Speaker Purchase Suggestions?

[SweetBennyFenton]

Hello all. My theatre has decided to invest a bit of money (around $2000) for a new set of speakers. Now, I need to do the research to figure out what to buy. Problem is... I'm not much of a sound guy.

We have a set of Bose 802 speakers in the space already. They sound good and have a wide reach, but they don't really have much in the way of low end. I was thinking about suplementing them with a pair of speakers that can re-enforce the low end that is missing from the Bose.

Basicly, we just want a well rounded sound when we use the two different speakers together. It would also be nice to be able to feel my teeth rattle when I turn it up far enough.

Would any of you more experienced Sound People be willing to make a few suggestions?

Thanks.

[BillESC]

You don't want to add another set of speakers to add to what you have. You need a subwoofer or two with a crossover.

If the Bose offer enough volume and coverage, the addition of subs and a crossover will round out your sound and enable you to rattle your teeth when desired.

How large is your space? What are the dimensions?

[SweetBennyFenton]

The space is not that large. The audience seating is about 34' deep and 75' wide. It's layed out in a curve, so if I am standing on the farthest downstage center part of the stage, I am 34' from every seat in the back row.

Our speaker mount positions are inside the proscenium about 28' from center line.

Thank you for the help.

[museav]

The Bose 802 is not always a good choice for many theater applications due to several factors but if they are working well for you then there is no reason to not try to keep them. Do you know if you also have the associated Bose controller? That could affect both the response of your existing speakers and how you might have to approach any changes.

As Bill suggested, adding subwoofers might be a good option. Part of that may depend upon the use of the space. If the system is used for music quite a bit then subs might be a great addition, if it is used primarily for speech reinforcement and light music then some new higher output, wider response mains might make more sense.

Before getting into specific products you might also want to think about things like where you would locate the speakers or subwoofers, how you can get cabling to them, etc. Probably best to make sure they are a viable solution and identify any practical considerations before getting into specifics. Also keep in mind that adding subwoofers would mean additional cable, a crossover, an amp (or powered subs) and some installation and tuning, so factor that into your budget.

[derekleffew]

$2000 should make an acceptable down-payment on a pair of these:

MSL-6 : Horn-Loaded High-Q Main Loudspeaker

[BillESC]

For a space that wide and shallow, I'm sure your split hang is giving you nasty comb filtering. A good start might be to reconsider the position of your speakers.

This is modeling we did for a church, the seating area was 80' wide by 50' deep.

[avkid]

Originally Posted by derekleffew

$2000 should make an acceptable down-payment on a pair of these:

MSL-6 : Horn-Loaded High-Q Main Loudspeaker

How dare you suggest Meyer in my presence!

[Eboy87]

If Phil doesn't want the MSL, I'll take it...

Keep in mind, if you purchase subs, you do need to account for cabling, a processor (whether it be a simple crossover or a DSP to control the entire system), and all the necessary cabling. Also you need to think about how you're going to get signal to it; will it eat up a return on the snake for an aux fed sub, or will it just come off the main L-R? If it's a theater, I'd seriously lobby for aux fed; one more level of control for things like effects and keeping the vocals out of them if your board isn't equipped with high pass filters.

[SweetBennyFenton]

Thank you all for the advice. I do have the Bose Controler that goes with the speakers.

BillESC- A center cluster would certainly even out the sound in the space, but being able to make sound come from one side of the stage or another is important to us.

I will factor in the cost of a crossover, additional amp and needed cable into my costs.

Thanks again.

[TimMiller]

I'd personally go with something along the lines of two dual JBL 18's and a XTI 6000. The amp you can program the internal crossover, and the price will run you around 6k. If thats out of the question i'd maybe thing about going with powered subs, then you dont need an amp or crossover. I would say makie makes a nice one, but now makie parts are impossible to find, so i strongly do not recomend going with makie, but i also really like JBL's powered sub system.