Whats next for my "FRANKENSTEIN" sound system in my man cave/garage!

[AUDIOisLIFE]

Hello....I'm very new to this forums thing so bare with me please.
I know I have a lot of old stuff I know, but I was taught that if its not broke don't fix it...plus 4 boys and a wife that have hobbies as well don't help Dad wanting to be loud!

Technics SH8046 Graphic Equalizer
Onkyo TX 4500 powering 2 ELAC Debut 2.0 B6 bookshelf peak 120 Watts x2
Sony STRDH550 powering 3 MTX aal212b 2. wired for Front and 1.for center channel peak 600 Watts x3
2 MTX aal830 both wired for surround peak 100 watts x2
1 Klipsch R-12 subwoofer

To get it all working with both using equalizer was fun to say the least. Ended up using the Onkyo for main input of sound which is from my computer. The Sony and 1980 EQ didn't like each other very well. It sounds fine with no distortion all around from what I can hear!

Possibly a amplifier would be sufficient, problem is I don't know what size to buy to be honest. I did look into buying one and they were not cheap! 700 to 1000 watt home amplifier is going to be salty! Also I'm not sure on what speakers to power with amp if not all.

Possibly a crossover for entire system would help, if such thing exists. Would that possibly decrease sound quality throughout the system though? Reason for asking is I remember at one time I had my MTX towers alone on the Onkyo an they seemed to produce a lot more bass. My thought was a crossover would direct more low frequencies to the subs and high frequency's to the horn and tweeters. Having 6 12" subwoofers together I thought It would have a lot more bass from pure cone area!

I was into car audio at one time, extremely loud bass but able to hear words clearly being my goal. Left car audio with max 148 to 149 db read from SPL meter at comp. Quit dew to having to grow up! Priorities came first there...kids, home remodeling, WIFE being main reasons! That's where most of my audio knowledge comes from. Proper air space in speaker enclosure and cabin area. Sound deadening areas due to loss of sound to every place It raddled! Proper wiring etc. all the fun stuff that comes with car audio!

Again I'm not to sure what the next steps to help improve overall SPL and raw loudness would be. I'm more of a loud deep low bass fan as I said before I come from car audio.
If I need to list more information about equipment, room size etc. please let me know.
Any and all help/opinions you have are greatly appreciated! I thank you in advance.

 

[AUDIOisLIFE]

So I got a lot of views so far but no replies! Incase I'm not asking the right things ill try to outline my main questions! If that's not the problem please let me know and ill do my best to fix it!

 

[everettT]

Maybe just break your system down to the simple. Why not one avr to handle all , then you can set a global crossover. As for the spl goals you mentioned from the car, that's just silly.

If you truly want insane SPL be prepared to pay for speakers that can achieve it. None of your speakers will get much more than 105-110, and adding to them is only the slightest increase. My subs hit 120dbs and I wouldn't even want to get that close.

 

[everettT]

If you want that damage just get 2 of these
http://jtrspeakers.com/noesis-215rt.html
And a 3k amp and you dont need anything else to loose your hearing

 

[AUDIOisLIFE]

Maybe just break your system down to the simple. Why not one avr to handle all , then you can set a global crossover. As for the spl goals you mentioned from the car, that's just silly.

If you truly want insane SPL be prepared to pay for speakers that can achieve it. None of your speakers will get much more than 105-110, and adding to them is only the slightest increase. My subs hit 120dbs and I wouldn't even want to get that close.

How would I get ohm impendence correct "ELAC-6ohm, MTX-8ohm" with 1 single avr. Is it the same practice from car audio and home audio for ohm load, i.e. wiring up and down at input or output? Any specific crossovers you recommend? And not sure of what avr would have enough power for all speakers I have. Is there going to be enough difference to justify spending the money? From what I thought I need around 1100 watts for all speakers aside from subwoofer would be really expensive.
I've had a few of my car audio setups "subs+amp"in my garage for testing and breaking in rebuilds before reinstall,
was too much bass. Not too much bass for me but drowned out my other speakers to where I didn't like it. I love the bass but clarity needs to be there as well. Also I'm not sure how safe it was! I used pc power supplies "1000w x2" to convert power on one amp, and a old xbox power cord for other! Running 2 2000w amps and 4 dual 4 ohm 15"subs wired at 1ohm! As for silly I was way below that!! I have seen some silly things in car audio though!

 

[everettT]

This will give you an idea as to what's needed to achieve a certain spl

http://myhometheater.homestead.com/splcalculator.html

It only takes a few watts to get loud, regardless of an amplifiers rating. Crossover to subs should be between 60-100hz, speaker dependent.

 

[AUDIOisLIFE]

And a 3k amp and you dont need anything else to loose your hearing[/QUOTE]

May as well get four at that price!! Maybe I should add that I make around 60k yr so that's all dreams to me there! Also maybe I should be on myth busters, perhaps they've already done it and I haven't seen it yet. I've been in 165+ db cars even louder trucks, vans, SUVs, and bread trucks from a young age to present 32. Have my hearing tested for work once every 4 yrs. Not a single bit of hearing loos you speak of! Actually only loose I've witnessed was an eyeball from a man that already had a prosthetic glass eye!!

 

[everettT]

And a 3k amp and you dont need anything else to loose your hearing

May as well get four at that price!! Maybe I should add that I make around 60k yr so that's all dreams to me there! Also maybe I should be on myth busters, perhaps they've already done it and I haven't seen it yet. I've been in 165+ db cars even louder trucks, vans, SUVs, and bread trucks from a young age to present 32. Have my hearing tested for work once every 4 yrs. Not a single bit of hearing loos you speak of! Actually only loose I've witnessed was an eyeball from a man that already had a prosthetic glass eye!![/QUOTE]



That's not for me, but I do love a good setup. Even the THX spec for home use is only peaks and their lfe spec is below 110db. I've already lost a significant amount of hearing in my left ear due to inadequate protection from power tools. I strongly urge to keep it a safe minimum, meaning short bursts not constant.

 

[lovinthehd]

There's not much point to looking for a monster avr for power (most are within a couple dB of each other), the better way would be to either get an avr with pre-outs or use a pre-pro with power amps. Even then a power amp only gets you a 3dB gain for each doubling of power. Many speakers sound like crap at highest spl levels so somewhat pointless. The wattage ratings for speakers are more likely melting points than anything particularly useful.

 

[AUDIOisLIFE]

May as well get four at that price!! Maybe I should add that I make around 60k yr so that's all dreams to me there! Also maybe I should be on myth busters, perhaps they've already done it and I haven't seen it yet. I've been in 165+ db cars even louder trucks, vans, SUVs, and bread trucks from a young age to present 32. Have my hearing tested for work once every 4 yrs. Not a single bit of hearing loos you speak of! Actually only loose I've witnessed was an eyeball from a man that already had a prosthetic glass eye!!

That's not for me, but I do love a good setup. Even the THX spec for home use is only peaks and their lfe spec is below 110db. I've already lost a significant amount of hearing in my left ear due to inadequate protection from power tools. I strongly urge to keep it a safe minimum, meaning short bursts not constant.[/QUOTE]

I work for Chrysler making transmissions all day so I have plenty of bad noise myself on a daily. Been a bass competitor for atleast 12 yrs and been in some cars for hours driving to shows with monster setups.40,000 watts on 4 18"s walled from backseat to trunk in a grand prix was the setup in my teammates car. An that was my ride to most shows. call me lucky but im pushing 32 with no hearing problems!

 

[AUDIOisLIFE]

There's not much point to looking for a monster avr for power (most are within a couple dB of each other),the better way would be to either get an avr with pre-outs or use a pre-pro with power amps. Even then a power amp only gets you a 3dB gain for each doubling of power. Many speakers sound like crap at highest spl levels so somewhat pointless. The wattage ratings for speakers are more likely melting points than anything particularly useful.

I Have been looking into Denon receivers as of and hour ago! But surely going to need a power amp, which I have no experience with in home audio! I have had the MTX aal212 towers since I was around 14 and not once have I got them full powered at 600 watts per. At most being probably around 80 - 100 watts per. so I'm just a little curious what they would sound like at rms 300 watts. From past experience when not enough power the subs tend to sound distorted, or send power source into protect mode possibly blowing fuses ferrets caps etc. So I guess the questions now are all about what would be suitable for my speakers. Need a recommended 7.2 avr -Denon from wat I've been reading is great. A recommended equalizer to match. And a good power amp. As for the amp I may be completely wrong but I can not find one From there I would still have some room for more speaker addons I would think. I have a pair of Klipsch bookshelves and a pair of Andrew jones pioneer bookshelves just collecting dust.

 

[Kvn_Walker]

Don't read too much into "peak power" ratings on speakers. You will fry the voice coils on those MTX's well before you get 600 watts into one of them. With that said...

On a budget you can get incredible power for the dollar with Crown XLS amps. They are lightweight and run cool, and put out ridiculous amounts of power. I bought a used XLS1000 off ebay for $150 just to test the waters, and it was a beast.

If you want ear-destroying speakers with a limited budget look for used Klipsch Heritage models. Here and here are good places to start. Also check out Tyler Acoustics PD series. Tyler often lists used speakers on his own site, or US Audio Mart, or Audiogon. He always provides free shipping and 2 year warranty even on his used stuff.

 

[lovinthehd]

I Have been looking into Denon receivers as of and hour ago! But surely going to need a power amp, which I have no experience with in home audio! I have had the MTX aal212 towers since I was around 14 and not once have I got them full powered at 600 watts per. At most being probably around 80 - 100 watts per. so I'm just a little curious what they would sound like at rms 300 watts. From past experience when not enough power the subs tend to sound distorted, or send power source into protect mode possibly blowing fuses ferrets caps etc. So I guess the questions now are all about what would be suitable for my speakers. Need a recommended 7.2 avr -Denon from wat I've been reading is great. A recommended equalizer to match. And a good power amp. As for the amp I may be completely wrong but I can not find one From there I would still have some room for more speaker addons I would think. I have a pair of Klipsch bookshelves and a pair of Andrew jones pioneer bookshelves just collecting dust.

I'd agree with kvn that trying to get 600wpc is a bit overboard, especially for those speakers. 300wpc would gain you merely 4.8 dB spl over 100wpc....if the speakers even sound good with that sort of power level, diminishing returns sets in quickly. You might simply look for a better quality sub than that Klipsch. If you do want to use a power amp you'll have to look at avrs with pre-outs (for Denon models in the 3xxx range and above). The Denon avrs have built-in graphic equalizers and to use an external eq unit would require the use of external amps as tape loop/processor loops don't come with modern avrs. I'd also look at the Crown XLS amps for a good cost effective solution (I have several).

 

[-Jim-]

Welcome to the Forum.

I urge you not to try to attain 149 dB as hearing damage can occur almost immediately well before that level => according to the experts.

The loudest Rock concert ever measured that I could find was 136 dB. (Kiss in Ottawa Canada if my memory is correct.) I've been to hundreds of concerts over the years, and once had to leave a ZZ Top concert on the second encore (we were close to the stage about 5 rows up near the right speaker bank in Rogers Arena) as my ears hurt! I don't know how loud it was but it certainly hit my pain threshold.

I am very conscious that music is a gift, and losing your hearing will deprive you of that gift, and a thousand other things that come from hearing the world around you.

 

[flippo]

Like Jim said, protect your hearing. Doesn't matter what you experienced in car stereo you will still damage your hearing with sustained 149DB especially as you get older. Just learn that louder doesn't make it sound better.

 

[AUDIOisLIFE]

 

[AUDIOisLIFE]

 

[AUDIOisLIFE]

 

[AUDIOisLIFE]

 

[AUDIOisLIFE]

Then we rebuilt the subs with differnt much more stiff cone an soft parts, and rewound voice coils way more beefy!!! And it got louder, I'm pretty sure the loudest recorded burp and I say "burp" not continuous play "burp" was 165db. Hard to keep voltage up!!!! Continuous music was around 155 160db that we drove in daily. It was hard to drive at times, your vision was very shaky and hard to focus!!!! Have friends even louder. Should check out team Aint Lound or Team Flopbox. I agree it is hard to break or achieve 150db in a car as it is even more hard to gain a single db after that!