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"Loud" speakers?

73Chaz

pfm Member
Hi everyone,

this is a new forum for me, although I was in zero gain some years ago, so hello.

I recently aquired some spendor A5s which I like, but fear I may have cooked slightly during a rather exuberant New Year's Eve party (sorry Paul if you are reading this - I will get them checked over...).

My conclusion from this is that these speakers don't particularly like going loud. The sensetivity says as much. So I am looking for suggestions for second hand boxes that will go fairly loud, when asked nicely. These needn't be the last word in fidelity as they will be probably be in reserve most of the time. However still looking for hifi rather than PA type sound.

They will be driven by a Meridian 557 which gives 200W into 8 ohms and 360ish into 4 ohms. I'd never known this unit to run out of puff... until about 4 am on New Year's Day.

The room is a little over 5x5m, with a solid floor. Size of box is not a huge issue but I guess the rest of the family would prefer something smaller than say a washing machine.

Many thanks,

73Chaz
 
You killed them with a 557???

It was careless, and if I'd been sober it obviously wouldn't have happened. I think only one driver is damaged, although it still plays.

I've used that amp for quite a long time, with a variety of speakers and never got close to the edge before.
 
I'm delighted I'm not your neighbour. Not even in the next street :)

The Tannoys are a good idea too. You might want to weld the drivers into the cabinets for next year's party though.
 
Sounds like one of the drivers 'bottomed out' and got damaged.

I have Hornshoppe Horns that play over 115 db with only a few watts. So your Meridian probably would kill them.
 
Clearly a party monster type speaker is needed here.

How about a pair of mission 770's or 780's. They can take a fair bit of thrash!
 
Yes, I was considering Tannoys, I will have a look at them. I used to have a pair of M15s many years ago; probably not Tannoy's finest hour but I liked them at the time.

Thanks.
 
If you've been perfectly happy with your speakers until now it seems crazy to get rid of them because of one night of stupidity. It doesn't matter what you buy, if you get drunk and abuse it you might bust it.

The key is to take better care of your stuff maybe?
 
When you want a wife or a speaker you can live with you marry a good girl and buy Tannoys.

When you want something really cheap and nasty you go down by the docks or here in the case of SPLs:

http://www.cerwinvega.com/
 
Hi Chaz, I don't know if you could find them in your area but look at some old JBL pro monitors with 10/12 woofers. Nothing like west coast sound for a party and they can put to shame many so call high end speakers.
 
I know you said you don't want PA speakers but.....Look out for some cheapish 12" two ways using horn tweeters.

We have a few parties a year and I basically use a pair of boxes with cheap Asian drivers and they just have that raw sound people need when they are half cut. If you try to run a party with 'hifi' speakers, it just doesn't work IMO. There are loads on eBay from the likes of Peavey, Fender, etc. The drivers are all using the same cheapish Asian drivers that can sound better than they really should (considering the price)

This is the sort of thing: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pair-Peavey-EuroSys-3-passive-loud-speakers-12-and-tweeter-Clear-Sounding-/190623590870?pt=UK_ConElec_SpeakersPASystems_RL&hash=item2c620d29d6

They generally don't have great bass extension so place them in room corners and you will be impressed. They will 'cut' through the party 'chatter'.

Enjoy the party and donlt stress about your hifi speakers.

Or else try to get a pair of old Cerwin Vegas (Joel beat me to it), Klipsch...anything with a slight horn loading.
 
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The low end Peaveys have a good reputation as work horses. Although there are loads of other brands bringing in boxes using the same cheap drivers (historically sourced in Taiwan but assume it's now China).

They sound better than they should with Rock.

Easy to drive with hifi amp (make sure it's well ventilated).
 
Sure, but their PA speakers and domestic speakers are not the same are they?
Large dual-concentric drivers are pretty much the same AFAIK. PA is tuned for high output, home audio for extended f0.
 
Large dual-concentric drivers are pretty much the same AFAIK.

Even if they are, if you've ever played a bare drive unit on the kitchen table you'll know that the box makes a big difference! To put it mildly. And the boxes for PA and domestic speakers are not designed to do the same thing.

I think it's stupid to recommend PA speakers for domestic music listening just because the guy got drunk once and killed a driver. Unless you plan on using your Hi-Fi to bring the police round regularly and destroying your hearing then PA speakers are not ideal for most domestic situations. Hire a pair for a party, maybe.
 


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