in my profile). With the new cabinets, the subs sound fantastic and are quite musical. I’m using JBL 4349 cabinets on top of the 18’s.

So, a good pro audio low frequency driver can make a heck of a home subwoofer. However, few people will wish to go through the hassle of having cabinets made, much less the design process to ensure the right cabinet is designed along with the need for external crossover, amplification, etc. My cabinets are huge for home audio, so not many listening rooms or significant others will put up with a pair of 18" sub cabinets. My setup is done around 32-35 hertz or so and can’t really reproduce down into the 20’s (nor do I really care).

A very good friend is also using 2241 JBL 18" drivers for subs and then a Danley Audio designed 3-way cabinet for the mid/high reproduction. Home audio components drive these speakers. It’s a very interesting listening experience since one can only get that impact from live sound cabinets.

While the Merman’s use some "PA" components, they are quite unlike any other speakers I’ve heard in their presentation, soundstage, and imaging. And don’t even get me started on dynamic impact! It is uncanny and anyone is welcome to come by and hear it for themselves if you get down to Orange County, CA.

And, I have and have heard plenty. I currently have JBL L200/300s, JBL L112s, tri-amped, one-off, Altec Big Red Supers, Chartwell LS3/5As, and others. None can hold a candle to the impact, detail, and 3D imaging of the Mermans.