recommendations for good rock/party speaker?

drphoto · « **on:** 21 Feb 2007, 09:35 pm »

I'd like to get a fairly cheap set of speakers that can ROCK! Imaging not important. Good solid (but not bloated bass) a must and hopefully something smooth in the high end that won't drill holes in the ear drums. Used definitely OK.

Maybe PSB Stratus Gold's? Any kits fit the bill?

I've got my Merlin TSM-M's for 'polite' company.

BTW: by cheap, I mean less than $1K

PhishPhan · « **Reply #1 on:** 21 Feb 2007, 10:11 pm »

Maybe something from this line:

http://www.tyleracoustics.com/pro_dynamics.html

flintstone · « **Reply #2 on:** 21 Feb 2007, 10:19 pm »

The old VMPS towers are great rock speakers, they show up at Audiogon and Ebay every now and then. I have an old pair of Supertower/R's I've hung onto for 10 years....15" and a 12" in each of these...along with a 15" passive.

Dave

gitarretyp · « **Reply #3 on:** 21 Feb 2007, 10:27 pm »

Maybe something from the Klipsch heritage line (or their classic counterparts) on the used market. A pair of Heresys or Cornwalls can definitely rock and do so without tons of power.

F-100 · « **Reply #4 on:** 21 Feb 2007, 10:42 pm »

I used to own a pair of VMPS Super Tower and they're excellent speaker for party. They can play very loud with heavy bass but lack of detail and image.

Toka · « **Reply #5 on:** 21 Feb 2007, 11:27 pm »

Old Polk Monitor's (7, 10) or JBL L-100T's would rock the block and then some...and wouldn't cost much either.

rollo · « **Reply #6 on:** 21 Feb 2007, 11:58 pm »

Quote from: Toka on 21 Feb 2007, 11:27 pm

Old Polk Monitor's (7, 10) or JBL L-100T's would rock the block and then some...and wouldn't cost much either.

JBL L-100T's rock especially with Crown amps.Try some pro audio models of JBL as well.

rollo

Marbles · « **Reply #7 on:** 22 Feb 2007, 12:07 am »

Old Sansui...about any Cerwin Vega. Before you buy Sansui, give me a shout out and I'll let you know what I think of the model #.

miklorsmith · « **Reply #8 on:** 22 Feb 2007, 12:19 am »

Old Advent Legacys or Maestros can bring the thunder down. They're sealed and really focus on the power zone - tight, heavy hitting bass. And, they could be had for under $300/pair.

Bemopti123 · « **Reply #9 on:** 22 Feb 2007, 01:13 am »

The older Klipschs really come to mind, especially the Heresies. I second the Klipschs. If you get lucky, you might even be able to find older Altecs in some beat up cabinets going for a song. Of course with the advent of Ebay and knowledge available in our fingertips, special values and finds are becoming rarer by the day. Imagine finding an older studio version of the 604 Altec variations for just $50 or even $150, they can rock with best. Now, even the raw drivers command around 1K+++ on Ebay.

Scott F. · « **Reply #10 on:** 22 Feb 2007, 03:08 am »

Quote from: miklorsmith on 22 Feb 2007, 12:19 am

Old Advent Legacys or Maestros can bring the thunder down. They're sealed and really focus on the power zone - tight, heavy hitting bass. And, they could be had for under $300/pair.

Yep

And if you really want to rock, buy two pairs and stack 'em.

The other pair that come to mind are the Altec Bolero's. Seriously good tunes. They rock out and do the audiophile thing too.

JoshK · « **Reply #11 on:** 22 Feb 2007, 03:20 am »

Some good ones here. I have heard this asked on other forums and Pi speakers comes up often. I haven't heard them but the hi-eff speakers (full range, pro style woofers) seem to be a common theme. If it is anything like Dr. Geddes' speakers, I can see why. They could play really loud without hurting the ears. I really think it has a lot to do with the compression drivers not straining or distorting wildly at loud levels (hard for any dome not to).

kfr01 · « **Reply #12 on:** 22 Feb 2007, 04:05 am »

Try DIY. More specifically, try any of DIYCable's offerings with 2 extremis 7" woofers per speakers, and you'll be rocking.

Wind Chaser · « **Reply #13 on:** 22 Feb 2007, 04:13 am »

Yamaha - Rock Monitor

I believe that's what they called them...

Russell Dawkins · « **Reply #14 on:** 22 Feb 2007, 04:37 am »

I always remember EV Eliminators as being remarkably good sounding for a very loud speaker - even as long ago as 1968, and I think they're still making them.
I just checked - and they're just within your price range! 15" woofer and horn!
How does 99 dB/W and 350 WRMS power handling sound. I SAID HOW DOES ... oh, never mind!
http://tinyurl.com/ywm5ln

For cheaper and DIY, there's the "big fun box"
http://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/bfb_e.html
...you could multiply drivers for more volume, I guess, but if your time is worth anything you should just buy a couple of EV Eliminators!

eric the red · « **Reply #15 on:** 22 Feb 2007, 08:06 am »

heres a great deal on some Stratus Golds
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1177294716

Soundbitten · « **Reply #16 on:** 22 Feb 2007, 01:58 pm »

I used to have a pair of old Sansuis ( late 70's ) , 5 way 7 driver whatever . They played loud but sounded dull .

Acoustic Research had a highly efficient HO series ( 308, 312 , 315 ) that was decent . I believe they are discontinued now but you probably can get a used pair cheap .

Imperial · « **Reply #17 on:** 22 Feb 2007, 02:15 pm »

I once rebuilt a pair of Infinity SM 152's
100db sensitive... 350w capable.
They look like this:

You NEED to recable these internally because the original wire is
so bad it sucks!

But when you recable it, say with Taralabs omni or the likes, then it sings!!!
It does not have a soundstage mind you...
But this baby has got rock potential and ZERO earpiercing!!! Easy load!
Can play LOUD!!!

Get a pair, and then recable it (You must!!!) and you've got yourself a cheapo rockspeaker!!
And I'd just like to add, I placed the speaker on mattress foam plugs after the rebuild.
They should depress 1/3, then they are correctly sized.
The result?
Slam clarity and a Bass articulation that to this day I seldom hear in speakers!
My brothers pair. He since sold them, they are large boxes!
The 15" subdrivers have a tiny magnet, but if you modify this speaker with some common sense..
It's capable of some serious sound! Again, it does NOT image... it can't!
This is not high-end, just a good pop/rock partyspeaker... that's what you get here...

You can pick up a mint pair for around 350-450$ Then all you gotta do is modify it.
You could build a better filter, recable it and repack inside, put in some braces and stuff.
This is a gem!

Imperial

FredT300B · « **Reply #18 on:** 22 Feb 2007, 02:20 pm »

A professional speaker would be far more appropriate than a home audio speaker for this application. Home audio speakers just don't have the efficiency and high power handling capacity you need. You're not looking for soundstage, imaging, ultra high resolution, 30 hz bass, etc. What you really need is a speaker that's efficient, has good power handling capacity, will reproduce the full range of popular musical instruments, and can play loud and clear.

Just about any two way stage monitor or pa speaker would do. The very inexpensive ones will not have the capacity or sound quality you need, and the very expensive ones would be an overkill for the typcial room. Here's a link you might want to look at:
http://www.americanmusical.com/sort--PA-Speakers-Unpowered--m-06_76_386.html

Speakers with professional drivers (Peavey, Eminence, JBL, etc.) are also available from Tyler, Pi Speakers, etc., but you would be paying a premium for the wood veneer enclosures.

rollo · « **Reply #19 on:** 24 Feb 2007, 08:43 pm »

Check out Definitive Tech definitivetech.com

rollo