[cessna1466u]

I just picked these up from a neighbor for $40, he works construction and said they came out of a restaurant they just took down. Seems they are great speakers but I cannot get decent volume from them. My cheapo outdoor speakers I have now are louder. I did change the settings in the back to the different voltages and it gets a little louder but not much. Am I missing something? Do these need a separate amplifier?

 

[Aaron Smith]

My guess is those speakers have 70V/100V transformers installed...you need to make sure you are using the 8 ohm bypass taps. Pretty fair deal for $40.

 

[cessna1466u]

That is exactly what I am reading online. When you say they need to have the 8ohm taps, you mean I need turn the knob-thingy with a screwdriver to appropriate voltage which represents 8ohm?

 

[Aaron Smith]

Bingo. Most install speakers like those have a setting that says '8 ohm'.

 

[cessna1466u]

Got it, it turned the volume up a little and they sound great but I have to have the volume way up. Maybe they just aren't the speakers for me. Thanks for getting back to me on this. I appreciate it.

 

[kjfalls]

I have a pair of the 4.2s. Hard to believe, but I got a better deal @ $35/pr. I think these are great little speakers. Nice design, good components and weather resistant. I use mine in my bathroom (environmentally safe) and they sound very good. At a sensitivity of 89db they're efficient enough. I drive mine with an Onkyo 50w receiver.

 

[cessna1466u]

I know they are great speakers and maybe I was doing something wrong but I just could not get them to sound good. The sound quality was great but like I mentioned I had to turn it up way higher than with my cheapo speakers to get any volume out of them. They are going under the raised deck so that I could hear them from the hot tub. I sold them and am now looking for a different set. Thanks for the reply.

 

[kjfalls]

Electrovoice has been in the speaker business for a long time and are very respected. I really don't think you'll find a better outdoor environmentally-safe speaker. Which is all moot since you no longer have them. You might try some of the Advent outdoor speakers. I've had them in my garage and they're much more efficient and have decent sound quality. I could also recommend the Legacy Audio Espirit, if you can find them. I purchased several pairs along several pairs of their in-walls on clearance. I know their in-walls are very efficient. I have a pair connected to an Emotiva A-100 50Wx2 amp and the lowest volume setting is a comfortable listening level. If you can find them on ebay purchase them. I search for "Legacy" speakers all the time on ebay, but have yest to find a pair of these there. Good luck with your search.

 

[PoweredByJBL]


Hi  I just joined this group 5 minutes ago.

 

I can tell you what you have.

 

Those POD-shaped speakers are normally used on a "Background Music Ceiling Speaker System".

 

All this means is,  You have a large number of ceiling speakers installed all throughout an establishments ceiling area, maybe 20 - 50, for example.  To keep the loss down on the long run of speaker cable, the amplifier usually has a transformer added after the output terminals.  This takes the 8 or 16 Ohm output and steps the voltage up to a much higher level that the normal 8 or 16 ohm terminals deliver to a single speaker.  Since the voltage is much higher, the current is just the opposite, much lower.  The higher the current in a long speaker cable, the more power is lost in the run, which is bad.  The principal is exactly the same as what Nikola Tesla devised for our "Electric Power Transmission System" which delivers power from electric generating plants over a great distance to our homes.  Yes Tesla was a genius!

 

Just like the generating plants incorporate a "step-up" transformer to increase the voltage to feed the wires hung on giant insulators on the transmission towers, your amplifier would have a step-up transformer to feed, for example, the 70 volt audio wire that "daisy-chains" or hops from each speaker on the ceiling to the next until all are connected.  I am describing a background music ceiling speaker system, not a home HiFi system.

 

Now lets say that the establishment wants to adjust the level of some of the speakers, well many types of ceiling speakers sometimes have an adjustment knob built-in for adjusting the loudness.  Changing voltage taps on each speakers transformer will also effect the level.  

 

You probably haven't noticed it, but each of those speakers of yours has a transformer inside the case, which is wired to do the opposite of what the amplifier's transformer does, which is to step down the higher audio voltage to lower level, which intern steps up the available current for driving the  8 or 16 ohm speaker within.

 

 

Ignoring all the above....   what you need is an "8 ohm to 70 volt line transformer" on the output terminals of your amplifier.

 

Alternately, you might be able to just open the case on each speaker and disconnect the transformer completely, "bypassing it", by having the connection directly to the speakers voice coil terminal instead.  So the transformer will have all the wires disconnected from the speaker and the speaker terminals, which now connect directly to the voice coil terminals.

 

[cessna1466u]



Quote:
Originally Posted by PoweredByJBL  /t/1517874/electro-voice-8d-4-2-worth-it#post_24570029


Hi  I just joined this group 5 minutes ago.


I can tell you what you have.


Those POD-shaped speakers are normally used on a "Background Music Ceiling Speaker System".


All this means is,  You have a large number of ceiling speakers installed all throughout an establishments ceiling area, maybe 20 - 50, for example.  To keep the loss down on the long run of speaker cable, the amplifier usually has a transformer added after the output terminals.  This takes the 8 or 16 Ohm output and steps the voltage up to a much higher level that the normal 8 or 16 ohm terminals deliver to a single speaker.  Since the voltage is much higher, the current is just the opposite, much lower.  The higher the current in a long speaker cable, the more power is lost in the run, which is bad.  The principal is exactly the same as what Nikola Tesla devised for our "Electric Power Transmission System" which delivers power from electric generating plants over a great distance to our homes.  Yes Tesla was a genius!


Just like the generating plants incorporate a "step-up" transformer to increase the voltage to feed the wires hung on giant insulators on the transmission towers, your amplifier would have a step-up transformer to feed, for example, the 70 volt audio wire that "daisy-chains" or hops from each speaker on the ceiling to the next until all are connected.  I am describing a background music ceiling speaker system, not a home HiFi system.


Now lets say that the establishment wants to adjust the level of some of the speakers, well many types of ceiling speakers sometimes have an adjustment knob built-in for adjusting the loudness.  Changing voltage taps on each speakers transformer will also effect the level.  


You probably haven't noticed it, but each of those speakers of yours has a transformer inside the case, which is wired to do the opposite of what the amplifier's transformer does, which is to step down the higher audio voltage to lower level, which intern steps up the available current for driving the  8 or 16 ohm speaker within.



Ignoring all the above....   what you need is an "8 ohm to 70 volt line transformer" on the output terminals of your amplifier.


Alternately, you might be able to just open the case on each speaker and disconnect the transformer completely, "bypassing it", by having the connection directly to the speakers voice coil terminal instead.  So the transformer will have all the wires disconnected from the speaker and the speaker terminals, which now connect directly to the voice coil terminals.

Thank for taking the time to write such a detailed explanation, were where you a month ago or so.

These would have been perfect but I couldn't get the sound I wanted out of them so I sold them. Took a loss on them but that's life. Now I know for next time I come across one of these. They where very solid and in decent condition. Thanks again for the explanation.