Almost scared

[Aroongupta]

Hey guys,

I joined this forum today and have alreday spent some time going through various reviews. I shall admit...I am scared to death. I almost do not understand anything! I knew I am a complete novice as far as fine music goes but did not realize what it takes to be called - expert!

Anyhow, I seek your advice. I am looking to buy a 'Music System' , something on this side of 50K, that I can use for my terrace parties. S omething with super sound quality, can easily be shifted, carries a lot of punch which allows my folks to shake a few legs when tulli! Do we have something which can play music straight from my 1TB external HD? Anyhow, important thing is that it should be loud enough and shall carry enough power so as to be able to make enough hulla on a 10th Floor completely open 4000 sq feet terrace garden!

See me as an outsider! Hurl abuses ...no issues...but help me!

Yours truly!

 

[marsilians]

Aroon

Expert or audiophile qualifications are not the minimum to enjoy music. Its everyone who falls in that category.

also nothing to be scared of, just drop in a few questions if you run into a road block aorund Audio Video here and some of the good folks should take care of you.

Having said this, for your requirement I suggest a good pair of (active) computer speakers to do the job (seriously - I am not joking). Logitech has a good 5.1 system that you can grab and move it easily as you wish. A laptop could be your media center PC.

 

[rikhav]

PC speaker system for a 4000 sq feet open space

I dont think so

I feel he should try PA amps and speakers, quality ones.

A good home audio system which can fill a 4000 sq feet would be hard to setup and if it can be it wont be cheap.


Check out the site of Narain Audio, you can have a look at amps and speakers they deal iin. And also their resellers can help you what to choose.


But one question Aroon, wont you face any problems with the nighbouring area?

 

[Aroongupta]

Aroon

Expert or audiophile qualifications are not the minimum to enjoy music. Its everyone who falls in that category.

also nothing to be scared of, just drop in a few questions if you run into a road block aorund Audio Video here and some of the good folks should take care of you.

Having said this, for your requirement I suggest a good pair of (active) computer speakers to do the job (seriously - I am not joking). Logitech has a good 5.1 system that you can grab and move it easily as you wish. A laptop could be your media center PC.

REALLY?????????

UNBELIEVABLE!

Actually something I did not state earlier, if I can do thatplay my music from my laptop directly, nothing like it! I did not ask because I never imagined that it would be possible! And to tell youI am still skeptical.

With an external speaker system, attachable to a laptop, can I get that kind of an output? See as I mentioned, I am talking about an open area (4000 sq ft.) on 10th Floor with some 800 large and small plants?

 

[Aroongupta]

PC speaker system for a 4000 sq feet open space

But one question Aroon, wont you face any problems with the nighbouring area?

Once in a while sir...in fact they too get invited for free drinks

 

[marsilians]

PC speaker system for a 4000 sq feet open space

I dont think so

I feel he should try PA amps and speakers, quality ones.

Have you tried any PC Logitech 5.1 speaker system?

His requirements were easy mobility and high sound level. I don't think the PA amps will be easy to setup/dismantle (not counting the cost).

If you look athe "theory" behind sound, the decibel is a logarthmic factor of power. So he will need 10 times the power if moving from 60 - 70 db. Unless he is running a dedicated electric circuit, he will pretty much blow his home fuse box.

Given all these, I still think that a very good set of PC speakers will sound absolutely perfect (without having to invite neighbours for drinks).

 

[rikhav]

You can definately play from your laptop using a USB sound card or direct from headphones out (depends if the quality is ok with you)

But for the area you are talking about, you wont get anything portable

It has a to be a fixed installation.

And budget would be quiet a lot more then 50k

 

[moserw]

Something with super sound quality, can easily be shifted, carries a lot of punch which allows my folks to shake a few legs when tulli! Do we have something which can play music straight from my 1TB external HD? Anyhow, important thing is that it should be loud enough and shall carry enough power so as to be able to make enough hulla on a 10th Floor completely open 4000 sq feet terrace garden!

I am not sure about covering 4000 sq feet of terrace garden, but based on your requirements the Logitech Z-5500 comes to my mind. Its around 26K online, but should be available for 19K or so with the local retailer. It is loud and does pack a lot of punch especially the bass, but I have only used it in a closed room environment and not the outdoors. Very good VFM, loud, and they are THX certified too. Give them an audition though since you would know your requirements better than anyone else.

 

[Sujit]

4000sft completely open space on the 10th floor! There is absolutely no way you will be able to get anyone's feet tapping with ANY computer speaker in the whole wide world! You want HULLA - this wont even tickle! There was a time in life when I used to conduct a lot of professional events and parties - I know!

 

[Aroongupta]

Folks,

was checking Sony's site...won't anythink like Sony's MHC-GN1100D work? They say its 10000 W PMPO and blah blah

Pardon the naivity pls.

rgds,

 

[flanker.r]

PMPO - The term again

Anyway here is one of the best explanations of PMPO (from one of the websites)
'
Power Ratings In The New Millennium (and Beyond)

Much has been said - and will no doubt continue to be said - about amplifier power ratings. There has been a disturbing tendency over the last few years to revisit the bad old days where terms such as PMP (Peak Music Power) and PMPO (Peak Music Power Output) have once again raised their ugly heads.

Admittedly, these 'new' power rating are not used by hi-fi manufacturers, other than in the low-end equipment. These new terms are soundly (no pun intended) based on the science of marketing, having nothing to do with actual science or physics. PMPO is mathematically expressed as

PMPO = PREAL * k
where PREAL is the real power as calculated by the formula below, and k is a constant whose value is approximately equal to one's grandmother's age, divided by the square root of the distance from the office to the advertisement writer's normal place of abode - measured in millimetres, inches, furlongs, statute miles or pounds per square inch (as appropriate) to provide the number you first thought of.
In the unlikely event that the value of k cannot be calculated from the above formulae to provide a totally meaningless (but plausible-looking) final result, a randomly selected value of between 20 and 75 should be used.

An alternative (and equally useless) way to measure PMPO is to multiply the supply voltage by the instantaneous short-circuit current from the amplifier - the amplifier does not have to survive this test, and the current only has to exist for around 1us to obtain a satisfactory rating ...

PMPO = Vsupply * Ipeak
where Vsupply is the total supply voltage and Ipeak is the instantaneous (and possibly destructive) short-circuit current. Given that a 12V plugpack (wall wart) supply may be capable of perhaps 30A for a microsecond or two, this is perfectly acceptable, and gives a PMPO of ...
PMPO = 12 * 30 = 360W
This is a perfectly acceptable figure, and may be used with gay abandon (in the hope that someone will actually believe it).
Thus (using the first equation) we can now compute the power of an amplifier which manages to impress a voltage (which need not be sinusoidal - an harmonic distortion of up to 400% is considered perfectly acceptable - albeit mathematically impossible) of 8V across a speaker of 8 ohms. Actual (real) power may be calculated by

Preal = VRMS * IRMS
Since 8V across an 8 ohm load provides 1 Ampere of current, we obtain
Preal = 8 * 1 = 8 Watts
or, using the power formula
Preal = V / R (Voltage squared, divided by impedance in ohms)
thus
Preal = 8 / 8 = 64 / 8 = 8 Watts
PMPO may now readily be calculated, using a median value of 45 which results in a totally satisfactory advertising power (Pa) of
Pa = 8 * 45 = 360W PMPO
You will notice that by fiddling with the figures to suit my goal, I have been able to make the PMPO figure the same, using two completely different 'test methods' and 'formulae'. Therefore, the figures must be correct, and the result must therefore be genuine .
What ? You think I'm lying ? Well spotted gentle reader - the whole process is unadulterated horse-feathers.'

 

[marsilians]

Think of the PMPO like this.

It they say 1000W PMPO - it typically means running only one (usually centre) at full blast and not caring for distortion and AT ITS PEAK it touches 1000W.

As you see from above this is not for human consumption.

A better metric is continuous RMS - which is usually 15-18% of the PMPO though this is also a measurement of the peaks.

A typical AVR (HTiB are worse) typically puts around 40% of the wattage but with wastage and leaks (energy is not 100% consumed), you get around 20% of the levels mentioned in a quite room with good speaker placement and room treatments.

So in an open environment such as your setting, dont be too caught up on quality as it appears you prefer loudness over anything.

Try a logitech speaker set from a friend or a place you can return and then post yoru feedback.

 

[Aroongupta]

Guys, many thanks for all your inputs. What about Sony HT-DDW 5000? Cost around 40K. I checked it yesterday and liked it. I am almost inclined to go for it. Is ther any issue you see? Are there any better alternatives? And lets say I do not want to go above 40K.

Can I use this to play my music from the laptop, MP3 or other audio systems?

 

[marsilians]

Can I use this to play my music from the laptop, MP3 or other audio systems?

You should be able to if you have one of the following:

A digital out from your laptop - use toslink cable
MP3 player/laptop without digital out - use a Y cable and connect to the audio in the front of hte receiver

Not sure what you mean by other audio systems?

 

[gopi]

For an open space of that size I doubt Sony or any other such boxed systems will be able to bring the volume. What you need is some Cervin Wegas. These speakers are very efficient and can go very loud. Please have a look at these and pair it with some powerful amplifiers. My friend does the same for his terrace parties.

 

[kaushik]

Hey get someting like Mackie SRM450

They have AMP Rated Power: 300 watts
Rated THD: < 0.03%
builtin .

Mackie is used in Planet M.. pubs etc
In bangalore ARN systems i think sells these .

 

[SAMUEL]

Hey guys,

I joined this forum today and have alreday spent some time going through various reviews. I shall admit...I am scared to death. I almost do not understand anything! I knew I am a complete novice as far as fine music goes but did not realize what it takes to be called - expert!

Anyhow, I seek your advice. I am looking to buy a 'Music System' , something on this side of 50K, that I can use for my terrace parties. S omething with super sound quality, can easily be shifted, carries a lot of punch which allows my folks to shake a few legs when tulli! Do we have something which can play music straight from my 1TB external HD? Anyhow, important thing is that it should be loud enough and shall carry enough power so as to be able to make enough hulla on a 10th Floor completely open 4000 sq feet terrace garden!

See me as an outsider! Hurl abuses ...no issues...but help me!

Yours truly!

Hey Aroon,
Welcome to the Madness
If you want a sound system only for outdoor purpose and with good punch you can look for Mackie's as told by kaushik or look for Peavey speakers.

OR If you want a really good Music System at home with superb clarity, Power with amazing SPL(Sound Pressure level) and bang for the buck sound, I can only think of KLIPSCH Synergy F3 Floorstanding Speakers.Note these speakers are only for Indoor purpose. Power them with a good stereo power amplifier and they can approach ear bleeding levels.
Place the F-3's closer to wall or corners if you are using it at terrace.
This technique will reinforce the sound.Note this setting may not work inside home.
I am sure the F-3's will do fair justice for your needs compared to the Multimedia speakers which sound beautiful in smaller indoor spaces.

But this configuration will breach your budget limit (F3'+Amp).You can also look for some good used integrated amplifier's.And later on when funds allow you can upgrade to a new & better one.Also you ca use your laptop as source
but for home use better quality CD dvd or universal players.

Just wait a little more and see if any of our friends can come up with an idea for you.
Best Regards,
Samuel