Using PA Speakers In A Home "Audiophile" Application!


Hi guys,

I am a bit inspired to explore/trial usage of a pair of PA speakers at home after i attended a live event recently. 

I looked at some Yamaha PA models and zoomed in on one that isn't too huge/heavy, relatively easy to move around perhaps. 

Are there any audiophiles here who had relative satisfaction trying such speakers at home? I am also thinking that this may not be a great idea, but, just curious at the moment.

 

deep_333

@deep_333 

I’m not trying to discourage you from experimenting. Nor am i suggesting that you wouldn’t be happy with the result. What I am trying to convey is that there are compromises in pro audio gear you should be aware of. Just because they’re “pro speakers” doesn’t make them better than home speakers. Again - engineering is engineering. Tell the engineer what’s most important and they design accordingly.

On the question of imaging. You mention off axis response. Pro touring speakers are designed with relatively narrow dispersion intentionally to concentrate that acoustic energy so that it makes it to the back of a large venue. It also helps reduce the smearing from side wall reflections. If you widen the dispersion - you diminish its “throw”. If you’ve ever walked around a venue doing a sound check - moving just 5 feet in any direction you’ll hear the sound change - sometimes dramatically. This is due to the phase cancellations of the multiple speakers throwing a narrow beam of sound. You don’t notice it during a show because you’re seated in one place. Move around before a crowd gets there and it’s pretty remarkable. So, pro speakers in home - unless it’s a very large room - may seem “beamy” relative to home speakers.

The other element affecting imaging is the ringing cabinet. When a driver moves - it makes sound. When a cabinet vibrates, it makes sound which competes with the drivers reducing imaging. Personally speaking - imaging is over-rated. But I like my speakers to disappear and you probably would find pro audio speakers don’t disappear. Full disclosure - I’m extrapolating from what I know. As I haven’t tried pro speakers in my listening room, I could easily be wrong.

I actually hope you try it and let us know your findings.

Best,

 

@OP, just coming back regarding the Yamaha speaker you posted. While the specs mention "full range", that speaker is actually for what back in my live sound days, we would call a 'vocal PA' i.e. really designed for sound reinforcement of vocals, guitars and keys but not bass and drums - typically the kind of PA you'd use in a small pub.

One other observation, a couple of posts conflate pro sound with studio sound. Studio monitors are totally different in design to PA speakers and there are plenty of studio monitors that are entirely usable domestically.

But @yoyoyaya is there any (lower priced) studio monitor that puts the PA energy into music playback? They seem tangential to the goals here.
Seems OP is hoping to save money and get a more live experience but the trouble might come from studio-recorded (mastered) music lacking the dynamics of live music. After all, the idea to use PA in home would probably be based on how good it sounds with live music, right?

@benanders. You touch on an important point, but particularly with regard to electric music. The use of compression in recording limits dynamic range relative to what you'd hear from a live band. In addition, not always, but a lot of the time, there are many more instrument tracks on a studio recording than a band will reproduce in a live setting. That leaves more dynamic space for each instrument being played live and makes it more of a visceral experience. 

As regards lower priced studio monitors - the answer is no. Price for price, the equivalent studio monitor to an affordable PA speaker will almost always be a two way desktop system with a bass-mid unit around six inches.

Good properly full range studio monitors don't come cheap.