The Bose 301s

[Cars-N-Cans]

Don't do this with hifi equipment. Chances are you'll blow the tweeters. Better rent cheap active PA speakers for this one time purpose.

Omg lol yeah that will pop them for sure, and probably cook the receiver due to the huge SPL and power requirements. The people in the back wouldn’t even hear a normal set of speakers at full volume. I have seen DJs that use hi-fi speakers but there were something like 10-12 very large floor speakers per channel and a bunch of portable subs, not to mention needing so much power that a generator had to be used. I’m sure the efficiency was abysmal compared to proper powered DJ speakers which have a narrow dispersion pattern and much more efficient drivers.

 

[AlzalzS]

No. All electronics sound the same.

Do they? I picked up a definitive technology subwoofer and the bass was way different than my jbl sub

Wish I remembered how many watts the dt sub was but my jbl is a mere 150, maybe not enough for a live event

I, just want the songs I play to be pleasant to the auditence.

 

[AlzalzS]

Omg lol yeah that will pop them for sure, and probably cook the receiver due to the huge SPL and power requirements. The people in the back wouldn’t even hear a normal set of speakers at full volume. I have seen DJs that use hi-fi speakers but there were something like 10-12 very large floor speakers per channel and a bunch of portable subs, not to mention needing so much power that a generator had to be used. I’m sure the efficiency was abysmal compared to proper powered DJ speakers which have a narrow dispersion pattern and much more efficient drivers.

But how many decibels should I go for is questionable. The efficiency of these speakers is said to be 85-87 spl / 1 w @ 1 meter. How do I measure for distance further than that.

For this I assumed to add more speakers and again at 1 watt x 6 channels +9db = maybe 94 db if lucky I think I’d be using a theoretical total of 50-60 watts max all channels driven.

I know that + 3db = double watts and I can play louder with more watts say 3 1000watt Behringer amps and play as loud as I want however probably would burn the speakers but since the 301s are 8” woofers I think I can push past their 75watt rms???. But their tweeters tho I’m not so sure.

And for this I think a receiver with atleast 6 pre outs would be necessary. Could I use something other than a receiver to deliver me 6 pre outs connected to analog mixer?

Maybe I should be clear on how many sqft the venue is, I’ll double check.

 

[MarkS]

Do they? I picked up a definitive technology subwoofer and the bass was way different than my jbl sub

Speakers (and subs are speakers) sound different. Electronics (amps, preamps, DACs, etc) that do not explicitly process the signal (via tone controls, EQ, room correction, etc) all sound the same.

 

[AlzalzS]

Speakers (and subs are speakers) sound different. Electronics (amps, preamps, DACs, etc) that do not explicitly process the signal (via tone controls, EQ, room correction, etc) all sound the same.

Ahhhh I figured that’s what you meant tbh, just had to make sure tho

 

[AlzalzS]

What is frequency range 39-20khz (-10db) mean and is this a good frequency range

 

[solderdude]

What is frequency range 39-20khz (-10db) mean and is this a good frequency range

It means very little as it does not specify how it is measured.
-10dB is half as loud.
So 39Hz (bass notes) are half as loud as they should be as well as 20kHz is not as loud as it should be but unknown how steep that drop off is.
What is most important is the 'wonky-ness' of the frequency response between the bass and treble which also can not be derived from these numbers and will vary in a room.

The original 301 had one cone tweeter with a flap in front of it that could be rotated. The 301-2 and 3 had 2 cone tweeters pointing in different directions.
Series 4 has 2 cone tweeters on either long side, one pointing backwards at an angle and one pointing sideways in a forward direction.
The 301-5 (the one you have) has 2 kind of 'horn-alike' tweeters firing at different angles to one side from another position and is rounded in shape (to look more like 901 ?).

How a Bose speaker sounds is very room and position dependent.
Fine for filling a room with sound, not particularly useful as a 'hifi' speaker. Not very expensive either. Typical 'lifestyle' product.

 

[AlzalzS]

So if my receiver says 75/channel 2 channels driven, how many watts per channel for when I have 5 channel stereo mode

My 5.1 is technically capable for 7.1
It has A+B L/R =‘4 channels
Center = 1 channek
Surrounds L/R = 2 channels

Along with left, right, center, and sub outs, but I think sub out is unnecessary and if I wanted to use 2 subs I would use the left/right preouts
And I have 7 speakers and I’m gonna try them all together but is there a risk to have this setup like this ?

I will monitor the heat level of my receiver and see how well it dissipates.

 

[solderdude]

75 what ?
75W in 4 ohm? in 8 ohm? continuous? music power ?

I would not worry about the power levels too much. As long as you do not hear distortion (sound turns nasty at loud levels) and the speaker impedance matches or is higher than the specified minimum impedance of the receiver it will all work fine.

Just do not block the air flow around the receiver.

 

[Cars-N-Cans]

So if my receiver says 75/channel 2 channels driven, how many watts per channel for when I have 5 channel stereo mode


I will monitor the heat level of my receiver and see how well it dissipates.

You can use some of those audiophile-type standoffs under the feet to get a bit more gap between the bottom of the receiver and the shelf its on, which will help with airflow. Also make sure its not plugged with dust inside and the heatsink is clean. As long as its out in the open it will probably be fine, but the dissipation will depend on content and volume. Generally the dynamic impedance of speakers helps reduce some of the dissipation, but it can be quite variable. Still, its not nearly as bad as simply having a low value resistive load which will oblige the output section to drop a large portion of the rail voltage across the output transistors. Even though speakers are reactive usually most typical speakers wont have their current and voltage too far out of phase to result in high current draw with little voltage output from the amplifier.

 

[Cars-N-Cans]

But how many decibels should I go for is questionable. The efficiency of these speakers is said to be 85-87 spl / 1 w @ 1 meter. How do I measure for distance further than that.

For this I assumed to add more speakers and again at 1 watt x 6 channels +9db = maybe 94 db if lucky I think I’d be using a theoretical total of 50-60 watts max all channels driven.

I know that + 3db = double watts and I can play louder with more watts say 3 1000watt Behringer amps and play as loud as I want however probably would burn the speakers but since the 301s are 8” woofers I think I can push past their 75watt rms???. But their tweeters tho I’m not so sure.

And for this I think a receiver with atleast 6 pre outs would be necessary. Could I use something other than a receiver to deliver me 6 pre outs connected to analog mixer?

Maybe I should be clear on how many sqft the venue is, I’ll double check.

I would not use any sort of hi-fi speaker for DJ work unless the room is very small and its just a few people. The wide dispersion pattern of the speaker will really work against you since much of the sound will be radiated out towards the sides and not out into the crowd. Combine that with the lower efficiency, low power handing, and its a forgone conclusion that it will be a disappointing experience for those being entertained. I would count on needing to get at least to 95-100 dBA in the center of the room, which most hi-fi speakers wont even touch out in a large space. Better to look into actual DJ/PA speakers as they will be better optimized for the intended application.

For DJ work best would be something along the lines of what JBL has. For an example: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ama-for-the-brand-new-jbl-prx900-serie.38843/

They will have the correct pattern to ensure the audience actually hears what you want them to, and you can generally beat the tar out of them without having to be too concerned about popping the drivers. Other companies have offerings as well, so whatever flavor suits, but I would steer clear of any sort of speaker made for domestic home use. It wont work.

 

[AlzalzS]

75 what ?
75W in 4 ohm? in 8 ohm? continuous? music power ?

I would not worry about the power levels too much. As long as you do not hear distortion (sound turns nasty at loud levels) and the speaker impedance matches or is higher than the specified minimum impedance of the receiver it will all work fine.

Just do not block the air flow around the receiver.

75w @ 8 ohm, 105w @ 6 ohm

 

[solderdude]

The speakers are rated 4-8 ohm so can dip below 6ohm. Probably the front tweeter is 4 ohm. The woofer is not filtered low pass filtered. In the treble there isn't much energy anyway.
The Bose 301-V is a very cheap speaker in production. You pay for the brand mostly.

I would not worry about the power levels too much. As long as you do not hear distortion (sound turns nasty at loud levels) it will all work fine.
Just do not block the air flow around the receiver.

 

[AlzalzS]

Ahhhh I figured that’s what you meant tbh, just had to make sure tho

Maybe we could agree that in terms of electronics that the sound is all the same +\- the SNL ratio and distortion

 

[fpitas]

No. All electronics sound the same.

Well...all competent electronics. Amir has tested some doozies.

 

[AlzalzS]

So far all my advice has been to forget all advice and go with what sounds good to me

And I liked the Martin Logan floor standing speakers but I feel like some of their high price point comes from they’re fancy cabinet which is nice yeah

My cuz has the bower Wilkins in walls , they’re good too, different sound signature I prefer my Bose but they’re good too

 

[solderdude]

What works for you and is good enough is what you should go for.
Regardless of what other people think or say about it.
When you are not satisfied anymore go for EQ, room conditioning, different positioning of speakers etc.
When this does not help look for 'better' speakers.

 

[AlzalzS]

When you are not satisfied anymore go for EQ, room conditioning, different positioning of speakers etc.
When this does not help look for 'better' speakers.

I think the moment I start thinking to tweak the sound system in the first place is a sign that I wanna replace my speakers. It’s exactly what happened for my decision to replace my Bose 100s.

And so I had bought the 301s a few days ago and just got them yesterday. I had them before but returned them because I was auditioning different speakers. Best Buy doesn’t carry all brands of speakers so I didn’t know much about the speakers and what to look for or what I liked. Some people say x brand is good for y budget or whatever

I just wanna add that I use VLC on iPhone and I imported my music to that app, it has a software eq. I always wonder if hardware eq is better than. And I’ve been playing a little with the eq and I like more bass but these speakers already seem to deliver and I can hear all the bass notes already. Rear firing tweeters I noticed as well they’re bouncing sound off the walls. I like it
Edit: plus there are some speakers meant for home theatre movie watching whilst some meant for music. Tell me why spend so much money on surrounds when they barely play any of the dialog which 80% goes to the center
Mind sharing what you are listening with?
What kind of music?

 

[AlzalzS]

So should I shell out some extra dough for audioquest cables

 

[Prana Ferox]

Every time I check this thread I have less belief it is real