The 12 Best Professional Sound Speakers?

[Phil Starr]

Just thought other people might like watching this. The auto translation is hilariously out in places but you can easily follow so I guess it is functional. The opinions may be surprising but evidence is given so it is genuine food for thought and for UK purchasers might point you in new directions. Who would feature in your top 12?

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 14:37 by Phil Starr

[Dan Dare]

These YouTube "best of" vid's are almost always AI generated rubbish, complete with robot voice-over. I've no doubt they simply parrot manufacturers' sales literature.

[stevie]

I'm not a fan of "Best of" videos either, but this there was a lot of detail in this that more technically inclined buyers might appreciate - not the usual mindless waffle. Shame about the voiceover and AI translation, but the content is much better than the usual fare.

[Phil Starr]

17 hours ago, stevie said:

I'm not a fan of "Best of" videos either, but this there was a lot of detail in this that more technically inclined buyers might appreciate - not the usual mindless waffle. Shame about the voiceover and AI translation, but the content is much better than the usual fare.

Yes, that's what I thought. Lot's of details about which amplifier modules were being used and some about the drivers installed too. I started watching over a coffee break and ended up watching it through. He's not shy of saying where measurements disagree with manufacturers specs either. It's good to be sceptical but cynicism can't replace an open mind

[Stub Mandrel]

The protection in the EV speaker made me think of the inverter drive I use on one of my lathes. It models the thermal performance of the motor and reduces power to avoid overheating which actually means you can abuse the motor safely (e.g. running it slow which means reduced airflow and more heating) .

 

Applying such a model to class d amps/speakers should be easy and effective.

[Chienmortbb]

4 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

The protection in the EV speaker made me think of the inverter drive I use on one of my lathes. It models the thermal performance of the motor and reduces power to avoid overheating which actually means you can abuse the motor safely (e.g. running it slow which means reduced airflow and more heating) .

 

Applying such a model to class d amps/speakers should be easy and effective.

I think this is a bit of manufacturer's marketing speak. All reputable Class D amps have several protection features built in and if you add DSP you can add more to suit the drivers. No manufacturer is going to use an amp that could really overpower a driver, and as far as I know, it is amp failure that powered speakers suffer from mostly*.

 

* They may have improved, but the original Mackie Thump speakers, as well as many others, used a chip based Class D amp that they advertised as well over 1000 watts. Add the Thump name and no DSP and these little 2-300watts chip amps fried like eggs on a black car in the midday sun. Behringer also used these chip amps but rated them much more modestly. 

[Phil Starr]

4 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

The protection in the EV speaker made me think of the inverter drive I use on one of my lathes. It models the thermal performance of the motor and reduces power to avoid overheating which actually means you can abuse the motor safely (e.g. running it slow which means reduced airflow and more heating) .

 

Applying such a model to class d amps/speakers should be easy and effective.

The latest iteration of the RCF 9 series are already using dynamic management of excursion and I think it will rapidly become standard to use extremely high power amps across the range with Dsp controlled management of the amp to allow best performance of the drivers but keeping well within their performance envelope for increased reliability in the face of abuse from their owners

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

The only method of driver protection that really works is limiting the voltage output of the amp. It's SOP in touring pro-sound. The voltage is limited so that neither the driver Pe nor Xmax is exceeded. Outboard DSP can incorporate it, as can onboard. Whether or not a given powered speaker has it or not you can probably determine from the owner's manual. If it has it they'll say so. If they don't say so it likely does not. 

[Stub Mandrel]

2 hours ago, Chienmortbb said:

I think this is a bit of manufacturer's marketing speak. All reputable Class D amps have several protection features built in and if you add DSP you can add more to suit the drivers. No manufacturer is going to use an amp that could really overpower a driver, and as far as I know, it is amp failure that powered speakers suffer from mostly*.

 

* They may have improved, but the original Mackie Thump speakers, as well as many others, used a chip based Class D amp that they advertised as well over 1000 watts. Add the Thump name and no DSP and these little 2-300watts chip amps fried like eggs on a black car in the midday sun. Behringer also used these chip amps but rated them much more modestly. 

I'm thinking of protection that predicts an overheat and reduces output power marginally rather than cutting out.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Thermal protection only applies to the amp. 

[Chienmortbb]

2 hours ago, Phil Starr said:

The latest iteration of the RCF 9 series are already using dynamic management of excursion and I think it will rapidly become standard to use extremely high power amps across the range with Dsp controlled management of the amp to allow best performance of the drivers but keeping well within their performance envelope for increased reliability in the face of abuse from their owners

I assume that as they also make the drivers, they know the variations in specifications. Taking the that knowledge allows you to protect the drivers, limiting them to the minimum specs. You might also have some sort of dynamic impedance measurement to check the actual voice coil temperature, avoiding the worst effects of power or thermal compression.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

That is a possibility, impedance rises with temperature, but it would take a very sophisticated DSP to incorporate that feature. 

[Chienmortbb]

1 hour ago, Bill Fitzmaurice said:

That is a possibility, impedance rises with temperature, but it would take a very sophisticated DSP to incorporate that feature. 

Which makes me think that they are limiting to the driver minimum specs.

[Stub Mandrel]

8 minutes ago, Chienmortbb said:

Which makes me think that they are limiting to the driver minimum specs.

 

It's not that difficult. 

 

You have a model that reflects the rate of cooling at the current ambient temperature, and the rate of heating at any given power level. Knowing that you can predict the net temperature change over any period.