Pro Sound vs Home Audio drivers...

[Hi Ho]

This question has been buging me for a while. When I look at the drivers in professional quality high power systems, they are almost all untreated paper woofers with paper surrounds and what looks like very low excursion. Home audio drivers use all sorts of fancy materials and surround materials.

Now some can argue that many "professional" PA speakers don't sound very good. That is true in a lot of cases. However, at Wintergrass two weeks ago, a huge bluegrass event in Tacoma, they were using Meyer Sound speakers. That was some of the best audio I have heard at any concert, ever. All six venues had Meyer speakers and, though some were very difficult acoustically, they all sounded excellent.

I noticed that even the Meyer speakers have the untreated paper woofers with paper surrounds. Even the subwoofers are constructed this way. Why is this? Even though I was hearing superb sound, looking at those drivers, it just doesn't seem like they can sound good.

 

[jonnythan]

What *works* vs what *sells*?

 

[Sheep]

I think pro sound has different requirements, that normal loudspeakers could never acheive (IE: all out SPL).

SheepStar

 

[jonnythan]

I think pro sound has different requirements, that normal loudspeakers could never acheive (IE: all out SPL).

SheepStar

But Hi Ho specifically stated that these concerts sounded excellent.

Perhaps it really is marketing to some degree. Maybe it has a lot more to do with what goes on inside the speaker than what the cone and surround look like.. but for manufacturers to sell them to *consumers*, the really high quality voice coils and so forth always get matched up with really nice-looking cones made of special materials like aluminum or whatever.

 

[Sheep]

But Hi Ho specifically stated that these concerts sounded excellent.

Perhaps it really is marketing to some degree. Maybe it has a lot more to do with what goes on inside the speaker than what the cone and surround look like.. but for manufacturers to sell them to *consumers*, the really high quality voice coils and so forth always get matched up with really nice-looking cones made of special materials like aluminum or whatever.

Excellent is Relative..

SheepStar

 

[jonnythan]

Excellent is Relative..

SheepStar

Hi Ho Has No Taste And Is Mostly Deaf!

Film At 11!!

 

[highfihoney]

as far as my ears tell me i hear huge differences in sound between speakers with paper or natural cone drivers & drivers made from polymers or plastic.

ive yet to hear a polymer driver speaker system that sounds as good to me as a speaker system that has paper drivers,pro sound speaker requirements are not all that different from many "full range" speaker systems.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Pro audio "drivers" (not woofers) need to be able to handle huge spl's to fill enormous venues. They focus on power handling and wide Hz range rather than xmax. They use metal horn loaded mids and tweeters to cut through crowd noise, as well as handle huge amounts of power. Most of their drivers don't get much under 50Hz - even dedicated 15" to 18" woofers only play down to ~ 40Hz. Many of the 12" and 15" drivers go as high as 5000Hz. You'll see pro horn tweeters only going to 15,000Hz - well shy of most domes. Check out pgs. 186 and 187 of the PE catalogue, and you'll see the higher Fs of these pro audio drivers.

Now if you look into pro audio monitor speakers, you'll see soft dome tweeters, poly woofers, and more attention to detail because these drivers aren't meant to be played at rock concert levels.

The Behringer B2031 studio monitors (pro sound) feature polycarbonate woofers, and run almost as much as a Peavy PV215 75lb. tower.

 

[Hi Ho]

Well I'll bet most everyone on this forum, if they had been there, would have thought the Wintergrass sound was superb. It was truely top notch. Bluegrass is not played super loud. All instruments are acoustic and the sound conveyed all of the detail one would hear in the unamplified jams going on all over the place. MeyerSound is a name that will stick with me. A lot of concerts have muddy sound with no detail. Some sound guys use compressors. That is a no-no with acoustic music.

I went to a workshop hosted by the head sound guy. He has 30 years experience. It shows. I learned some stuff there too.

Many commercial cinemas use these kinds of speakers. Maybe that is what accounts for the lack of bass in most cinemas?

 

[larry7995]

I am a bluegrass fan and I might have to hop on I-90 and make the trip from Sheridan to Tacoma next year. So what sort of home theater setup does Hi Ho have since he is a bluegrass fan?

Our local theater, I went to see Star Wars last year and the thing I recall is all the distortion every time there was a powerful low frequency event.

 

[Hi Ho]

My theater isn't too impressive yet, though it sounds better than most of the nearby cinemas IMO.

I am going to be upgrading very soon to speakers that are easier to drive and a better receiver. My current Advent speakers, while they sound excellent, are simply power hogs and there are no centers that match decently.

By the way, you should get over here next year. This year was great with Del McCoury, Mountain Heart, Bluegrass etc., The Wilders, and many more. That's not to mention all of the jamming in the Sheraton and Marriot. I expect an equally good time next year.