Replacement Speakers

[Brian Vita]

There are used theater speakers on Ebay. Finding them is difficult because they are buried in "home theater" so searching for "used theater speakers" will give you mostly speakers designed for living rooms, not theaters. The few actual theater speakers will still set you back three to four thousand dollars.

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For a 100 seat theater, the speakers that you pictured are severe overkill. There are several new options from Klipsch and JBL that NEW sell for less than that and are more size appropriate for the room.

[Marco Giustini]

The rear speakers are JBL Control 25's.

I strongly dislike those speakers! ? But hey, they'll output sound and they're better than the Control 1!

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

There are used cinema speakers available all over the place because the chains shut locations down all the time. Look at the thread "Whats the latest theatre to close or open you have heard about that is in the "Ground Level" section on this site as that may give you some ideas. Someone on one of the Facebook Film or Theater Sites had all the JBL speakers out of a six screen theater for sale. Beware of buying older-used speakers, especially surround speakers like JBL 8330 and similar, as the foam surrounds on the woofers will likely be dry rotted. That can be repaired pretty easily, but it is time consuming. That Smart amplifier you have is actually a Haffler amplifier, but again it is old, and you need six channels of amplification. Lots of stuff on Epay too where yuou should search using "Cinema Speakers", or "Movie Theater Speakers". Just be careful buying stuff you can not inspect yourself. I am a retired dealer, and will say that buying from a dealer is a very good, idea because the equipment will all be in GWO, but doing so may or may not be within your budget. You are still going to need a qualified tech to come in and advise you on speaker layout, screen, etc. And to do the install and set up for you. Theater equipment doesn't work to a cinemas requirements straight out of the box.

[Tj Hopland]

If this room is so small that Control 25's are a reasonable fit its possible that something that isn't a traditional cinema screen channel would also be reasonable. If its that small of a room a we even talking about speakers behind the screen? I would hope so but I have seen some pretty small rooms. We will have to wait and see if we get some dimensions, it could be that this room really should have had 8340's.

[Brandon Wood]

If this room is so small that Control 25's are a reasonable fit its possible that something that isn't a traditional cinema screen channel would also be reasonable. If its that small of a room a we even talking about speakers behind the screen? I would hope so but I have seen some pretty small rooms. We will have to wait and see if we get some dimensions, it could be that this room really should have had 8340's.

I'll try to get over there and measure soon. The speakers were not behind the screen. They were sitting below it on a sort of shelf.

[Marco Giustini]

that Smart amplifier you have is actually a Haffler amplifier, but again it is old, and you need six channels of amplification.

If I see that right, that amp is a 6ch amp.

f this room is so small that Control 25's are a reasonable fit its possible that something that isn't a traditional cinema screen channel would also be reasonable

I've seen Control 1 (the smaller ones) being installed in massive rooms! The 25 are at least a bit better power-wise but the frequency response is all over the place.
But "they'll do" if budget is not there.

Brandon, do consider the room size for your speakers but if budget is just not there, make sure you buy PRO speakers, not consumer ones.
If you can, make sure your speakers are BEHIND the screen (you'll need a perforated screen) and the area around the speakers is covered with sound absorption material. Basically, move the shelf behind the screen if you can ?

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

If this room is so small that Control 25's are a reasonable fit its possible that something that isn't a traditional cinema screen channel would also be reasonable. If its that small of a room a we even talking about speakers behind the screen? I would hope so but I have seen some pretty small rooms. We will have to wait and see if we get some dimensions, it could be that this room really should have had 8340's.

The smallest room I did was 32 seats in Ketchum, ID. The room next to it was 106 seats. I still have the pictures from that job on my NAS. The larger rooms 175 to about 225 seats were upstairs in the building. I used QSC SC-1150's, a single QSC sub in both houses and SR-800 Surround speakers. I was amazed at how well the SC-1150's sounded after I set it all up. Can't remember which QSC amps i installed there... Was back about 2005 or so... Interestingly, Strong Technical is having a sale on the SC-1150's right now, at about the price we charged for them in 2005

[Ryan Gallagher]

I feel like sharing a few photos of the room and booth might help illuminate what you are working with?

Here is a stupid crazy thought that might only be relevant if absolute bare minimum budget is the goal. Is it crazy to consider repurposing 3 surround cabinets as the LRC? One could start screening in that room in minimalist 1.0, stereo, 3.0, or a 3.1 config (if a sub is added).

I would only consider this kind of stop gap if it is for community events primarily, not if the room will screen new releases. There are a lot of classics out there that are 1.0 anyway.

[Ryan Gallagher]

Also you haven't mentioned which DCP server you are dealing with, there are some critical updates on Dolby/Doremi products to prevent the secure cards from becoming bricks in November.

If you do nothing else and the room stays dormant, make sure you have updated the server and keep up with battery replacements where needed.

[Brandon Wood]

I have thought about making it 3.0 or 3.1 only, especially since this room will be gutted in a few years and we'll be getting a brand new install. We would not be screening any new releases in this room until after the full reno. It would all be repertory and mostly schlock/cult stuff.

As to your server question: it's a GDC SX3000. But our main, currently active theater, is a Dolby DSS200. I haven't heard about this November thing. Should I be concerned?

[Steve Guttag]

The DSS200 isn't affected. The CAT862s should be good until 2035 (January). CAT 745s should be good out to 2040. Now, I have no believe that the servers or mediablocks will make it that long but you got a decade (or more) to figure it out.

[Brandon Wood]

The DSS200 isn't affected. The CAT862s should be good until 2035 (January). CAT 745s should be good out to 2040. Now, I have no believe that the servers or mediablocks will make it that long but you got a decade (or more) to figure it out.

Thanks! We have a CAT862. Luckily the plan is to renovated THAT space next year and get new equipment.

[Marco Giustini]

Here is a stupid crazy thought that might only be relevant if absolute bare minimum budget is the goal. Is it crazy to consider repurposing 3 surround cabinets as the LRC? One could start screening in that room in minimalist 1.0, stereo, 3.0, or a 3.1 config (if a sub is added).

Not with Control 25 I hope ?

I've seen cinemas with a surround speaker behind the screen. I feel that a cheap PA speaker is a better choice. Surrounds are very limited in power and LF, it's just asking for trouble. Some second hand PA speakers are a better choice IMHO.

[Steve Guttag]

Hmmm. I have used Control 25s in a surround capacity. I've used Control-1s in a Surround capacity. I have also used "Surround" speakers as a screen channel and I'll wager that you wouldn't know it yourself. I did apply bass management to them but in terms of frequency response, dynamics...they, in MY opinion far exceeded a PA speaker, which generally suck in a cinema environment. I have used "PA" speakers but I'm fussy about them and, generally, they are MORE expensive than cinema speakers as they are often built with plywood and have rigging points.

It all depends on the space. The Control 25s I've used were in a small screening room as well as in a balcony where they just had to handle about 4-rows and I didn't want them to be heard in the main seating area (rear surrounds, the side surrounds in the balcony where EVI-28s).

I've got another room where I'm looking to use "surround" speakers in a screen channel capacity. And again, I'll defy you or anyone else to know what their intended purpose was.

[Ryan Gallagher]

Not with Control 25 I hope ?

I've seen cinemas with a surround speaker behind the screen. I feel that a cheap PA speaker is a better choice. Surrounds are very limited in power and LF, it's just asking for trouble. Some second hand PA speakers are a better choice IMHO.

I'll admit I did not look up the Control-25's before making that suggestion. Those are tiny, and probably don't pass as "full range"... not ported or anything. It is a small room, but maybe not that small. I guess the suggestion would be more relevant if you stumbled on some cheap or free much larger surrounds you wanted to experiment with as screen channels.