My reference speakers used to be Gedlee Summas. I sold them a few years back, they were just too big. Great sound, huge speaker.
A few years later, I bought some Yamaha DXR12s. The DXR 12 is a prosound two-way with a 12" woofer and a very nice waveguide. The Yamaha uses the same compression driver as my Waslo Cosynes. So it's been nice to be able to do A/B comparisons of the two, and get some inkling of how a wooden unity horn compares to a plastic waveguide.
My wife has banished all of these speakers, because they really don't work with the decor in our living room. (The Cosynes are for sale in the swap meet here.)
I've been buried in work for two straight years now, and probably spend 5X less time on DIY than I used to.
So....
Are there any good prosound speakers that are passive?
I came THIS close to buying a set of DXR10s this morning. The cabinet is about half the size as the DXR 12. Compression driver is the same, I think the amp is the same too.
I don't have any real complaints about the SOUND of the Yamahas. But they don't fit in the decor.
If I could find something passive, there are two advantages:
1) I may be able to remove the guts of them and put them into a knock down plywood cabinet from Parts Express, a cabinet that I could veneer and make it look nice.
2) My DXR12s have a nasty hum that's really distracting. Not a huge deal for a nightmare or club, super annoying for a living room. I know that I could run balanced connections instead, but my living room already has a mess of distracting cables and I don't have the time or energy to route everything through the walls.
A few years later, I bought some Yamaha DXR12s. The DXR 12 is a prosound two-way with a 12" woofer and a very nice waveguide. The Yamaha uses the same compression driver as my Waslo Cosynes. So it's been nice to be able to do A/B comparisons of the two, and get some inkling of how a wooden unity horn compares to a plastic waveguide.
My wife has banished all of these speakers, because they really don't work with the decor in our living room. (The Cosynes are for sale in the swap meet here.)
I've been buried in work for two straight years now, and probably spend 5X less time on DIY than I used to.
So....
Are there any good prosound speakers that are passive?
I came THIS close to buying a set of DXR10s this morning. The cabinet is about half the size as the DXR 12. Compression driver is the same, I think the amp is the same too.
I don't have any real complaints about the SOUND of the Yamahas. But they don't fit in the decor.
If I could find something passive, there are two advantages:
1) I may be able to remove the guts of them and put them into a knock down plywood cabinet from Parts Express, a cabinet that I could veneer and make it look nice.
2) My DXR12s have a nasty hum that's really distracting. Not a huge deal for a nightmare or club, super annoying for a living room. I know that I could run balanced connections instead, but my living room already has a mess of distracting cables and I don't have the time or energy to route everything through the walls.
I think behappybevegan misread the "passive" as "massive"🙂 How about something from EAW? They use BC components a lot. I own a pair of large speakers meant for cinema installation and they are pretty good.
It is possible to get full frequency range from a 7" driver. see http://speakerdesignworks.com/Invictus_1.html the transmission line unit in the tall box.
Personally I moved the wife to her own house. I spend 1500 hours a month listening to the Peavey SP2(2004) speakers, 10 hours per month with the wife. The speakers are 1/3 the size of the 2 organs in the music room or the piano in the next room.
Personally I moved the wife to her own house. I spend 1500 hours a month listening to the Peavey SP2(2004) speakers, 10 hours per month with the wife. The speakers are 1/3 the size of the 2 organs in the music room or the piano in the next room.
Okay something smaller then.
Maybe a 12" hornloaded pointsource in white?
Nice for close range.
LD Systems Icoa>
https://www.ld-systems.com/en/series/icoa-series/20713/icoa-12-w?c=2283
Or the 15" version
https://www.ld-systems.com/en/series/icoa-series/20715/icoa-15-w?c=2283
Maybe a 12" hornloaded pointsource in white?
Nice for close range.
LD Systems Icoa>
https://www.ld-systems.com/en/series/icoa-series/20713/icoa-12-w?c=2283
Or the 15" version
https://www.ld-systems.com/en/series/icoa-series/20715/icoa-15-w?c=2283
Perhaps, IMG StageLine Drive-10P. I can't find any photo of the horn used. It says 90/60 deg that you can rotate.
Since no one's suggesting the U15, can I please get one of you to sell me their UP15 processor?
please and thank you 🙂
please and thank you 🙂
That's a great plan. I have a pair of the Behringer Genelec clones, and they've been a mainstay in my living room system for years. My only real gripe with them is that they're active - so they're noisy.
I wish these studio monitor folks could figure out how to make an active speaker that doesn't buzz.
I couldn't hear a buzz in the Kali in-8 v2 or the Tannoy Gold 8. Both fine speakers.
I have two of the first Kali speakers and they buzz like crazy. As I understand it, they made some changes in the later versions. (Hence "version 2.")
I'm not running balanced inputs though.
Yes, they are, but any of them would need FIR processing to be as smooth as your Yamaha DXR12.
As an example of what FIR processing can do, here is a "good" passive prosound speaker, the DSL SH100 compared to a less expensive active Mackie HD1521, both measured under the same conditions outdoors in 2009:
The HD1521 was so much smoother that there was no contest- the SH100 went back in the shipping box, the HD1521 went back in the musician's ride, in spite of his desire for smaller, lighter speakers.
Then you would need also need to redesign the crossover designed for the original cabinet, spending 5X more time on DIY than you used to.
The DXR12s or any powered speaker should not have any audible hum unless the power supply is going bad or the system has a ground loop. If the hum goes away when the input is disconnected with the input turned down, the hum problem is a ground loop.
Balanced connections can provide excellent common mode noise rejection, but are not insurance against ground loops.
With a mess of distracting cables connected between various units that may not all share a decent ground scheme, getting rid of the hum and buzz often requires galvanic isolation, AKA transformers, like this:
Note the input XLR pin one (shield) is isolated from the output, step one for eliminating a ground loop on balanced connections.
Can't eliminate the shield connections on RCA or 1/4" TS connectors without loosing signal unless using an ISO transformer.
I use Ebtech Hum Eliminator™ transformers with similar specs, but they may not be currently available.
ART makes good stuff, but I'm not associated with them in any way other than as an end user.
Anyway, transformers may be a passive solution your wife will approve.😎
Art
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I kinda had the feeling that at some point in this thread, someone would tell me to fix my ground loops lol
I basically have a home theater PC plugged into my TV on one side of the room, and speakers plugged into three additional outlets.
I can literally hear the noise level increase by 400% when my Nvidia GPU is running hot, which is an obvious clue that noise from the HTPC is polluting every other electronic device in the room. When it's running hot, it literally makes a maddening sound like CHIK CHIK CHIK CHIK CHIK CHIK CHIK for as long as it's highly utilized.
Looks like I need to clean up my wiring 🙁
I basically have a home theater PC plugged into my TV on one side of the room, and speakers plugged into three additional outlets.
I can literally hear the noise level increase by 400% when my Nvidia GPU is running hot, which is an obvious clue that noise from the HTPC is polluting every other electronic device in the room. When it's running hot, it literally makes a maddening sound like CHIK CHIK CHIK CHIK CHIK CHIK CHIK for as long as it's highly utilized.
Looks like I need to clean up my wiring 🙁
Actually, maybe for the house pease, get a normal system. I know... but in the end its not that bad. And see to that you have an own space to freak out in. WAF in spades possibility and you will be much happier.
Win-Win!?
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Win-Win!?
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Use passive L-pad for the tweeter. Also get rid of the ground loops, unbalanced to balanced connections are difficult to do right.
I think you just need to spend less time working and more time on DIY! I always enjoy your posts.