My local pub is using active pa speakers, wall mounted. Many a time, sitting there with a lovely cold Peroni I have thought how good and involving they sound. Punchy, not harsh and with great ‘rhythm’.
So I have ordered an identical pair other than it is the latest edition to find out if they are any good for home use. 8inch bass units (smallest ones available) with horn loaded compression tweeter, the usual fare. They are very compact and have good reviews. Not the cheapest but also not top level. There is an app with DSP options and wireless connection available.
If they hiss a lot its a no (!) but the feedback of reviews seems ok with regards to this. I won’t know til they’re here.
I believe they are ‘rated’ at some ludicrous wattage but delving into the nitty gritty they realistically seem to have around 300+ watts RMS/ch at low distortion into an 8ohm load Class D. Plenty loud especially for someone that listens to relatively modest loudness. I watched an online video about the internals and they seem very well built.
What could possibly go wrong?
I will try them initially with my Audiolab as Pre.
You appear not to have stated what the speakers are!
“PA speakers” of course is a bit of a meanness term. The speakers they use in a railway station or airport are PA speakers, primarily intended for voice (hence “public address“!). Then there are speakers used for live music performances, through which at one time just vocals were miked, but in the past half century the whole band, which vary enormously in capability and quality. Then there’s piped music speakers as frequently encountered in restaurants and shops. And finally with pubs, they can vary from piped music system type to fool house system set up for live performance use, and dual purpose systems. I am guessing yours perhaps of the latter type, piped music variety but with capability of relaying life performance music when there’s someone playing life?
Indeed many types around. These are for pub/bar and small gig/DJ performances in smaller to medium venues, churches where heavy bass is not required but paired with a sub system if required but not night clubs. Way too small and nowhere near enough power. Folks use them successfully for crowds up to 150 whatever that means.
Just an itch I want scratch. They are probably completely unsuitable for anything approaching HIFI. If so I just send ‘em back. Model is Alto TS408. Like I said, they sound great in their natural environment but I’ll know more soon .
I suspect they’ll sound completely different in a smaller / quieter domestic environment, probably a bit in your face and not terribly refined. I notice the bottom end only goes down to 60hz. Looking forward to hear how you get on regardless,
If that goes horribly wrong in your room, maybe give JBL L100s or the Klipsch Heritage series a try. I have a pair of Heresy IIIs and they are a blast to listen to - especially live recordings.
Not the final word in nuance or presentation though.
No harm in trying things, however at just £230 per powered speaker I wouldn’t expect hifi quality - just as I don’t normally like the sound of music through such things in a pub, but in a pub there is other noise and other distractions…
I wonder how the sound of one of those compares to a Qube sound quality wise (I haven’t heard Qube myself, but I have heard Muso1 - and whilst I felt the sound was very good compared to a typical boombox, it was indeed a glorified boombox to me, some way from being hifi).
Well, I expected a screechy, rough sound and I did not get that at all. In many ways this is an amazing product for the cost. It sounds full, warmish and powerful, very. No hiss either, great job Alto.
Even BT was acceptable!
However, there were a few reasons they are now on the way back;
Looks. I have to say they look better on photos. I did not expect a design triumph (!) but to me they do not fit into my living room. No real surprise there.
Sound; I actually did not notice it much but my partner said ‘they are bright’. The EQ app makes it possible to change that in speaker but even then she found them too bright. I also had increased tinnitus whilst listening but my high frequency hearing has tailed off and is now good only to around 11khz. Perhaps we both heard some artefacts.
Auto sensing; According to online comments the speaker is supposed to switch ro low power mode if no signal is detected for a period of time. In fairness Alto does not mention this in the manual. The speaker seemed to run on powered up with the front logo lit and part of the back plate warm. No way to go into a standby mode as far as I could see.
So back they go.
I was impressed with its audio capability. Lovely controlled but bouncy bass, warm, clear mids and a nicely extended treble, refined enough for critical listening. Also ample of power. Just something wrong with the higher frequencies which bothered both of us. Admittedly her more than me. Build quality seems rock solid too.
Had I not heard them in my local first I would probably have been completely impressed on how decent a cheap PA speaker could sound in a home environment. A few niggles aside this, to me, is a great product at a very fair price.
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