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New member Username: TroubledsailorLakebay, WA USA Post Number: 1 Registered: Sep-06 | Way back in my prime, i thought i was an audiophile, did the months of research and auditions in many listening booths for that perfect sounding system. Finally settled on an "afordable system" $2500.00 Kenwood Spectrum 959AV System. Was a great system and enjoyed it thoroughly for about 2 years, unfortunately i was employed by Uncle Sam's Canoe Club and had to endure another 15 years deployed off and on on various Airraft Carriers and my hearing suffered greatly. Additionally as the Navy required me and my family to move to various places from time to time over those years, the system pretty much ended up staying packed in boxes in the closet. About a year ago i finally unpacked the whole system and set it up in my Cabinet Shop, I am retired from the Navy now and make cabinets for a living. I wanted to get back into listening to music now that i dont have to listen to Jet Airplanes Launching off the roof. The Stereo System is still in great shape everything works, the music sounds nothing like i remember though... Most of it is because my hearing is shot, but some of it is because (as i disovered recently) the base speakers in the system have rotted and fell apart in the cushions that support the speaker diaphram to the speaker frame. I have read on a web site that i can for about $100.00 buy a kit to repair (actually replace) the foam that floats the diaphram in the frame. But to be honest, i just want a pair of Shelf Speakers that work well enough for me to hear the music clearly (as well as my hearing will allow). Currently, i have "repaired" the base speaker cones the RED GREEN way, i vaccuumed out the deteriorated foam cushion material from the speaker cabinets, and replaced the cushion with Duct Tape. This eliminated most of the base rattle but not enough to satisfy me. The SPeakers are not made any more, cant find a replaement speaker so would just assume pitch the boxes and replace with a new speaker system, but with my hearing, Polk Audio or Maggies, or Cerwin Vega are not realistic. My Hearing is shot! I want cheap, But I want Crisp and clear, IS THIS POSSIBLE? SDAT 404'S FOR $100.00 a pair is not a bad price, but my old system speakers could handle 350 Watt Max INPUT power, and i need to replace with something that an handle that much input. Remember, My hearing is shot and i want to hear my music over my table saw and dust Colletion system. Any inputs out there from people with similar hearing deficienies, or from audiophiles who have had guests with the same hearing deficiencies. I mostly hear base and some high end, very little mid range and low high end is almost gone the equalizer makes a big difference for me as i can tune the music back somewhat, but i still miss alot of sound. And I have to crank it to hear most of it\ btw my shop is well insulated so neighbors dont mind. |
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Silver Member Username: BvanCape Town, Copenhagen,... Post Number: 248 Registered: Jun-05 | Sorry to hear about the ears. Life is unkind sometimes. I'm not an expert in any way, but my guess is that your best bet would be a Behringer 2496 digital equalizer. They apparently dont degrade the signal the way most analogue parametic eq's do. Get a professional hearing test and graph printed so you know what you need to compensate for. All the best, b. |
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New member Username: TroubledsailorLakebay, WA USA Post Number: 2 Registered: Sep-06 | BVAN, lol, did what you recommended when i left the Canoe Club, got the equalizer adjusted properly, the problem is that the speakers on the system are 20 years old and are shot due to mildew and humidity damages, need a new set of shelf speakers that can handle 350 watt input power per channel. Beause of the hearing problem, am no longer a true Audiophile, but still want good clear reproduction, and the old speakers cant push it without crackling all over the place, so am looking for a less than 300 dollar solution tor replace the two main shelf type speaker cases, the old ones are Kenwood KL-A900s a 5 way speaker system (meaning 5 speakers with 4 crossovers in each cabinet) Low Freq (17" Base Cone Type) 1000Hz crossover Mid Range (5 1/2" Cone type) 4000Hz crossover Mid High range (Exponential Horn with diffuser) 7000Hz crossover High Freq (Exponential Horn with diffuser) 10000Hz crossover and Super High Freq (1 3/16" Piezo-electric Dome Type) Sensitivity is rated at 98dB/w at 1 m Freq Resp is 20Hz to 30K Hz 8 ohm impedance 350 watt max input power Base Reflex Type Enclosure the 17 in base speakers are trashed due to rot in the foam ring that attaches the speaker cone to the metal frame. Cant find new replacement 17 inch base speakers so shoul just trash both speaker cabinets and replace with a new speaker system. Looking for input as to brand and affordability need to keep the price tag under 300 dollars my hearing does not justify any more than that |
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Silver Member Username: BvanCape Town, Copenhagen,... Post Number: 249 Registered: Jun-05 | I would look for a new set of speakers. floorstander, used(off audiogon or the like). most speakers will play very loud on a lot less than 100 watts, but if you want to play extemely loud go by reputation, or better, audition, rather than bother with power handling or sensitivity specs. i've posted about compensating for hearing loss before on these forums. if you dont think a digital eq is worth you while, at least i should recommend an outboard parrametric eq like the behringer 1124 for less than $100. a graphic equalizer like those found on some amps(if thats what you are using) will not be anywhere near as effective as an eq that can completely customise the frequency response. dont really know what to recommend as far as specific speakers go. Where I was last living(europe) the classifieds seem to be flooded with old-model Dali and B&W speakres for under $300 that would fit the bill. cheers b |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 9168 Registered: May-04 | . PB - I assume you have ruled out headphones for safety reasons. Don't be too concerned with the power rating of the speakers. It is rather meaningless and if your main concern is hearing music over the roar of the table saw, drill press, planer. etc., doesn't really come into play as an issue. Keep the power clean by not driving the amplifier into clipping and the speakers you choose will deal with the rest. Forget power ratings on speakers. If your main concern is hearing the music over the power tools, you can blow up any speaker by clipping the amplifier. The most important spec on your old speakers is the sensivity number of 98. This indicates a speaker that will get loud without much power being applied. Use that number as the basis for your next purchase. Buying a pair of speakers with a sensitivity spec as close to 98 as possible will get you the volume you are asking for. The name brand, mainstream manufacturers who produce speakers with very high efficiency are Klipsch, JBL and Infinity. You might want to go outside of the mainstream and look at some products off the internet or possibly "professional" sound reinforcement speakers. The companies mentioned above make speakers for the pro market but you might find something more suited to your situation from another company who aims at mobile sound reinforcement systems. These speakers are pretty rugged and will withstand the type of volume levels required in a woodworking shop. Another alternative is to build your own cabinets and use a speaker kit with matched drivers and crossovers. Contact a few of the raw driver retailers such as Madisound, Parts Express, MCM and http://www.highefficiencyloudspeakers.com/ and explain what your requirements are. Really, the best thing you can do in that vein is to place "DIY loudspeakers" in a search engine and see what you can find. Speakers that play loud (high sensitivity) have some drawbacks. Typically they either play loud, sound lousy and are cheap or they play loud sound pretty good and cost a fair amount of money. Tell the salesperson at whatever shop you end up at what your situation is and they should be able to direct you towards the best products they have that can get louder than a table saw. Keep the sensitivity as close to that 98 spec you had in your last speaker set. . . |
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Gold Member Username: NuckPost Number: 4187 Registered: Dec-04 | Wireless headphones. Safety concerns with corded, yes, but wireless headsets(full cushion for comfort, and to protect from buzz-saw Db) should work quite well, without more sound level than required. |