MAJOR RANT - Neighbors!

[Guest Steven1963]

Dean, the one I use is a vintage piece from the 80's made by the now-defunct DBX company. It works on the low frequencies and allows you to customize the volume to the sub, the low frequency boost, and how much subharmonics are sent to the sub (none or too much). In addition, it has 4 pot controls that work specifically on the 28, 34, 40, and 50hz frequencies (increase or decrease).

Here is a pic of the front and back panel controls:

Edited June 30, 2014 by Steven1963

[russ69]

Just a thought. The whole world doesn't want to hear your music. Shut your doors and windows if you want to crank it up. Have a few bevies and knock yourself out.

[DizRotus]

That's what the cop said, Dtel. "it's such high quality sound that it carries." Okay...I guess I can relate to that. Still...this chit sounds sooo good who can complain??

Hehe....

Stevie Ray Vaughn right now.....mmmmm YEEEAAHHHHHH.

There is truth in this statement.

As I've explained in the past, during the 70s, I used 4 Speakerlab SKhorns (8 ohms each) driven two in parallel on each channel by a Dynaco 400 (300 watts/channel into 4 ohm load) in a DJ biz. They would play extremely loud and clear.

Distortion is often a cue as to loudness. Cranking the AM mono car radio back in the day produced lots of distortion that was perceived as being loud. Playing the 4 SKhorns produced loud music without the warning cues offered by distortion.

Bass is another cue as to loudness. The "bass" pouring from a clapped out van at a stop light is an indication of loud; not loud and clear, just loud. The bass escaping from your Khorns is a cue to others that the rest of the music must be loud. On many occasions I noticed the following phenomenon.

The bass heard from outside the room in which the 4 SKhorns were playing at full bore suggested the music was very loud (which it usually was). Nonetheless, upon entering the space and hearing the full spectrum of sound, the perception was that it was not as loud as expected based upon the bass heard from outside the space. Loud and clear does not seem as loud as loud and distorted.

There is a genuine danger when playing efficient, low distortion horn loaded speakers at high decibels. Unlike the over-driven car radio scenario that sounds bad and loud, the perception is that its not overly loud due to the absence of the subconscious cues offered by distortion. Playing Khorns, or the like, at 100+ decibels with clean power can cause serious and permanent hearing loss.

Enjoy your music in moderation. Not only will the neighbors appreciate it, but your ears will also.

Edited July 2, 2014 by DizRotus

[dtel]

The bass heard from outside the room in which the 4 SKhorns were playing at full bore suggested the music was very loud (which it usually was). Nonetheless, upon entering the space and hearing the full spectrum of sound, the perception was that it was not as loud as expected based upon the bass heard from outside the space. Loud and clear does not seem as loud as loud and distorted.

Very true, on weekends when were here alone and the wife is in her back sewing room I crank it up. When I walk outside it sounds like the music in the house is ridiculously loud but when I walk in it's not as loud as you would expect from what you hear outside. Same for even moderate levels, from outside you would think it's louder inside. But when I just open the front door it gets much louder outside, with a few windows open also and it's jamming outside as much as inside, big difference.

There is a genuine danger when playing efficient, low distortion horn loaded speakers at high decibels. Unlike the over-driven car radio scenario that sounds bad and loud, the perception is that its not overly loud due to the absence of the subconscious cues offered by distortion. Playing Khorns, or the like, at 100+ decibels with clean power can cause serious and permanent hearing loss. Enjoy your music in moderation. Not only will the neighbors appreciate it, but your ears will also.

Another good point, the better the recording the more you tend to turn it up.

If I had been as careful when younger at work mostly as I am now my hearing would be much better off today.

Edited July 2, 2014 by dtel

[DizRotus]

If I had been as careful when younger at work mostly as I am now my hearing would be much better off today.

What? Did you say something dtel? Sorry, but my hearing's not what it used to be. Too much very loud music.

Edited July 2, 2014 by DizRotus

[NOSValves]

I moved to what I call gods country for this very reason......I'm the loudest thing in 5 miles....

when I was still drag racing I once has a cop threaten to tow my camaro from my garage....I promptly told him to get the F off my property along with a bunch of language I won't share here but the word Nazi was utilized .....he never returned.

I was also written a ticket once for reckless driving while pumping gas.....long story but that officer was.put on a 2 week leave of absence by the time I was done with him.

[Guest Steven1963]

My new weapon against neighbors that like to call the cops...

As you can see, 95.7db currently from my sitting position. This is the same volume level I was listening at that got the cops called on me and was the catalyst for this thread. I'm about 10' away from the Khorns.

[minermark]

My new weapon against neighbors that like to call the cops...

As you can see, 95.7db currently from my sitting position. This is the same volume level I was listening at that got the cops called on me and was the catalyst for this thread. I'm about 10' away from the Khorns.

Feel free to run off a copy or two of my upcoming system, keep a copy in your pocket when you think you might run into said neighbor, simply hand the copy of these speakers to them and let them know this person is interested in buying your house.

[Guest Steven1963]

Hehe....LOVE IT. I'm actually thinking about hooking up the the Lascalas with the Khorns just to see what that sounds like.

[dtel]

Feel free to run off a copy or two of my upcoming system, keep a copy in your pocket when you think you might run into said neighbor, simply hand the copy of these speakers to them and let them know this person is interested in buying your house.

That should do it.

[HDBRbuilder]

You gotta quit talking about how many WATTS it is when you have K-horns or Lascalas...it is about DECIBELS of sound pressure...GEEZ! I once had a party at my little frame rent-house out in the country south of Emmet, AR back when I worked at Klipsch.

I had an H/K 900+ quad receiver (rated 32 wpc rms in quad mode with 4 channels driven) with a Teac A2340R fed into the L&R rear channel Tape 1 inputs, and a Technics RS676AUS cassette deck fed into the L&R front channel tape 1 inputs and the joy stick balance leaning slightly towards the rear from dead center. The amp section was running the front speaker outputs to a pair of Heresys in the living room getting signal from the cassette deck (playing country music), and the rear outputs were running the reel-to-reel (playing rock and pop) through a pair of LaScalas backed up against the house firing away from it into the back yard, then through a barbed wire fence about 40 yards from the back of the house, through a 60 yard deep woods, up over a rising that was a recently-hayed field...and down the other side finally dumping out to the patio of my closest neighbor about 2 miles away as the crow flies.

The volume was about 1/4 way up, and that neighbor (who Happened to be a Belle Klipsch cabinet builder at the plant), said to me the next Monday morning: "So, Andy, I guess you had a party with some Scalawags behind your house the other day, huh? Those things can really crank! You weren't really playing my kind of music, but after I mowed the back yard, I went inside and got a pitcher of iced tea and a glass and went back out on the patio and just sat there and listened to them for awhile. They really sounded like they weren't that far away...distant, but really clear and concise...them big old horns are really nice for outside parties, aren't they?"

I said, "Yep, Roy (Byers)it was a great birthday party...cooked up most of a doe on the grill, and over a hundred people showed up thru the day, and night...glad you enjoyed them! You outta come by next time you hear something like that and get a plate of food."

BTW, a much younger Jim Hunter was at that party in March of 1978.

Edited July 4, 2014 by HDBRbuilder

[garyrc]

As you can see, 95.7db currently from my sitting position. This is the same volume level I was listening at that got the cops called on me and was the catalyst for this thread. I'm about 10' away from the Khorns.

You gotta quit talking about how many WATTS it is when you have K-horns or Lascalas...it is about DECIBELS of sound pressure...GEEZ!

How many cubic feet in your room, Steven? I see you are about 10 feet away. Believe it or not, 95.7 dB in a 3,000 cu. ft. room would probably take a little less than 2 watts into a Khorn. [see the Keel chart in V 16, No 1, Dope from Hope, January 1977.

Edited July 4, 2014 by Garyrc

[Guest Steven1963]

A rough guess because the room is odd shaped about 4,000 cu. ft. So see I was being conservative when I was saying it was only 20 watts. It's probably more like 5 or so and 96db that is getting me into trouble.

[mustang guy]

I love Motown classics, and it's real hard to listen at low levels. It's sort of like Sweet Home Alabama. When the little "Turn it up!" part comes on, you are compelled to lurch for the volume knob.

As grouchy as the neighbor seems to be, perhaps diplomacy might have some effect. Bake some brownies, and take them to her. It might mellow her out a bit. Of course, that depends on the recipe...

[derrickdj1]

Mustang guy, that only works dressing like Magic Mike, lol.

Edited July 4, 2014 by derrickdj1

[Cut-Throat]

Yup...I'm thinking a db meter is going to be my next purchase as I will need it to defend myself against a citation...that is likely going to be issued at some point in the future.

Here is a free one if you have an Android Phone or Tablet. Works Great !

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kr.sira.sound&hl=en

[Ceptorman]

The bass heard from outside the room in which the 4 SKhorns were playing at full bore suggested the music was very loud (which it usually was). Nonetheless, upon entering the space and hearing the full spectrum of sound, the perception was that it was not as loud as expected based upon the bass heard from outside the space. Loud and clear does not seem as loud as loud and distorted.

Very true, on weekends when were here alone and the wife is in her back sewing room I crank it up. When I walk outside it sounds like the music in the house is ridiculously loud but when I walk in it's not as loud as you would expect from what you hear outside. Same for even moderate levels, from outside you would think it's louder inside. But when I just open the front door it gets much louder outside, with a few windows open also and it's jamming outside as much as inside, big difference.

There is a genuine danger when playing efficient, low distortion horn loaded speakers at high decibels. Unlike the over-driven car radio scenario that sounds bad and loud, the perception is that its not overly loud due to the absence of the subconscious cues offered by distortion. Playing Khorns, or the like, at 100+ decibels with clean power can cause serious and permanent hearing loss. Enjoy your music in moderation. Not only will the neighbors appreciate it, but your ears will also.

Another good point, the better the recording the more you tend to turn it up.

If I had been as careful when younger at work mostly as I am now my hearing would be much better off today.

I'm the same way. After hundreds of loud concerts in the 80s and 90s, I'm thankful my hearing is pretty good. I ride, and race motorcycles, and have been wearing earplugs for the past 12-15 years, I think that helped me a lot.

[Shakeydeal]

As said before, keep your doors and windows closed. I love music and play it loud all the time, but if I were your neighbor, I would have called the cops on you too. That was a boneheaded move straight out of a frat house playbook. Strive to be better than that........

Shakey

[Guest Steven1963]

"As said before, keep your doors and windows closed. I love music and play it loud all the time, but if I were your neighbor, I would have called the cops on you too. That was a boneheaded move straight out of a frat house playbook. Strive to be better than that........"

Shakey

I suppose boneheaded is a matter of opinion. 96db (at my sitting position) and less than 5 watts at 4pm? Using your standard, my next door neighbor mowing his lawn would be bone headed, as the sound from his mower would produce about the same amount of 'noise' as my music.

Edited July 8, 2014 by Steven1963

[Shakeydeal]

_{96 db at your listening position, which I am guessing is ~10 ft away from the speakers, is pretty loud. Closing the doors and windows is only the courteous thing to do. Not everyone wants to hear your music, even at four o'clock in the afternoon.}

_{And you keep going back to your "only 5, 15. 20, 25 watts" argument. Think about that statement and the efficiency of your speakers, do the math, and get back to me......}

_Shakey