if you could design a set of mains, what would you use?

Wanting to get some opinions on mains design..

I see a lot of control rooms using woofers with horns, then I see other rooms using concentric tannoys and some even useing standard woofs and tweeters.  I see some rooms that use a basic 2 way crossover design and then other rooms that use 3 ways along side subs and so forth. I know there is no real standard and yes it all depends on the room they are going in, but if you were going to design a set of mains what kind of design would you prefer to use.

I'm torn between a few different ideas, all I have heard and all sounded good to me.

I've been a really big fan of coaxial drivers lately.  Time alignment is a great thing.  Although there are many great conventional 2 and 3 way boxes out there, If I was to start something, I'd prob try an coaxial..... wait a minute,  I am trying that.  I'm in the process of building a nearfield with 8" coaxial driver.  I'm biamping it with a powersoft class D module. 
Should have some pics if you are interested.
As for mains,  it will depend on the size needed.  I could go for 10", 12" or even 15" coaxial.

I would go with concentric myself. I stay WAY away from horns. And a matching sub would be cool. (these days ya need a sub) And I am A Tannoy fan. And concentric's can make 3d audio without 5.1. Which really can mess with the client when they are looking around behind them. For speakers. Which aren't there. Think Bose first did that long ago. Bouncing the image around the room for stereo speakers.

But really the mains are there to decimate the customer into blind submission LOL. I don't do that anymore. So no recent suggestions. There may be something better.

John

I'd use NS-10's. <ducks>

mushy said:

I'd use NS-10's. <ducks>

Click to expand...

not too far fetched with the way rooms are getting smaller and home studios and such.... But seriously,

BR what are you planning to use as drivers. B&C coaxial? I used those with some mastering lab crossovers and cabs that were given to me. The owner just wanted the tannoy drivers as spares. Anyway they are quite nice and are 10"  very tasty...


o.k. so seems coaxial is popular which was my original idea with a 3 way crossover then maybe add a sub to really make the place shake....

for what client? Ive always wanted to put in club speakers as mains just to shut them up.  and to see how it  translate to "da club". then some real speakers on the bridge.

Hhi Pucho,


    why not just put some subs under whatever your nearfields are? Impresses the client to feel their trousers rumbling, and you know where you are with the mix.



    kindest regards,



    ANdyP

I thought about that except these are also serving dual purpose as the place is also a rehearsal venue and small monitors would not be loud enough. plus their are near fields already in place for mixing...

I always liked the big Urei's.  The 813c's.  I love the sound of most of the old Altec 604's.  Though I don't know how "accurate: they are.  I just love the sound of the big old Altec stuff.  A7's, Model 19's, 604's.  I wish I was wealthy with a very large listening area.  I'd go nuts buying stuff from these guys.  http://greatplainsaudio.com/

I did a session on some Genelec mains at a nice post studio in town.  After a couple hours, it was like getting punched in the face repeatedly. 

I used Electrical's Westlakes for a session with my band.  Those seemed nice.  But I was tired and we mostly used the B&W 805's.

I haven't mixed with mains in years.  Nearfields have gotten so nice.  The option of having mains would be nice, though.  Perhaps I'll reserve a spot in my new room.

Stagefright13 said:

I would go with concentric myself. I stay WAY away from horns. And a matching sub would be cool. (these days ya need a sub) And I am A Tannoy fan.

Click to expand...

I'm a bit confused.

...You do realise that Tannoy dual-concentric loudspeakers DO use horns, -right? (the woofer essentially is the horn flare for the compression driver in the magnet.

Personally, I think that it depends on the user. You can't make soft-dome tweeters go loud (they die) so if volume is really an issue, you'll need compression drivers/horns. Go buy a set of Augsbergers, and you'd be able to effect 'death by decibel' upon an unsuspecting public.

Also Gil, dual concentrics are NOT inherently time-aligned... not sure if you knew that (the post wording is a little ambiguous, and I wasn't sure if you were implying that dual-concentrics are inherently time-aligned or not).

Dual concentrics (such as Tannoy, Urei etc) are -in theory- wonderful. -unfortunately, I can't really stand the sound of most of them. They're frequently harsh and unsubtle, plus listening to things on them quietly is frequently soul-destroying... they seem to 'need level' to operate well. -There's no place in my life for such things (and I've used Golds, Reds, Little Reds, Magisters, Lockwoods... -trust me; I've pretty much tried them all).

Quested HM415s are gorgeous to my ears... (and eight 15" woofers is enough to give you a COMPLETELY new hairstyle!) but unfortunately you tend to find yourself replacing tweeter diaphragms every fifteen minutes. (You think I'm exaggerating? -Put Nico Bolas in the same room as a set of soft-dome monitors, and see how long it takes!)

Keith

> I just love the sound of the big old Altec stuff.  A7's, Model 19's, 604's

A7s are little. 604s are littler. They are toy models of real speakers.

> Genelec mains ... like getting punched in the face repeatedly.

Doesn't take hours for A7s to make ears feel like dull icepicks and diaphragm weary from the 250Hz pounding.

All loudspeakers suck. Each in different ways.

The physics of tweeters defy good solutions.

Horns are a valid technique especially at high level. A really good horn may be the most accurate audio source. It is a shame there are so many really awful horns out there.

And good horns doing the wrong job. The A7 top horn isn't bad in a small theater with film soundtrack. The older Tannoy concentric isn't bad in mono at modest level for one well-placed listener/owner. The E-V "diffraction" horn is arguably awful for all purposes, but is small and cheap... no wonder it has been so widely cloned.

The monitor is one thing. I understand that part of the business is impressing the client. But the ultimate source of the money is the Mass Public. And their speakers suck in a wide variety of ways.

I like the little Yamahas for little work. Their suck-spots are tolerable, and if your mix is way-wrong they will probably tell you.